Commemorating The Peace March

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Yesterday I went on a journey, leaving Swansea by coach at 8.30 am, heading to Cardiff to commemorate the start of the Women’s Peace March to Greenham Common, way back in 1981. Organised by Women’s Archive Wales, there were speeches and songs in Alexandra Gardens and we took a walk around the area with some of the gorgeous embroidered banners. Then back onto the coach to Chepstow, where we were greeted with tea and sandwiches and Welsh cakes ….. aaahhh ….. Welsh cakes …. and more speeches and talks from some of the women who had been on the original march and historians. Then we walked through some woods and emerged onto the old Severn Bridge, which was spectacular! More on that tomorrow ….

 

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Here’s a drawing I did a while back of Welsh cakes cooking on the griddle….. mmmm …. Welsh cakes …. mmmm ….

 

 

 

A Long Day

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I had a long day today, it was good but tiring so I’ll tell you about it tomorrow. Here’s one of the drawings I did, this one is a digital drawing on my Samsung Galaxy Note 8 using a free Markers app.

 

 

Resting On My Knee

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This is the eleventh of my “Up Yer Nose” series of digital drawings. I start by taking a digital photo of my victims …. er …. volunteers …. then I look at the photo on my phone, resting on my knee, while I draw freehand into my Samsung Galaxy Note 8 using a free Markers app. I don’t download the photo into the app and then draw on top. I tried that once, years ago, and it looks weird. It takes away my interpretation and my style and just looks fake. And it doesn’t really teach me anything or give me valid practice. Drawing from scratch takes a lot longer but it’s more satisfying and I prefer the result.

 

 

Daisy Dawg

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Greetings apes. Sparta Puss here. The she-monkey that I share my house with has been cheating on me with a dog called Daisy. A DOG! They’re as smelly as apes and even more stupid.

 

 

The Laughing Squirrel

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Hello Bald Apes. Sparta Puss here. Those lazy trained monkeys of mine have left the pooter box alone AGAIN. They’re too busy watching the noisybox in the corner with stuff running around inside it. Sometimes there are squirrels inside the noisybox. I like that, but by the time I get around to taking a swipe at them, they’re gone. I look behind the noisybox for them, but they’re never there. I don’t know how they do it but the she-monkey said that squirrels are meant to be very intelligent. The man-ape disagrees. He got bit by a squirrel once and he hates them. She-monkey says it was his own fault. He offered a peanut to a squirrel and didn’t throw it on the floor, he kept hold of it and the stroppy squirrel bit his finger and he dropped the peanut and the squirrel grabbed the nut (it was a monkey nut coincidentally) and ran off. He said it was laughing and punching the air. I’m not sure that I believe him. He’s an idiot.

 

Now The Printmakers

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From left to right: Andrew Baldwin, Rose Davies, John Abell

 

Opening Friday 21st September from 17.30 to 20.00 and continuing 10.30 – 4.30 September 22nd to 29th EXCEPT Monday 24th.

Swansea Print Workshop, a hidden gem, is exhibiting original prints as part of “Nawr Yr Arwr / Now The Hero“, inspired by World War 1 artists Frank Brangwyn and Käthe Kollwitz with work by artist members alongside three featured Welsh printmakers:

John Abell (Cardiff), woodcuts from “The Diary of a Dead Officer” published by Old Stile Press

Andrew Baldwin (Trefeglwys, Powys), etchings and mezzotints inspired by the World War 1 battlefield

And me! Rose Davies / Rosie Scribblah (Swansea), monotypes and etchings from “The Warrior”, a series from my 10 year working relationship with Captain David Williams, a serving soldier and life model, who also features in Nawr yr Arwr.

 

Here’s a short video of me and my model working on a new monotype for “Nawr Yr Arwr / Now The Hero”

 

Frank Brangwyn and Käthe Kollwitz were accomplished multidisciplinary artists, both lived and worked through World War 1, and both excelled in the medium of printmaking. Drawing inspiration from the wealth of print media in which they worked, including etching, woodcut and lithography, Swansea Print Workshop’s exhibition will respond to the rich visual wealth of the sumptuous Brangwyn panels and the recent Glynn Vivian Art Gallery exhibition of Käthe Kollwitz prints.

 

The Hayseed Dixies

Yaay. I got my paws on the pooter box again! My trained monkeys are lolling around complaining that they’re feeling rough. They look rough. All the time. They’re not at all sleek and pretty like a cat. They came back very late last night. They went out to something called a gig, where lots of hairless apes jumped around shouting at a small group of other apes they said are called The Hayseed Dixies. How stupid. They should have been here with me. I am neglected!

“Oh Sparta Puss, you’re not neglected at all.”

You know nothing, Monkey.

“You’re NOT neglected, Fatty.”

YOU CALLED ME FAT!

“Well, the vet says you’re a bit fat.”

The vet is a MONKEY.

I rest my case.

Idiot.

Gallivanting Monkeys

So the hairless apes are out gallivanting tonight, going to see a band. That’s a bunch of bald monkeys who bang stuff and make a lit of noise. And the other furless simians bounce around for hours. Then they come home. How ridiculous. I shall stay on my cushion on the cushion on the cushion on the bed in the quiet. Like the sensible sentient being I am.

A Heads Up

Evening Standard

Deadline: September 30th 2018 – The Evening Standard Art Prize. No entry fee. UK residents. Digital entry.

Competitions for creatives can be controversial. Some have extortionate entry fees, some have the odds stacked against those who are not members of a particular arts organisation. But I’m happy to give the heads up to competitions that have a decent prize and don’t charge artists to enter.

The Evening Standard (it’s a British newspaper for my chums outside the UK) has teamed up with Hiscox on this and there’s a prize of £10,000 in cash, a lifetime National Arts Pass and one year’s Hiscox Fine Art Insurance for original artwork – click here to see the terms and conditions.

 

Now, what am I going to enter? hhhmmmmmmm

 

 

 

 

Misogyny in Action

Such an interesting feminist blog from Pakistan https://wp.me/p7ysUQ-WE