I'm still sketching on my fragmentation of a fish... Thought of making it less playful...

Now even my sketches for Illustration Friday are starting to be about birds and fishes..

Illustration Friday is an American weekly illustration challenge. I have joined a couple of months ago and haven't missed a week yet.. although admittedly not all my drawings were great.

This week's topic was 'Rescue'.

Normally I try not to go all political. But this week.. right after the failed rescue attempt of the bluefin tuna.. I say:

DO.STOP.EATING.BLUEFIN.TUNA. All of you!

We can. Save them. But only if we do not eat them anymnore.

Sketching on ...

Saint Francisca..

The birds of Mary Blair

This picture of Mary Blair has been on my wall since a year or so. I didn't even notice it anymore, but now with the fishes and birds project it caught my eye again. Mary Blair helped develop Disney's Alice in Wonderland. She also provided illustrations for several Golden Books.

Sketching..

I have no intention of doing modern folklore.. but this image keeps cropping up in my mind. This morning I woke up at six, full of ideas, and started sketching. I keep forgetting - while preparing classes or doing my taxes - that it is almost april 1. Which is when Titi is going to teach Francis and me how to do a silkscreen. So I had better have something to print by then!

I had an image with only three colours in my mind, too. To keep the printing process simple.

It is 8 o'clock now and I think I had better go for a run to think it all over.
I am getting a little nervous all of a sudden..

Fishes

Yesterday I went to the famous Artist's Books bookstore Boekie Woekie in Amsterdam to deliver two of my own books. The three artists who own the shop make the most enchanting postcards, which they of course also sell. I got this one especially for the blog. It is made by Rúna Thorkelsdóttir. She told me they make them by painting on several plastic sheets they run through an offset printer, resulting in small editions. I have to look into that technique some time...

Short interview with Francis Kilian

Tell us what you do in one sentence.


I paint. I draw. I draw a picture and give it colors. Coloring takes most time. Colors tell my stories. I draw paintings.


Where did you get your art education?

I went to Academie Minerva (art academy) in Groningen. I did graphics and autonomous arts. I arrived when I was 17 and left when I was almost 20, to travel for a year. I finished my education in Utrecht,  at the Hoge School voor de Kunsten and got my degree as an arts teacher.

Who is your favorite artist? 

It usually depends on whom I saw recently. Which at this moment happens to be Sophie Calle. But over the years a few artists have kept inspiring me:
Mimo Paladino.

Kjell Eirik Killi Olsen.

Louise Bourgeois – I love love love her drawings, her cells, they are amazing.
More recently I fell in love whith Janpeter Muilwijk.

and I am taking a course on the Flemish masters. Jan van Eyck. Rogier van der Weijden. And then there is Giotto. Old stuff, but it's the world I live in.
Actually you might presume I would prefer female artists since I always paint women, but that's not the case.
I am crazy however about two musical sisters, Coco Rosie, at the moment. Check out their CD Noah’s Ark.

Do you have a special connection with fishes or birds?  
Birds are very special to me. They appear in my work a lot. Even when I don't plan it. This morning I woke up at seven. It has been a cold and dark winter but this morning I heard birds singing. They sang that typical spring tune birds have. For me, that's a sign of hope and happines. Of something good.

What are you planning to do for the book?
I have not planned anything yet. But I am going to make something small. It ’s been a while since I used my press. But I am going to wait a few more weeks before I start on this.

Can you describe where you live? 

I live in a small town, Meppel, together whith my husband Mark. My grown up sons have moved out already. Ten years ago we bought an old ice cream factory out here, that had been lived in by an old widower with his 5 children for many years. He produced yellow and red ice cream. Everybody here remembers. The red was the best, they tell us.
Within 5 minutes of our house lies the most beautiful nature reserve of the north-eastern Netherlands. It is called ‘de Wieden’. Swans, storks and goslings live in this area. They land on our house, they fly over in autumn and spring. They build their nests in the area.
Ten years ago I thought it was a great idea: to be living in this small-not-very-exciting-but-very-quiet town and to work hard. And after that to move to another part of the country. But life is strange: the longer we live here, the more we get connected to the place.. 



What is your goal in art and in life?


To be true.

some sketching

I've been thinking what to do for the exhibition. This is one of the ideas I'm working on. I have been thinking of fragmentation, because of the tool I'll be using.

Short interview with Caroline Ellerbeck

Tell us what you do in one sentence.

I make illustrations for children's books and I work with graphic designers.
I also make free work.

Where did you get your art education?

I got my education at the Royal Academy of Arts in The Hague.

Who is your favorite artist?

I don't have one in particular.

The french illustrator Alain Grée is one of my favorite illustators. I found his book Au jardin (In the garden) in a secondhand bookstore.
His work is beautiful.

