Impressions 2016 at The G.R.A.I.N. Store, Nathalia, Victoria

I am pleased to let you know that my work Cellulose - Anderson Park featured in IMPRESSIONS 2016 at the Australian Print Workshop has been selected for and exhibition to be held at The G.R.A.I.N. Store, Nathalia, Victoria.

This exhibition includes a selection of 52 IMPRESSIONS works curated by the staff and committee of The G.R.A.I.N. Store and will be on display from 9 April until 20 May 2017.

The G.R.A.I.N Store stands for Growing Rural Arts in Nathalia, and is a not-for-profit rural arts center with a history of exhibitions, performances and workshops. It fosters art which furthers the community, the environment, rural health, reconciliation and education while contributing to the economic development of the area.

The exhibition is a fantastic opportunity to broaden the exposure of contemporary Australian printmaking to regional audiences.

Thank you to the Australian Print Workshop and The G.R.A.I.N. Store, Nathalia, Victoria

To read more click on this link to an article published by the Riverine Herald on April 03 2017

Jo Lankester, Cellulose - Anderson Park, 2016, Etching, Drypoint with Relief Roll 20 x 15cm

Wallflower - Collaborative Print Exhibition, Townsville 2016

Wallflower was an Access and Vault Space exhibition at Umbrella Studio of Contemporary Arts, Townsville, 8 July - 14 August 2016 by Jo Lankester and Hannah Murray. The exhibition featured print collaborations that explore the symbolic and aesthetic qualities of abstracted patterns found on the outer layer of a tree trunk or the surface of rocks, and floral imagery.

 Wallflower is an extension of an ongoing print collaboration that explores the symbolic and aesthetic qualities of abstracted patterns found on the outer layer of a tree trunk or the surface of rocks, and floral imagery. As with any collaboration a symbiotic relationship must exist to coexist. Trees and rocks share a symbol of antiquity, immense and enduring strength, and protection. In contrast a flower is fugacious and fleeting. Wallflower will aim to present a seductive and resolved body of work that explores this contradiction. 

Imprint Editor Emily Kiddell invited us to participate in a Q&A for the Imprint Blog, you can read this interview here Imprint Blog Q&A Jo Lankester & Hannah Murray

Field of Dreams #2, Jo Lanketser & Hannah Murray 2016

Feild of Dreams #1, Jo Lankester & Hannah Murray 2016

Cymbidium - Purple Rain of Fire, Jo Lankester & Hannah Murray 2016

To View more images of prints exhibited in the exhibition Wallflower click on this link to go to my website jolankester.com

Wing Tip Vortice an Installation by Michlle Hall & Jo Lankester @ Cell Artspace Cairns

 Wing Tip Vortice: A Comedy of Events

Wing Tip Vortice by Michelle Hall & Jo Lankester was on display at Cell Artspace Cairns, from 3 August until 31 August 2013.

 

Wing Tip Vortice, Cell Artspace, Cairns

Michelle & I hit the road at 4.30 am Saturday 3 August for a 5 hour road trip to Cairns to install Wing Tip Vortice at Cell Art Space.  The previous day we organised with Pack & Send Townsville to make a traveling cardboard crate to transport the Wings to Cairns. The box was 2m L x 85cm W x 45cm H. Pack & Send provided strapping to go around the width of the box to keep the lid contained. Michelle and I were very proud of our traveling crate and commented how sexy our box looked.

Carefully packing the artworks made of etchings printed on vintage pattern paper, bamboo sticks and wall paper paste, into the box we then strapped the box to the roof of my car. This is where the calamity, now comedy, begins. On the drive home I kept saying to myself remember the box on the roof, remember the box on the roof, it soon became a mantra. I pulled into the driveway stopping before entering under the house as the car would not fit with the box strapped to the roof. 

I then received a text from one of my colleagues at Artisans on Flinders informing me of all the sales for that day, and being a Friday evening I knew I would have to restock the shop for the weekend as Sunday is one of our busiest days with the Cotters Markets. After a short stop at home I got back in the car at 6pm and started repeating the mantra ‘remember the box on the roof’, in hind sight I should have taken the box off and left it at home. I spent the next 3 hours restocking the shop and proceeded home remembering the box on the rook right up until I pass my house and pull into the driveway. There’s my son rushing to the gate to help me in, I spot a cigarette in his hand and loose my train of thought yelling what’s that in your hand, you know I don’t want to see you smoking’ I’m saying this as I pull in the drive way and crunch the sexy box into the raised garage door!

 

The damage looked like this

I quickly reverse the car and jump out hyperventilating. My world just imploded as I thought I had destroyed the artwork that was to be installed in Cairns the following day. Holden was great; he kept telling me to calm down and helped me take the box off the rook to inspect the damage. To my great relief and surprise the artwork was not damaged the box and artwork just lifted and changed shape. I cannot express my relief in words. Holden helped me mend the box and repack the work. He even got up at 4am to help strap the box back onto the car roof. Thank you, Holden.

