Ship shape and Bristol fashion

I am delighted to have been asked by Made in Bristol to create an exclusive Bristol product.  I am one of 4 artists to have been commissioned [see more here].   I designed this bag based on the saying 'Ship shape and Bristol fashion'.  It has also been a great opportunity to work with the lovely Alice Rolfe, from Rolfe and Wills, as she screen printed the bags for me.

PRODUCT STORY

This is a post from the Made In Bristol blog about me and my making process:

Product Story - Happy Cloud, Angry Cloud Print by Ruth Broadway

Have you ever wondered how Ruth Broadway makes her beautiful lino prints?  Our latest Product Story interview tells all...

Firstly can you introduce us to your work space what are you surrounded by when you start a project? 

I work in a basement studio, there is lots of light and space to make a mess. I have images and objects that inspire ideas around me. 

So, do you remember where and how the idea came about? 

Often reading stories to my children will feed ideas for imagery. I am always scribbling down ideas and sketches in numerous notebooks. I have got too many notebooks on the go and often it takes me a long time to find the notes and drawings again when the time comes to put the ideas in motion! 

Can you give a brief description of how you started the project? 

I draw my design full scale and then trace it so that the image can be reversed and applied to the lino block [everything I cut out is back to front]. 

What are the essential tools for this project?

paper and pencil 

tracing paper 

lino block 

lino cutters 

printing ink 

rollers and pallets 

wooden spoon or a burnishing tool 

lovely printing paper 

Can you take us through the stages of development from start to finish? 

* Once I have the design I also have to think about colour - this print uses 3 colours and so I have to prepare and cut 3 lino blocks. 

* Once the blocks are cut I mix my inks to get the first colour I need, there is often an order in which to print dependent on the colours I am using - in this one the blue is first to create the template for which to place the other two colours. The pink is next and then the grey is last because it is dark enough to work over the top of the blue. 

* I roll the ink out on my pallet to get the right consistency of ink and then apply the ink with the roller onto my lino blocks. I sometimes have to clean up the blocks with a cotton bud to remove any rogue bits of ink that might spoil a print. 

* Once ready I lay all the parts of the design face up on my clean work bench and carefully lay my paper over the top. 

* I then use my trusty wooden spoon [it’s a really small wooden spoon and its just the right weight and size for the job - I might have ‘borrowed’ it from my daughter’s kitchen set!] 

* Holding the paper in place I firmly burnish the back of the print. I use a relatively thin paper so often I can see through it and this helps me to take a good rubbing of the whole the design. This burnishing can be quite physical and I am always surprised how warm I get at this stage process! 

* I love peeling back the paper to see how the print has come out. 

* Once its done its hung on a drying line I have rigged up in the space [meaning that when people come to visit me in my studio they have to duck under drying prints. I’ve got used to where I can stand up straight and where I need to stoop!] 

* Once this colour is dry which might be a few days it is time to do the second colour - pink. This time when the colour is ready to go on the block I place it face down onto the paper in the appropriate place and then carefully turn the whole thing over so I can burnish on the back of the print again. 

* The grey cloud is done next in exactly the same way. 

* The finished print then goes back on the drying line ready for editioning and framing. 

Within the whole process of the project what stages did you look forward too? 

I LOVE cutting the lino block; it feels like sculpture! - the more intricate the better, although my hands wouldn’t agree - they can get rather stiff and painful if I do a lot of carving. I also love the peeling the paper back and peeking underneath to see the final colour printing block and get the first view of the finished print. 

Are there any future plans in the pipeline for new designs? Can you tell us about them? 

I always got ideas whirling around in my head - often with the other areas of running a craft business single handedly, there isn’t as much time as I would like to just print.

Finally, once the project is complete and you have time to yourself what the first thing you do to celebrate? 

I’ve never thought of celebrating maybe I should do from now on. Completing a print is quite rewarding in itself - I like the slightly weary feeling of having worked hard to create an end product.

