Methods and Materials

Unit 3

This page highlights my explanation into methods and materials. As you scroll down the page, you will find the work fro Uni1 and Unit 2. This work has been labelled as so, but included on the page so the journey of my process though Methods and Materials can be clearly demonstrated.

Gesso Ground

Hard Press Etching : Environmentally Friendly Method

These etching prints are of Dr Brusha. This the first print you can see it's much lighter than the second. This is because I wiped two mugs of the ink off before printing.

While creating my egg tempera paintings, I observed that the mark making method at the start of the process, was like the method I employ when creating an Etching. You can see in this method of mark making in this print by Käthe Kollwitz, working women with Blue Shawl, created in 1903. Kollwitz, use of directional mark making, is a method I have emulated within my own printing and painting practice when creating and using cross-hatching and horizontal and vertical lines to represent light and shape. Kollwitz created a differing representation of women that moved away from the archetype image of women and instead represented the horrors of war from a female perspective, as well as the result war has on the female body reinforced by poverty. Her work demonstrates and highlight social injustice, in an emotive and powerful way. ‘Kollwitzs concern for women and their well-being remained constant throughout her life and work’( P43 Women Picturing Women) I find the method of cross-hatching and etching practically reflective when creating, this is because you are physically scratching into a surface to represent a face. The act in of itself feels violent and surgical.

Hard Press Etching Aquatint

These images represent my recent experimentation with etching. This felt quit exiting as I was using Aquatint. This is an intaglio printmaking method, which creates tone instead of line. However, for the examples you can see I have used Aquatint over the top of an existing print, creating a beautiful combination of line and tone. When using this process, you started from light to dark, painting in the lightest tones first, then bathing it in acid for 15 seconds, then the mid tone for 25 seconds, and finally the darker tones for 40 seconds. Leaving the area’s, you want almost black unpainted. This felt backwards, and quite counterintuitive when following the process.

Dr Bushera, Etching Aquatint

Ellie, Etching Aquatint

I adore this method of etching, using the Aquatint, gives me the opportunity to create fluid painterly marks over the top of my line work. Previously I had scratched into the surface of my plate, while for the process of Aquatint, I placed my plate into a red machine that was filled with resin, and we bashed on the side of the machine, and wound up the handle, so all the resin particles moved around and then settled onto my plate. Then I used a camping stove under the plate to gently burn away the particles. This was then I was able to place paint and block out my tones before placing my plate into the bath of acid, in a round of three for short periods of time. The time in the acid had to be tightly controlled and not going over 2 minuets. Otherwise, your tones wouldn’t be as rich.

Egg Tempera

Am I am feminist, if I am using the eggs of another?

During a recent presentation , it was brought to my attention on that my work can't be feminist if I am using the egg's of another animal without their consent.

This option surprised me and I was rather taken aback by it. As I had considered the use of the egg as a link and connecting to other feminist artist's before me like Sarah Lucas and Marilyn Minter. Who use eggs physically in their work, and depiction of the female form, but also as a metaphor to symbolise and link to women's reproductive rights and female beauty standards.

On reflection, I moved to egg tempera because it felt like the middle point between oil and watercolour,. Giving me that beautiful watery transparent quality, that I can layer up, without the toxic harmful nature of oil and white spirt, which can't be easily disposed of. Egg Tempera painting instead gives me an elegant luminosity of colour, which I've never been able to emulate with oil.

Therefore like Roxan Gay, I am a bad feminist.

“I embrace the label of bad feminist because I am human. I am messy. I’m not trying to be an example. I am not trying to be perfect. I am not trying to say I have all the answers. I am not trying to say I’m right. I am just trying—trying to support what I believe in, trying to do some good in this world, trying to make some noise with my writing while also being myself.”
― Roxane Gay, Bad Feminist

Within my practice I explore ethics and the voice of women, but as a messy human my work can't be completely non expletive and I need to acknowledge the ethics of using eggs.

Risograph Printing

These images represent my recent experimentation with Risograph Printing. I wanted to re-created the Lloyd George envelopes, as I want this envelope to hold my publication. Almost like medical files held inside. However, instead it will consist of images of the Women of the NHS and quotes from our informal interviews. I was only able to buy 4 Lloyd George envelopes from eBay. I carefully took one apart and completely messed it up, so this one had to be thrown away. However, this allowed me to then very carefully take the next one apart so I could see the net.

