Longing……For……For……For……

How did my vase plan of action go?

Since having the help last Thursday 12/03/2015 from artist Dale Devereux Barker, I have managed to keep his advice in my new printing skills to create my new methods in my vase printing. Dale told me that I should try making screen 1 as my stencil silkscreen and then after making screen 2 as my main colour vase silkscreen. These two screens will hopefully bind together to form a perfect looking Chinese vase that will not only look much neater in pattern and design but it will have more colours.

How did I print these vases?

Well.. actually it was no problem at all getting my silkscreens ready with the help of Glen the ‘technician’. Once all two silkscreens were ready I started out by using the outer edge stencil silkscreen to print the main colour of my vases that i wanted and used the silkscreen inks to print with.

After this process I leave the the main colour vase prints to dry for at least 45-60 minutes so that the ink is dry enough but also the paper will be flat again after it was printed. After this is done, I begin to use the vase pattern silkscreen to print over the main colours of the vases in white and black inks.

I use the plastic film to print on because this will help line up where to put the main vase colour print under the pattern silk screen. Once the main vase colour print is lined up with the plastic film, I then remove the plastic film and the main vase colour print is ready to be printed again. I then print the second colour through the vase pattern silk screen and manages to come through very neatly and sharp looking. I was very impressed by the finished outcome showing all the rich bold colours so precisely.

Research into Dale Devereux Barker Vase Prints.

Here is some research that I looked into a while back in Dale’s Screen prints, mono prints and Lino cuts. He creates such an interesting selection of vases with flower especially with the different patterns and designs and just inspires me alot to try out doing more colours on my own vases.

What do I gain by this research?

I have basically gained more of an outlook on what else to involve in making my vase stencil prints because it seems that he has a tremendous use of patterns and colours within his printing work. Seeing these types of patterns and colours has enabled me to look into my own vase prints more to try and unearth the secret to making my vase prints look their very best.

I will take away this research and store in my mind for when it comes to doing my next set of vase printing and I am so sure that I can make my vase stencil prints look as interesting as Dale’s prints. Like I said in the last comment, I will try make up the other silk screen of the outer edge of my vase so that I can print the main colour of the vase and then see what Dale thinks of it next Thursday 19/03/2015 . We will continue to work together to get everything looking right.

How did this interview session help me with my vase prints?

Well… it was a very interesting printing session with Dale Devereux Barker. actually it was right on the mark of what I needed to know about how I can define my prints more. Dale showed and explained to me various different solutions into making my vase stencil prints have more colours and qualities to them.

We had drawn a mind map together on what layers we should consider using and what the different layers of the vase will be to use as the different patterns or the main colours for my vase prints. We both visualised together what layer we would use first as the main background colour which would then lead on to the main colour of the vase. We then thought about using the layer for the vase patterns using various colours for that. The final layer to go on the vase would be the Miscellaneous layer for the effects on the vase print.

What has this taught me so far from Dale Barker?

I can honestly say that these ideas that he has given me has really gave me one of the biggest turning points of my printing career. Its because he has given me the inspiration to creating more defined stencil vase prints in a much easier way and also making my vase prints look a whole lot better in detail and colours.

Plan of Action! 

Dale Barker has notified Glen – ‘the technician’ to make an emulsion silk screen for me that has been projected from my original red vase stencil. Dales biggest trick was to project my ‘original red vase stencil’ onto emulsion on the silk screen because dale said that light finds it very difficult to pass through red. He was certain that this trick would work so I went ahead and managed to get Glen to make the screen up for me.

After it was ready to use, I decided to test it using the black silkscreen ink and normal paper and came out very clear indeed. I was so amazed that it worked very well through the silk screen with every detail of my stencil coming out on paper. This was the start of a new beginning for me in my vase stencil printing.

What’s Next Plan of Action?

