Hello and welcome to the latest newsletter from Bella Bee;

a quick update of what's been going on with the artistic side of life including other artists I've met along the way.

Needless to say, the summer edition of any arts news is the longest.  Like the days, we artists come out to show our labours when the sun is high, and this is reflected in the length of this newletter. 

Don't worry, you needn't read it all if you don't want to.  I'll never know :)

What's with the pots?

King of Diamonds

A collagraph carborundum print

Friend and fellow-printmaker Kerry, holding aloft the freshly-printed piece. 

Is it shameful to admit I was shaking?  There is so much planning and effort invested into printmaking (especially on this scale) there is a lot hanging on the last pull.  Of course, it didn't help that this was to be a single print; the plate designed for only one edition.

There was a LOT hanging on this.

From sketch, to plate (top left & right)

to print, the two halves shown next to each other.

King of Diamonds was exhibited already at 44AD Gallery, Bath, as part of

Edition 3, Smoke & Mirrors.

The generosity of others

Interestingly, it is not only Richard Bunse who has been in conversation with me about this pioneering 1950's / 60's printmaking.  Another American, Milton Northway has also contacted me about the process of printmaking with collagraph and how he fell in love with the medium.  Milton was taught at college and mentored by printmaker Joseph Rozman in the 1960's. It seems there are many fans of it.

Here's a bit more about Don Bunse, sourced from the Portland Art Museum web site via RichardBunse.​​

Don Bunse is a native of Flaxville, Montana though he was raised in California and Oregon. He studied at Willamette University and received an M.F.A. from the University of Washington. In 1957, along with a group of fellow-artists, he developed the collagraphic form of printing. His work is included in the first edition of The Complete Collagraph. A former curator at the Cheney Cowles Museum and at the Henry Gallery of the University of Washington (where he was also Director), he has taught at the University of Montana since 1961 and heads the printmaking area there. He was a delegate for the University of Montana in the first academic art exchange between the United States and the People's Republic of China. His work is in collections in this country and abroad.

Whether it is that this medium which attracts generous souls, or whether I have just been very fortunate, it is noteworthy to see that both Milton and Don have been exceedingly candid and giving of their time.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for that and the influence they have been upon me.  I hope that one day I will live up to their input and may be able to pass on the beacon. :)

Here's Milton Northway's communication.

Many decades ago my work was abstract and I took great joy in doing it. My artwork did end up with a style much different and expressed my joy of color and fun. 

My artwork from the '60s and '70s was greatly influenced by the art and culture of the time. It was a great time for color and experimentation with media and style. Music played a great role in influencing imagery and artistic experimentation and style. It was an amazing time for the growth of new styles.  

I wanted to have my artwork look innocent a bit childlike and still express important social concerns. Much of my work from that time was about air pollution, waste of environmental resources and a little bit about the war. 

I included some description of techniques related to collographs and printmaking. I hope that it is of some help.

Jasper Morley

I was initially drawn to the bold black and white work (two of which are pictured above) but I have to be honest and say just about every piece in this exhibition was striking, from the sculptures to the detailed drawings.

Jasper was a pleasure to talk to, taking time out when he was obvisouly very busy.  I am just sad I won't be around for the private view (the reason I went early instead).

If you want to find out more about Jasper and his work, he writes a blog.

Take a look here to see more.

Monkton Wyld Court

Just before Easter, I headed down to the Jurassic coast and stayed at an educational sustainable living centre / retreat, Monkton Wyld Court.  It was a very relaxing, friendly place with a good ethos.  The lack of frills appealed to me and it was this coupled with the openess of the place which made this a truly memorable stay.

If you're looking for carpets and TV's with mini-bar and chandeliers, this is not the place for you.  Guests are encouraged to use the hot water bottles provided rather than turn on heating and the only locks to be found were on the toilets and bathrooms. 

The view from my bedroom window     The communal dining hall for guests

As is so often the case with special places, it is somewhat a victim of its own success.  As a child I remember walking along the beach at Lyme, looking at ammonite fossils the size of dinner plates and smaller strewn across the beach.  I would pick up broken ones and disdainfully discard them.  Now the place is so full of fossil hunters, the only ones to be found are inside the many pebbles and have to be cracked open.

Unlike the safety goggle-wearing beach combers armed with archealogical hammers, I was more interested in the pebbles and coastline itself.

By the way, did I say everything was perfect?  OK, I did get a case of food poisoning mid-stay but after a long lie in, managed to overcome it quickly.  No guesses as to the culprit.  I went out for a meal to a seafood restaurant on the front at Lyme.  It's always the prawns - evil things!  So darned tasty though :)

So you can see I did quite a bit of sketching in preparation.

Some of the results (below).

Just using a touch of colour makes the composition come together but I am to play around with these a little bit more.

I was rather taken with the embossing effect on this top print, but have to laugh (and wince slightly) when I say that one colleague said it looked like a popped spot! :)

Hayley Cove & Sarah Ball

Beckington Open Studios

Sarah and Hayley are good friends of mine.  Both artists working from the village of Beckington, near Frome, we often get together for creative days along with Emma Le Lohe, and occasionally just to chat and have a glass of wine.

Along with another venue, they ran an open studio for two days at the beginning of May.  All three produce contemporary works, each one with a different take, which makes for a really pleasing mix.

Click on the boxes (above and below) to see more of their work.

