Linocut of some dancers, based on photos I took in Glastonbury. They will be printed in red and yellow for next midsummer.
Beltane
Tag: Art
A level exam piece
I found this exam piece from 1980. Was there a specific theme on the exam paper? There were discussions with art teachers about what ‘advanced’ level really meant. One art teacher assumed I was being critical of his teaching style, or another person’s work. I wanted to know the difference between ‘ordinary’ and ‘advanced’ level printmaking. One of the art teachers was keen on outlines, which is why the wine glass has a dark line around it rather than having a darker table (or floor?) next to its lighter side.
There’s too much cutting here to have fitted into the 15 hours allowed for the exam, so it deserved the D grade. “It’s the time factor, y’see?” was often said to us in passing. It would have taken less time without all the cross hatching. I wasn’t pleased with the composition but felt too overwhelmed by the whole process to think about using a better sketch at the time.
A few years later the art college principal’s secretary queried my Art & Craft A level. It was allegedly unsuitable for a Fine Art establishment, but hadn’t been mentioned until I had been studying there for a year. That sent me back to the midst of this linocut, feeling inadequate and unable to speak clearly about my creative abilities.
Multitasking
There are many tasks to do today but I knitted instead. The project will become too big for three needles so I’ve added more. They’re slightly bent from being stuck under a heavy item for too long. They still function well.
Tutorial
Typical tutorial, a chat about the artists I *should* admire. Any artists I *did* admire were allegedly not the correct choices.
I was often advised to look at works by Sidney Nolan. Why? Is it helpful to keep telling people to research the same stuff constantly?
Lighthouse
This might be a sketch for a linocut. The lighthouse would be darker with more interesting light from the top. The waves would be darker, obviously.
The little figure about to step into the unknown is stolen from a tarot card. It’s usually a dog pulling on the clothing.
Climate
Art & Poetry won’t change anything. There again, the opportunity to look at everything from a different perspective might affect future behaviour.
Pembrokeshire Green Party is reviving slowly. West Wales has many people who are doing their best to not cause harm to their surroundings. Joining a political movement doesn’t appeal to most of us. It’s good to know there are others who would never support right wing policies. Hopefully this short exhibition will inspire someone to clean a river, stop building houses with leaky roofs, maybe remove all the obstacles to living well.
Pembrokeshire is also home to some narrow minded bigots. They will say climate change isn’t real. There can’t be any pollution here and the sun shines constantly. It does, it’s shining right now, behind some clouds. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but they are also entitled to look outside occasionally and observe the world. The planet evolves, the temperature changes. Arguing about whether humans have damaged the environment is less important than thinking about how to live without making everything worse.
Jack Frost
Made a start on a linocut, Jack Frost with the sun trapped in a block of ice. Or is it? Anyway, the repetitive action of cutting small lines isn’t good for the shoulder wound so I’m staying away from the lino today.
Tidying some space around the house. The last chimney improvements added a fine layer of dust to this dinner set that has been sitting around for years. Might inspire some still life drawings, or some pasta sauces that will be good in the wider bowls in the corner.
A walk in the sunshine
We went for a short walk to the post office and then wandered into the gallery at the library.
I liked the idea suggested by the empty display cabinet. Viewers have an opportunity to imagine the pieces that could inhabit that space.
The reflective images of the lights and window blinds were enough, given the exhibition’s climate change theme. There again, some little models of a future landscape might have been more thought provoking than a bleak emptiness.
The Climate Change figure is made from random detritus. It had an unpleasant smell, which brought back indefinable memories. There were some interesting fish made from toothpaste tubes, also some protest posters. No photos of them. The exhibition is on display for the rest of September 2023.
berry daines 