Pushing the Boundaries - Inspirational Artists

In addition to making art and building a cohesive body of work,  I want my art to keep getting better.     In her book  "The Creative Habit"  Twyla Tharp says .....  "My heroes are artists whose bodies of work are consistently surprising, consistently fresh"    ......  Now that's something to aim for!!

To help push the boundaries,  I've been looking for inspirational  artists using similar techniques to the ones I use, but working in different mediums ...... so I thought I'd share what I find in a series of posts.

This week I've been stitching the blue pieced monoprints I made recently.  I love the intuitive nature of the printing process and the way shapes emerge/disappear through the layers of printing.  So I started looking at artist working with print .....

I discovered  Elizabeth Banfield,  an award wining Australian artist who works with linocuts and prints on very fine Japanese paper.  The results are breathtaking and totally unlike anything I've seen before!!!  Here is an example I found on the web .......

                                                      'Lament' by Elizabeth Banfield

                                  Linocut on two layers of tissue paper with hand stitching

Click HERE for  a link for Elizabeth Banfield's  website.  Her gallery of art work and  her step by step instructions for making prints with linocuts are well worth a look if you are tempted to try your hand!

Thanks for dropping by .....  CC

Studio Re-organisation ...... Not!

I was planning to show you my newly re-organised studio today .... however,  when the new desk I had ordered,  to make the best use of the space I have,  was being delivered last week, it slipped, dropped and broke in two!!!  so they took it back to the depot and I have nothing to show!!  The studio is feeling very spacious!!!

Instead, let me tell you about a new piece  I am starting to work on ....

I have always been fascinated by the Grevillea that grows in my garden, and it's in full bloom right now.  So I've been taking lots of photos .....

The challenge is to capture the wonderful color and form of this flower!  I've been sketching some layouts and have an idea of how I might be able to bring it together.   Thought I would start with a small piece 10"  x 12"  to see how it works in practice!  I tried printing with the Grevillea leaves during my latest printing session so I'm hoping that will work as the background to the piece.  Will let you know how it progresses .....  

Thanks for dropping by   CC