Next I have to make up another silkscreen of emulsion for the outer edge stencil layer of my vase so that I can print the main colour of the vase first, I will get done monday. I will also make up another silkscreen of a rectangle layer just incase I want to do a background to suit the different colours of the vase. We will see where these results will take me and Dale Barker will show me the next steps this thursday on what to do next with my vase printing process.

Why look into these artists as part of my work?

Rachel Whiteread and Memory Trace

As part of my ongoing research, I wanted to explore more different artists that play a similar aspect to me in creating art work. The first artist I looked into was Rachel Whiteread who is mostly known for her mammoth size plaster casts such as House and Ghost. The reason why this artist interest me alot with my work is because she makes an artwork from memories and using an old building such as House is a very good example to capturing someone’s pre-existence.

Rachel Whiteread captures an indexical trace of someones life by plastering every room on the inside of the house revealing forensic like traces as a symbol to her work. In her memory capturing way, she uses the traces from someones existence that are traced within a surface and interprets that into her own art work. This is her own way of making her art work from someones elses memories and inspires me to think closely about where my own work is going.

How does Rachel Whiteread Inspire me?

She inspires me in a different form into my work because she uses old buildings and furnitures for her work to express the memories that are carried by them. I express my memories from China with my girlfriend through projection and projecting them moments of time in a dark space which acts as inside my mind.

That darkness in the room is like the loneliness that I suffer when I am without my girlfriend from China and the projections act as a light that brightens my life as well as reliving the moment in time. So in a way Rachel Whiteread inspires me in that memory type way where you show the fragments of past through objects, photos or movies.

Gordon Matta-Clark and Memory Trace of action

I have looked into another artist called Gordon Matta-Clark who is an american sculpture who also uses old buildings to create an artwork. A famously known artwork he create was called Splitting. Matta-Clark would often as not use recordings and photographs to document the moments of dismantling the house. He likes to film and take photos of his process when he is making artwork and these types of medias show a trace of his actions of dismantling the house and generate a memory trace.

Why does Gordon Matta-Clark Inspire me with indexical action?

In a way, Matta-Clark inspires me alot in recording the making of my artwork because it is the fun and interest of creating artwork that I would like to capture on filming. My process is all about capturing that moment in time whether its on filming or on photographs. My process of my working creates that direct imprint of the memory traces in my existence and the discoveries that I have made alongside my processes.

Rosalind Epstein krauss relates photography to memory trace

“On the one hand, the term seems to specify signs on the order of the trace—the footprint, the death mask, the photograph (where the object leaves its imprint on a light-sensitive surface). This type of index partakes of the iconic because the sign resembles the object.” (Krauss. 1977. p203).

Carsten Holler – Double objects relating to my Chinese/English

So as part of my further research towards my development, I decided to look closely into Carsten Holler‘s Double objects in his art works. His use of objects in his art works play a similar role to each other, both very similar and almost very identical like twin objects. I looked into his Double Club art work which consisted of two different clubs in mirrored image form but art in fact different and very much related to each other. Another famously known work he created was the Double Carousel where he stuck two Carousel rides next to each other in another mirror image form.

Why does he inspire me towards my latest artwork?

Researching into his double object art works seems really interesting for me because his use of double objects act like a close relationship like a pair that are different but very similar. These works strongly relate to my Chinese/English art ideas because I try to influence the English and Chinese culture together into my artwork.

I am English and my girlfriend Wei Cheng is Chinese and we are very similar in our own minds and personalities but our cultures are very different. As I have mentioned in my previous post, I hope to build a darkroom as part of my degree show and build a Chinese and English side by creating a Chinese roof and a English roof. Here you have the two different cultural influences which act similar to each other but are indeed different.

Just like Carsten Holler‘s Double Club, I plan on creating my own double culture called The Time Mahjong by building the two different roofs but out of the same wood and having myself and three other Chinese people playing mahjong inside the dark room. Two different cultures meet with each other and having a game of Mahjong, it is like bringing back a memory trace and having two different cultures bound together at the same time in the same time zone.