Category: Blog Post

Into The Woods

Posted in Blog Post, Claire Jones

I’ve moved from fingers to wrists.
That feeling of being held by the wrist / restrained / trapped.
Taking inspiration from the angles and lines of crystals.
I love the contrast between the hard Oak and the soft Jelutong wood. It feels
like it echo’s the inner dialog of decisions needing to be made.
Working and shaping the wood, I am enjoying the process without expectation of
outcome. My mind is working behind the scene to evaluate my present situation.
The lyrics from Priority Boredom by Kae Tempest have been rolling around my
head these last few weeks. Pushing me to make sure I am being true to Me.

“Build up resilience, build up views

But you can’t build for long on a partial truth.”

Introducing: Claire Jones

Posted in Blog Post, Claire Jones

Digital Residency Recipient: Foundation Art & Design, Swansea College of Art (UWTSD)

Digital Residency Dates: 01 – 30 July 2022

Mission Gallery is pleased to announce the 2022 Jane Phillips Award Digital Residency for Art & Design Students at Swansea College of Art, UWTSD. We are proud to be working with our partners at Swansea College of Art, UWTSD and keen to shine a light on the high standard of work being produced by students across all disciplines. 

This residency will provide an online space within the Jane Phillips Award website to display and develop work, ideas and research, while offering support and promotion through our networks. 

About Claire

Delving into what I want to see as an artist, I embody my ideas wholly. My working process allows the inter disciplinary process to guide the creative end result.

I am filled with emotional responses to my crochet hook, needle, sewing machine and biro like warm nostalgic feelings of an old friend and all the possibilities they create. Drawing on my surroundings, life experiences and a rich family history of crafting. 

The autobiographical nature of my work spans many themes.  The responsibility of my message and materials (often evident in the fragility of my work) weighs heavily on me. Crafting, refining and capturing this can lead to dark edge responses with pieces that are sometimes awkward and uncomfortable to look at.  This is a place of comfort for me, where I can embrace an inner feeling that people don’t always see when they look at me, allowing a bit of truth to escape.

Fight Me

Posted in Blog Post, Claire Jones

I would like to thank Mission Gallery for choosing me as the winner of the the Jane Phillips Award.
Digital Residence for Art and Design Foundation at UWTSD Swansea.
It’s a massive honour. I am grateful and really excited for what comes next.

Embracing our worst self in full understanding that we are not only that but our best self too.

The foundation course I have just finished has supported me thru this journey.
Given me the confidence to believe in myself as an artist and renewed a desire within me for education and learning.

The knuckle dusters that won me this opportunity are made from wood and wool (crochet) with crystals.
Exhibited in my end of year show.
…Desire.

This residency is giving me time to develop and progress these designs. Experiment with materials and process.
I have been back to the wood lab in uni and picked up my crochet hook. I already feel a move from the outward powerful statement of the knuckle dusters to a more inward feeling.
I am in a no mans land now. Finished one course and yet to start the next. It is exciting and daunting at the same time. A natural time for self reflection.
The new work I have been making looks inward to Fight ME.
We enter into new stages / relationships / phases in our lives all the time. When it’s something we want, have even sought out and fought for, we are happy and give of ourselves willingly to it. Wholeheartedly blending ourselves with who or what this new situation is.


I have been exploring the part of these situations when I have realised that I am no longer who I was.
Sometimes I have been ok with that. Even more, I have seen that the new me has grown and I am proud of who I have become. Being back in education has brought out the best parts of me. I have fought the lazy, contented Me to bring out the Want More Me.
But other times I have lost so much of myself in situations that I hardly recognise Me and had to fight to get Me back.



It’s the moment that you realise how much you have changed and have to decide how you feel about it that I have been focusing on. Is it good for me? Do I want this? Do I like who I am now? Do I feel trapped? Am I bound to this situation?






“Build up resilience, build up views

But you can’t build for long on a partial truth.”

Blister Prints

Posted in Blog Post, Carmarthen School of Art, Foundation Art & Design Residencies, Saskia FletcherTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Today I have been using my Gelli Plate and my blister packs to create some prints.

I occasionally use my Gelli Plate rather than traditional printmaking techniques because the process uses acrylic paint and it dries very quickly. If you’re not sure what a Gelli Plate is there are lots of video tutorials on Youtube that you can access to see how it works and all the different ways you can create some cool effects. Or you can look at this blog on Handprinted: https://handprinted.co.uk/blogs/blog/gelli-plates-1

Transferring acrylic paint onto the Gelli Plate

I have got all different sized blister packs from different my medications. They all have different shapes, sizes and arrangements in the layout of the blisters. I used a feew different methods to create images on the plate.