I pick Michelle up from her house and begin our road trip to Cairns, I told her my horror story of the night before and she took it well, we had a little laugh but it was pure tension release on my behalf and relived that she took it well. 2 hrs down the road as the sun started to rise we were driving through Cardwell. We pulled over for a toilet break.  Along the way we had some light rain and at that point thought it would have been a good idea to wrap the box in plastic in case of rain. The rain wasn’t too heavy and we convinced ourselves that the box would be fine. When we go out of the car we saw that the lid of the box had lifted to where one of the straps was exposing the artwork to both wind and rain. You can image the disastrous thoughts running though my head. Mind you we pulled up in front of a tool box talk for the roadwork crew which was a bit intimidating to say the least. We took our box off the roof and inspected the damage. Once again there was no damage to the artwork. The wind had shifted the artworks to the back of the box compacting the wings to sit flat. There were quite a few bugs in there but no damage. FEW!

 

After repairs to the box in Cardwell

After re-strapping the box length ways to prevent the lid lifting again, we took off to Cairns and still in front of the road crew which meant no lengthy stops along the way.  We arrived ½ an hour before install at 10am.

 

No damage on arrival. FEW!

Michelle Hall & Jo Lankester

Wing Tip Vortice

Michelle Hall

We would like to thank Townsville City Council for supporting our project through the Grants for Excellence in Cultural Development in assisting us in making this exhibition possible, and to Cell Art Space for proving Michelle and I with the opportunity to grow our audience outside of Townsville.

We would also like to thank Sammy for demounting the exhibition and returning the not so sexy box to us in Townsville. X

About Place an Exhibition of Prints by Jo Lankester, Zelma Schulten & Rhonda Stevens

About Place an exhibition of prints and print sculptures by Jo Lankester, Zelma Schulten & Rhonda Stevens telling a visual story About Place, Townsville. The exhibition Opened at 12pm on Sunday 16th June 2013 as part of the Celebrate Townsville Festival.

Location: Brush & Press Studio @ Artisans on Flinders, 354 Flinders St, Townsville
10am-4.30pm Mon-Fri
9.30am-1.30pm Sat & Sun

Exhibition duration: 9 June until 14 July 2013

Jo Lankester 
Artist Statement

The Landscape has always been of interest in my work. I am inspired by the colours, textures, natural rock and land formations, insects, trees, and the esoteric nature of place.
I believe the landscape depicts its own story to be told. I draw inspiration in the solitude of drawing on location. The process I go through to create my pictures is that I start to see and draw the landscape in the distance and then gradually focus on subjects in closer proximity until I start to see and interpret the essential character of place.
These Monotype is reflective of winter in the dry tropics which I have interpreted to be the essential character of Queensland.

Jo Lankester, MT Stuart IV, Monotype, 2012, 76 x 56cm, $545 framed

Jo Lankester,  MT, Stuart Grass Trees II, 2012, Monotype, 76 x 56cm, $545 Framed

Zelma Schulten
Artist Statement

Life’s journey
“Mountains cannot be surmounted except by winding paths” J.W. Goethe (1749-1832)
I have used Townsville’s picturesque landscapes as symbols to portray my journey through life. Local paths, bridges, waterways and mountains represents voyages, crossings of tribulations, decision making, challenges, failures and triumphs.
Even though we share life and the landscape, you as the viewer, will have your own unique connection to some very familiar Townsville scenes. So too will we all experience life differently as individuals and will make our own unique decisions with different outcomes.
The landscape, similar to our life, is constantly changing: new seedlings will sprout, streams will redirect, harsh changes will be made by nature’s forces, roads will be closed, but still the journey will continue

Zelma Schulten, Kissing Point’s Path, Zink plate Etching, 20 x 25, 2012 cm, Edition 30, $295.00 framed

Zelma Schulten, Wooden Bridge over Creek, Zink plate Etching, 20 x 24,6 cm,2012, Edition 30, $295.00 framed

Zelma Schulten, Ross River from Riverside Gardens II, Copper plate Etching and Drypoint, 32 x 26 cm, 2012, $295.00 framed

Zelma Schulten, My Castle II, Zink plate Etching and Drypoint, 20 x 16,5 cm, 2012, $295.00 framed

Rhonda Stevens
Artist statement

Rhonda Stevens lives and works on Magnetic Island and her natural environment remains a constant source of inspiration with the myriad complexities of humanity, particularly the disparate interconnectedness of peoples and things
 After following her love of sculpture from studying at Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne she has moved into the magical multi leveled world of printmaking and seeks to explore both in the developing of her art.
Is place caught in the shadows, the reflections, the echoes, or is it “about place” where we are in time trammeled in the continuous flux of the mix of life?
The very nature of Place is its always shifting let us keep exploring everywhere with our natural sense of wonder not blinkered by the material world

Rhonda Stevens,Tickle, Etched Aluminium & Charbonnel Ink, 2013, 55 x 36 cm, $295.00

Rhonda Stevens, Auguries on the Sea Shore, Etched Aluminium & Charbonnel Ink, 2013, 55 x 36 cm, $295.00

Rhonda Stevens, Shadows on the Wall 1, Etched Aluminium & Charbonnel Ink, 2013, 55 x 36 cms, $295.00

Rhonda Stevens, Shadows on the Wall 2, Etched Aluminium & Charbonnel Ink, 2013, 55 x 36 cm, $295.00

To find out more about Celebrate Townsville Click Here

P.S. To purchase any of the prints and prints sculptures featured please contact me directly or come into Artisans on Flinders, 345 Flinders St, Townsville

How to Create a Hotplate for your Printmaking Studio

Welcome to my blog.