Lars and myself then we scanned the envelope, to recreate the text. However, the scanner couldn't pick up the shape of the envelope, so I then traced around the envelope and this worked. This has resulted in the edges of my envelopes having a blue outline. Which I like, this makes it feel more vintage. This vintage old feeling is significant, as when being handled by a slightly older generation to myself a nostalgia is generated as the person holding the publication remembers these items from their past.

Once the Lloyd George envelope scanned, I then printed into the closest coloured paper Risograph had to my original. Then I sat down and slowly cut out the envelope from the A3 paper. This is a slow and tedious process. However, creates folders where my publication can fit neatly inside.

These images, demonstrate the cutting process to create the Lloyd George medical envelopes. The second image highlights how my envelopes compared to the originals. I'm really pleased with my outcome, I have created 40, this was largely because I expected far more errors to occur, than did. I really enjoy the handling of these envelopes and the process of placing papered drawings inside and then taking them out again. With a bound book inside, the envelopes have a lovely weight to them. .

Book Binding

Following on from the Lloyd George Envelopes, I went to a book binding workshop and these images represent some of the different book binding methods we explored within the workshop. We looked at lots of different methods to bind, and how the bind, and paper and significant with regards to the meaning of the publication. I am interested in using a single section binding to create my publication. I will then place my publication inside the Lloyd George Envelope that I created from a Risogrpah print. For these publications I have been considering creating a publication for each woman I’ve worked with. This would consist of Risograph printed images and quotes from our informal interviews. I could create a book for each person I’ve worked with, and the images would consist of the paintings and drawings I’ve made of them. Then on the cover of the Lloyd George Envelop I can then write the person’s name.

These photos represent, the step-by-step process in creating my small blue bound publication.

My publication will become a small archival document, that would represent a section of time exploring different women’s experiences. Or I could try and create a book which had everyone I’ve been working with. This idea seems less viable because you are limited to a certain number of pages when binding to not, damage the paper. Therefore, it is likely that I will create a small number of publications pre women. This also means I can really spread out the drawings and text within the publication, to each element space to breathe.

I am planning to print my publication in blue and red, I am keen for it to have a grainy feel to it.

These photo's below represent my creations and plans for my 'Women of the NHS publication'.

Unit 2

Welcome to my Method and Materials page.

Alongside reflective descriptions of different processes, I've experimented with poetry and sound. When you hover over the video, please click on the right-hand side musical note to listen to the poems. You will also be pleased to read my pornographic process poems alongside the audio play feature and the video with my added audio. Expressing process of art and materiality using sexual metaphor. These serious poems are cross-curricular. They embody the process's experience, giving a voice to the feelings experienced by the materials and we use them. They explain almost step-by-step different painting and ground methods while also appealing to a broader socially conscious adult audience who is interested in cultural capital.

Having been described by professionals as severely dyslexic, a word I still can’t spell, poetry and writing have always felt inaccessible to me. I've found experimenting with audio and poems quite freeing. Although I know there is a literacy history with the poem and spoken word, by creating these works in an artistic context. I have freedom to create playful expatriations that move between different genres.

Egg Tempera

Touching,

Moving,

Wet,

Sensual Sensation.

Seductively sexual.

Feeling,

Rubbing,

Firing. This will keep you protected.

A delicate gentle process.

Don’t make a mistake, you will ruin it.

Cracked.

Hard.

White.

Bursting and dry.

You’re ready now.

Fireing Egg Tempera

Firing An Egg Tempera Painting

Cover me in honey,

Pouring it over me,

Soft palm, rubbing,

Saliva kiss,

I’m wearing your skin,

Oh My God,

Sticky little slut,

Body Shaking, Burning Sweat,

I can be handled,

Fingers inside me,

The Madonna,

Cherish me,

Delicate Tongue, with a curved spine,

You made me whole,

Watch me change.

Experiments with Egg Tempera Fireing

Before Fireing

During Fireing

After Fireing

Experimenting With Egg Tempera

Watercolour

Watercolour Painting

Spread me,

Fluid and free,

Press cold.

Your bristles move in-between me,

I want to feel atmospheric disturbance.

