Fun at the Fair

fruitmarket table

‘This is a beautiful stand with exquisite work –  well done’    a much appreciated comment from an early visitor to the Fruitmarket  event.

The Edinburgh Bookfair was a great opportunity to show off my books of relief prints that I have been making over the past few years, along side sculptural  maquette’s of unfolding wire lines and constructed wire fabrics which have inspired the prints.

IMG_3901fruitmarket stand

 

 

 

 

 

 Some works are still for sale:    Wandering line books A6 & A7 (black & white)  £26

wandering line books ( page details)  wandering line books (positive prin page details)

 

 

 

wandering line books (positive prints)

positive  and negative line prints

wandering line books ( negative print)

 

 

 

Constructed fabric print books A6 £30fabric printed book

 

Recycled Scrap Books A6  £15recycled scrap books

All prices include P & P in the UK,  e mail for posting prices abroad

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Prints into books

constructed books J BartonI am delighted to be selecting,trimming and folding my prints to make  a collection of books for the 2015 Fruitmarket Artists Bookfair in Edinburgh Sat 21st & Sun 22nd February

The Bookfair is a wonderful opportunity to meet artists and see the diverse nature of books that are being made both hand and digitally printed.

I will be showing and selling a wide selection of my printed works including Sample Books – of decorative relief prints from  constructed fabrics,  sculptural pop up books, beautiful covered sketchbooks, scroll books of botanical and rubbish prints, plus individual prints and  cards .

relief printed  books

Sample Books – constructed fabric prints

Come along, say hello and buy a few books.    Sat 11-6 Sun 12-5 The Fruitmarket  Gallery, 45 Market St , Edinburgh EH1 1DF   http://fruitmarket.co.uk/

 

 

Seaweed: relief

After months away from the printing press I have spent the last two days indulging in examining and printing a  beautiful array of seaweed samples that  I collected  on the west coast of Ross-shire and Sutherland whist I was undertaking research into beach litter for my Littoral art project.

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Seaweeds have so many similarities with the botanical  forms that I have worked with that I decided to find out more about them  by taking an introductory course in Seaweeds at the University of Edinburgh

 

In the six weeks of study we began to glimpse the extraordinary range of seaweeds around our shorelines and started to understand the categorisations of the algae washed up on beaches we know.DSCF7066

As with  botanical prints pressing samples carefully  is extremely important, even more so with the fine seaweeds that don’t have a strong internal structure.  I began experimenting  ways of pressing and preserving  seaweeds for printing. The seaweeds in these prints are all from the Loch Broom area.DSCF7068

The wracks seen here print well being strong enough to take a firm pressure through the  rollers, while the finer more delicate seaweeds need a damper paper and less pressure to  achieve a good print. DSCF7074

These prints have been made as rewards for crowd funding sponsors of my  littoral art project and as such I decided to print them on sustainable paper using  Khadi paper (recycled fabric fibre) and newspaper in keeping with the underpinning project message that we need to use less and to recycle more to help maintain a resilient environment.

Tomorrow they will be being packaged up and posted to my sponsors. I hope you like them! Seaweed prints made for sale will be posted soon.

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The beginning of July saw a wonderful days workshop at the  Vallum in NorthumberlandVallum 24 July 2013 013

Vallum 24 July 2013 017

The press kept rolling in the heat and everyone was able to make  a printed book mark to take home from natural flora . A great experience for children and adults. I look forward to seeing  people again to develop their printing skills!

Vallum 24 July 2013 015

More workshops are planned before Christmas in Corbridge, Northumberland when we will be printing  cards , book covers, tags …….

Unfortunately the advertised workshop in Fife in May had to be cancelled , but if anyone is interested please let me know and I will try and rearrange with the Steeple Arts Centre

Day Course – Introduction to relief printing May 18th

Steeple Arts Centre – in Fife, Scotland.

Saturday May 18th        10am- 4pm

A one day introductory  relief printing course with the opportunity to use a flatbed printing press is being planned in April/May, dates to be confirmed. We will be experimenting with a wide selection of materials playing with different techniques, colour combinations and papers. Each student will create a series of three exciting prints by the end of the day.

