artist books

Posted on May 11, 2014 by Nancy

Making an artist book is an adventure: there are so many directions it can take. It can be a visually exciting pop up or peep through book, a stabbed and sewn treasury of small artworks, a treasury of ideas to return to later, sometimes a long time later, a journal, away from the computer where intimate thoughts and images are kept. Artist books can be a source of growth and rejuvenation where playful ideas and child like wonder can be explored, small things that bigger things take root from. Some photos from some of mine.

 

 

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blues

Posted on May 8, 2014 by Nancy

Working in blues, the colour of memory, sky, sorrow and childhood. My mother was a potter. She instilled in me a love of ceramics and fine china. I think about her often. She gave me a dinner set for my 21st with dainty blossoms that inspired my drawings that I printed for the little blue earrings. Some photos of printed blue fabric and cobalt blue porcelain jewellery that I made.

blues fabric print, nancy Brown artist

 

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A new print studio

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Nancy

Impress: a place to meet and create etchings, lithographs, screenprints, relief prints and artist books, a place to exhibit artworks, a quiet place to share friendships, talent, ideas and roll prints through big beautiful presses! Space to dream and develop those dreams into realities. A place to continue to practice what we love. I began my work in print at Warringah Printmakers Studio, first as a student, then as a tutor. Being able to create alongside other artists is inspiring.

http://www.printstudio.org.au/

This weekend I found myself at Brisbane’s new Artist run print studio and while doors and taps were being changed and repaired, locked doors navigated, I felt the excitement of this new creative and exhibition space.

http://www.impress.org.au/

It’s an amazing achievement for the committed group of artists who have created Impress.

some photos from my weekend screenprinting workshop at Impress Subartstation Kedron

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green

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Nancy

Art and life entwine as I prune, weed, water and plant this beautiful autumn. I’ve been printing some pendants and garden quotes for a commissioned mosaic piece- very fragile and far trickier than I imagined- each underglaze has a different density and I keep forgetting that prints transfer back to front- not usually a problem until I need to print writing or maps. I twisted the porcelain quotations into shapes, and when they had hardened I piled them up. I really liked the way they seemed to form a sculptural nest.

 

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lighter now

Posted on April 14, 2014 by Nancy

I’ve been making shadow box lanterns in teepee shapes from biodegradable materials. When I was a child, my mother showed me how to boil starch glue. It’s transparent, tough, incredibly sticky, non-toxic and feels good to touch. Activists and artists have always used it. It became a bugbear to government officials and was the the source of the Bill Posters prosecution notices because it was so hard to remove. Not only does it stick, but it glazes too, forming a glutinous film that holds together in layers.  I’ve been using rubber bands and raffia to fasten the cane and bamboo pieces together. The remarkable thing about Raffia is that it is incredibly strong, and splits apart in one direction into strands that can be plaited, twisted, woven and wrapped. It can be pulled into strands that are smooth and fine enough to be threaded through a needle and it feels soft to touch.  A few photos from the weekend.

constructing shadow box lanterns

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making babies

Posted on April 12, 2014 by Nancy

Some photos from the remarkable studio of Fatima S Hellfish where I spent a Sunday afternoon soldering jewellery, while she made babies.

 

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Bookish

Posted on April 5, 2014 by Nancy

There are a wonderland of books in the Brisbane library system. To me, flicking through photos and illustrations wandering around the shelves, reading snippets and making slow decisions about what I want to borrow is like taking a little holiday.
This month my paintings, jewellery and ceramics are on display at Stones Corner Library.
The paintings reference Tracy Chevalier’s ‘The Lady and the Unicorn’ http://www.tchevalier.com/ and are from a set of five paintings that reinterpret the tapestry of the senses in the light of the voyage of Marco Polo, who discovered the unicorn- a rhinoceros, that ‘wallows in slime’
There is also some new ceramic work.
Retreat into a book! http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/facilities-recreation/libraries/library-opening-hours-locations

pomegranate pendant, sunflower brooch, hoop earrings
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zebra guitar

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Nancy

On an evening stroll my friends found a stack of battered guitars. Knowing how much I love strumming, they asked If I’d like some. I chose two that seemed to be in working order to print and restring. Printing the curved edges was tricky. A gift for a left handed zebra loving friend.

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Big Day

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Nancy

Queensland Academy of Creative Industries http://qaci.eq.edu.au/ is an unusual high school in Brisbane that was founded as part of the “Smart State” initiative. It is a state school that offers a range of creative subjects within the High School curriculum. I visited for the Big Day, an annual event where visiting artists talk about their work and offer a day of exploration in their area of practice. This year the artists were :
Simone Eisler : Ephemeral/Nature Art/Sculpture
Sophie Munns: mixed media artist books
Dave Machen : sculpture
Joachim Froese: Digital photography
Zoe Porter : Watercolour animal human hybrids.
I was invited to present the textile workshop, The students designed and screenprinted stencils for fabric, and then the day’s work was exhibited and a presentation of photos from the workshops was shown and discussed. The  range of work exhibited at the end of the day amazed me and it was interesting to see what all the visiting artists did at the other workshops. Here are some photos.

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new work

Posted on February 22, 2014 by Nancy

Home from the icy Canadian winter to my breezy garden studio. I’ve designed some screens for my next projects, screened fruity designs on recycled fabric, block printed lotuses and hand made porcelain jewellery, which is on display at the Metcalfe gallery 41 Grafton st Windsor Brisbane. http://brisart2.org/index.php

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