Colours flow,

Bleeding blending.

Disruptive diffusion.

Add more fluid,

Keep me wet.

You don’t want me to dry up.

Hard Press,

I buckle and break.

I’m too wet,

Beads slowly dripping down,

Qucikly!

Dab Dab Dab: Blotting and soaking.

Lay me down flat,

Let me feel you evaporate off,

We mix together,

Combining colliding,

We explode

I am dry to your touch.

Hanging Egg Tempera

As you can see from these images’ I’ve been experimenting with different methods of hanging my Egg Tempera. When I first hung my board the board hung at an angle. I didn’t like this, so I’ve put two screws in the bottom of the board. The result my painting hangs flat on the wall.

Hard Press Etching- Ellie and Xingxin

Hard Press Etching- Ellie Process

Glazing Workshop

Gesso Grounds

Gesso Ground

I’ve been experimenting with my gesso ground for my Egg Tempera paintings. For example, adding more whitener to my rabbit skin glue makes the consistency much thicker, like double cream (Click through the images for further examples).

The thicker gesso ground applies differently and creates ripples and ridges when the gesso dries. The thicker gesso also drips down the side of the board, creating thicker drip blobs. It requires roughly 15 layers.

When I use a consistency similar to single cream, more layers are required, but the result is much smoother. With the single cream consistency, I did 19 layers. While this takes longer, the drying result is far more successful in terms of a flat surface.

However, cracking still occurs during the drying process. I’ve spoken with Gabriel, and he said this could be due to grease on the surface of the muslin. I applied a second coat of rabbit skin glue to tackle this issue. Despite my efforts, cracking still occurred.

Once dry, during the sanding process, you can manipulate the sanded gesso dust into the cracks. Personally, I prefer the cracked surface as it shows the true unpredictable nature of this ground in comparison to a perfectly smooth un-cracked surface.

The cracked surface alongside the ‘unfinished’ nature of the paintings reminds the viewer they are looking at a flat surface, a painting. The cracks also highlight the process, and it’s unpredictable nature.

Gesso Ground.

Touch me with feeling,

Stroke me,

Move through me,

Around me,

Feeling you squeeze the air out of me.

I hold my breath, hide from you. You can’t find me.

Delicate now.

Layer me up.

No overlapping.

I drip.

Moving slowly.

Counting.

Time.

Gliding burning hot across your wood,

My fabric absorbs you up.

I get buried under the weight of you.

Three days pass.

I feel myself go cold and hard.

Cracked, Breaking and Breathless.

I’m dry.

You’re trying to hide my scars,

My broken body,

Sanding me down. Maybe people wont see.

Pesky little particles enter you.

You can’t get rid of me that easily.

I will cling to your lungs.

Holding on to you so tightly.

Unit 1

Screen printing was an exciting exploration; I loved production’s quick, rapid nature. I also enjoyed that when screen printing, the image doesn’t flip, so If I include text, I won’t have to play it out backwards. Screen printing also allowed me to copy directly from one of my watercolour paintings. I created two layers, the first a silhouette and the second a more tonal depiction of Ali. I was interested in exploring Screen-print after reading See Red Women’s Workshop Feminist Posters 1974-1990. The See Red Women’s Workshop had the aim to ‘Combat images of the ‘model women’ which are used by capitalist ideology to keep women from disputing their secondary status or questioning their role in a male-dominated sociality’ ‘ We hope to do this by putting forward a positive image of women’

Screen Printing

Screen printing was an exciting exploration; I loved production’s quick, rapid nature. I also enjoyed that when screen printing, the image doesn’t flip, so If I include text, I won’t have to play it out backwards. Screen printing also allowed me to copy directly from one of my watercolour paintings. I created two layers, the first a silhouette and the second a more tonal depiction of Ali. I was interested in exploring Screen-print after reading See Red Women’s Workshop Feminist Posters 1974-1990. The See Red Women’s Workshop had the aim to ‘Combat images of the ‘model women’ which are used by capitalist ideology to keep women from disputing their secondary status or questioning their role in a male-dominated sociality’ ‘ We hope to do this by putting forward a positive image of women’

The See Red Women’s workshop consisted of a group of women who would talk about their circumstances and experiences of being a woman. Experiences such as ‘shared frustrations of motherhood, isolation in the house, loss of independence, sexual harassment on the streets, our relationship, unequal pay, being defined as inferior to men, assumptions made about our sexuality, our status and our availability’

