Author Archives: Claire B

About Claire B

I am a passionate printmaker, paper maker and book artist. I'm a 'forever' student and frequently attend courses and workshops to extend and improve my creative skills.

Project: Stratification

Earlier this year I posted some experimental collagraph plates (here and here) in anticipation of creating a larger finished work. In 2021 I worked on a print called ‘Hidden Vessels’, shown left, which never made it to this site as … Continue reading

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2023 05 16 Image of the week

Bob Cornelis, Unspoken Journey I enjoy the complexity of this image, especially the asemic writing. This is one piece from a series entitled Unspoken Journey, with each of them displaying a form of ‘text’ or communicative symbols. Over the past … Continue reading

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Exhibition: Inside Out

I’m really thrilled to have a piece in the above exhibition coming up in just a few weeks. There are about 25 of us showcasing a variety of printmaking techniques, mine is (of course) a collagraph. In addition to our … Continue reading

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Hello Yellow postcard swap

In February I joined a printmaking postcard swap with the theme ‘Hello Yellow’ and posted the step-by-step process to create my entry. I mailed 11 of my edition, keeping one for myself, and was told that 46 people participated: from … Continue reading

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2023 05 01 Image of the week

Mellissa Read-Devine, Fernand’s Cactus, linocut & acrylic pochoir, image size 30 x 35cm Resources:http://www.purplenoongallery.com.au/artwork/fernands-cactus/The Royal Art Society of NSW

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Collagraph ‘Looking Up’ framed

I recently dropped several of my prints at the framers and they’re gradually coming back to me beautifully finished. What a difference a frame makes! Claire Brach, Looking Up, oil-based inks on 250gsm BFK Rives, 2022

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2023 04 17 Image of the week

Marilee Salvator, Composition F10, etching, relief etching, monotype, 47″ x 31″, 2017 Marilee Salvator’s website is a feast for the eyes showcasing some outstanding art. Spend a few minutes browsing her installations, prints, mixed media pieces and then check out … Continue reading

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Exhibition: Friends on Show 2023

Broadhurst GalleryHazelhurst Arts Centre782 Kingsway, Gymea, NSW7-18 April 9am-4pm daily I was really happy to get to the opening of this exhibition on Saturday and delighted to see my submission hanging alongside two other terrific pieces. This event has no … Continue reading

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2023 04 10 Image of the week

Toni Hamel, The Activist I (Last Call), oil on canvas, 24″ x 24″, 2022 Resources:http://www.tonihamel.net/works/

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Blowing at the beach

2.6 metre swell warnings were posted at the entrance to the beach today. The dogs didn’t care about the blustery conditions and ran playing together, finding new friends and having a terrific time, but they were savvy enough to stay … Continue reading

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Exhibition: Invincible Summer

Today I visited this printmaking exhibition at the Incinerator Art Space in Willoughby. The works were created by three artists who share a studio: Rhonda Nelson, Anna Russell and Anthea Boesenberg, and most had a collagraph element included in their … Continue reading

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2023 04 03 Image of the week

Peggy Reeves 510 Warren Street Gallery writes on their site (in part): Peggy Reeves works primarily with light sensitive and cameraless photographic processes. Mixing science and art opens the door to many experimental projects. Her chemigrams are hybrids of chemistry-based photography and painting. The … Continue reading

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More collagraph experimentation

In January I made a plate which didn’t print terribly well, very dark and lacking detail. In February I reprinted it in a different colour range and was much happier with the result. The aim was to see how a … Continue reading

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2023 03 27 Image of the week

Kurt Schwitters, Ausgerenkte Kräfte (Dislocated Forces)Assemblage (wood, metal spring, cloth, paper, collage) oil on board on a wooden box105.5 x 86.7 x 9cm Resources:http://www.artsy.net/artwork/kurt-schwitters-ausgerenkte-krafte-dislocated-forces

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Simplifying collagraphs

In September 2017 I attended a workshop where I created several collagraph and drypoint plates, supposedly designed to be printed together. The plates have been stored since then as I was never 100% happy with the results and didn’t really … Continue reading

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2023 03 13 Image of the week