I went to the exhibition of the Dutch artist Alex van Warmerdam last month. I really like his work! He makes movies, theatre and paintings.

Alex van Warmerdam, Man With Suitcases

Do you have a special connection with fishes or birds?

I like birds. They make me happy in the spring. I love lemon on my fish. 

What are you planning to do for the book?

Shall I prepair a meal? 

Can you describe where you live? 

I live in Rotterdam, the Netherlands with my family. We have lived there for three years now, and I like it a lot. The house is from 1921. In the back there's a nice, green garden with an old pear tree. There is a busy street out front.
The neighbourhood,  Delfshaven, inspires me because of the many nationalities you will find here.

What is your goal in art and in life?

I want to develop my work and take every opportunity I get.
Drawing is what I like to do best, ever.

Kitty is doing her homework...

I am liking the idea of holding things that fly. the tension of the hold although delicate and the power of the wings. I feel this way so much in life. Like I am working against time, working to slow things down to slow my children from growing so fast, from flying away. To hold it all in place for a moment to make sure I really see it.

One of my first sketchings for Of birds and fishes.

Zeebaars / bass

Short interview with Inge Koenen

Tell us what you do in one sentence

I cut, paint, hammer, glue, etch, mix, smear, draw, sew, saw, screw, take pictures, tear, paste and collect.

Where did you get your art education?

Academie voor Beeldende vorming( Art Academy) in Tilburg. I also studied at the Facultad de Bellas Artes in Granada (Spain) for a couple of months.

Who is your favorite artist?

There are hundreds and my preferences vary on a daily basis. Today I will mention Kiki Smith, Rineke Dijkstra, Erwin Wurm, Guido van de Werve, Bridget Baker, Bill Viola en Ishiuchi Miyako. Tomorrow I would mention others.

Self protrait by Rineke Dijkstra

I think it is plain wonderful that mere people are able to create so many fantastic and amazing things that can move, enchant and disturb you, make you laugh or make you pause.

Do you have a special connection with fishes or birds?

Birds and fishes inspire me. To me they signify ultimate freedom! At times I am jealous of the ease with which they fly and float, heeding no borders. A mystery! Some birds can fly while they sleep, some fish swim thousands of kilometers only to return to the same spot each year to mate. The largest mammals are fish. Fascinating stuff! In addition fishes and birds have the most exotic colors and shapes en both have amazing skin types/feathers.
Apart from that they are very tasteful. I love fried Chinese lemon chicken and how about bass in a crust of salt? Makes my mouth water..

What are you planning to do for the book?

A photograph. Probably involving blue pigments. Blue, because that's where water and air meet, and birds and fishes.

Can you describe where you live?

Like Klaartje I live in Tilburg, a hideous labouring town where lots of things are happening under the surface. You have to learn to love this town. Typical for Tilburg is the Turning House made by artist/architect John Körmeling.

It is a normal modern house made of bricks, sitting on a turnpike that really turns around! It caused a huge oproar, and it makes me laugh every time I pass by. By the way, it's probably the first house to ever hit a car. A driver, probably drunk, landed on the rails. Some people blamed the accident on the house.

What is your goal in art and in life?


In art: to move and to be moved, even if only a little.
In life: to live it for as long and as well as possible, with the people I meet along the way and especially those that I love.

Some Peruvian birds

I didn't know how to add this images to the blog, without infringing copyright, so have decided to share the links with you:

Wire-crested Thorntail

Andean Cock of the Rock

Bill Bouton, the photographer, has plenty of fantastic photos I'm sure you'll enjoy.

Short interview with Gracia Haby

Tell us what you do in one sentence.
With scissors, with glue, with the aid of a computer too, I create collage works, prints, artists’ books and all manner of things in between.

What is your favourite artist?
To pick only one is hard for me to do. I like the words of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, Orhan Pamuk, Herta Müller, Iris Murdoch; I like the movement of Vaslav Nijinsky, Rudolf Nureyev, Margot Fonteyn; I like the artwork of Eva Hesse, Kiki Smith, Joseph Cornell, Joseph Beuys; the films of Aki Kaurismäki, Pedro Almodóvar—

Seems one art form, one artist, is hard for me to select.

Today, for its connection to our project, I will say the work of artist Takeo Takei (1894–1982).

Artwork by Takeo Takei (1968)

Do you have a special connection with fishes or birds?
I am currently reading books and texts about the animal kingdom. I am rereading John Berger’s chapter Why look at animals? and consequently thinking of our connection to animals, all animals, of which we are one. Here is but a small taste.

