This month I was invited back to run another screen printing workshop for The Royal Shakespeare Company's Midsummer Sundae event. The RSC suggested printing Indian patterns to link in with a performance of Spiced Indian Air which is about a little Indian child in Midsummer Night's Dream who Titania and Oberon fight over. I printed some simple Indian inspired patterns onto coloured fabric and hung them together like rows of Tibetan prayer flags. With the help of illustrator Jane McGuinness we set up fabric printing equipment in a marquee outside the Swan Theatre next to the River Avon.
Jane and I had a busy day but it was great to work with so many creative and enthusiastic children, young people and adults. The best part was when they came back to do more because they enjoyed it so much! These are just a few of the fabulous fabric prints made throughout the day.
Here are some clues as to what I've been doing in June! My design was selected for the Big Hoot and so I spent almost two weeks painting a large scale owl sculpture at a studio in Digbeth, Birmingham. I knew it would be hard work but I didn't expect the painting to take quite as long as it did and at times I thought it would never end. It was a huge relief when my owl was approved and I finally got to apply the varnish. Hurray!
89 large owl sculptures have been painted, decorated and embellished by different artists and the sculptures will be exhibited around Birmingham over the summer. After that they will be auctioned to raise money for Birmingham Children's Hospital.
In May I made another trip to Yorkshire, this time it was to take part in Saltaire Arts Trail. Over the bank holiday weekend I was exhibiting my work at the Designer Maker's Fair in Victoria Hall. It was a great opportunity to display framed screen prints along with a selection of my other work. I enjoyed meeting visitors and also the chance to catch up with some of my favorite printmakers including Helen Peyton and James Green. The cakes and pasties were pretty good too!
Another new animal design! This one is my lucky Black Cat which I printed onto little tote bags using Eco-friendly Permaset Aqua textile ink.
The month of May was all about drawing instead of screen printing as I was working on a new series of animal designs for a commission. Naturally some of these characters managed to find their way into my screen prints. I've not printed many animals before and also set myself the challenge of trying new colour combinations. It was harder than I expected so there were quite a few failures before I finally finished this edition of Run Rabbits Run! prints in bright green, orange and brown.
