Jacky Lowry Artist in Conondale, Queensland | Art

Jacky Lowry Artist

Locality: Conondale, Queensland

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25.01.2022 This is a repeat of what I have posted on my personal profile. Preparations for my Open Studio and Studio sale are continuing, and I am working through the fabric stash. Cottons are going at $3/m. The Open Studio and Studio Sale will be held over 26th and 27th September. I write the Newsletter for Arts Connect Inc., and there is more about the OS and Sale at the very end if that. Scroll right down. Subscribe if you are interested.... https://mailchi.mp/303b/2020-september-aci-updates-and-news See more

24.01.2022 This is going to be a great show, of lots of collectable little original handmade prints. They fit into a CD case and are only $30 each. Great for gift. Oh yes, I'll be taking part as well

22.01.2022 This is to let you know of a coming Arts Connect Inc. exhibition at Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve that I'm taking part in. And for southeast Queensland readers, I will be on duty at the exhibition all day on Wednesday 11th November and Thursday 19th November. https://artsconnectinc.com.au//botanica-an-arts-connect-i/ It would a great buzz to have people drop in. Mary Cairncross really is very scenic, it has lovely rainforest walks, and there is a terrific cafe.

20.01.2022 I will be there. Meeting up with Art Connect Inc. members and friends again will be such a buzz

19.01.2022 I made a fresh indigo vat while my granddaughters were staying over the Christmas holidays. (We had fun making stitch resists and tie resists with T-shirts.) And now I am using the vat myself. It's such a long time since I last worked with indigo, that it was good to just plain dye things that needed refreshing, and at the same time remember the things that can go wrong. That mostly was not moving the items enough, so that the dye job was uneven. Some things ended up in the... dye bath a second time. The pale garment with the purply neck is synthetic, and was an anaemic reddy colour (previous failed dye job). It didn't take up much dye, and the reddy base comes through as a violety colour. Next to it is an old table cloth I couldn't use, because I hated the orange and green combination. It will get used now. To the left is a hand towel I never used because I hated the paler blue. It is interesting how different cloths take on different colours, out of the same dye bath. The dark sleeveless top got a second dyeing, and it show. On the left is what was a white linen - quite different from the previously white T-shirt on the right. The "Origin" T-shirt was a lurid, unwearable lime green, but perfectly fine now. Next to it is a T-shirt that was insipidly red, and is now acceptably purplish. Enthused, I am now working on developing an indigo workshop, that will include dyeing paper as well. Actually that's the easy bit. It's developing the web pages to go on my website, plus a booking system, that is really exercising me. It could end up that the weather is cool enough for a workshop before the webpages are finished! I'll keep you informed!

18.01.2022 Hello dear people. After being in sort-of recess during 2019, I am back to art making and developing an art business. Yesterday I made a print edition, using a surface roll for the coloured background, rather than my usual painting. Today I wrote a blog describing my process. You can find it here - https://jackylowryartist.com.au/a-new-collagraph-print-wit/.

18.01.2022 I am very reluctantly postponing my papermaking workshops to some indeterminate date when we have had enough rain to replenish the water table, and our bore becomes more reliable. We are in drought, with our bore water table so low we have had water trucked in twice now. Papermaking is fairly water intensive. We had a lovely papermaking workshop on Saturday (see my personal page), but the next day there came a rude awakening! David checked the water tank, and it is was dow...n to 1/3. So even more careful water usage, and no more papermaking for a while! This is such a pity, as I realise just how much I like like running workshops, and papermaking in particular. But now I can start planning printmaking workshops. Do watch out for them. Below a freshly glued collagraph plated, being made print-ready, and the print taken from it.

17.01.2022 Here are some more details of what I've been making, and it hasn't gone well. (First posted on my personal page). I have been too ambitious too soon, with my third-ever reduction linocut print. So I have stopped. Pity, as it has been quite a lot of work. I like the effects possible with reduction linocut printing, so I will get back to it - but with far fewer colours, until I figure out what went wrong, and have improved my technique. I suspect the linocut plate may have s...tretched as bits were cur away. I also realised (too late) that as the remaining bits of lino got smaller, I needed a smaller roller to ink them. I also think my ink may have been too thick on occasions, and I think the cardboard I used to make the jig to hold the plate and registration system was too thin, so that it buckled with increasing use in a way that mattered when most of the lino had been cut away. My image, the imaged traced onto the lino, the print jig to hold the lino through the press, The registration system being put in place, an error - a wrong cut, but the bit of lino wasn't lost, so I glued it back. Wiping the glued sliver of lino, and the first print. With the inking of subsequent colours, you couldn't see the error. That was good learning. The 2nd & 3rd colours, and a closeup of all the things that haven't gone well.

