Stalking like a Rook

Sylvia Plath's poem 'Winter Landscape, With Rooks ' is a difficult poem to read because of the deep  sadness and despondency it evokes and yet the words

                                               feathered dark in thought, I stalk like a rook,

                                               brooding as the winter night comes on.'

 

sound wonderful to me. It almost conjures up a picture of someone growing feathers as they stalk along the hedgerows hunched up against the cold as the thin winter sun goes down. 

Perhaps my imagination is getting the better of me as the recent  weather turns from very hot to cold in the space of 24 hours, and a hint of autumn is in the early morning air. The combine harvesters are working all night if they can before the rain stops them but the blackberries and sloes are plumping up nicely because of it. I think the wood will provide plenty of berries for human and avian foragers alike this year.

I printed the rook by press rather than by hand and thought the results were interesting, as their is no clear outline around the carborundum, making the rook blend softly into the background

 

 30cm x 15cm Monoprint

 

Each print will be different because of the way it is inked up on the plate, areas of light and dark can be manipulated by hand with careful ink application and removal 

 

 

30cm x 15cm Monoprint with pen and ink

 

 

 

Monoprint with pen and ink

 

You can already see the difference with these three prints and that's something which makes the whole process very demanding but also very interesting, not to mention time consuming........

Birds in the Bird Cherry

The Bird Cherry tree is dripping with red fruit.

 

The blackbirds love them. So do the wasps. I have picked some to cook with quite a bit of sugar, then to freeze, to bring a little August sunshine to the dark days of Winter.

These are some print trials for “August” in my “Bird Cherry Year” project. At this time of year the greens are dark and saturated but so far I have lightened the green to get the cherries to print. I may add some highlights on the cherries but they are not very shiny. Its more of a a sheen, along with the dusky bloom of these cherry/plums.

Many more trials to come. So far these are just tests, printed with cheap water-based inks. The better quality inks will look quite different.  I think it will be well into November before I can consider printing them all as a set.

Blackbirds and Birdcherries

Some (late) Spring Bees

In between things I am continuing with recording what happens to the Bird Cherry this year in print. The idea is to be able to make a small book. Rather than rely on photos I am waiting until things happen to the tree so I can make some observations from life.

In the Spring with the first blossoms came the bees. I have had the plate cut for ages and only now got round to printing some trials. I combine the plates so it’s a slow and uncertain process. here are the first ones.

This one is the nearest to what I need.. I wont be able to print the set until much later in the year. So plenty of variations to come.

Rook in carborundum

It seems like I've been hooked by a rook and can't get the image out of my mind. Somehow rooks always remind me of winter when I hear them caw to each other and yet they're with us all year round, fussing and defending their nests in Spring and keeping a watchful eye out for easy food at any time. Now the Jubilee wood is growing up, we often see them there, especially in the established trees which form part of the hedge boundary.

After trying out the carborundum on my swallow prints it occurred to me that it would be perfect for the dark sooty rooks. My first attempts have been hand printed as I like the uniqueness of monoprints which change with every print depending on the way the block has been inked up.

    

Monoprint, mixed media including carborundum and pen and ink drawing

 

 

Mixed media monoprint

 

 

Already the variations are coming out and I want  to experiment more with colour added by hand using watercolour and/or  coloured pencils, but I will also be printing this block in the press to see how it changes the image.

 

'Pretty swallow once again.......'

Our recent  weather must be confusing all of our avian summer visitors but even when the wind is blowing and the  rain is falling, it's still warm enough for the swallows to enjoy their snacks on the wing.

The pond in the wood is a great place for them to get water and we've often watched them diving down to skim across the surface and drink as they fly.......a wonderful spectacle and it's often caught our dog, Poppy, by surprise. She hadn't realised how fast  swallows can fly but allows them to use the pond because she's definitely not a water dog and avoids anything larger than a puddle if she can!

 

.        Pencil and wash sketch in Jubilee Wood diary

 

John Clare, the wonderful romantic poet [1793-1864] who later in life had such a sense of despair and isolation  lived near here at  Helpston in his early years. I often turn to his poems for inspiration as they are full of fascinating observations and  'visual' words. If you haven't discovered him yet, he's well worth a read. 

 

 

Pencil and wash sketch in Jubilee  Wood diary 

 

I decided to look at the subject using a different medium this time and wanted to try a collagraph. It seemed sensible to keep the design as simple as possible as I was using carborundum for gradients of tone  and it isn't the easiest thing to use. It works by the carborundum being stuck on to the plate using a liquid glue and then the plate being sealed well with a suitable gloss finish such as varnish.

 

 

Collagraph 34cm x24cm

 

I'm interested in the texture you can produce just by the technique you use when wiping off the inks and the ink also settles into the carborundum leaving a very dark tonal area.

 

 

Collagraph Plate with carborundum

 

The beauty of collographs is that everyone is different according to the way it's been inked up and you can, of course, add anything you like to them in terms of drawing on top or adding colour. I think they can be an exciting way of freeing yourself up from some of the rigours of other types of print making and really encourage you to experiment. That's what I intend to keep on doing........

Small Owl Dancing with Bees

Yesterday we had a morning in Cambridge, first the Botanical Garden and then the Fitzwilliam Museum to see the Turner Watercolours and the other exhibition of watercolours which trace the development of the watercolour. Both were fascinating. But also walking through the ceramics gallery there were two lovely owls. One a huge Martin Brothers owl and the other a gorgeous smaller slipware jug.

I made a couple of quick sketches because it just so happens that I have been making a small experimental print of an owl. It started out as just a regular if stylised owl, but it seemed to need a bit of action so I changed the drawing to make it dance… and then it seemed to also need some companions so I gave it some bees.

There were brown/yellow and  blue/dk blue prints. The image is 6 x4.

Small Owl Dancing with Dees.

What was most interesting about the slip ware owl was the dot/dash decoration of the slip. The simplification is very design-y. So is my owl. I may try a print of the slipware owl too. but in some ways it seems like cheating because the “design” element has already been done…. unless I could bring something new to it….

All prints are just more experiments in combining plates, improving my cutting and trying to get the registration right. I am getting better, slowly …..

Mole: Deceased

Last week Chris saw a dead mole when we were out on a cycle. Poor mole.. but an opportunity this time to get a closer look at those feet.

It was not in very good shape, a bit chewed, very smelly and with circling flies but I did bring it home for some quick sketches and photos.

The front feet are extraordinary, huge and paddle shaped with long pointed claws. The skin is leathery and deeply scored. I have a lot of respect for the moles who attempt the heavy clay soil around here.

I sketched the rather handsome hovering iridescent green bottle fly too. Its all part of the cycle after all.

Mole is now buried under the apple tree in a box. I am hoping the flies, bugs and microbes will work well in this warm weather and in a few months time I might have a relatively clean skull!