You've Been Tagged

Well it's a bit late to be getting this 'task' (as it were) completed, but it was just a matter of getting around to it. I spent ages getting the eight random facts about myself together - typical me - I always do things too thoroughly. I mean I was just the same recently when it came to the matter of getting my Christmas cards written and posted which is why there are still quite a few hanging around !!. What am I like !!!.
Anyway the 8 random facts are located here on the blog somewhere............
Snippet One (part one of 8 facts about me)
Snippet Two; (part 2 of 8 facts about me )

SNIPPET NUMBER THREE
I have just realised that I never did anumber three so here goes one off the cuff -
While I was doing my degree in Fine art at Trent Park (Middlesex University) , I had an amazing dream about one of my fellow students (whose work I admired),Lori Lirossi.

I saw all these paintings that she was going to be doing and they were lovely pieces. I was quite impressed with this experience . I did tell her about this and she was just SOH frustrated that she could not access the images !!
4. Snippet number 4
5. snippet number 5
6. Snippet number 6
7. Snippet number 7
8. Snippet number 8
9.final footnote of the tagged process
HERE ARE THE PEOPLE I AM TAGGING
Alynn Guerra
Mandy Prowse

Leonie Connellan also known as Crumpart

John Hitchcock over at Hybrid Press
Jade Pegler aka Me-Jade


Marion Michell aka Marjojo
Denise at http://lostvoice.blogspot.com/

My Little Horrors

Just been going through some old CD's of my image files and came across this which is my all time favorite photo of my cats when I first got them.. What a time that was, it was such fun, and they were so precious and highly amusing. I had to toilet train them (as it were) but they really were very well behaved. My neighbors girls, Roma, Aelish and little Grace used to call to visit them. Then, after a while, once these little bundles had gained their confidence they used to pop along the garden in between our back gardens and go visit the girls.

I have a video somewhere of them which I must dig out of them larking about on my old Chesterfield sofa. Kittens are truly one of the delights of life. It only lasted about three months and then they started to look a bit more like fully grown cats. They are still with me and are such different characters who give me much pleasure. It's funny because in the beginning the stripey one was more forward but as adults the situation reversed although he is still not backwards at coming forwards, when he wants something.

Three Masters of Fine Art..........all that TALENT !!!!

Three Masters of Fine Art..........

All those Brains....and creative energy and personalities and artwork and bank loans to repay. oh oh but hey ...we had a gay old time. Now that I am finally going through my christmas card pile and actually getting some letters/cards written up well it makes you think about people friends buddies. People who've been good to you when you've needed a friend which is the case with these 2 beauties. That's me on the left , in the middle is Linda Sgoluppi and on the right is Birna Matthiasdottir.

"TAPIR" artist trial proof, by: Sandra Baxter

TAPIR artist trial proof by: Sandra Baxter
Originally uploaded by ainesse.

I told myself that I would not load this on here UNTIL I had finished doing my Christmas card label sheets on the computer and hooray - I have finished the dreaded task !! Now I know how to use that software as well. I just have to get my cards organized. It seems to me that the most important thing is to send cards and some little pieces of news to people that are far away like Brazil and Iceland and of course Ireland.

I won't need to send one to my friend Susan Carlyle from Australia this year because she is here somewhere in the UK. I have unfortunately lost her current email through the last computer crash where I lost all my email from January to September of this year. So until she gets in touch - I don't know how or where to contact her .
I have not made cards for quite a few years maybe that will be something to aim for, for next year. However those that I do send will be Christmas cards that support charitable organizations otherwise it's just pointless. I feel this way, because a lot of what goes on at Christmas is utterly consumerist driven - it really pishes me off.

Thats a new phrase which I have kind of picked up here in Scotland and I like it - it's a little less vulgar than the raw phrase and always makes me think of Sean Connory in his role as James Bond.

The print image as seen here is by artist printmaker Sandra Baxter, who as far as I am aware, does not have a website which is a shame because she does some lovely etchings of all kinds of beautiful creatures. They really are stunning and beautiful in their mark making qualities.
The photo was very kindly taken for me by Bill Douglas who is a photographer for the Dundee Courier.

Photographs of my New Studio 1

New Studio 1
Originally uploaded by ainesse.

Well it's actually a converted garage but its 'new' to me. I made some prints yesterday and that is why it is such an untidy mess. These I have sent off to Denmark for a forthcoming exhibition - I was being generous also because these guys get to keep the 3 prints that I sent - I must be mad !!
I will upload these to the blog later.

Getting back to the photos of the studio although this probably makes it look like a nightmare to work in -- its not like that at all.

Once my trusty etching press was brought down stairs a couple of days ago - it was like it was/ is officially open!!

At present the etching press seems to be covered in stuff acting more like a table top. That blue print on the left is a trace monotype that I made a couple of years ago when I was testing a whole load of paper samples that John Purcell papers in London sent me.

