The roof

So I was a little bit obsessed with the roof for a while. I gather I was inspired by Rapunzel in her tower and my studio being in "the tower" I figured we had something in common. Alas, no horse-riding Prince to ask me to let down my golden hair - which is probably just as well considering it's brown and I don't think my neck muscles are strong enough to hold up a Prince - but you get the gist. I do like the old school chimneys in Edinburgh, coupled with the antennae and satellite dishes. It's a nice kind of juxtaposition.You don't get that kind of thing in Australia - not that I've seen anyway. I had this idea of using carbon paper to duplicate printing techniques. I masking taped the carbon paper on one side of the card and drew with pen on the other. Hey presto - two images for the time of one! It didn't work so well and time was a bit short but that's okay. I think I also discovered about myself during this time that I don't actually want to make "artist" books, I just want to make the regular day to day ones. Fortunately for me, one of the technicians at College recently showed me how to perfect bind a book with perfect binding glue, so this may be the way forward as I don't think my stitching is that great either! :) I don't have a good photo of the book I made using perfect binding - but let's just say it was so good that someone said they didn't think I'd made it! But here is my carbon paper roof book for your perusal. PS I should say that today is my 6 year anniversary in Edinburgh. Someone needs to know so I think it should be you! :D

K Fisher (2013) Roof book (Card, carbon paper & pen)

K Fisher (2013) Roof book (Card, carbon paper & pen)

K Fisher (2013) Roof book (Card, carbon paper & pen)

Mhairi the foil sculptor

Last summer I worked at the National Gallery at the Mound, which was a lot of fun. My favourite room was A1, which I like to title Heaven - with all the fat little baby Jesus' and the weird Medieval works. There is a work I like in particular, when you walk through the door on your left. A painting of all these Saints getting killed in different ways - by dragons, drowning, demons - in this one big kaleidoscope image which is very cool if you ever get the chance to see it. One of the girls at the Mound, Mhairi, is brilliant and I think has had brilliant fun in making little creations out of foil. There has been the foil moustache, the foil horses and their riders and the foil men in boats, the latter of which featured at the Peter Doig exhibition. Surreptitiously of course. Nicely placed right near the comments book. I have to say that those little men in boats got a lot of photos from visitors.

Anyway, on leaving Mhairi made for me my own little foil creation - a Kangaroo! I found it a bit hard to place my little Kangaroo in a position that shows her off. For some reason the door handle seemed to work best. I've also put a couple of photos of the Otters I made out of Fimo for a Model project we had last year. You know, they're not exactly smooth, but trying to figure out how to make these just about busted my head. 

Mhairi (2013). Foil Kangaroo

K Fisher (2013). Bubby Otter [Fimo]

K Fisher (2013) Otters

On the second day

And on the second day, the pencil drawings and the first oil painting on a true gesso panel were created....

K Fisher (2013), Low on Batteries [Pencil on Card]

K Fisher (2013), The Two of Us [Pencil on Card]

K Fisher (2013), Chirping Bird [Pencil on Card]

K Fisher (2013), Lonely in Here [Pencil on Card]

K Fisher (2013), Put out with the trash? [Oil on true gesso panel]

Genesis

Well it's been a LONG time. I think my blog is about 7 years old now. I still remember starting it in a room in Coode Street, Mount Lawley Perth. On a dark night...actually I can't really remember that bit, but I remember the room had those cane roll down roman blinds that never really worked properly and overlooked the street with thin fly away blue curtains. Anyway, maybe I'm saying all this because the place I've been living now in Edinburgh for 5 years is up for sale and so I guess I'm moving on. Funny, just the night before I found out about the sale I had been thinking that my address had become a part of myself. Imagine, living in the same place all your life and your address was part of yourself. Anyway, maybe it's listening to Damien Rice that is making me talk all this stuff. I thought I would start from the beginning of third year, since I have posted nothing at all and now it is nearly over.  So, it all started at Meadowbank Shopping Park, near the recycling bins, where the rats, cats, pigeons, crows and seagulls hang out. Oh, KFC is not that far away either - maybe that's one of the reasons why...actually it didn't, I remember now, it all started at St Margaret's Loch and F8, our tower studio away from the rest of the world...and our first week mandatory project about "postcards". And the sun was shining through those big windows and the sky was blue all that first week.