Dominique Coiffait

All became clear when I later chatted to Dominique and found he is originally a textile designer.   French in origin, but newly settlled from living in busy London, I think he was finding the change of scene to the more sedate Bath a little difficult, which is unsurprising.  Someone once remarked it take a good six months to even start feeling comfortable in new surroundings.

It is for this reason the link button above is for his design house in London, Zinc Design. 

His prints in the gallery were largely made using collagraph plates on which he had used real swatches of fabric, almost in the manner of the old-fashioned push-out cardboard dresses to hang on a body (if you're pre-computer games age, you'll know what I mean. if not - use your imagination), but obviously done with greater aplomb.  I found his work energetic and fun. 

After seeing his recent work and discussing the ethos behind it, I think we will be seeing a lot more of Dominique.

Slab Pot

This project did not go according to plan.

Wanting a design to show off the wonderful textures brought about by a certain glaze, I took one of my printmaking plates and used it as a template.

A slab pot was the obvious choice to show off what is essentially a flat design and all went well at first.  However, the bisque firing stage exposed some cracks which were not present pre-firing.  As the cracks were so fine and not across the all important design itself, paper clay seemed a good option to use before applying the glaze.  This meant another bisque firing before going on to adding colour.

This is not a happy ending.  The pot made it through the frst firing, but split on the second, spilling glaze out onto the shelf, ruining both it and the shelf (and the one below), and had to be chiselled off, shattering it into a puzzle.  It is such a shame as when looking at the shards, I saw the exterior glaze had done just as I had hoped.  Toasted to orange in places, highlighted dark in others and a deep blue for the rest.  So sad.

But wait a minute. Who gives up that easily?  Nah, not me.

So I started again from scratch. 

Luckily as I'd used a printmaking plate, I could pretty much stay true to the original design.  And to be honest, I think I took too much glaze off the front on the now ruined pot, so this is a chance to exercise a lighter touch this time.

There's a video too!  Click here to see it.

Tonia Gunstone

I don't mind saying I am especially taken with her ethos as set out in her web site, which describes beautifully her impact on the group and thos who meet her.

I am an artist, with twenty years experience of teaching languages, music and art. In that time I have learnt that life is about relationships, about building connections between people and place, which are organically cultivated through careful observation and an open heart.

I later met Tonia during her stint as Venue 34 of the Wyye Art Trail.  Exhibiting her photography and printmaking along with photographer Steve Gunter, her work was ingeniouly displayed on home-made 'A' boards. I spotted some little red dots when I visited so know it had been a success already.

Nick Greenglass

Nick was kind enough to explain the process of his practise, using a digital image and manipulating it to stress and create an aged look to the backdrop before adding sharp contrasting shapes, often in bright colours with screenprint technique. He refers to his work as inkjet/silkscreen hybrids and his work certainly was eyecatching and a focus for many of the visitors we had to the exhibition during my short curation.

Tina Seviour

It wasn't all that long ago I was in the corridors by the print workshop when I briefly passed Tina.  It was such a surprise it was only later I realised it would have been good to see her work station, so when I saw her again in May, I made a point of stopping by.

Tina likes to use mainly recycled silver when she can, embossing her delicate design with the weave of silk form old saris.  Their fine weave and frayed edges make for a wonderful finish, each of which is a one-off and would be almost impossible to inscribe.  Saris are also recycled into woven and knotted necklaces which dance in coils around the wearer in bright colours.

It was quite a warm day (the hottest so far in May).  With Tina and her friend seated by the burner, it was middling to toasty in the room.   Looking at the washer-sized piece of silver in her hands, I asked Tina whether working with such small pieces were a strain. Tina showed me her hand which she said had been giving her some trouble.  She chatted away as she picked up a small rectangle, fashioning it ready to be stamped with a piece of intricate blue silk.  There is something special about creating somthing beautiful and lasting from materials which have seen a former life, and of course, it always seems effortlessly so in the hands of an artist.

Jim Whitty

I hope it's fair to say that on the whole, Jim thinks BIG.

It was a delight to meet Jim when visiting the West Woodlands venue on the Wylye Valley Art Trail. He was more than happy to talk about his work, practise and ideas with Hayley and I.  It is always such a joy to meet like-minded creative people.

Much of Jim's work is an examination and abstraction of woodland and water.  Interestingly, two of the larger pieces we looked at originated near to where I live at  Farleigh Hungerford (where there is one of the oldest wild swimming spots at Stowford Manor Farm mentioned on Radio 4). 

His interest in water; the layers from depths to play of light on the srface and refraction into surrounding undergrowth, was a thing which resonated.  I especially enjoyed his more abstract pieces.  A new thing Jim is trying out is manipulating images and printing them onto aluminium sheeting.  The effect is textured and strong.  Being on a fairly durable surface also means the work can be hung outside (out of full sun) so the possibilites for show are endless.  Jim is currently represented Adam Gallery in Bath.

It has to be said that by the end of our chat, Hayley, Jim and I were obviously 'painting from the same canvas' with regard to our views on reneable energy and ethos.  We lost track of time so I can only thank Jim for sharing his obvious passion and skill.

After reading a friends blog spot, it made me think.  To blog or not:

Starting a new site, it could well prove to be short-lived.

If you have enjoyed reading this newsletter, please don't forget to leave a message or just say 'hello'. It's always good to hear from you.

I'll leave you with one of my latest collagraph / etching detail prints

Summer Solstice

Made 21st June (2017)

May the second half of the year bring peace and understanding.