I was drawn to the community created by this group of women and their ability to develop progressive, sometimes comical posters that grip your attention and can be made quickly and then sold cheaply to get the feminist message out there. I’m particularly fond of the calendar they created and its impact on the home space. I like the idea that this calendar was sold cheaply and then lived within the home as a piece of artwork designed for the domestic area. Moving forward with screen printing, I want to make my feminist calendar. This could double up and become my research book during the festival. This calendar could then be distributed during the research festival and, like the calendars created by The See Red Women’s Workshop, would then move into people’s homes and work as feminist art.

Screen Printing Outcomes : Ali

Experimenting Further With Gesso

Notes from rabbit skin glue workshop

Rabbit skin glue can only be used with oil-based subjects.

1 proportion to 15 x of water. – leave a minimum of 3 hours. Ideally, you leave overnight. Then use a double pan. They should fit on top of each other.

Then use an electric stove. Don't let it boil. If it boils, it will lose its strength. Mix genially. This rabbit skin glue will last 1-2 days in the fridge.

Then using 1 part of water, add the same part of rabbit skin glue to make it twice as weak. – This is how you apply the first coat. This coat will need to be very dry and sounds like a drum. Once dry, add your second coat, which is just directly from your pan. Make sure you don't go over the layers you have already applied. If you do you will damage the glue you have already placed down.

When reheating the rabbit skin glue, it will be jelly; you can put the glue into a glass jar and then place into the water. Ensure you, have something on the base of the pan so the glass is not in contact with the bottom.

Only reheat it once; you can't freeze it. It will comprise its qualities.

Regarding rabbit skin glue, it can vary from animal to animal. For example, using ox glue can change the canvas's strength.

Gesso Priming Canvas and paper

Give your board good sand. Clockwise. Till the surface is nice and smooth. (clear all the debris afterward, there should be no dust on the surface)
When picking the board, make sure it’s very thick. If it’s too thin, it will bend and snap. You can mount, your board onto another board, but you would need to drill, and this would be bad. As it would create a pocket (therefore, if it must be mounted, drill from the back, and make sure the screw does not pierce the board’s surface)
of air, and it will create holes within the painting. Traditional artists would put the board together and the mounting would be extremely thick. You tend to work very small (“smaller” is a better term, as it is possible to work big, but demands a lot more work to prepare) for these reasons.
Use your rabbit skin glue, with the thinned rabbit skin glue. – Half water and half glue. (Rabbit skin glue first one 1 part glue, 15 water) (The second set is half water half glue.)
When applying the rabbit skin glue, make sure not to go over it again. Place it down and then that it, if you keep going over it will re-activate it and stop the drying process. Sanding the board opens the pores of the wood, this then allows the glue to sink in better. We are preparing the surface to absorb the glue better.

Egg Tempera Workshop Lesson 1/2/3

Then with the bigger brush, you dip into the glue that’s been warming on the hob and is pure rabbit skin glue and you, very gently. One layer.
Then add the muslin, make sure you press in gently and remove any of the light white of the muslin. Your muslin should then be glued. You then add another layer of rabbit skin glue on top.
Then you need to filter the rabbit skin glue. This is to remove granules that haven’t been dissolved correctly. You do this by pouring the rabbit skin glue through the muslin to remove any fat granules.
Then the chalk has been placed through a sieve, so it’s super fine.
Next add your chalk to your glue, roughly 7 spoonfuls (this is relative to the proportion and amount of gesso one wants to produce. I would not be stuck in measures at this point. What is important is to identify the right consistency of the solution – single or double cream, according to your intention) , and make sure there are no air bubbles.
Then you use your hand and gently move your hand around the mixture to remove any air traps. It should feel like crème, single crème. Double crème feel is better as it will bind better. (Whiting)
Next you need to grab your sandpaper and sand the edge where the muslin folds over (there are people that glue the muslin to the back of the board and gesso the sides as well). Then it will start to come off. Be very gentle. Do not hold this on the top, you must hold it under, make sure you don’t touch the top of the muslin. If you do this could move it and your muslin would then not be in line (however, this process is ideally applied when the muslin is well glued and bone dried, hence touching the surface would not be an issue)
Next add the chalk and rabbit skin glue mixture. Keep stirring it. Thick Layers. Generous.
Layer 0 – one direction, press hard. 1 gap, 2 minutes portrait
Lay 1- the opposite direction. 5 mins landscape
Layer 2: 6 mins portrait
Layer 3: 7 mins landscape
Layer 4: 8 mins portrait
Layer 5: 9 mins landscape
Layer 6: 10 mins portrait
Layer 7: 11 mins landscape
Layer 8: 12 mins portrait