17.01.2022 Have you heard of Pressing Matters magazine? https://www.pressingmattersmag.com. It's fabulous, and I have read every issue. The last article of every issue is called "The Story Behind the Print". While reading one earlier in the year, it occurred to me that I had a print with a story. Why not offer an article for that position? What a buzz to have my proposal accepted. It wasn't for the coveted "Story Behind the Print" spot, but to be included in the magazine as a small... "Bits & Pieces" article for the August issue was such an honour. The article is about my print "In Memoriam", and because it was smaller than anticipated, the whole story could not be told. So I wrote a blog on my new website (as one does). So please go to my new blog to read the full story. https://jackylowryartist.com.au/in-memoriam-my-print-is-in/

16.01.2022 I've just created this on my Profile Page. Ongoing preparations for the Open Studio and Studio Sale, to be held over 26th and 27th September 2020. If you live locally, I'd love to see you.

16.01.2022 I have come back to Gelli Plate monoprints after feeling disappointed with the results and dropping the technique years ago. But today I am enraptured by the results as I put into practice recent learning. The plant details are exquisite - much better than I get from collagraph printing plates using real plants. And this is only the beginning. I have some ideas for taking the technique further, and more experiments are in the pipeline. I'll show you as they emerge.

15.01.2022 OPEN STUDIO & STUDIO SALE! It's happening next weekend - 26th-27th September, and the weekend after. Up for sale will be the bulk of my fabric stash, and my screenprinting stuff. Also some art books. And also some clothes. Art will be on display and discounted, just for the sale. The weekend after - 3-4th October, I should have what's left of the stash priced, and hopefully also my beads. We are 1 hours north of Brisbane, a very pleasant drive. The studio is situated in the lovely uppermost Mary River valley, and the attractive little town of Maleny is nearby. This all ads up to a great outing. Message me, or email for directions to my studio - [email protected].

15.01.2022 Downsizing Difficulties & Wardrobing Books that Need a Home - https://mailchi.mp//downsizing-difficulties-wardrobing-boo

13.01.2022 I spent the day in Peace of Green Maleny today, shifting my art to a new location and refreshing the display. We are going to be open over the weekend again (16th - 17th May), so if you are going to be in Maleny, do drop by to see my new "look".

12.01.2022 Today I decided to enter the Local Artist Local Content Prize, that will be held At the Caloundra Regional Gallery later in the year. We will see what happens. Last time I entered I was't chosen as a finalist. The LALC Prize is a lovely exhibition in a great gallery, so I hope to make it this year. I feel ambivalent towards the subject of this collagraph, the Chinese Elm. On the one hand it is a lovely subject to print with, always coming out well.... But on the other hand it is a woody weed and a pest. Its presence on the property so that I could make a collagraph plate from it indicates that we are not keeping ups with weed control. It's time we left. Any one want to buy 50 acres in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland?

11.01.2022 I've noticed since my website went live, that I've felt somewhat at a loose end. It has been such a major feature of my life for so long, I hardly knew what else to do with myself. But eventually one settles down. I found an "ideal week" template I thought I could adapt to my days and projects, and am finding it helpful. Today was a "Down Size and Garden" day, so in a fit of being virtuous, decided to clear out a shelf in the studio. You can see it wasn't too arduous, so as... not to overdo the "virtue". Well, I've found that cleaning is a little like the "s" word. Once you start, what with one thing and an other, before you know it you have gone all the way. I ended up doing two shelves. You can see the boxes, all neatly labeled. A lot of stuff was chucked - obsolete electronics, old geological maps of David's I thought I would do something with (but now have forgotten what), and more. So my work table is clear and ready for my next art thing (a bit of framing). But it is an illusion. I did my usual thing of shifting the hard stuff, where I couldn't make an instant decision, to another place. But virtue has won out. After a little rest, and a cup of tea, I did tackle everything, finding homes for stuff I wanted, sending photos of things I don't want to people who might. Now I have two nice clear work spaces, and it feels fantastic. I think I might vacuum the studio tomorrow, to reinforce the idea I am ready for art projects.

11.01.2022 Life happens, as it must, and I did not get the little Lantana plate printed "tomorrow" as planned. It's now six days later, ad the printing and documentation was finished "yesterday". So here it is, the first of a series of Collectables I will be making for the Maleny Printmakers Collectables 2019 Exhibition, later in the year.

10.01.2022 Today I helped install three of my pieces in Botanica, the Arts Connect Inc Exhibition that opens at Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve. It's a great display, with some interesting work that references the Reserve, and surrounds. I'll be there on the 11th and 19th November, and would be thrill to have people drop by to see the art and to visit the Reserve.

