Habitations

Here are some of our latest images on the Habitations theme.

Maz has been researching landscape design - outdoor human habitations. 

Maz isn't sure if this is taking her anywhere she wants to go. We'll see what happens next.

Nola was drawing this month, in an effort to improve her drawing skills. She decided to draw a house she lived in years ago, in Samoa.

She says she's not really happy with the shadows but it was good drawing practice!

Helen is continuing with her storybook but she didn't have pages to show last month. We'll be seeing more Habitation work on Monday....

More Habitation

It's always interesting to see how each of us approaches a theme.

Yvonne brought alone some drawings she had made for our collaborative work for the Façade exhibition. They fitted very nicely with our theme.

She was focusing on castles and forts, which are also a kind of human habitation.

Maz likes to define first and then do a lot of research on specific things that take her interest. This month, she was still in her defining stage. She found lots of words about habitations..

... and definitions.

Then she started to think about human habitations...











...and animal habitats.

Then she began to research Japanese Macaques. These animals are the northernmost primates that aren't human and they live in a very harsh environment.

 

 

They  look like they're wearing fluffy parkas, don't they?

She's also thinking about façade as a theme. As well as our collaborative work, she's also making a personal work for the Façade exhibition.

Nola likes to use our themes as a way of working out technique issues or trying out new techniques. This month, she had some sample prints from making her section of the Façade work.










Cindy likes to work in mixed media, combining all kinds of art techniques. her pages are always a delight! This month, she had gone back to the cover of her book.

She had also added a flap from the back cover. As well as a marker, it protects the underneath pages as she works, so over time, it will build up colour of its own.



 

She also added an image behind the door on her front page.

 
This month she continued her fascination with doors by creating a "Moroccan Fantasy".

 Next time - some images of our Façade pieces! (Maybe)



Habitation

February passed us by in a blur! There seems to be so much happening at the moment, so blogging has gone to the back of the queue. But we have still be busily making things.

I promised to show you the beginnings of our monthly theme, Habitation. Most of us are working in sketchbooks, but Helen decided to make another kind of book. Here is the cover of her Habitation book.

Yes, it's about birds. That's all I can say at this point - you will hear the story as she makes her book.









Cindy's sketchbook began with a door.

At this stage, what's behind the door is a mystery.

But she went on to make up a story about a particular habitation. It's actually the house her mother lived in as a child, but the story isn't about the real family who lived there. It's the story of the Baker family, John, Brenda and their children.

 And this is the door of their house.

First, Maz made a cover and title page for her sketchbook.

Then she began by researching the word Habitation.

Nola's Habitation sketchbook continued on from her Trees book last year.

 
She has been making prints with foam board as the print plate. These prints were experimenting with changing the texture of the printing medium.

The print design was based on an image of Eguisheim in Alsace.

More Habitation coming soon!