These are the first two prints. I used an ibuprofen packet. I painted the blisters white, pressed them into the Gelli Plate and then placed black paper over and pulled the prints. I really love the result. The marks are like tiny foot prints, or finger prints. It reminds me of some work I have done in the past using morse code. I took the second print because there was still paint left over on the plate.

The Gelli Plate is quite a versatile method of printing and you can create prints with multiple layers of paint. After the second print there was still some excess paint left on the plate. I allowed this to completely dry and then overlayed the dry white paint with a layer of blue acrylic. I then pulled a new print. This print has actually managed to pull more of the original white markings off than the second print.

Below are three more prints using the exact same process as above but for these I used a Naproxen packet.

After those prints there was still some paint marks left! So of course I went in for another print! However very little detail of the blister packs came out but it is still a nice print.

Below are some more experimental prints which I did using other medication packages

Putting myself in the frame

I wanted to add some context so have printed some photos of myself (unwell) onto regular printer paper and used the same Gelli Plate process to make some mixed media prints. The results are below.

I am going to continue doing lots more prints from the blister packs.

A few weeks ago (with a little help from my friends Daisy Fisher and Sam Meredith) I drew an outline of my body. I think am going to use the outline as a guide to create some large scale blister print pieces using the Gelli Plate.

This is my final post for my digital residency. I have really enjoyed sharing my work and my thoughts on the Jane Phillips Award blog. Thank you very very much to the Mission Galley for this opportunity. If anyone would like to get in touch with me personally you can contact me via Instagram @saskias.studio or @saskia.fletcher

My first assemblage

Posted in Blog Post, Carmarthen School of Art, Foundation Art & Design Residencies, Saskia FletcherTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Something completely new for me… I have started work on an assemblage – Things The Paramedics Left Behind. Initially I thought that I wanted the items to be displayed on a while background however when I tried it out only the blue and yellow items stood out. It wasn’t as defined as I wanted it to be at all, particularly for the plastic items. Instead I have tried out different arrangements on a blue tray. Here are the test photos of the different compositions.

Things The Paramedics Left Behind – tray test photos

I have tried all sorts of different arrangements of the items. Overall I don’t feel as though the assemblage works well within the confined space of the tray. I think the shape of the tray really limits the options of where the objects can go. It feels restricted and the squashed. I also dont think it reads well. Therefore I have tried putting them items onto a piece of reclaimed wood.

This is my preferred final layout

Things The Paramedics Left Behind – reclaimed wood test photos

I think the arrangements on the reclaimed wood work much better because if the proportions of the space. It reads better as a group and also as individual items. I plan to attach the objects to the wood with small picture tacks.

As this is my first venture into trying to create an assemblage I would greatly appreciate any tips or opinions because I would like the work to be powerful and thought provoking.

Ibuprofen Pop

Posted in Blog Post, Carmarthen School of Art, Foundation Art & Design Residencies, Saskia FletcherTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I have been collecting all the things surrounding my condition. The other day I absent mindedly stacked my Ibuprofen boxes together and really liked the aesthetic of the pattern and colour because it was so charateristic of Pop Art. So I decided to do a little further investigation and experimentation with them. I started by using the scanner laying them out to create a repeated pattern. I then took this further and started to manipulate the shape and form of the packaging in many different ways.

I’m not sure yet if I am going to do any further processing with the boxes but I enjoyed developing a simple idea into a future possibility. Next I am going to start exploring all the different types of blister packaging.

Eye Manipulation

Posted in Blog Post, Saskia FletcherTagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

I have started quite a self indulgent project in recent weeks. I am documenting my own health. As a starting point I have starting collecting- objects, photographs, videos and my thoughts through creative writing.

I think this new body of work is going to be quite a departure from my work in the past because I am focusing on myself, but strangely I don’t feel self conscious about it. I think it’s because I am experiencing alot of unusual things, quite different from the life I used to have before I started experiencing health issues. Therefore it feels important to be recording it, reacting to it and responding in a creative way.

At the time that the below photos were taken I was unable to see anything due to eye inflammation. I am quite impressed that I even managed to capture myself in the frame!

Dabbling on Photoshop

I still consider myself a novice in Photoshop techniques but I quite enjoy the process of digital photo manipulation so I have had a go to see what results I could achieve. My aim was to try and highlight the white eye drops against the the rest of the face by changing them to black and white and then inverting them to make it look like black dripping out of the eyes. It didn’t really work, the drops just ended up grey. However, I enjoyed the process and although I didn’t achieve what I wanted, some of the results are quite cool and detailed.

Physical Manipulation

I have printed the photos so that I can also physically manipulate them. I want to blur out the images and I am going to try several different processes to see what effects I can achieve. I want to create a blurry veil to mimic my blurred sight.

  • Boiled for 5 minutes
  • Harpic toilet cleaner
  • Margarine
  • Oil and Salt
  • Thin plaster
  • Hand soap
  • Vasaline
  • Wax
  • Bleached twice

I’m quite disappointed with the minimal effects that my processing has had on the photos. I was expecting some much more dramatic results. I think it is because I ordered very high quality photo paper.