Dean Bowen, Aeroplane Boy, bronze, 2003 I spotted this huge bronze sculpture when wandering the grounds of Heide Museum of Modern Art in Bulleen, Victoria, recently. Check out Dean’s website for more of his sculptures, paintings and prints. There’s also … Continue reading

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Exhibition: Barbara Hepworth

It’s the last few days of the Barbara Hepworth exhibition In Equilibrium at the Heide Museum of Modern Art in Bulleen, Victoria, and I was lucky enough to visit a few weeks ago. Her sculptures are magnificent and I was … Continue reading

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2023 03 07 Image of the week

I visited Wangaratta Regional Gallery to see the Printed Habitat exhibition a fortnight ago and discovered the work of Anita Laurence. This piece is part of her King Valley linocuts and etchings series, and she writes (on her website): Inspired … Continue reading

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Back to back concertina: Treads

Early in 2021 I drew a montage of tyre treads as a basis for an etching plate. It was etched into a zinc plate, printed in several ways and 2 pieces were made into a stitched booklet for a friend. … Continue reading

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Collagraph ‘Journey’ – experimentation

During the 5 day residential collagraph course I attended in January I created several plates and today I’m showing one that was made as a trial for a larger piece of work. I started by cutting away 2 sections from … Continue reading

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2023 02 20 Image(s) of the week

This week I couldn’t choose between these two amazing close-up images of the peeling & disintegrating bark of a fallen tree I came across on one of my recent bush walks. Can’t wait to turn these into collagraph plates.

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Project: Hello Yellow

I recently joined a postcard swap challenge. The aim is to print 12 postcards responding to the theme ‘Hello Yellow’ and post 11 of them to a central address. The coordinator then keeps one for the group archives and divides … Continue reading

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2023 02 13 Image of the week

Stunning photographic image by Sussex-based photographer Max Mudie. Resources (and more images):https://bit.ly/3E4B7wZ

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Project: Reflections from the Pier

In November my husband and I had a few days away in a rented holiday cottage. A beautiful venue, only 8 onsite cottages, lovely helpful management couple and 40 acres for us to roam. The best thing was the view … Continue reading

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Brain Clutter: New experimentation

It was late 2021 when I started this project and posted my first Brain Clutter series collagraph (see here) and I’ve been keen to return to the theme ever since. Last week, at a 5 day residential collagraph workshop I … Continue reading

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2023 01 20 Image of the week

Bobby Baugh, Fierce and Unrelenting – Art QuiltMonotype printing by hand and direct painting with archival acrylic paints. Includes relief printing, resist printing, stencils and direct painting. Collage construction and machine stitching and quilting. The entire surface is richly textured … Continue reading

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Print commission: Piece 3

For the final piece for this commission I went back to one of my very old linocut pieces based on a drawing of a shoe I did in 2014. The previous two prints I created both relied on damp paper … Continue reading

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Print commission: Piece 2

Last week I attended a 4 1/2 day collagraph workshop and created 3 new plates. I decided to try one of them on the handmade Hemp paper I’ve been sent to experiment printing with. The first piece I printed for … Continue reading

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Print commission: Piece 1

I was recently engaged to explore printing on handmade Hemp paper by someone who intends to market this paper for sale. I was given a general idea of what was required based on some work I had done previously. Piece … Continue reading

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Preparing chine collé

I’ve been painting acid-free tissue paper – to use when printing – in preparation for a 5 day collagraph course I’m about to attend. I used very watered-down acrylic paints, allowed the tissue to dry and then ironed the pieces … Continue reading

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2023 01 02 Image of the week

Jane Davies, Pattern Study Neutral 1, acrylic & collage Resources:http://www.jane-davies.pixels.com/art/paintings/pattern+study

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2022 12 27 Image of the week

Carol Staub, Moon Over Birchwoods, mixed media on canvas, 24 x 24 x 1.50″ See more of this artist’s amazing works by clicking on the link below. Resources:http://www.carolstaub.com/?keyvalue=6715&page=ViewCollection&subkeyvalue=27672&startrec=21

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Paper experimentation

On recent visits to the papermaking studio I’ve been exploring laminating paper. In papermaking terms this means layering multiple pulled pieces together into a single finished sheet. I started with white: as much as possible recycled cotton rag printing paper … Continue reading

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2022 12 19 Image of the week

Vladimiro Elvieri, Fragments III, engraving, mixed media (roulette, perforation on forex), 50 x 70cm, 2014 Resources:www.mchampetier.com/Vladimiro-Elvieri-2497-en.html – well worth clicking this link to view some amazing artworks. His drypoints are astounding.

