fun with Fiona and Barry .....

These plates looked such fun, and full of potential .....

We had watched the u-tube demos of cherry soda printing and it all seemed straight forward.  Two hours later, eight of us trying numerous techniques with aluminium foil and aluminium shim, lithographic crayons, soap and so forth had absolutely no result.  We thoroughly enjoyed our coffee, double choc brownies and baby lamingtons, but enjoyed no printing results.  A hoot really.

This set of photographs are of the aluminium plates we prepared -
once we tried to etch them the images disappeared completely.

Nice photos though - images looked full of potential!

After lunch, Fiona guided us into a printing exploration with copper sulphate and salt on small aluminium plates with much more success.  A few prints worthy of re printing, many more which were exciting enough to lead onto other things in the future.

my three plates and resulting prints

one of mine

I think this was Kim's

Steph's etched lines into bitumen stop out

Sonja's snake skin on impress in soft ground

A huge thank you to Fiona and Barry who gave up their time and their home for our play time.  One of the wonderful things about this group, Maleny printmakers, is our willingness to learn and to share.

right arm restored .....

It is really wonderful to have my iMac back - having thought it was infallible, it broke just after my last post and needed mending.  Thank goodness for computer doctors .....

I haven't done much in the studio since Steve arrived home and we are now frantically trying to get things ready for our trip into the centre of Australia, through Birdsville, across the Simpson Desert, over to the Painted Desert (a particular favourite of mine) and then down to Wilpena Pound at the lower end of the Flinders Ranges, back up through Arkaroola at the northern end etc etc.  About seven thousand kilometres in all!  My camera will be busy - and my mind racing.  

Seeing much of my work is drawn from the landscape, I imagine my visual wires will be sparking - hope to do a little mark making along the way, but have learnt from experience that unless you are travelling with other artists, you generally do not stop and take time to draw or paint.

In the mean time I have been revisiting some old work, thinking about some new and wondering what I will fit in once I get home and before Christmas is upon us.

I am sorry I haven't been out and around visiting others blogs and commenting - will do so over the next week and then try and pop in every now and then whilst travelling.  For about ten days whilst very remote, I doubt that we will have any connectivity at all.