Printmaking: Intaglio print

I have started experimenting with etching, using  non-toxic materials, mainly acrylic and waterbased.

The print Procession is an example for soft ground etching: lines are drawn into a soft resist that forms a barrier between the metal plate and the etch bath. Only where the drawn lines break through this resist and expose the metal surface will the etching solution start biting the metal. Thus depressions are created which will later hold etching ink during the printing process.

Aluminium plate, acrylic soft ground, waterbased Caligo etching ink 
on Hahnemühle etching paper. 2010.

Furniture design: Bedside table

This piece is called China Cabinet because my design incorporates elements that remind me of a stage prop of the Thirties trying to create a Far Eastern ambience. I found the little bedside or end table at a garage sale in the Deep Cove area of North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The owner told me it was once bought by her mother-in-law and used in their household until it became too outdated. The table is in very good condition, it obviously was a respected piece of furniture.

The new knobs are special. They are handmade and they complement my design perfectly. I got them at this fantastic hardware store, Cantu hardware, back then in downtown Vancouver. 

Wood, acrylic paint, acrylic varnish, brass. 1998.

Size: 43 x 38 x 69 cm.

Fabric design: Shirt

Presented on one of my mannequins is a hand dyed cotton shirt with an early design: lines splattered across the fabric. The effect is nice because each shirt has a unique pattern. Though less time consuming than working with stamps, the process requires patience - the lining around sleeves and neckline needs to be masked off as it needs to remain splatter free.

Cotton fabric, Procyon fabric dye, Setacolor fabric paint. 1997.

Length: 55 cm

Here is an example of working with stamps on a hand dyed cotton T-shirt.

Printmaking: Intaglio print

This is my first intaglio print, done in the drypoint technique. The title Charlie and the Moonbird has to do with Charlie, the old, old donkey who used to graze in the field adjacent to my house in County Mayo, Ireland.

One morning I looked out and there he lay on his side, dead. It made me very sad - this animal always had displayed so much stubborn quirkiness. I felt compelled to somehow make the donkey live on in one of my works.

On this first print the personification of Death, 
a Moonbird, talks to Charlie. 
The second print shows donkey and bird on their way to the Beyond.

Aluminium plates, drypoint, carborundum. 

Charbonnel etching ink on Fabriano Rosaspina paper. 2005.

Size: 15 x 13 cm.

Recycled furniture: Break Up

A sad, worn piece of furniture it was when I found it at a charity garage sale somewhere in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Its appearance improved considerably by applying paint and an interesting design - but the colourful lines hold unhappy memories. I gave this coffee table the name Break Up because this is what was happening in my relationship at that time. Well, at least the table sold...

Wood, acrylic paint, acrylic varnish. 1997.

122x43x38cm

Fabric design: T-shirts

Here I am showing some of my earliest designs on hand dyed cotton tunics and T-shirts.
I used stamps made from foam lining, mounted on small pieces of wood or cork. Details were painted in using fabric paint in plastic bottles with metal nozzles.

Cotton fabric, handmade stamps,
Procyon fabric dye, Setacolor fabric paint. 1997.

Clay sculpture: Work in progress

Last fall I went to a life-drawing class at Lismirrane Art Centre near Kiltimagh, County Mayo. I wanted to find out to what extent looking at a real model influences the "liveliness" of clay sculpture the way I do it. And how I would deal with speed as the model changes poses frequently.
I drew pencil sketches first and then started forming clay following a pose I liked. It wasn't possible to finish a figure in class, I had to to go back to my sketches in my studio. But I feel that working from a live model does add movement to my sculptures.
I haven't had a chance yet to bisque fire the figures I made - hopefully this is going to happen soon.

 Grogged red earthenware clay, unfired. 2009.