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Print group concertina swap

Every December our print group cut up either failed or excess prints produced during the year and swap with each other to create small concertina books. Our group is full of very experienced printmakers, most of whom specialize in specific … Continue reading

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2022 12 08 Image of the week

Marco Luccio, The Puppet, drypoint on Velin Arches, edition of 25, 29.5 x 19.5cm, 2021 Resources:http://www.marcoluccio.com.au/artworks/the-puppet/ – well worth scrolling through his website. An exceptionally talented artist across a variety of media.

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Collagraph: Scribbles – Part 2

Several weeks ago I created a new collagraph plate which I decided to use as a swap project print. I blogged about the trials here. This week I’ve completed a series of 13 – 12 to swap and 1 for … Continue reading

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A bit of time out

It’s been a stressful week so it seemed like a good time to take a few minutes away from other people to mess about in the studio with some loud music, a bit of paper and some pens. Going through … Continue reading

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2022 11 11 Image of the week

Tricia Stubberfield, Retain, linocut, ink embroidery, 40cm x 40cm You can find more about the artist at http://www.thegoodeggstudio.com and on facebook. Resources:The Hand magazine, issue 38, page 20

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Quick monotypes

I had a quick dip into the world of monotypes recently after watching a few short videos. Essentially I spent a bit of time with ink, scrapers and credit cards to see what marks I could make. These two were … Continue reading

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2022 11 02 Image of the week

Andrea writes on her site: I’ve long admired the diaphanous teabag. Once steeped, emptied, unfolded, and ironed, the little pieces of paper resemble parchments; small stories of collections of moments. After flattening the mottled papers, I paint them with streaks … Continue reading

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Revisiting a collagraph

Back in 2017 I attended a very good and frantically busy workshop exploring a range of printing methods. During the course we each constructed a collagraph plate, Shellacked, then inked and printed them. This was mine: On the left is … Continue reading

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2022 10 27 Image of the week

I came across this amazing collagraph on the facebook group Collagraph world wide which I’m a member of. I’ve done a little with silk aquatint but haven’t explored it this far. Now it’s definitely on my to-do list. The artist, … Continue reading

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2022 10 21 Image(s) of the week

My creative life revolves around textures and shapes so when my husband gave me these images taken on his new Canon camera I was thrilled. They depict part of a wet, tarnished and rusted drain cover on one of our … Continue reading

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Collagraph: Scribbles

Exploring new techniques to create plates I got my mini drill out and, using a fine tip, applied it to the surface of a piece of mountboard. The aim was to produce a range of organic imprecise lines as opposed … Continue reading

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2022 10 05 Image of the week

Julia Matveeva, “Viktoria”, toned cyanotype, 4″ x 4″ Resources:The Hand Magazine, issue 38

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Messing about with paint – Day 4

I noticed how similar my colour palettes were in my two previous pieces so decided to make some adjustments. I also took note of my comment that perhaps squiggles – a bit more organic than my blocks and lines – … Continue reading

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Exhibition: Topophilia

Topophilia : a sense of belonging This solo exhibition by Helen MacRitchie has been showing throughout September, ending on 2nd October. I’ve know Helen for many years and always admired her artworks. The basis of her practice is wet felted … Continue reading

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Messing about with paint – Day 3

On day 3 of the challenge I stuck with acrylic paints, as I enjoyed them so much on the first day. After painting this piece I became stuck on what to do with it next. So I left it alone … Continue reading

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2022 09 26 Image of the week

This is a close-up photo using my phone, which is what I have to hand when walking my dog on bush trails. This image, in a similar manner to my previously featured Banksia photo, seems over-detailed (too sharp?) if that … Continue reading

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