I'M GOING ON AN OWL HUNT......

I'm going on an owl hunt..... I'm not scared!     
 

  No! I was excited!! 

                                                                                   
But let me backtrack for a moment.  Did I tell you that I stayed with my blog friend Bernice in Birmingham?  Well, I went for a 3 day book course and did so much more. You see, on our first day we walked from the station to The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists (RBSA) and came across this little fellow: 

Well not so little really.... this is one of the large owls that are currently forming a trail across the city and beyond. It is called
The Big Hoot and after taking photos Bernice and I decided it would be fun to find others.  And so we did!  A few were too far but I think we did really well finding 54 large and 4 small owls in the short time that we had. 

What's more, I was given a personal sight-seeing tour (thank you Bernice!) and despite being a native to the city, Bernice also
discovered parts she has not seen.  We also learnt that these community projects really bring people together.  We chatted to others as we took photos, gave our maps to those who needed them more, and got into conversation on the train with people who heard us talking about the owl trail. 

As an avid photographer I don't need any excuse to get my camera out my bag (ask any of my friends - right Bernice?!) but it is even more fun when there is a challenge and fun to be had.  So, do you have time to come with me? My invitation is for the armchair version, but if you are visiting or live nearby I do suggest you check the real thing out.  Or see if there are trails near you.  I understand there are dragons to be found in Norwich, sheep in Bristol.... but in Birmingham, there are owls.  Lots of them.... so this post is photo heavy, but it is easier on the feet than the real trail so I hope you can stay the course!  Are you sitting comfortably?

The owls all began like this:

And now they look like this:

 

I loved how some of the owls reflected their location, with design taken from buildings and their surrounding.  And we also enjoyed some of the names:

One Giant Hoot for Owlkind
Twit Choo-Choo
Hootankhamoon
Owl-livia
Re-Tail
FreeRadiOwl
Florence Nightin'owl
and my favourite Tea T-owl

There were more owl photos, more stories. But for now it's time to take a break.  I'm sure you need it as much as I do, if you are still with me of course! And if you are - a huge thank you!!  Your company is appreciated, as are your comments. I have my favourites owls, which are yours? And if you have done a trail or have one near you do let me know.  I may want to visit!
I still have more to share about my time in Birmingham and will be back again soon, meantime, thanks for stopping by!

BOOK ART COURSE - BIRMINGHAM

When my blog friend Bernice told me she was booked on a Book Art
course I said 'lucky you'.  Then she wrote back and said 'Why don't you come too, and stay here?'

So I did!!

I travelled up the day before the course started and this gave us time to chat and chill and to think about what we might want to make. The course offered opportunity to learn printing techniques, book structures, and to combine these to make an Art Book. This was something that really excited me and I planned to go with the flow and see what ideas presented. Our tutor, Paul Hipkiss, is a very talented artist and printer and I was very inspired by his work and the examples that he showed us. And as I have been hankering to do some lino cuts I went home the first day with ideas bouncing! I sat throughout the evening and early hours sketching designs and making notes. I was going to make a book based on my trip to Barcelona.

But then next day I started to cut into the lino and I began to see a problem. Paul uses traditional lino tile and it was difficult to cut into! I did not want to spend all my time carving and missing other opportunities to learn, so I needed to rethink fast! My appreciation of the time and skill involved in making intricate lino prints escalated!  

So, I have bought my sketch book home and I will cut the designs into my soft linocut blocks. Paul showed us how to make prints with more than one colour so it will be fun to experiment when I have more time. Meantime, I used the printing press to dry emboss one of Bernice's stencils.  My original idea was changing shape!  These will be an integral part of the books design and I hope it all comes together. I also made several sample books so that I could remember the construction and make these at home - I was so inspired I needed 3 weeks not 3 days!! 

So, determined to come home with at least one finished project I spent my time playing, bouncing from one idea to another. I was inspired by other students work, resource material provided by Paul and by ideas thrown around between Bernice and myself. 

I did Dry-Point printing, which is something I have never heard of before. But first I had to make my plate by etching into a piece or styrene (type of Perspex). I used a simple design as my sample piece and a printing press to make the print. I hope my Big Shot will be capable of doing this at home. More experimenting planned! 

Here is a video that shows dry point. It is a print method I plan to experiment more with as it gives a fine detailed effect similar to an etching without the use of chemicals and specialist equipment. 

And finally here is some of my work made over the three days. A neat little stitched book, a pop up book which is a practice for a larger project I have in mind, a book sculpture, two accordion style books, and at the back, my dry-point prints.  What fun I had! 





Thank you Bernice, I'm so glad you asked me! 
And I'll be back soon to tell you about other things I did during my stay.