Ruth, we think you deserve a little celebration after producing such lovely prints!  If, after reading the story behind the 'Happy Cloud, Angry Cloud' print, you would like one of your very own, well you can!  Ruth's stunning lino prints are available to buy in our SUMMER Paper Scissors Stone shop.

Paper Scissors Stone

Quakers Friars

Cabot Circus

Bristol

Opens Daily:

Mon - Sat:  10am - 6pm

Sun:  11am - 5pm

Meet the Maker - Paper Scissors Stone

A lovely little interview by the good people at Paper Scissors Stone [taken from the Made in Bristol blog]

Meet the Maker, Paper Scissors Stone - Ruth Broadway (Ruby and the Paper Parade)

Please can you introduce yourself and tell us a little about your work?
I live in Bristol with my husband Stu and my two daughters, Iris and Rosa. I first moved to Bristol in 1995 to study illustration at the UWE. Since graduating I have worked in many creative fields; from architectural glass, to teaching drawing; to creating a hand-made baby clothes business, and floristry. I now concentrate on producing limited edition lino prints and related products.

Apart from creating things what else do you do? 

I have a young family so that obviously is a big part of my life. I love film, reading, making lists, cafés and we try to get to the coast as much as we can. I find it very hard to sit and do nothing, I love making or knitting whilst watching a good tv drama.

When did you know you were an artist/maker? 
I grew up in a house where there was creativity and art all around me, so it is something that I have always done and always knew I wanted to do as a job. The reality of actually making a job from my art has been a long one. I think the moment that I realised that making art is what I should be doing was when I had both my daughters. I was totally and happily absorbed in them, but after 6 months or so I started to feel a bit melancholy and realised it was because I hadn’t been making any work, and so I started working in the evenings, and although I was exhausted from being kept up half the night, almost immediately I could feel my energy returning. In both cases it was perhaps my most productive time.  I realised that being an artist or being creative isn’t ‘a job’, but is a necessity; it is part of me.

What do you love most about working in your chosen discipline? 
Lino printing combines my background in drawing and the making side of my practice – the physicality of carving a new design into a lino block is a huge part of the appeal of this medium. I like the challenge of cutting out a highly patterned design. I love the ‘hands-on’ nature of the printing process too – burnishing by hand with a wooden spoon to carefully bring the image to life! At the end of a good day’s printing I always feel very uplifted - with a satisfying sense of having laboured over something to achieve an end product.

Where does your inspiration come from?

My current body of work shows imagery including decorative animals and birds, often with a strong use of graphic line and pattern. I am influenced by Scandinavian folk art, objects I love around my house, 50s and 60s design, my daughters’ story books and graphic poster art.

Describe your studio or workspace?

I am in the brilliantly fortunate position to have a light, dry, warm studio space to make my work in (this has not always been the case). And not only that, I have it totally rent free - I know I am super lucky. My studio space is, in fact, also my (very generous) parents' basement, which has been designed to be used as space to make art. My parents are both creative and are very involved in the local art trail each year. So not only is this their creative basement space, and my studio, but for one or two weekends a year, it also becomes a gallery space - all the clutter is schlepped upstairs to make way for visiting artists and ourselves to exhibit. We all love doing it, and enjoy having our community look round.

If you could peek inside the studio of any artist, designer or craftsman (dead or alive), who would it be?

I am a huge fan of Frida Kahlo. Years ago I was lucky enough to visit her home and studio, in Mexico. It was full of colour and character. That was a proper treat! I think I might also like to sneak a peek inside Angie Lewin’s workspace. I’d love to talk to her about her process. I swoon at the beauty and intricacy of her lino and woodcut prints.

How would you describe your creative process?