”A zoo is a place where as many species and varieties of animal as possible are collected in order that they can be seen, observed, studied. In principle, each cage is a frame round the animal inside it. Visitors visit the zoo to look at animals. They proceed from cage to cage, not unlike the visitors in an art gallery who stop in front of one painting, and then more on to the next or the one after next. Yet in the zoo the view is always wrong. Like an image out of focus.”
(Why look at animals? John Berger)

(You can download it to read as a pdf here)

Graeme Gibson’s The Bedside Book of Birds — An Avian Miscellany and its companion The Bedside Book of Beasts — A Wildlife Miscellany are ever at hand and proving invaluable. The imagery, prose and poems featured are beautiful and inspiring both, and I hope to share a little of what I find on the pages with you here. A common bond mixed with fascination is my connection.

What are you planning to do for the book?
Relatively new to the project, my head is a pleasing whirl of ideas loosely formed. I have no concrete plans as such and I am looking forward to seeing what comes next. Aquiver with anticipation, it is a nice way to be.

Still in elusive pursuit. (Gracia Haby, postcard collage 2010)

From here we can see the Adriatic sea. (Gracia Haby, postcard collage 2006)

Milano two step. (Gracia Haby, postcard collage 2007)

Can you describe where you live?
I live and work but a stone’s throw to the city and all her enchantments. From home, I work and it is quiet for the main, just as I like it. I once lived by the sea, now I live in a single fronted terrace house with many animals and many things. It is rather tiny and rather crowded.

A recent artists' book of mine, A view gleaned through looking glass (2009).

Walking about locally is a good way to clear the head.

What is your goal in art and in life?
Mirroring the answers of those of you who have posted your interview replies previous, happiness and fulfillment are what I seek in my life and by natural extension in my work too; I make my work because I enjoy making it.

Thanks for the invitation extended. I am happy to be a part of this project.

GRACIA + LOUISE
High Up in the Trees

Brave

What is Gocco?

I know some of you are wondering what a Gocco is. Print Gocco is a home screen printing device produced by a Japanese company called Riso. The machine was designed in 1977 by Noboru Hayama. It has been since in many Japanese homes. From 2008 Riso has stopped producing Gocco, saying that sales have decreased over the years. The last ink, mesh and lightbulb stock was shipped to vendors in 2008.

The device has got 2 parts: One case for a couple of lightbulbs (very potent and weird-looking ones) and a hinged cap/base with a glass on top, to place the inked mesh and the surface you will apply your artwork on. One of the differences with a traditional screen print, is that the meshes come with the photo emulsion applied. Another difference is that the light necessary to imprint the negative onto the mesh comes in the same device. You only have to place the two lightbulbs in their case, put the case over the glass (it clicks when it's placed right) and press the device. It flashes a strong light over the mesh. The image you want to imprint should be underneath, and could be either a photocopy or a laser print. And voilá: the negative is ready. The hinged cap is then used for the printing: you simply put the inks on the mesh and start closing the cap and pressing over paper or cloth. There is no need for a squeegee, though you could print with the mesh out of the device and use one (as you would with a regular screen print).

As in recent years Gocco has become popular among western artists and crafters, there is even an online campaign to press Riso to produce the device again. There have been attempts from American and Australian companies to buy the patent, but Riso has rejected to sell.

Here is a list of links where you can find out more about this wonderful little machine:

Save Gocco campaign
Exhibition of artists using Gocco
A tutorial

Fishes on my mind

I've never been thinking much about fish before - and now when preparing for a class in screen printing techniques ... I suddenly found myself working on a fish image! I'm preparing some examples to demonstrate different ways to work with photographic images and screenprinting (based on a photo I took at the fish market last summer).

...but this is not what I'm making for our project!

Short interview with Kitty Kilian

Tell us what you do in one sentence
I make art and illustration is my medium.

Where did you get  your art education?
I am self taught.

Who is your favorite artist?
Alexander Calder. The way his often immense mobiles float about calmly, unperturbed by what we mere mortals make such fuss about, always makes me happy and content. And I admire his sense of shape and proportion.

Calder with Myxomatose, 1953 (A08122), Paris. Photograph by Agnès Varda, 1954.

I have always had a preference for applied arts. Even when I was a journalist I would rather write about a pottery show than a painting exhibit. I love, for instance, Grayson Perry's ceramics a lot, and Julie Arkell's little dolls. Having said that, I do have quite a few favorite painters, and many of them live in a far away past.

Grayson Perry in 2003 with two of his pots. He uses text, transfers, gold luster - his subjects are often grim.

Do you have a special connection with fishes or birds?
I dislike fishes, although they can be beautiful. Birds are okay. In art I like animals when they play a part in a story. I could never be a bird watcher. I am too impatient. Although I see lots of trees in a normal week, because I do my running in a forest, I have never had the peace of mind to just walk around there and enjoy nature. Ideas and words and pictures occupy my thoughts.. I guess my ideal hike is with a friend who has good conversation.

