Tags: Artists. Art groups and clubs Bribie Island. Artwork
Whilst art in itself can be any one of many mediums, there is probably no form of art which can be said to feature as many processes as printmaking which is a means of producing multiple impressions of an article that was first invented by Chinese artists centuries before it became established during the German Renaissance era of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
Featured Image(above): Deidre Nelson’s Walk Like An Egyptian
The art of printmaking has become popular among many people with an urge to be creative and that was clearly demonstrated at the Bribie Island Community Arts Centre recently when Wendy Luscombe gave her artist’s talk as the representative of the U3A Printmakers. who are the “Artists of the Month” for November. After being introduced to the audience by Artist of the Month coordinator, Debra Mieth, Wendy began her talk by telling everyone about the group’s background and expressing thanks to the Printmakers’ tutor, Cheryl Mortimer, who she described as someone who is extremely patient when organising activities.
‘Cheryl sometimes describes that job as being similar to herding cats,’ Wendy said. She also explained that when she was elected to give the Artists Talk, she couldn’t object because she wasn’t even present. Wendy told those present that the theme for the group’s display, “Shades of Grey” is based on the principle that life is not black and white and there are many shades of grey in between.
She pointed out that the prints in the display explore that idea and are a reflection of the greying population. During her talk, Wendy described some of the processes used in the various styles of printmaking that include monoprint, collagraphy, collage and screen printing and she remarked that the result when doing a print can often be pleasantly surprising. The “Shades of Grey” exhibition was originally created last year to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of U3A and Wendy said that it involved each artist doing two copies of a face and then adding to it, with their own style of processing and when I inspected the faces, I was impressed by how the artists had used a variety of commonly available materials that included steel wool and plastic shopping bags to create the different shades of grey.
In closing what was a very interesting talk, Wendy said that in January 2019, some of the printmakers will be exhibiting their works as part of the “Masters and Apprentices” series of exhibitions in the Mathew Flinders Gallery. ‘Cheryl is the Master and we are the Apprentices,’ she told everyone. The U3A Printmakers ‘Artist of the Month” exhibition will remain on display at the Arts Centre until the end of November and I seriously recommend taking the time to check it out.
The Bribie Island Community Arts Centre is on Sunderland Drive at Banksia Beach and is open each day except Monday from 10 am. To find out more information about the centre, either call in for a chat or call 3408 9288.
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