08.01.2022 Today has been an art day. Some of the dear little plates I started to print for the Collectables 2019 Exhibition have been disappointing. So I decided to make some new plates specifically for Collectables. Everything was so dry, it was hard to find suitable plant material. A Bauhinia shrub that David had cut down was valiantly sprouting, so I decided to try that. And a wattle tree that was tentatively pushing out tiny fresh shoots. There are always Hoop Pines, and Bunya ...Pine, although those very tough leaves are quite hard to deal with (prickly customers). First choose your glue, and apply to pre-shellacked base plate. The Bauhinia got PVA glue, applied to the plate with a brush. Then arrange the plant on the glued plate. Sometimes stems need a little help to keep them stuck down until the glue begins to cure and hold better. The wattle, Hoop Pine and Bunya Pine got contact glue. I used solvent based, rather than water based contact glue because it's a bit easier to use. I wish I hadn't though, because it was very hard to get the tough Hoop and Bunya leaves to stick down. Water based contact glue is much stickier, and stays sticky longer after it begins to cure and dry. I may have trouble finishing those plates off. The final stage for the plate making for the day was to cover the fresh leaves with acrylic medium. That stabilises the leaves, letting them dry in place without loosing their shape The evening was still young, so to finish off a pleasant day I painted the background of a Lantana leaf, printed last week. Here is a closeup of my favourite.

07.01.2022 I've been holding Open Studios & Studio Sales as part of the necessary downsizing that goes with selling the farm and finding a smaller, less demanding place to live. Friday 29th and Saturday 30th Jan will be the last I formally hold. But I am open to making appointments. Message me. http://mailchi.mp//last-open-studio-and-studio-sales-at-ja... This links to more details. See more

07.01.2022 2019 has been a messy year in some ways, so it is pleasing to be finishing with a new, completed art work. I love working with grasses, and this is my third Kangaroo Grass. The background is quite pale, and is actually more complete than the image suggests. For some reason, this is how the scan came out.

04.01.2022 Today I decided to move out of a lethargy and to get moving again. I've announced on my Fb profile, and am repeating it here, that I will be holding an Open Studio and Studio Sale over the weekend of 26th - 27th September, so mark your calendars and save the date. Our need to downsize and prepare to leave the farm and home for the last 20 years has not changed. One aspect is rationalising my art making. So I am selling off all equipment I won't be using any more. Here are some photos of some things that will be for sale. There will be more, of course.

04.01.2022 After months of hard work, my website is up and running. Do take a little look. https://jackylowryartist.com.au

04.01.2022 It'a such a long time since I have posted. It's nearly the end of the year, and there is still so much left to do I feel stuck and paralysed. Because of the initial urgency with David's deteriorating eyesight, I postponed a course, and planned to focus this year on downsizing and getting the house ready for sale. But David is responding to treatment, and the urgency has seeped away. He has done very little towards the project, and I ended up spending a lot of time on gett...ing my website finished (https://jackylowryartist.com.au/). I am glad to have a live website, but in the meantime there is still so much to do, and I need to restart the course early next year if I'm not to loose my money. So this evening I am soothing myself with a bit of busy work on some unfinished collagraph plates, made earlier in the year. I'm using a heavy gel to fill in undercuts, so that ink won't squish when I get to print. I'll show you the print when it's done.

04.01.2022 I'm looking forward to seeing this, and will be calling tomorrow 25th after church. Congratulations on a fabulous display.

03.01.2022 Peace of Green, my artists' collective in Maleny, is opening on Saturday, just for the weekend, in time for Mother's Day. If you are in Maleny, do pop in. We have a perspex screen in place at the counter, are limiting people numbers in the shop at any one time, and of course, there is hand sanitiser.

02.01.2022 I've started to seriously plan and organise my time for increased productivity. So it's a little disheartening to clearly see how much longer it takes to do a task that I think! I sort of knew, but now it is in my face. Has this been anyone else's experience. Anyway, I'm working on getting my entry in for the Print Council Print exchange. It's the first time I have entered.... I'm at the point ion still painting in the background. I think it makes the subject easier to read, to fill in the negative spaces. See more

01.01.2022 Well, I've had my first go at creating an Eventbrite page for a workshop I will run at the end of March. I clicked to have it post on Fb, but as you can see, the image didn't come out right. I made the image dimensions as suggested on Eventbrite, so I do't know what went wrong. Any way, if you are interested in some Pressless Printmaking methods, and are available Sat 28th March, you can buy a ticket on line. Let's see what happens if I add the event URL to this post.... http://eventbrite.com.au/e/98949148567 That is much better. See more