What are you planning to do for the book?
A silkscreen. Titi is going to teach Francis and me how. I have a clear idea of what I want to make, it involves a woman and a bird, flying together.

Can you describe where you live?

Utrecht is a medieval town in the center of Holland. It has roman remains, quaint 17 th and 18 th century houses, canals, some nature to relax in, and not as many tourists by far as Amsterdam. We are just plain lucky to live here!

 

What is your goal in art and in life?
To be good, to have fun, to be brave.

Short interview with Alexandra Hedberg

Tell us what you do in one sentence.

I first of all paint - but I also screen print and make enamels (when it comes to explaining the content I can not limit myself to a sentence)

Where did you get your art education?

1. In Gothenburg, Sweden: Painting, Art History and a Master in Art and Technology (I worked on an interactive robot art piece among other things)
2. at Atelier Contrepoint in Paris: modern experimental printmaking as S W Hayter used to teach it there when it was Atelier 17)
3. material based technique courses at KKV (artist run workshops): glass, enamel, screen printing and cutting plotter

What inspires you?

Human strengths and weaknesses. Human expressions.

Do you have a special connection with fishes or birds?

Nope. Though I have made some commissioned art pieces with birds as motives. Thinking about it – I do like magpies a lot.

What are you planning to do for the book?

As my art is all about human beings I will probably do something that is a human in costume, or a creature that is something in between. Or it could be a human with bird/fish. I never decide beforehand what I will make; I let it instead come to me while sketching. I know that I will make a screen print though.

Can you describe where you live?

I live in an apartment in central Gothenburg (Sweden’s second city). Gothenburg is by the sea – so we eat much fish here (a special connection?) – but I actually don’t see much of the sea in my daily life. I see more of the river leading to the sea.

What is your goal in art and in life?

1. I want to make the best of art and get recognition that matters
2. I want to have fun with my family in many ways (travel, common projects etc)
   

Short interview with Aris Moore

Tell us what you do in one sentence.

I make paintings, drawings, and collages that tell stories.

Where did you get your art education?

I went to Montserrat College of Art in Massachusetts and am beginning my Masters at the Art Institute of Boston in the Spring.

Who is your favorite artist?

I can't do that, there are just too many.

Do you have a special connection with fishes or birds?

I have always loved birds. One of my best friends growing up was my pet bird Ms. Gray. They are special, they connect us to the sky, maybe they bring messages. I could watch them for hours. All of them. I have never met a bird I didn't like. Pigeons, blue Jays, hawks and even starlings, to me they are all lovely. As for fish I find them very peaceful, I have had a few as pets and I cried when they passed, so I did love them.

What are you planning to do for the book?

I'm not sure yet. I am still thinking........

Can you describe where you live?

I live in a small town that is on the ocean. It's quiet and beautiful. It has woods, fields and beaches. I live in a small house with My husband, 4 year old son and daughter, dog and two cats. It's a cozy life. We are near a nice busier town with galleries, nice shops, and good restaurants.

This is our yard in the winter. I am wishing for spring and will post a new picture when it arrives.

What is your goal in art and in life?

To be true to all that I love.

Short interview with Juliana Salcedo

Tell us what you do in one sentence.
I am obsessed with little creatures, so I draw them.

Where did you get your art education?
I studied architecture in Colombia (my homecountry). I've spent years trying not to think of space, but of colour and line instead. Sounds silly, but when I decided to be an illustrator, I usually drafted the space before anything else. Now I've forgotten buildings and almost everything I learned at school. Drawing is what is left.

Who is your favorite artist?
I like Laurie Faggioni's work a lot. She makes little dolls that, to me, have soul.

Do you have a special connection with fishes or birds?I come from a country with many bird species and one of the things I liked when I was a child, was to  silently stay up while everyone had a siesta and see those colourful little birds come down from the trees to look for food. With fish it is different. I like them grilled and fried, but find difficult to identify with them. Maybe the images I like the most of fish are those of light reflecting on a shoal. I also like sharks. They move like cats. Oh, and I don't like pigeons at all.

What are you planning to do for the book?
For now, I've been sketching. I have and idea involving a gocco machine, a Mr. Serious Fish and the tiniest bird of all. A hummingbird called "Zunzucito". Everything could change until the deadline, though.

Can you describe where you live?
I live in the city centre of Madrid. It's a lively city full of things to do. I enjoy walking around before it's too warm (in summer temperatures can reach 40ºC). The photo I have included is what I see from my window and my favourite place at home. It's a puff where I could spend hours reading, knitting or drafting...

What is your goal in art and in life?
In art, my goal is to find my own voice. In life, I'd like to be able to live from what I love.