Boiled – didn’t really do anything other than break down the strength of the back of the paper

Harpic toilet cleaner – I like this effect. At first I wasn’t keen on the blue colour, but now I quite like it because it fits in with the medical theme.

Margarine – hasn’t changed the image at all

Oil and salt – I added the salt afterwards because the oil didn’t really do anything

Plaster- I like this outcome but need to somehow seal it on the photo so that it doesn’t break off of the surface

Hand soap – only a slight darkening to parts of the image

Vasaline – has done nothing to the surface of the image. I thought this method would be much more effective than it has been

Wax – tricky to pour it where I wanted it to go – perhaps dipping the photo into the wax might work better

Bleach – had to be bleached twice because the first bleaching didn’t really do anything at all. I quite like it now that it has been bleached twice

Scanned

I put my manipulated images into my scanner and some strange things happened to some of them. They scanned in as normal and then when saving they went through an ‘enhancing’ process on the app and the colours washed out. Quite interesting… and I can only assume it is because the scanner uses light to capture the images.

Bleach
Boiled
Harpic
Margarine
Soap
Oil and Salt
Plaster
Vasaline
Wax

When I couldn’t see I felt quite vulnerable and somewhat lonely. These were very new feelings for me to experience! I struggled alot with these emotions and it was the worst part of not being able to see. I am going to try and explore these emotions some more and try and get them to reflect in my work.

My obsession with cracks, …

Posted in Blog Post, Carmarthen School of Art, Foundation Art & Design Residencies, Saskia FletcherTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

… imperfections and things that used to be somewhere.

I am in Cheltenham this week. When I am in a new place I like to go out on foot and go exploring. I take my camera, a sketchbook and use the stimulus of my new surroundings to get inspired. Unfortunately this week my back and hips are extremely sore so I can’t manage the 2 or 3 hour walk I would usually undertake. However I have managed a very short walk to the Pitville Pump Room and a small part of the Pitville Park.

On my way to the Pump Room I saw some lovely cracks!
https://maps.app.goo.gl/q9JjUK4vgmCVr79z8

My obsession with cracks began in January 2021 when I spent time documenting a local carpark. Since doing that project I love (and seek out) all different kinds of imperfections and the ‘overlooked’.

Here are some compositions I photographed on my walk today.

Corner Composition with sticker
Caught Confetti
Fallen Barrier
Rust Remains
Removed Sign
Unwashed Wall
The Only Remains Of The Jubilee
Directions

I was also able to go inside the Pump Room. It was really quite beautiful inside, particularly the lighting. It was a calming and serene space.

I wish that I had been fit and able enough to take a full wander around the large expanse of Pitville Park. I did sit for a while and do a pencil drawing of some beautiful tree bark. For those that are interested I used a Blackwing Palomino pencil.

Monoprinting @ Cheltenham Science Festival

Posted in Blog Post, Saskia FletcherTagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

This week I am on the road at Cheltenham Science Festival. I have a station set up in the #Makershack

I am running a monoprint stall.

So…’What is a monoprint?’
Have a look at Tate’s definition here:

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/m/monoprint


I am a big fan of monoprinting because each print is unique and you can get unexpected results. I love that it is a highly experimental process during which happy accidents can occur and you can end up with a print you didn’t initially expect. It is also very simple and a lovely hands-on technique. During the day we have had lots of visiting schools coming to the Makershack and they seem to be absolutely loving getting stuck in and creating!

I am teaching a simple hand pressed technique that could easily be continued at home with materials which are easy to get hold of.

At my station in the Makershack we are using glass plates, ink rollers, water based block ink, newsprint paper and lolly sticks. This is our method if you would like to try it at home:

Inking up a plate with a thin layer of evenly distributed ink. Draw an image into the ink using a lolly stick.

The next step is to carefully lay paper over the plate and then hand press the paper onto the plate (circular motions with the palm of your hand tends to work best). Then carefully take two corners along the shot edge of the paper and peel off the paper to reveal your print.

With this method you will create a background the colour of your ink and the image you have drawn (the scraped away ink) will be the colour of your paper. If desired, after creating your first print, you can take a second print, called a ‘ghost print’, which will also be a unique print.

I have started to fill the windows of the Makershack with prints while they are drying, with anyone welcome to return to collect their prints during the week. It is a constantly changing art installation. If, at the end of the week, there are any uncollected prints I am going to bind them to create a book.

I am having a great time here at the Cheltenham Science Festival bringing the joy of printing to young and old and everyone else in-between!

My stall was featured in two of the festival highlight videos on YouTube Here are the links: https://youtu.be/GLGDG6tbUR4

https://youtu.be/iOMDVXNuFWU