Cath Sheard Art

Tag: mixed media

  • The images in my head

    Some of the gelli prints I did yesterday *needed* me to do some more work on them 😉

    I’m using hand painted papers as collage materials  to add circles. I suspect they echo the rocks I saw at Hokitika Gorge but I’m not sure. That’s the thing with my art process – it’s intuitive and iterative. The first few tentative works in a series and the final pieces are often worlds apart and, for many people, the final works have little or no relation to the initial inspiration. And I’m totally ok with that.

    The collaged shapes are very specific. I have quite large sheets of randomly painted papers and when I cut a shape it is carefully chosen for the colours. Then I test the shape on the base work and sometimes trim a millimeter or two off here and there, more than once, before it feels right!

    What I know of this Hokitika series is there’s some distinct colours, lines and shapes that are appearing over and over again. I’m still working quite small – these are about 6″ square – but will work bigger eventually.

    gelli hokitika gorge 20190311 agelli hokitika gorge 20190311 b

     

  • Get your gelli on

    I love gelli printing, and have taught it in the past. I’m going to be teaching it again this winter, in Greymouth, and am really looking forward to it. I may do some more classes here in South Taranaki too.

    In the meantime, I have a joint exhibition booked for the Lysaght Watt Gallery in October with Dimmie Danielwski – I’ll be using some existing works but also making a new body of work based on my visit to the Hokitika Gorge last year.

    With those two things in mind, I’ve been doing some gelli printing. I’ll use the captions to explain what these are.

    gelli 201490310 a
    Multiple layers using stencils.
    gelli 201490310 b
    Multiple layers using stencils.
    gelli 201490310 c
    Using a final layer of paint to pull all the leftover texture off the plate.
    gelli 201490310 d
    A more painterly approach, using a brayer and the end of a paint brush.
    gelli 201490310 e
    A more painterly approach, using a brayer and the end of a paint brush.
    gelli 201490310 f
    Single layer print using a gel texture plate. 
    gelli 201490310 g
    Single layer print using a gel texture plate. 
    gelli gorge 20190310 a
    Done using a brayer, and lifting small amounts of paint off at a time. This probably isn’t complete; I’m likely to do more mark-making into it yet. This is very much Hokitika Gorge inspired.
    gelli gorge 20190310 b
    Done using a brayer, and lifting small amounts of paint off at a time. This probably isn’t complete; I’m likely to do more mark-making into it yet. This is very much Hokitika Gorge inspired.
    gelli gorge 20190310 c
    Done using a brayer, and lifting small amounts of paint off at a time. This probably isn’t complete; I’m likely to do more mark-making into it yet. This is very much Hokitika Gorge inspired.
    gelli gorge 20190310 d
    Done using a brayer, and lifting small amounts of paint off at a time. This probably isn’t complete; I’m likely to do more mark-making into it yet. This is very much Hokitika Gorge inspired.

  • The art in my head

    In November I spent a few days in Greymouth and Hokitika, and visited Hokitika Gorge. The shapes and colours have invaded my mind & are appearing in my art.

    When I did my final (4th) year at The Learning Connection a few strong marks emerged, including a sort of curved power pole with a cross beam, normally in cream. (I can’t find an image of these works anywhere)

    I’m finding those marks have reappeared in a new form – this time as a cross with some tiny hatchmarks near it, a cross and some hatchmarks inside a circle, and a curved pair of parallel lines with a cross beam. The circle / oval are featuring too, and are fairly new to me in terms of consistent use.

    I’ve shown below some works from 2008, and some of the new works I’ve been doing, which are gelli prints as a base with mark making in subsequent layers. Looking at these, the connection between the 2008 marks, and today’s marks, isn’t as obvious as I thought it would be … 

    (in other news, I think my scanner glass needs a good clean)

    2008 work
    2008 work

    West Coast V.jpg

  • One Little Word for 2019

    Every year I join #olw – One Little Word with Ali Edwards. This year my word was ENOUGH. You can read about it here. As always happens, the word turned out to have more connections and meanings for me than I could have imagined. I ended up in counselling, getting to the heart of some issues, working towards a point where my heart – not just my head – knows I am enough. I’m a work in progress.

    I’ve put quite a lot of time into choosing my One Little Word for 2019 and tested four out by writing down what they would mean to me. Aware and connection were pretty good but, in the end, DEEP was a clear winner. As we get into 2019 I know, from previous years, more connections will become clear, but for now DEEP resonates for me because:

    • I want to understand myself at a deep level
    • I am prepared to dig deep emotionally
    • I seek friendships that connect at a deep level
    • I aim for a deep understanding of key issues at work
    • I aim for a deep understanding of national issues that are aligned with my interests
    • I am prepared to dig deep to get fitter, even when it hurts
    • I am willing to dig deep to reach my goals

    Normally I make an index card piece of art and put it in my office at work This year I’ve gone for a square format and made two, one for at work, and one for my home office, to keep me even more focussed on my word and what it means to me.

  • New exhibition & mental health

    I’m excited to be exhibiting with Eltham artist Dimmie Danielewski during this year’s Arts Fest 2018. As part of this new body of work, I have changed my bio to read:

    New Zealand mixed media artist Cath Sheard’s work bring a lightness to, and shines light on, the often-untold stories of women. By focusing on topics such as anxiety, chronic illness, and sexual violence the artist hopes to open up a safe space for discussion. Her work also records memories, especially of the landscape of her youth, as well as her internal dialogue.

    The new bio feels right to me; my work has changed in the last few years and my bio didn’t really capture that. The idea of bringing lightness to a subject, while shining a light on hard stuff, is increasingly important to me.

    I said in my last post that I had decided to go to counselling to continue the healing journey. I started counselling last week; I like Shanti and feel we have come up with a good plan. Basically, she works on getting people sleeping well first, so their mind starts to relax and heal, then formulate a sentence that captures one thing to work on, and teaches the tools needed to keep repeating the process.

    Shanti and I talked about some of the issues I’d discussed with the weight loss psychologist. I’m realising I can’t even identify some emotions, and certainly don’t express them, nor am I good at saying what I want outside of work. We think my first sentence to work on will be something like “I am able to identify my emotions and verbalise my feelings and wants”. As she said, that alone will make a huge change to my life.

    I’m always quite open and honest on my blog but even I am going to redact a bit, mainly to protect other people because I can’t tell some stories without impacting their privacy too. What I am discovering is how much unsolved stuff is in my head – things like the miscarriages, but also things from my youth, sexual & emotional abuse and stuff from my first marriage. Issues that should have been sorted decades ago … so now it’s time to get it done.

     I’m fine – there’s no crisis, but it is stuff I need to work through. I think it’s important we talk about our mental health otherwise the stigma will never go away. I have cut back my time online, especially Twitter where it can be quite political and intense, while I look after myself.

     body of work