(The gesso should be semi-dry, looking like a whitish “jelly,” though, there is indeed a progression on the waiting time between each coat. Therefore, I advise working on something else simultaneously to the preparation of gesso boards.... maybe doing many at once, or painting in the waiting hours...)

Layers on the paper. Cold press paper, thick (3 layers of gesso)

paper. 600, 800, 900 g of paper. Thicker the better for the papper.

You then need to size the paper to the board. – Only three layers on the paper.

Fuumuui Watercolour brushes round set.
The application should have been thick.

Lesson 2

You have now left your gesso board to dry for three days, and it’s dry.
Now you need to sand.
The bigger the number of sandpapers, the smoother the paper.
You can drag the inside of a charcoal across the surface to see the peaks and where you need to sand.
You need to sand for about 3 hours. Very thin sanding paper, be mindful not to go through the muslin. Circular motions.
While sanding you can also use the whitening and rabbit skin glue on paper. This will create a Gesso Ground. You should use watercolour paper of 300g minimum. Cold press is better, as it has a rougher surface. The thicker the paper, the better.
Thinly apply the gesso mix; very delicate, do not shake the brush. You need to apply pressure barely to the surface of the paper.
Next, using tracing paper, draw one of your drawings, is not too complicated.
Flip it over and the side without the drawing on rub in English red pigment.
Then place it onto your board. Then re-trace the outline with a thin hard pencil. Do not apply too much pressure, or you could damage or mark the surface of the gesso. Tape your tracing paper down carefully to ensure it won’t move.
Next you need two jars, and you need to separate the egg. You want the yellow part of the egg.
Remove all the white bits and give the egg a tiny dry.
Then you give the sack of the yellow egg a poke and let gravity pour the yoke out.
Then add half an eggshell of vinegar to the egg yolk. Use organic free-range eggs with less grease.
Vinegar prevents it from rotting and removes the grease.
Then give it a nice stir or shake.
Then, decant some into a small container.
You can then use this binder to fix the outline of your drawings which has been imprinted onto your gesso board.
useen using a tiny brush and trace over the lines you have made on your gesso board. Tracing over the pigment.
Once you have done this, mix green earth with your egg.
Then thin it slightly with water and do one layer.
Then do another green layer, do serval layers.
Then use burnt umber to add dark tones to your work. Layering and blocking out areas like the hair, with serval layers. Make sure these layers are thin and regular. This should be dry brush.
Then use English red and
Later you can add Tempera Grassa, this layer is far oilier.
If you want a shiny glossy effect, you can use just the yellow yoke mixed with the pigment.

Egg Tempera Response to Painting Process

Egg Tempera Response to process

I have enjoyed the egg tempera method and material lessons; I particularly love seeing the passion and love that Gabriel has for his subject. I find this process an exciting way to explore as recently, I’ve been playing with the immediacy of painting with watercolour. If I need extra space, I can add more paper and can work quickly getting my ideas down.

For egg tempera, the painting process starts with making the gesso ground. Fascinatingly, the whole process feels like cooking and is about sight and touch in a far more visceral way than painting using watercolour has been. For example, when making the gesso, physically mixing the whitener with the rabbit skin glue, gently moving the mixture until it feels like single cream could be a line in a cookbook. The love and tenderness you require for this type of painting feel different from how I have previously worked. I enjoy the physical nature of the process, for example, sanding my board for three hours before it was ready for the next step. This results in a tenderness and tentative nature when approaching the work, which isn’t replicated when working in my sketchbook or on paper: if it goes wrong, I can restart with a new sheet of paper.

However, with this process, there are many opportunities for mistakes to occur, all of which can affect the outcome of your gesso ground and egg tempera paint. When creating an egg tempera board, the painting process starts with the board, with the creation of the surface. This surface needs to be treated the same way as the physical painting you create.