This was in an effort to find a suitable paper. Something I have been doing for years on and off.
The idea with trying all of these thin lightweight "smoothish" papers ; being that I would then, place an order. I did do that along with probably ordering some Fabriano or maybe it was the Somerset Buff, which I really like to use. The thing is though that as of now,I can not remember what type it was.

I have yet to make a series using this particular paper.

I will upload the little test series when I can locate them - those were fun to do and are totally raw as in no preparatory drawing.


CLICK ON PHOTO IF YOU WANT TO SEE MORE STUDIO/PHOTOS ON MY FLICKR ALBUM

The CHRISTMAS MACHINE is here again......

oh my Gawd.......I'm afraid I do find it all to be a bit of a pain. It's just a consumeristic extravaganza and such an awful amount of money goes to waste that could be put to so much better use. I appreciate that some of you may possibly be saying "bah humbug" and the like but ...well I mean if you are a little kid and you still believe in Santa Claus then Christmas truly is wondrous and magical and to be around such children must be a joy.

I have my artwork in an exhibition of the name Christmas Machine which is being presented by a guy called Kay Biesalski who is an artist and the owner of the MFK gallerie in Berlin. My first time showing in Berlin so that's a good thing. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to beam myself over there like the star trekkers oh if only magic was real ( I know that sounds crazy - by the way is that a 'tautology'? )
The piece that I sent was originally made for a print edition. But this was a different version in that I incorporated an intaglio element, making it a "one off" unique "tradigital" work.


Some of the artists exhibiting include Yuka Yamaguchi ,Toby Tam, Bobi and Bobi, Daniela Orvin, Marcel Prins, Martina Florarce, Matt Mignanelli, Aya Rosen, Yuiko Takada, Matthias Adolfsson, Cecilia Levy, John Azelvandre, Cher MacNeil, F.P.W. (Austria), Galia Ofri, Masha Krasnova-Shabaeva, Billy & Hells, Archi Galentz, K.B. Kleeman, Johannes Heidenpeter, Jonathan C. Vaughan, www.timobeil.com, Rami Efal, Jenny Kocerka, Pilar Berrio, Massioma Nato, Stacey Miso, Hila Amram, Raul Walsh.


You can see a set of images relating to the exhibition on the MFK Flickr album that Kay operates http://www.flickr.com/photos/kay_berlin/sets/72157603214571790/

Good Editions - I guess I must be GOOD !!!

Its now official......as in, I must be very GOOD !!! I actually was thinking to myself that I probably ought to do a post on here about this current exhibition that I had work selected for. I wonder how many people entered for it. It was entry by online submission (which I like) and I hoped that the print I sent them WOULD be selected.

The Very GOOD Show actual physical exhibition will be held at INDEXG, Toronto
from December the 11th through to January 6th, 2008.
The INDEXG art gallery is located at 50 Gladstone Ave, Toronto West-Queen-West art district in Canada. Prior to the show opening the artworks are available for purchase on-line

There are a large number of artworks on view and here are the pieces that I quite liked although to be honest nothing really 'grabbed" me although Serge Clement's piece was probably of most appeal from those that I chose.

There was one other person in this show who was listed as a printmaker/illustrator who did lino cuts. In fact I was surprised to see that she seemed to have just sent a scan of one of her lino cuts, which was decorative in nature.

Unhearing One

Unhearing One
Originally uploaded by ainesse.

I keep meaning to get myself on over to my blog and yet hear I am again on Flickr, not so much browsing around 'window shopping' and amusing myself. Oh no, I am working, I have downloaded a huge load of photos of earlier artworks most of which I still think are good - theres the odd one thats a bit naff , but I leave them in so that people can see that we all 'stuff up" sometimes.
This is a long time favorite of mine. I made it in about 1998/99. I was probably thinking of somehow making it into a print and hence the limited palette. I might still do it sometime .....well maybe.

Catherine King printmaker fine artist

kircalmusepv13x
Originally uploaded by ainesse.

Here is a picture from the exhibition opening that I attended today. This is the artwork of Catherine King who is a pretty interesting collagraph printmaker. These works are rather large almost life size. She has made the pieces in sections and incorporated silver leaf as well as drawing in the head/body areas. The theme of the show was/is Silver and like myself, C. just couldn’t get that excited about the theme although once she settled onto the idea of a buckle ...she was off on her way towards making these pieces. Given that she works full time as a teacher and is a mother of 2 - she works damn hard at maintaining her fine art practice and I admire that. She comes across as a woman with energy and passion!! Good on yah C.

The exhibition " Print Silver`' features works by members of FDPW past and present. It runs from December 1st to 13th January, and is on at the Kirkcaldy Museum & Art Gallery, War Memorial Gardens, Kirkaldy, Phone: 01592 583213