This is my new work, layers of solar print, and relief solar print to create compositions. These have been recently exhibited in St Davids in Cardiff.

'Made in Roath', exhibition in shop window.......

with 3 weeks to go.......

Only 3weeks till our show and we are off to The Sidney Nolan Trust to participate in a steam roller press event, where we have been expected to make a plate which is at least 6foot long, after careful consideration I have decided to work on lino, a huge expense, but me and fellow student Ian have fund raised at university and have managed to raise enough to pay the bulk of our lino, which is costing around £70 to get a six foot by 3 foot piece.
It has taken me nearly two weeks to make my lino print, I have been working on it in the evenings while at university everyday preparing for the show, the week leading up to this event I have stayed up doing the lino until 1am most nights.
Exhausted.....
However it was all worth it, here are some photographs from the event.

I brought together all my knowledge so far on the course to create this piece and I am extremely happy with the result.

My print got chosen to go in a gallery in Prestieigne called the workhouse gallery.....

Grid prints

Experimenting at the same time as making the violins, I have discovered all sorts of ways of using lino, I began to compose three layered linno prints, where the under layer is the exact same size as the top, I used the dremel to create dotted texture and then made the first layer, with vein like structure running through the demel marks, I then rotated the print in another colour, this then gave me the idea to create blends of colour, and I rotated the print with another blend over the top, create double lines and the dots with two colours. I then imprinted a portrait lino on top, this gave the portrait a depth and an interest with the textures and intertwining layers.
It reminded me of music composition, of the way a piece of music works when there are notes that fit with each other, the way the violin bow and techniques of playing can add depth to a piece of music, they change the dynamic, they make it more interesting, when notes are layered together they can create harmonies, and I feel these small lino prints through the layers create interesting harmonies, the are a form of double stopping in terms of violin playing.
I began a huge task of creating a massive gird, I wanted to see how they would look on mass, taking over a wall, making your eyes buzz with the layers of colour and texture.

Discussions about work

In tutorials with Sean and with David it was made clear to me that I should possibly not show the violins in my exhibition, that perhaps the prints were the print. That maybe I should not give everything away, that I should consider what and why I want to show different aspects of the process and the work.
But the more I thought about this the more I realised the violins were a huge part of the work the concept, and to me it was important to show them.
In one discussion Sean said to me why do you want to show the violins, you wouldn't show the lino of a lino print, and I said actually yes I would. I think the lino is sometimes even more interesting than the print itself, it shows the layers of work, the physicality of the maker, it is the process. The process is vital to what I want to convey, it is the same as the practice for an instrument, it is the way you learn and it can be shown as the work itself.
I experimented with hanging the violins, suspended.