Category: Monoprint

More Artist Books – Winner of the Firestation Print Studio Biennial Artist Book Award – Craftsmanship

2024 JUDGES 

Anna Welch Principal Librarian, History of the Book and Arts at
State Library of Victoria
&
Gracia Haby & Louise Jennison​ Artistic Duo who have been collaborating for over 20 years making artists’books, zines, collages, stories,
prints, and drawings. 

In amazing news I won the craftsmanship category of the biennial Artist Book Award held by Firestation print Studio based in Melbourne. I wasn’t there, unfortunately…. but thankfully I have seen many photos of the event through instagram. The books look all so interesting and full of complexities! The photos above show the book that was particularly highlighted by the judges. I am Here, a flag book, edition of 2

These pages above belong to the other book, called ‘Taking a Walk’, a Japanese stab bound format of landscape impressions. Unique edition

My art statements:

  1. “I Am Here”: This artist book reflects on the invisibility that a person may feel when not heard or even seen in spite of being right there. The structure of the flag book provides an ideal form to express this concept by ‘breaking’ the image and potentially making it disappear, but allowing the retention of every detail to be noticed by any who truly pays attention.
  2. ‘Taking a Walk’ : This artist book explores my experience of the eucalyptus trees when bushwalking. Once I start paying attention I get lost in the infinite combinations of colours and shapes, mainly subtle but also contrasting, and somehow all in harmony. Looking at one tree leads to looking at the next one and then the next one, until the next walk. 

This is what the judges said about my work. I am of course incredibly honoured of this appreciation:

Craftsmanship
Winner: Laura Castell, I Am Here
“A good place to hide can be within a book, within the pages, constructed from rows of flags adhered to opposing sides of the spine’s mountain, within the beguilement of the whoosh- whoosh movement that is the flag book. Laura Castell’s edition of two, I Am Here, has both the flutter-motion of the original flag book of Hedi Kyle, and an unruffled stillness, when viewed upon the gallery wall. I Am Here, in plain sight, and, as Laura comments, I am “not heard or even seen”. In the fragmented image, the broken image made whole through the process of reading, looking, feeling, and “noticing”, the human figure, centre stage, stares into the mid-distance, somewhere over my shoulder, and for a moment the reader might be being read, might be “unseen”, might be a flag book closed upon the shelf. The face in quiet contemplation, upon the page, that is, perhaps thinking of all the ways eucalypts vary inform, trunk, blossom, role, and scent (as explored in Laura’s second entry, Taking a Walk).
The very structure of this book invites delight and rewards attention, through both the concept of the image “breaking” and exquisite bookbinding technique. I Am Here proved a reverie of Craftsmanship and more.“

Thank you!! ❤️

Some recent work at Sydney Contemporary 7-10 September 2023, at the Carriageworks

I live far from Sydney but thankfully I will have one work showing at the upcoming Sydney Contemporary Art event. This is a rare and valuable opportunity to have my work viewed by a much wider audience. The work will be part of the folios showing by Firestation Print Studio, based in Melbourne. From their website:

FPS is participating in this year’s prestigious Sydney Contemporary Art Fair for PAPER, a curated section of the fair dedicated to works on paper.
The Firestation Print Studio’s booth, B03 will present original artist’s prints by 47 artists for Sydney Contemporary’s, PAPER 

I will have one of my newest works on display, a triptych of bark inspired abstract monoprints.

Not this year but may be a trip down there for a next time?

Finalist at the Burnie Print Prize

A month ago I learned that my piece ‘Bark Landscape’ has been selected as a finalist for the Burnie Print Prize 2023. Really happy for many reasons, but one is that this is a well known prestigious art prize for printmakers so the exhibition is full of amazing works and very well known names in the world of printmaking. I feel very fortunate to have my work exhibited with the rest. And second, this will be the first time my abstract work will be seen by others.

While continuing with my more figurative and realistic (or identifiable.. should one say?) work, I have become very attracted to the challenge of expressing through more abstract work, taking the inspiration from the real world, but finding a way to take the parts that really talk to me. It is an incredible process, interesting, very challenging, addictive.

The work above is inspired by the patterns and colours of some Eucalyptus trees, the many that I encounter in my walks. There is an urgency to hold onto these pleasures that nature brings us, knowing that they can one day, sooner or later, go. The nice thing about these process is that it makes you look, not once but many times. I don’t think I have ever looked that long at the bark from these trees, spent so much time in that observation and in that feeling, trying to translate it into marks and colours.

This work is on paper, a monoprint, and my largest to date, 150 x 56 cm. It consists of 3 pieces that have been joined together.

Wishing good luck to all the finalists! The exhibition and announcement of winners will be at the Burnie Art gallery in Tasmania from July 21st to September 8th.