The course will be taught by Artist Julia Barton. Julia specialises in relief printing often using plant materials and sculptural fabrics, a selection of her prints can be viewed on this blog.

Equipment will be provided. Students will be asked to bring their own workshop aprons. The course will take place between 10am -4pm. The course fee is £60 for the day, with a small charge for paper and ink of £5 per student.

Course numbers are limited to ensure a good learning experience. Minimum numbers are required for the course to run so it is helpful if students can book their place early.

Free taster session will be held at the Steeple Arts Centre  on Thursday  21st of March at 3-4pm

Artist Julia Barton will demonstrate and explain relief printing techniques. She will share her passion for printing directly from materials such fabric, mesh and plants to create intriguing and exquisite prints on a variety of papers. You will be welcome to select materials with which to compose and print a simple bookmark to take away using a flatbed roller press. She hopes you too will be excited by the results and want to join her day course later in the spring.

For information and bookings please contact:  julia_barton@btinternet.com 07977997605

Print workshops in your home

Enjoy a day’s printing workshop in your kitchen with a group of friends or family (up to 5 people). All you need is a table, sink and place to hang the prints to dry. An opportunity to learn a  new skill with lots of fun and laughter while making fantastic prints. Ideal as a birthday treat or any other special occasion. A memorable day!

Introduction to printing day: Includes learning and experimenting with simple block printing/mono-printing/collograph techniques until lunchtime. In the afternoon you will have the opportunity to print on a selection of art papers, achieving three good prints by the end of the day to take away with you.

If you get hooked follow up workshops are available in which you can print:

wall hangings/banners up to 2m long – a perfect group activity as it takes several people to hold and guide the plate through the press. Perfect for creating bespoke interior  decorations and announcement messages such as Congratulations! or Happy Anniversary!

sets of cards – with birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, or any special time of year in mind such as Easter, Christmas or Diwali.

I have many years’ experience teaching children and adults in relaxed workshop settings and love helping people bring their ideas to life. Since acquiring a flat bed roller press I have become a passionate advocate for the pleasures and surprises that all forms of printing can bring.

I run print workshops throughout the North East, Borders and Edinburgh areas including weekends.

Contact me : leave a reply below, call  07977997605 or e mail julia_barton@btinternet.com

Botanical Prints

Botanical Prints: plants are a  central theme in my work,  their structures have influenced many pieces of my work and now they are literally becoming my ‘plates’ to work from.

To date I have pressed and printed from Ferns, Teasels, Fennel and  Ivy.

Each of these plants creates a very distinctive print all of which are available as prints and greetings cards.

Prices  6 x 6″ cards £3.50,  5 x 5″  &  4 x 6″ cards £2.50, Tags £1 each

Postage 1-5 cards £1.50,  5-10 cards £2.50

Payment Paypal preferred, postal orders and cheques accepted. Email for quote & details julia_barton@btinternet.com

Bespoke prints and cards can be commissioned for special occasions  using significant plants to the recipient/sender.

Welcome to AsKew

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Askew prints is an exciting new venture I am in the process of setting up  to show the paper & print works I am creating, all of which are for sale . So if you see anything you like just email me julia_barton@btinternet.com

Most of my time  as an artist is  spent making sculptures & installations    www.julia-barton.co.uk  on the streets, in theatres, parks and gardens, so  its wonderful to take time to play in the studio on a smaller scale.  Having always loved mono-printing  from objects and pressed flowers I invested in a roller press to enable me to make relief prints.

The results I am now achieving a year later are so exciting.

printed wire copy

Fascinated by  line and texture I began by printing a series of wire drawings, gradually understanding the pressure required for different  thicknesses of materials the  effects achieved are beautifully embossed. Take a look 

red relief print 2 copycropped relief print copy

Texture and surface detail are an essential element of  my work which I am now translating into print. The results of which I am compiling into sample books.