Yesterday I wrote about the important role a hotplate has in the printmaking studio, especially in cold climates. Living in the Tropics allows for less of a need for a hotplate but some etching plates require the use of a hotplate especially if the ink is drying out from age, exposure to air or the plate is worn.

The best hotplates are made commercially for kitchens but are very expensive to purchase. But it is easy enough for you to create your own hotplate.

You will need,

• An excellent quality two-burner electric hotplate, also referred to as a burner
• An old copper plate with the back still in good condition at least 1.2 mm/18 gauge
• 3 equal sized pieces of wood for the frame.

The copper plate should be big enough for your larger plates and there should be no screw or nails sitting above the surface of the timber to damage your etching plates. Make sure to leave a little gap at the back for the electric cord to feed through. The copper plate top should sit just above the hotplates to ensure that the heat is evenly distributed and you're not wasting energy.

The Hotplate is a tool that should be used judiciously but is essential in cold climates.

Happy printmaking
Warmly,
Jo Lankester

P.S. Get a FREE report of the 7 Secrets to building a Sustainable Printmaking Practice.
www.howtogetstartedinprintmaking.com

P.P.S Say no to opportunities that won't help you meet your goals.
Alyson B. Stanfield
Complete Printmaker

Hotplate: An Absolute Must In the Printmaking Studio

Hello, thanks for taking the time to read my blog.

Living in the tropics changed my printmaking habits due to the very humid climate for 6 months of the year.

I first moved to Townsville, Queensland 10 years ago from Melbourne, Victoria and discovered that there were no hotplates in Townsville studios. It took me a little while to adjust to printing without a hotplate and have managed for the past 10 years but recently when printing an edition I was not getting the results that I knew were possible when printing with a hotplate.

In general, ink at room temperature, if wiped when fresh and not left to dry out, will produce good prints, particularly from plates that are etched and not worn, especially aquatints. However plates that need very rich and full printing can be warmed to bring out the best qualities of the ink, a hotplate is an absolute must in the printmaking studio.

The following three problems may occur when using a hotplate.

1. Be careful not to overheat your plates, it may bake the ink into the finer lines, causing them to print faintly.
2. To prevent the etching plate from buckling place the plate on the hotplate when they are both cool and bring the heat up so the warm at the same time.
3. Printing the plate when it is too warm can dry the paper somewhat and create spotty effects. The heat dries the paper quickly and will pose a problem when printing multi colour plate etchings.

It is possible to print without a hotplate and many artists produce beautiful prints by adding easy wipe to their inks but I have discovered that some etching plates, especially ones with aquatint require warming while inking up and wiping back.

Happy printmaking,

Warmly,

Jo Lankester

P.S Get a FREE report of the 7 Secrets to building a Sustainable Printmaking Practice. www.howtogetstartedinprintmaking.com 

P.P.S Purge: Get rid of the pile marked unimportant! Throw away anything that isn't necessary and make room for the things that are.

Alyson B. Stanfield

Jo Lankester

Stone Wall lV, 2010

Sugarlift Aquatint

12 x12.5cm comp.

Edition 20

$70.00 AUD

© Jo Lankester 2010

Polishing Quartz-Zinc for Etching

I recently purchased zinc from a national zinc manufacturer and distributor rather than from a printmaking supply company with the intension to reduce my purchase and freight costs due to my location.

The zinc arrived at half the cost but not quite as I had anticipated. The zinc was not polished and did not have an enamel back coating as requested, (like when purchased from a printmaking supplier). Instead the zinc had a grey textured surface on both sides.

I quickly went to work with steel wool and metal polish and bought the zinc back to a shiny smooth surface. I then applied metal polish with a rag to give it the final smooth polish required for etching.

Materials you will need for polishing zinc:

• Steel wool
• Metal polish
• Rags 

A little elbow grease and determination transformed my disappointment into enthusiasm in no time. I'm now ready to work on my next commission.

Happy printmaking,
Warmly,
Jo Lankester

P.S Get a FREE report of the 7 Secrets to Building a Sustainable Printmaking Business.
www.howtogetstartedinprintmaking.com

P.P.S Review your weekly goals at the beginning of each week. Plan the upcoming week with your goals in mind.

Printmaking Tool Set- Plate Maker Graver Set