I enjoy the slowness of this medium and how similar it feels to watercolour: adding layer upon layer of colour in glazes. Often, I leave areas of my painting with the under-painting coming through. This way, the image has a slightly unfinished feel to it, almost allowing the viewer to see elements of the journey of the image.

I am keen to explore further with egg tempera. When creating the ground elements of the rabbit skin glue separated from the whitening in my application and this created a speckled effect on the surface of my gesso board. Although this is technically incorrect, and the surface should be smooth, I preferred the textured surface to the ideally smooth surface. Partly, this was because I was then able to experiment with transparent pigment and show this ‘error’ within the composition of the painting. It will be interesting to create designs across multiple boards with the limbs and heads of my subjects on different panels.

Moving forward, I want to explore using this media in conjunction with oil painting and watercolour, which have a far more direct method of working in contrast to egg tempera which requires far more planning. I draw and use my drawings and smaller watercolour paintings as loose reference points when painting using oil. While when creating my egg tempera painting, I directly traced it from a coloured pencil drawing in my sketchbook and transferred it to a gesso ground board.

Reflections on creating my own Egg Tempera Paintings

However, with this process, there are many opportunities for mistakes to occur, all of which can affect the outcome of your gesso ground and egg tempera paint. When creating an egg tempera board, the painting process starts with the board, with the creation of the surface. This surface needs to be treated the same way as the physical painting you create.

I enjoy the slowness of this medium and how similar it feels to watercolour: adding layer upon layer of colour in glazes. Often, I leave areas of my painting with the under-painting coming through. This way, the image has a slightly unfinished feel to it, almost allowing the viewer to see elements of the journey of the image.

I am keen to explore further with egg tempera. When creating the ground elements of the rabbit skin glue separated from the whitening in my application and this created a speckled effect on the surface of my gesso board. Although this is technically incorrect, and the surface should be smooth, I preferred the textured surface to the ideally smooth surface. Partly, this was because I was then able to experiment with transparent pigment and show this ‘error’ within the composition of the painting. It will be interesting to create designs across multiple boards with the limbs and heads of my subjects on different panels.

Moving forward, I want to explore using this media in conjunction with oil painting and watercolour, which have a far more direct method of working in contrast to egg tempera which requires far more planning. I draw and use my drawings and smaller watercolour paintings as loose reference points when painting using oil. While when creating my egg tempera painting, I directly traced it from a coloured pencil drawing in my sketchbook and transferred it to a gesso ground board.

Process photos : Creating my own Egg Tempra Paintings

Within these pictures you can see the starting process of me creating my egg tempera paintings. I've chosen to create lots grounds so I can collage different elements and images together. Just as I have been with my watercolour paintings.

Within the pictures you can see which have been more successful and which have been less successful. For example, within some of the boards the muslin has perfectly stuck to the board as I applied the rabbit skin glue correctly and right to the edge covering the muslin, creating a nice crisp edge. While on a couple of the edges fraying has occurred and I believe this is due to not having enough glue up to the edge of the muslin. This is something I need to be mindful of in the future, making sure the application meets the edge of the board carefully.

After speaking with Gabriel, he suggested that I try and create the gesso ground to the consistencies of double cream instead of single cream. So, I made my gesso and rabbit skin glue much thicker but added more whitener. I created six primed boards, and I did twelve layers of primer, making sure to go in different directions for each layer. I will now leave the boards to dry for three days. I've noticed the edges of the boards are slightly raised where I've applied slightly more primer as I've moved across the board. I will need to see if once it's all dried I can then sand down those slightly raised edges.

I came back today, and I was broken-hearted to see that my 6 hours of work hadn't been successful and cracks had formed on the surface of the gesso. Please see the photos. I researched and this could be due to grease contamination, not leaving the gesso to dry long enough between each layer, or water. I also spoke to Gabriel, and he said 'its an organic process and these things can go wrong' he suggested I try again with the single cream method and add an extra layer of rabbit skin glue to the already dried muslin, as this can remove any grease. He suggested I keep two and experiment and paint on them to see how the cracks feel about painting onto. He then also showed me how I could remove all of the surfaces and so I can start the process again.