Printmaking update

Sorry I've been VERY slack with my blog lately, but ironically, this is a good sign because I have been actually VERY productive making art (and not documenting it).

Life at VCA is keeping me very busy... tonight I am presenting my body of work to the class so I'm excited to hear their feedback and reactions. But more on that later.

Today, I'll give you an update on what's been happening in my Printmaking Elective. It appears that I've gone abstract, and have been using my copper plates to create mono prints instead of etchings and aquatints.

But, I'm loving my happy accidents and experiments. Here are two examples of the kind of images I've been producing: I'm actually using a very small plate (5cm x 15cm) to create my images, adding or removing ink as I see fit. In the first image I inked up the whole plate with a roller and then used an old phone book to smudge the ink and remove some sections. I really like the tones that I'm getting from this effect.

The second image was created similarly, but this time I used a spatula (normally reserved for tradesmen who fix up holes in walls) to spread the ink around and create this ribbon effect.

I'm having a problem with the ink smudging onto the paper beyond the plate - you can see it at the bottom or top where the print is supposed to end. I think this is because the plate is so small, when I place the heavy press blanket onto the paper, the slightest movement can sometimes affect. It's very frustrating because these are mono prints - one offs! I can't just go and re-print another one, each is unique and original. So what to do? Well, in the next few weeks I think I will try to move to a bigger plate and see what happens. It will be a bit easier to work with anyway.

That's it from me for now. Please let me know what you think of the prints?

Creatively yours,
Maja

Back into the thick of it...

So.... where do I begin? For starters, I'm back in Australia, in the marvelous city of Melbourne. I've thrown myself into the thick of it straight away, by going back to university to finish my postgraduate studies, almost the moment I got back.

I am attending the Victorian College of the Arts and Music and am having a wonderful time! Critical and theoretical (art history) class is keeping me busy writing essays, but I'm having the most fun in my printmaking elective as well as developing my work in my Contemporary Art Practice tutorial. Luckily, I have one lecturer, Tony, who was teaching me three years ago and he remembers my previous work... it was so great to show him how far I've come in the last few years!
As an example, here is some of the work I was doing in 2007... I found these in my old 'studio' - my parents house which is a bit of a storage right now!


I created maybe 7 of these repetitive black and white paintings... I'm still reflecting on them, but I guess i was trying to express the idea that there is no black & white in this world, just shades of gray, and I was trying to create some sort of order out of this.

It was pointed out to me that there is a comparison between these to the work I did in Costa Rica with the leaf forms. Here is a new one I have just completed. What do you think? There is definitely that repetition and black and white streak happening...

I'm going to keep going with these and see where they take me. I'm loving the abstract forms in them, and hope to develop this further through collage and print making. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

In other news, I'm inspired by the buzz of Melbourne - I've only been back for three weeks and I was able to attend the huge Melbourne Art Fair at the beautiful Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton. My head was spinning as my lovely mum and I got to trawl through two levels of art with over 900 artists represented by 80 national and international galleries.

Later in the week I was summoned by my friend Kat, amazing designer of Live Like Kat boutique jewellery, who was showcasing at the Life In Style exhibition at Flemington Racecourse. This boutique trade event featured over 300 selected exhibitors featuring homeware, giftware, lifestyle and kids products. I could not believe the talent and energy in the rooms, such amazing creations in one hub - I was so inspired by everything that I was madly jotting my own ideas when I got home!

And now, I'm off to do more ink drawings and essay writing. I wonder what Melbourne will bring me next - hopefully less rain!

Please note my etsy shop will be down until some time in October as I wait for all my belongings and art to arrive by ship from Vancouver. Thanks for waiting!

Creatively yours,

Maja
www.majawolnik.com