Tag / mark making

by Leonie Andrews

A bit of a diversion

Every weekend we have a Zoom call with some fellow artists in the UK. We meet for an hour to make art and chat. We started this during COVID, so its great that we continue to meet, both online, and now twice in person.

One of the sides, in book form

There’s no program, other than what we feel like doing. Before we start there’s always a discussion about what we will do tonight (our time).

The other side, in book form

I went back to some collage yesterday. I found a large envelope that I decided to turn into a small ‘maze’ book. Having cut the basic shape I started applying very random collage and marks.

One side as collaged

In the end it did take more than our one hour to complete, but by thar stage I was so engaged in the process that I kept going until I was done.

The other side as collage

For the first time in quite a few months I felt the stirrings of excitement, the potential to make new work. I can see several ways to proceed. While it is a ‘work’ in itself I see the possibility of using it as a springboard to new pieces, where they draw on the colours and marks in the book. There’s also the potential to work directly back into the book itself.

Random abstract collage
Marks made with watercolour pencils
There are endless options to work from

Who knows where this will lead.

by Leonie Andrews

Mark making with Monica

After a critical examination of my early attempts at calligraphy, my Japanese homestay ‘mother’ was able to say that the ‘tail’ of one my my kanji was ‘quite good’. I think at that point I decided that it was unlikely I would ever take up the formal discipline of calligraphy. And yet I still remain attracted to the calligraphic mark.

I hoped that I might somehow jump the gap to achieving wonderful marks, without the hard work underpinning formal training. So when artist and calligrapher Monica Dengo‘s current online course A Bridge between Drawing and Writing, floated past me on a social media platform I saw an opportunity to develop my skills in another way.

We started with some familiar drawing techniques, such as drawing without looking at the page.

Then we worked through a series of exercises to explore the possibilities of written forms.

Playing with letter forms.

We combined these two sets of marks in more finished works.

Adding colour boosted the energy of the work.

The final stage of the workshop was to display our finished pieces in a simple book structure, that allowed various combinations of work to be displayed.

Working on compostional combinations across my book.

Monica provided clear outlines and supporting material for the workshop. The 3 × 2 hour sessions flew by and participants were also offered a feedback session on their work after the class finished.

Three pages in my book.

I really feel that this class has opened up new possibilities for my work. I can certainly recommend Monica’s classes to anyone interested in exploring text and mark making.

Monica has told me that she will be running another online class, with times suitable for people in Australia, New Zealand and Asia, from 4-7 June. Please see Monica’s website or contact her for full details. Monica also presents online classes with times suitable for people in Europe and America.

You can see Monica’s work on her Instagram account @monica_dengo