K Fisher (2013), Untitled Postcards [Oil on Card]

K Fisher (2013), Untitled Postcards [Oil on Card]

K Fisher (2013), Untitled Postcards [Oil on Card]

Delicate work

Well I'm in a metal mood today, so am I have been on youtube for about an hour reliving all my favourites and headbanging. Yep, long hair comes in useful for something! Currently listening to rage against the machine "killing in the name of" and would post here, but yep, it's got a bit of swears (as one of my friend's says) so I shall behave ;-). Here are some of the pages from my prototype book which got turned down and I've got quite a bit of work to do on, I think especially the text narrative or narrative full stop actually. Anyway, I've got a tutorial on Tuesday about how to develop it further so thought I better post some pictures here since I handed in the initial about 2 months ago. See ya for now and have a good day!! PS My dad's book got lost in the mail - so I'm just a bit disappointed about that - looks Iike I'll just have to make another one :D

K Fisher (2013), Letters to the North

K Fisher (2013), Letters to the North

K Fisher (2013), Letters to the North

K Fisher (2013), Letters to the North

Summer books

Firstly, I'd like to thank Sarah, aka Brizzle, for the Strawberry swirl lollipop I'm eating right now. A good birthday present and clever me hid it under all the unread magazines in my room (haha) and voila it has now been discovered 3 months later. Secondly to my dad, I like to call him my Papa, for waiting 9 months for his Christmas book. Unbeknownst to him, it is on it's way right now airmail to Australia and fingers crossed he gets it - after all this time. Also to Amelia and her lovely family for a wonderful adventurous Christmas in Inverness. Thirdly to Jonny, for inspiring (unknowingly) the DIY theme of my last summer book, which he now has - and I trust it is still in good condition :-). Fourthly, to the ECA panel who took the time to look at my proposal and book for the stall at this year's London Art Book Fair, which alas was not accepted in the end, but good news is that it gave me an excuse to spend a number of lovely summer days at the Loch. I think the seagulls got sick of seeing me so they made sure to decorate my car whenever they happened to fly past. Here are some pictures of the first two books (hope my dad gets the original before he sees these!). I'll leave putting up photos of the last book till later.

K Fisher, My Trip to Inverness Christmas 2012 (Inside cover)

K Fisher, My Trip to Inverness Christmas 2012 (Last text page)

K Fisher, My Trip to Inverness Christmas 2012 (Backside cover)

K Fisher, My Trip to Inverness Christmas 2012 (Front cover)

K Fisher, jonny's book of  diy stores (B&Q)

K Fisher, jonny's book of  diy stores (Homebase)

K Fisher, jonny's book of  diy stores (Home Hardware)

K Fisher, jonny's book of  diy stores (Peffer Paint)

K Fisher, jonny's book of  diy stores (ScrewFix)

Pittenweem Arts Festival 2013

A few weeks ago I went to the Pittenweem Arts Festival. It was a brilliant drive up along the coast, even if I did get a bit lost on the way! Overlooking the ocean, I had lunch with my good friend Amanda who was working at the Jonny Hannah venue on the Sunday. I then wandered back with her to the Jonny Hannah to begin my Festival experience. I enjoyed his use of text and colour and his themes of the sea and Fife. His artist books were lovely to behold and the name of his business, Cakes & Ale Press I think is superb. Here are a couple of items I picked up by the artist...

J Hannah, excerpt from his newspaper Spens, Shand & Stovies

J Hannah, flyer from his 2007 show Hot Dogs and Rocket Fuel

Next was the Keith Brockie venue. Given that he is a wildlife artist and has a close empathy with his wildlife subjects, it is no surprise that I succumbed to buying his book Return to One Man's Island. I figure where money is spent for art research purposes it's allowed :-). Here are a couple of pages from his book...

K Brockie (2010), Razorbill study, Watercolour, 34 x 43 cms

K Brockie (2010), Gulls hanging in the wind, Pencil & Watercolour 34 x 39 cms

Following this I had a wee chat with artist John Kelly. The wind was picking up a bit at this stage and the venue doors were starting to shiver. I really loved his pen and ink drawings. While his landscapes and architecture reflect what he sees around him, I think his fantastical/other world depiction really speaks to me. I guess I like to think of art as a portal into another dimension or world that I can enjoy, escape to or learn from. And I feel that looking through another person's eyes would be just that. Here is his website http://johnkellyart.org.uk/ and here is an excerpt from the Pittenweem Arts Festival Guide...

J Kelly images, excerpt from Pittenweem Arts Festival guide

My final venue was William Middleton. The artist was happily sitting on the couch, playing a guitar and chatting to people as they came into the room. He talked to me about what he called 'the lap of honour' - where visitors enter the room, realise that the artwork is not what they're into, do a quick lap and exit. I can understand this, dare say I have done it enough times myself, but not with William's work. I really liked his prints and the subtle bluish and greenish tints some of them had. Also the idea of the duality of people - the recurring images of a character's internal head popping out above its external head. Here are a few of his postcards I bought...

W Middleton - postcards

W Middleton - postcards

Well perhaps the above is more a summary for myself than anything, but I hope you like some of the images and I definitely recommend the Pittenweem Arts Festival as a good day out. I've been watching Buster Keaton and Fatty Arbuckle movies the past couple of weeks, so best continue before I get another library return reminder notice...