Primitive Printing 2 - Printing with Clay

Roller Printing at Volume - Birmingham’s Art, Book and Print Fair at Birmingham's New Library

Part of the Library of Birmingham’s Discovery Season, Volume: Birmingham’s Art, Book and Print Fair,will host speakers, panel discussions, workshops and a fair. It is a unique event bringing together existing organisations in collaboration: Writing West Midlands, Birmingham Zine Festival, An Endless Supply, BCU Typography Hub, Grand Union and Eastside Projects. Each organisation will contribute to debates currently critical in the fields of publishing, bookmaking and writing. Panel discussions will cover subjects as diverse as digital technology and how it will enhance publishing and writing, copyright, libraries of the future and the publishing economy. At FREE workshops you will be able to learn about roller printing  Stephen Fowler – Sat 10:00 – 5:00pm, how to make an entire zine in one day, writing for digital outlets, letterpressing and Reduction Lino Printing. 

Participants could make their own rollers from Scaffolding foam or pipe lagging or ones made by myself and/or students from the Oxfordshire School of Creative Arts foundation course. 

We all printed on a large roll of paper and several sheets of wallpaper lining. 

Two Fine Art students from birmingham school of art turned up and helped run the workshop, several other helpers arrived to clear up the mess at the end (including Ange, Hazel from bristol & Sarah of Capsule fame) I really couldn't have done it without them.

The workshop ran all day - it was pretty chaotic ! but very exciting - here are some photographs (taken by Katja Ogrin) that documented the day. 

Capsule organised the workshop and bookfair 
www.capsule.org.uk

Roller Printing in Banbury

On the way to the Birmingham Artist Bookfair I stopped off at Banbury to run a roller workshop for the  Oxfordshire School of Art & Design Foundation student's experimental drawing class.

The students produced some excellent prints - here are a few of them.....

Roller print in sketchbook 

Experiential circular roller print  (made with one pull of the roller)

Collaborative roller print 

Print created with a combination of stencil and roller 

Experiential collaborative roller print   

Repeat pattern print inspired by decorative tiles 

take a look at the course blog

Foundation Art & Design at Oxfordshire School of Creative Art

Books from the Venice Biennale

I love these beautiful & disturbing scrapbooks - they were created by shinro ohtake,

since 1977, japanese artist Shino Ohtake has been collaging found materials, personal mementos, and an astonishing array of other odds and ends into a sprawling series of ‘scrapbooks’. the collection now numbers over sixty albums, some of which contain as many as seven hundred pages. . . .

Read more about the artist and his books

Rubber Stamp Archive

Rollers & Instant Books

These were printed with adapted rollers that Natalie Kay Thatcher  & I made out scaffolding foam & pipe lagging. Water-based relief printing inks were used (from Intaglio the great printmaking shop near Bermondsey, London). 

I folded and cut the wallpaper lining sheets to make some large instant books.  

Venetian Booksellers & Scrap books from the Venice Biennale

Wildwoman at Turner Contemporary, Margate

Part of the workshops curated for the Turner Contemporary's summer show, Curiosity, was my Wildman Life Drawing Class - it ran over two days - the first featured a Wildwoman, the second a Wildman, Wildboy and Wildbaby.

Curiosity,art and the pleasures of knowing.

The Sasquatch made an appearance before returning to North America in the Autumn 

Some of the drawers, young & old took part in the modelling, mothers introduced their young ones to the Wildwoman.

The Wildwoman 

Drawings of the Wildwoman 

Wildwoman Revealed

The Wildwoman made her own beautiful coverings for the class

A participant dressed up and joined in - (I'm considering  developing this aspect, bringing along a number of costumes for people to wear to really become part of the class in every sense.) 

The same participant's drawing of the Wildwoman - a brilliant drawing.

Wildman, Wildboy & Wildbaby.

The Wildboy made his second annual appearance during the experimental life drawing class at Margates Turner Contemporary Curiosity Exhibition Workshop .

The Wildman came along as well, bringing his newly born Wildbaby.

Drawings of Wildmen/boys/babies

Participants drew these brilliant pictures of the Wildman, Wildboy and Wildbaby. 

During the class the little girls couldn't wait to play with the Wildbaby.

Wildboy

Wildman & his Wildbaby

Drawings of the overhead projector images 

After much trepidation one little boy dressed up and joined in (he's creating the silhouette)