When making a new piece of work I often come up with a phrase or story that will form a title, and this, in turn influences the design or characters. Other times it is simply the joy of pattern, colour, and graphic line or iconic items of design that inspire. I always start with drawing – there will be LOADS of them for each design – I use a lay-out pad to trace and retrace the drawings until the right composition is arrived at. I then transfer the design onto a lino block in pencil and carve it out with a lino cutting tool. Using a roller I apply oil-based printing ink onto the printing block. Using a small wooden spoon I hand burnish each print to get an even coverage of ink onto the thin(ish) Japanese simili paper.

What handmade possession do you most cherish?

I can’t just pick one. I am lucky enough to have lots of creative friends and family, so I think the answer is anything made by someone I know and love. I have got some tiny paper shoes that my daughter made that I adore.

What do you when you are stuck in a creative rut? 

I walk. I stop working, to take time to look around me. Someone once told me that you need to have a life to bring life to your work. I have found this to be true; slogging away on something that isn’t working produces something that is stiff and soulless, but if you allow yourself a gulp of fresh air and some fun, somehow that energy comes through in your work.  It’s easier said than done though, I always feel guilty when I’m not in my studio – I don’t want other people to think I’m lazy. But I know it is part of the creative process. There is also a great artistic network in Bristol and there are plenty of people to talk ideas through with and to be inspired by. 

Which is your favourite local independent shop or eatery in Bristol & why? The Old Bookshop café/bar is about a minute from my studio. I find its décor inspiring and quite energising with a quirky use of typewriters, trombones and taxidermy. Oh and their coffee is rather good too! 

Where would you like to be in ten years? 
Hard question! All I know is that I love what I do and I intend to still be doing it until I can’t do it any more (hopefully that will be longer than 10 years!). 

Wow, thank you Ruth, such a great interview.  We are just a tiny bit envious of your studio space and totally can relate to your inspirations...ours too!  Ruth's stunning lino printed work is now available to buy in our Spring Paper Scissors Stone shop.  Hurry they may sell out!

Creative collections

I was asked recently, to supply photos for a 'Meet the Maker' article on the Made in Bristol blog.  They wanted studio shots, tools of the trade stuff and also 'inspiration' shots.  I discovered that I really enjoyed gathering and recording the items that are currently inspiring me.  It could the beginning of a series of photos. 

Roll up, roll up

I did my first art market of the Christmas season this weekend, at the Made In Bristol gift fair, held in the Colston Hall, Bristol.  I was selling my lino prints and jewellery.

I had a jolly old time, especially because I just happend to be selling shoulder to shoulder with my sister, Hannah.

Hannah  and I, along with my pals Sarah Duncan and Jen Orme will be selling our art at Colston Hall this coming weekend as well.  Saturday 15th December 10am-4pm and Sunday 16th December 10am-2pm - Come on down.  My advice is to come early to miss the afternoon rush!
http://hannah-broadway-pictures.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.sarahduncan.net/
http://fettleandpatience.blogspot.co.uk/

Also check out this blog post by Rin Simpson, reviewing the Colston Fair http://glassjarsandphotographs.wordpress.com/2012/12/10/made-in-bristol-gift-fair/

Its been a very busy couple of months, hence not blogging for a while.  I have been working, temporarily as a florist for 2 days a week in my friend's florist.  Whilst it is really lovely to be working with flowers again and being able to 'keep my hand in', it has been a challenge to keep up with orders of my own work, as these two days would normally be studio making time.  So it has been a combination of child-care and floristry by day and every evening beavering away to make work for galleries.  In the last month I have made and delivered 150 pieces of jewellery and 70 lino prints to four new galleries or exhibitions:
-Rostra Gallery, in Bath
 www.rostragallery.co.uk
-Just Make, in Wells
 www.justmake.co.uk
-The International Alternative Press Fair, in London [thanks to Paul Ashley Brown]
 http://www.alternativepress.org.uk/
-Paper-Scissors-Stone, Made in Bristol pop-up gallery, in Bristol
 http://madeinbristol.blogspot.co.uk/p/paper-scissors-stone.html