Printmaking (and a friend)

Priority #1 Create: Experimenting with a new carving inspired by brilliant Australian designer Francis Burke, Finnish artist Maija Isola and Swedish designer Stig Lindberg. I am experimenting on a former hotel tablecloth. It is one of many end-of-life hotel linens I purchased through a disposals agent. They are mostly a cotton/poly blend. They are invaluable for test prints. The process ground to a halt when my assistant tried printing with his inked up wirehaired haunches. After a few days of drying (the cloth, not the assistant) I'm ready to continue. Many lessons and tweaks from our session. The solid rectangles overwhelm the more delicate stem and bud shapes. An issue with scale perhaps. I'll continue without re-carving the block. Repetition of itself is pleasing to the eye and the registration quality could, in the wisdoms of Shunryu Suzuki, do with a little improvement.

Textile: used tablecloth, 75% cotton and 25% polyester printed with original linocut design, hand pressed onto upper facing right side of fabric, Sakura Block Ink (Black and Prussian blue).

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A river infuses it

Priority #1: Create My CBD office sits on the edge of this mighty, murky waterway - the Brisbane River. Over the next six months I'll be working on an exhibition piece as part of the Broadstrokes artists group. Starting with the obvious, I'm making preliminary sketches to determine the substrate form. I need to consider how it will perform under the visual intent of the piece. That is, " substrate " can be used to convey those things which " underly " or " sit beneath " the primary image. Infused by a river. I need to consider the political, social, economic, ethical or moral connections. I'll also explore which materials are best suited for that purpose.

Upcycled art quilts

Priority #1 Create: Making zippered bags from some of my art quilts is getting them out of storage and transformed into something useful. I'm using a technique from Design Matters TV whose re-imagined purse pattern is a delight to make. Every time. Each bag is lined with hand dyed and printed fabric. I'm enjoying saying "goodbye" and "thanks for your service" as I cut into quilts that, at the time, consumed every creative moment of my life. I'm enjoying the wooo hooo that accompanies the letting go. It's good for my (creative) soul.

It's all in the background - designing substrate

Scaling up an image of the Brisbane River to develop the substrate for a new art quilt. Each square needs to be 6cm x 6cm to make a finished size of 5 cm square. I created a "to scale" model of the finished quilt on drafting paper. I printed an image of the river (attribution below) and then scaled it up to get a fairly accurate flow across the quilt. The substrate rightly tells the background story. It is the foundation on which the main elements or features reside. So it isn't the "hero" of the piece - it needs to be recognised and visible without overwhelming the piece. I can now easily identify which squares hold a section of the river and start to experiment on piecing, applique, fusing, printing, and painting to learn which gives the best outcome for the substrate. (Brisbane River original image: Magpie Shooter; edited version Paulguard at en.wikipedia https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/indix.php?curid=9724127) My foundation piece might well end up bei

Ali George Artist

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