I love watching printmaker David Bull on YouTube. This is what is do for fun! Geeking out watching how other printmakers work. I find it so relaxing. It’s a lovely video.
Sparta Says ……
Sparta says, “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year”.
Mae Sparta yn dweud, “Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda”.
This is a lovely digital drawing of the lovely Sparta Puss by my lovely Husb.
In At The Start
So I’m thinking of doing some more large woodcuts in the new year, inspired by my drawings of the Mari Lwyd and Neolithic stone monuments in South Wales. I’ve done a lot of work on both of these so there’s plenty to inform anything I do. I begin by making little thumbnail sketches, lots of them, trying out different compositions. To me, that’s a primary function of a sketchbook, trying out ideas and establishing a starting point.
Well, I’ve started, but there’s a long, long way to go… If you want to find out more about the Mari Lwyd tradition in Wales please click here. And here’s a short film about my en plein air drawings on Neolithic and Bronze Age sites across South Wales.
Bits And Bobs
I had a quick scribble on my Samsung Galaxy Note 8 tablet, just catching a few of the bits and bobs at the bottom of the Christmas tree. It’s a sparkly place….
A Massive Of Mari’s?
I finished carving my little lino yesterday evening, with a Mari Lwyd design from an original drawing en plein air. So today, off to Swansea Print Workshop to print it up. I used Caligo / Cranfield Safe Wash Relief ink with a Hosho Japanese paper and some recycled sari silk paper for the chine collé to add flashes of colour. Traditionally, the Mari is decorated with coloured ribbons to contrast with the white skull and shroud.
From left to right: Inking the block; applying the chine collé with Pritt stick glue; rubbing the back of the paper with a traditional Japanese baren.
And finally, a Massive of Mari’s. I don’t know if there’s an official collective noun, but I think Massive is cool.
If you want to read more about the ancient Welsh tradition of the Mari Lwyd, just click here .
And here.
Carving Done
I’ve finished carving my little lino block of a Mari Lwyd and I’m ready to print it, which I can do at Swansea Print Workshop all day tomorrow (Thursday 20th). It’s the last day of the Leftovers VIII international exhibition of miniature prints from Wingtip Press in Idaho, USA. I’ll be there from 10.30 to 4.30 so please pop in and have a look if you’re in town.
Carving A Horse Skull
I’m carving a block of grey vinyl this evening as I’ve decided to make a New Year’s greeting card, based on the Mari Lwyd, a pagan Welsh ritual based on a horse skull. It’s quite small so I should be able to get it cut and printed quickly. Working on this scale is nice, I can perch it on my lap and listen to the telly while I’m carving. Can’t get too distracted, though, because my cutting tools are razor sharp.
The image is based on a drawing of the Mari Abertawe I did en plein air a while back. The Mari Lwyd comes out to play at this time of year through to mid January.
Seasonal Food
Sitting in the dark, watching TV, scribbling the cat quickly on my Samsung Galaxy Note 8 tablet using a free Markers app. Been visiting relatives most of the day and am stuffed full of home made mince pies. Mmmmmmm …. seasonal food.
Wrapping Prezzies
It’s that time of year again. The house disappears under a ton of wrapping paper, shards of ribbon, bits of last year’s Xmas cards, recycled as gift tags and, satisfyingly, fancy carrier bags loaded with prezzies. I drew with an app called Markers onto my Samsung Galaxy Note 8 tablet.
Rolling….
Down at Swansea Print Workshop earlier, printing an edition of a two colour reduction block print, cut from soft vinyl and printed up onto Japanese Hosho paper using Cranfield Caligo Safe-Wash ink using a roller (brayer) from Intaglio Printmaker in London.
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