Print Garage: My Making Process

 

‘Collect The Moments’  a new screenprint by Print Garage inspired by Feist’s ‘Mushaboom’- all ready for the next leg of Unit Twelve’s touring exhibition  ‘Are you listening carefully?’

Over to Mr Print Garage:

 

“I thought it might be interesting to share a bit of my making process – in this instance where some decisions mid-print have been made.

Here’s Layer 1, all is well so far…

 

 

Here’s Layer 2 – a nice tasty sky blue…

 

It’s when I got to layer 3 that something feels wrong…

 

It feels a bit clumsy and I’ve lost an area of lovely negative space down the left hand side, some nice interaction between the grey and the blue layer.  I decided to stop and have a think, (no pressure – but the ink is drying on the screen).  I decide to mask off the area that’s bugging me – some hastily torn newsprint and a bit of brown tape – and try again.

 

 

That’s much better, here’s a comparison shot with the new version on the left:

 

 

And a detailed shot:

 

And then finally layer number 4:

 

and a lovely close up:

 

I don’t normally change much during production like this, I even had another layer planned but after testing it I didn’t feel like it added anything extra and if anything distracted the eye from the other details. Normally, everything is decided at the stencil stage, but this felt very satisfying to be able improvise on the fly and just go with gut instinct.”

You can see the finished print (and others) at Foxlowe Arts Centre, Leek: 3rd May – 21st June 2014 (PV- 2nd May 7-9pm) before it moves on to The Brindley: 16th Aug – 11th Oct 2014
For more details of the exhibition and the other artists: ‘Are you listening carefully?’

You can see other examples of Mr Print Garage’s work here www.printgarage.co.uk
and buy them online from here

Jennifer Collier: my making process

A few years ago I got to the stage where my work had become typecast, so I made the leap from a world of dresses and shoes, to remaking household items created from paper. I treat the papers as if cloth, with the main technique employed being stitch; a contemporary twist on traditional textiles. The papers themselves serve as both the inspiration and the media for the work, with the narrative of the books and papers suggesting the forms, so a retro camera from vintage photos, or a sewing machine from vintage dress making patterns.

I am constantly striving to push my practice to become more adventurous, and am currently working on the idea of creating whole room sets created from paper. For this exhibition I am working on a series of armchairs, created entirely from paper and card (corrugated card is about the only cheat I allow myself, to add rigidity to the work, as it is REALLY a form of paper anyway…).

(Click on images to see a larger version).

All other details are cut from papers and sewn together, using patterns I have devised myself.

In this piece I was trying to incorporate many different embroidery techniques, such as the covered binding, button loops and covered buttons as seen on the back of the chair.

These and many other traditional techniques where used on the seat pad (and back pad), including Cathedral Squares, Bullion Roses, pleating and patchwork to transform a pile of beautiful papers, into a cushion that looks good enough to sit on…..

Then the last job is to finish the major construction and assemble the whole piece. The legs are stitched paper covering many layers of corrugated card to give strength (a mistake I have learnt from the first chair I made- there is always a danger someone is going to sit on something so realistic looking!). The stitched paper pieces are turned right side out and are put over the card shapes and it is put together much the same way a real chair would be made and upholstered.

 

My way of working is essentially still based on the processes of my past work and my textiles training- making a pattern, producing a toile to check the pattern or template ‘works’ and then creating the ‘real’ piece of work from beautiful found and recycled papers. In layman’s terms it is a bit like then you draw the net of a box from scratch, cut it out, fold and construct it; but mine are much more complicated shapes….

A Room with a View, a solo exhibition that invites you into the fantastical world of Jennifer Collier, runs 5^th June- 30^th August at Unit Twelve, Open Thur-Sat, 10-4pm: www.unittwelve.co.uk/exhibitions.htm