As my forthcoming exhibition at the Art
Vault in Mildura draws ever closer, I’ve been taking a temporary break from the current watercolours
(which are intended for a different project) and returned to cutting lino.
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| Lino block in progress: Cossodes Lyonetii Moth Woman, 2014, 30 x 30 cm |
The solo exhibition, Homo-insecta will be my first for many years to consist entirely
of prints. I’ll be showing selected linocuts from the artist book of the same
name, along with other new works that hark back to the Moth Masks series of prints, paintings and drawings (2007-2009) from which one of my first fairy tales, The Story of the Moth Masks, 2008, sprang.
As some of you may be aware, many of the
moths that appear in my work were sourced from the CSIRO website Australian Moths Online. I thought I’d just about mined out this astonishingly
rich site – but then I found this fine specimen, which became the basis for Cossodes Lyonetii Moth Woman.
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| Cossodes lyonetii White |
The completion of the cutting has just
about coincided with the end of winter in this part of the world, so the timing
is perfect. It’s been particularly cold, even for Ballarat, and the weather has
played havoc with the consistency of my printmaking ink. Initially I thought it
was the ink that was at fault, and even discarded a tube of it. But after
comparing notes with fellow printmaker Loris Button, who is based in nearby
Creswick, I discovered she was having identical problems. Already the weather
has started to warm up. With a
substantial amount of printing still to do for the exhibition, I’ve never
anticipated springtime so eagerly.
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| Ready to print: Cossodes Lyonetii Moth Woman, 2014, lino block, 30 x 30 cm |
Homo-insecta opens at the Art Vault on November 26 and runs until December 15.
Meanwhile, a gentle reminder that on Saturday week
four prints from the Homo-insecta portfolio will make their Melbourne debut in the exhibition Near Neighbours, where they will rub shoulders with works by distinguished printmakers from Australia and New Zealand.
For more about Near Neighbours and to preview some of the work, scroll down to my Blog Post dated August 10 or click HERE. Better yet, join the artists and curators Rona Green and Paulette Robinson for a celebratory drink at the opening at St Heliers Street Gallery, 2-4 pm on Saturday, 6 September.