Sunday 23 September 2012

Printmaking

Three colour monotypes and collagraphs this weekend.







This method of creating monotypes results in prints of different colourways of the same initial idea.




Monday 20 August 2012

Pilgrims at St Davids

Ceramic figures, made by children ( and staff) of Fishguard schools, over the last year, depicting pilgrims on their way to St Davids Cathedral have now arrived at their destination and can be seen  processing towards the altar. In total about 150 25cm sculptures, individually made and fired have been arranged in procession. The individuality of the figures are wonderful- expressive and creative within the general theme,together making an interesting installation within this centre of pilgrimage.







Cauldrons and furnaces was the Welsh Cultural Olympiad and this installation was initiated and produced by artists from fishguard arts society

Tuesday 19 June 2012

In residence- Nant y Coy

Back home after a week in Pembrokeshire, meeting new people, talking bees with beekeepers from the other side of the UK ( what a different story!) and taking time to work on a new project.
The rain kept off for a few days- long enough to walk and sketch from the surrounding landscape- fabulous views from the top of 'Maiden Castle' and picturesque farmhouses and barns tucked in the wooded valleys.

West Ford Farm


Poll Cairn and Maiden Castle

It seemed the ideal opportunity to experiment with linocut-something I had not done for some years- reasonably quick and easy to print.

Nant y Coy Arts have a different artist/craftmaker installed in their studio each week throughout the summer. There is easy parking, fabulous local walks and a great cafe for afterwards  at the same location. A gallery shows work by Margaret Merritt- not to be missed are her mixed media landscapes -a joy of light and colour.

Sunday 10 June 2012

In Residence- Nant y Coy Arts


We are off to Nant y Coy Arts at Treffgarne Gorge  for our third week at this wonderful location. It gives us a great opportunity to work immersed in the landscape without the usual interruptions. Its always great to meet new people and talk with them about working techniques and our work in general.
Anyone in the area is welcome to join us for the day - there is a cafe on site and lots of fabulous landscape from which to find inspiration.


Tuesday 12th June-Sunday 17th June
10am-5pm
Nant y Coy Arts , Treffgarne, Haverfordwest, Pembs. SA62 5LR

Tuesday 27 March 2012

Patchwork with Shells



My series of patchwork pieces using collagraphs with integrated printed ephemera now has several more pieces. Each section of the quilt pattern is a section of print- some are straight prints, others are layered with a variety of papers from old books, maps etc. This piece has cigarette cards showing seashells arranged in the traditional style of Welsh quilts.
 Previous pices have had the individual pieces arranged according to particular field patterns - A patchwork of little fields (now on show at Hastings museum and art gallery) is and example.

Thursday 8 March 2012

Tatsuko


Glenn Ibbitson's new film Tatsuko  is complete apart from the soundtrack which will be created by Wyn Lewis Jones of  Fflach recording studios and other musicians.
This new film is based on a true news story from Japan which caught Glenn's imagination several years ago and which inspired him to create the film after his recent visit to Japan when he stayed in a friends small apartment.

Glenn writes Emerging from a remote landscape, a stranger enters the house of a female artist, who lives alone. There he takes up residence... undetected.
Over the course of a year the artist remains unaware of her uninvited guest, though his presence gradually influences her work, leading to an unexpected denouement...
Based on a true story, Tatsuko is a silent film with running time of about 40 minutes and shot almost entirely in black and white; using available light at all times.
Much work has already been achieved with the goodwill of our small cast and crew. The location work and most of the interior scenes have been completed. All uncompleted filmwork has already been carefully storyboarded. Funds are now needed to push the film through post-production and into the international film festival marketplace. Money will also be used to rent a music studio where award-winning musician Wyn Lewis Jones will compose and record an accompanying soundscape to further enhance a work rich in atmosphere.
In addition, your pledge will help fund the publication of a full colour book of 80 pages, tracing the projects development from initial inception to final cut, comprising production stills, storyboards, interviews, notes and essays.
Both film and book will be completed and ready for distribution by June 1st 2012.
If you have ever wanted to see your name on a movie credit roll or on the printed page as a supporter of the arts, this is your opportunity –with the added benefit of acquiring some unique, tangible art product in the process. 
Project development can be followed at: http://tatsukoproj.blogspot.com/    


and funded at:

Sunday 4 March 2012

On the Map


'A patchwork of little fields'
'On the Map ' opens in Hastings Museum and Art gallery this week with this piece of my work. Composed with fragments of original print and chine colle, each piece representing one field in one particular area near Tregaron. 
More information on previous blogs.

Preview : Friday 9th March at 6.45pm

Sunday 26 February 2012

Welsh Icons - Malcolm Gwyon





Welsh icons, from the worlds of sport and music are portrayed in vivid colours and and a sense of fun in Malcolm Gwyon's new show, at Theatr Mwldan in Cardigan, Wales.
Malcolm uses textures composed from daffodils, drip patterns, maps, dots and areas of textured paint to produce his very individual approach to this subject matter. First glances might suggest a simple image, digitally produced, however closer inspection reveals details created with the silhouettes of birds or an unusually Welsh tattoo.
The National Library of Wales have already purchased his work and 'Aneurin' usually hangs in our house. He has a strong local following and sells his work throughout Wales.

Welsh icons 

Saturday 25 February - Saturday 14 April 2012 

Admission to Oriel Mwldan is free. 

Opening times are 10am – 8pm daily. 

Saturday 11 February 2012

Consignment - Glenn Ibbitson

Ffin y Parc gallery, Llanrwst latest show opens tomorrow afternoon with this uncompromising exhibition about human trafficking. The human body is depicted, confined in a packing case, as it moves around the space in attitudes of desperation and despair. 
Read literally or metaphorically, the compound effect of the human figure in torment, can not fail to impress
See for yourself.......

Preview
Sunday 12th February 2-5pm
Ffin y Parc. Betws Road, Llanrwst, Conwy, North Wales UK LL26 0PT
 gallery:  www.welshart.net
Glenn Ibbitson : www.smokingbrushfineart.com

What the artists says:
“Consignment is an ongoing multi-media project comprising paintings, prints and film. The work developed from an initial theme of escapology into a meditation on the contemporary social environment. The composition of the figure physically enclosed within the confines of the frame, was chosen for its universality; it suggests simultaneously both cell and refuge or hiding place. It is employed here as a visual metaphor for the individual as the object of:
1 political oppression; the suspension of human liberties and the enforced submission of the individual.
2 human trafficking. The high risk strategies employed in acts of global transmigration, either voluntary or coerced, place people in situations of extreme endurance; conditions into which they are willing to place themselves and/or others, in the vain hope of improving their economic circumstances.

The paintings and prints are all square in format, with dimensions ranging from 10cm to 92cm, and have all been painted and designed to hang any way up.
The short film: “Consignment”, accompanies the exhibition and has a running time of about 5 minutes.


                                                                                       Glenn Ibbitson



Tuesday 17 January 2012

Maps

Having already delivered one of my map pieces to one gallery I am now working towards the second show exhibiting concurrently on the same theme- they weren't originally meant to clash. Having  preprinted collagraphs, most using chine colle layers or two layers of colour, onto somerset paper then I started cutting out. Each collagraph uses a tiny square of Welsh map as its starting point, with mapping symbols, fields and other features included. Paper ephemera such as guide books, advertisements and pamphlets are included in the prints.


The current map collage will use around 200 precision cut pieces of print reassembled to create a single piece full of textures and many shades of green.

Pieces from this series of work will be shown at:
Hastings Museum and Art Gallery in their exhibition on maps: traditional and contemporary (10 March - 17 June 2012) and
'Journeys'  at the Chapel Gallery in Ormskirk 24th March- 5th May 2012.