REMINISCE

Reminisce:  To recollect and tell of past experiences or events. To indulge in enjoyable recollections of past events.

The 6th Art Club theme is 'Reminisce', submitted by the lovely Brenna Matthews.  Thank you Brenna!

Due date: 21st of July 2012.

Happy creating x

THE RUSSIAN DECK BY ISSY ODDIE

Okay I have a terrible camera... the images aren’t great... But at least I finally completed my first around the kitchen table project! Woot Woot! 

So Russia, I was thinking decorative Easter eggs, Faberge eggs, antique matchboxes, big floral textile patterns, vodka, tsars, fur hats, ballerinas.... 
In the end I really wanted to go matchboxes, but then came across an old deck of cards my step dad bought in Siberia 30 years ago... I have a bit of a thing for cards, so thought I’d just chuck Nicholas II onto a card with a couple of Faberge eggs… 

I did a bit of copper etching last year and was feeling a little rusty, so this project was a good excuse to get back into it…

1+2 – Initial sketches of Nicholas II 

3. Said Siberian cards.

 4. Mock up with borders, clubs and Russian writing, translation: Issy Oddie Around the 

kitchen table May 2012.

 5. Image scratched into copper plate with hard ground base (the hard ground protects the copper from the acid so only the lines will be scratched) ** the copper used was the back of another picture so is fairly scratched up already, as you’ll see in the finished picture.

 6. First print from plate.

 7. Wanted to add shading to background of card… so I did a 3 step aquatint… can vaguely see the copper is duller in areas.

 8. One of a few prints after the aquatint, I stuffed the block out which added a couple of ‘’rustic’ patches to the edge of one side of the card. Also rubbed the ink back too much on the image of the card… but kind of like it, gives it a ghostly look. 

9. Final piece! I sanded back the aquatint to reduce the contrast of the rustic patch and 

also get rid of some of the aquatint graininess.
Done and done.

MOSCOW MARTINI: VODKA WITH A DASH OF POLITICS BY BEN EWART

Hey Art Clubians, this is my Russian submission.

 I have always wanted to experiment, mad scientist-esque, with infusing alcohol...and by golly gosh I have finally done it, with my Venomous Vodka Variations. 

Firstly I decided I needed a theme, and that is Historical Russian Leaders, namely Vladmir Lenin, Josef Stalin, and Ivan the Terrible. 

Secondly I needed flavours, and they needed to relate to the Leaders somehow...

-Lenin was socialised with Red-skins to make 'Red-Skinned Lenin'

-Stalin was purged with Honey to make 'The Russian Honey-Bear'

-And Ivan was terrorised with a ridiculous amount of chilli to make 'Ivan the Terribly Spicy' 

Now the process is quite simple, as you can see above.

The ingredients are put in with the Vodka, and infused for a minimun of two days, or in this case two weeks, so the chilli would really burn. Once the wait was over, the leaders were checked for quality....so after a shot of each I realised that Lenin needed some straining and some red food dye to make him more of a Red Marxist-tinge, rather than a Pink Pinko. Stalin needed a little bit of extra sweetness, so a bit of Vanilla came in. And Ivan, well he was more Terrible than expected, so I decided to leave him as he is, (on that note I am not willing to admit how long I actually coughed after tasting it). 

Finally the jars were completed with some labels, and thus my Leaders were consecrated. 

And that is that... 

Now they just need to be consumed....perhaps an Art Club event is in order...an exhibtion complete with themed drinks perhaps....

RACHMANINOFF ART SONG BY BELINDA ASHE

Hello folks.  Here is Belinda Ashe's beautiful singing voice for this month's Russian theme.....just lovely!

RUSSIAN TATTOOS BY LAURA GROGAN

With our Russian theme I initially thought I would base my submission on some kind of soviet spy photo shoot. The more research I did about spies, the more information that I kept coming across about the Russian Mafia.  Seemingly more deadly than the Italians, with more military organisation than the Americans gangs and an intriguing appeal that can only be surrounded by the iron curtain.

I remembered watching the film Eastern Promises a while ago & one of the most interesting scenes was that explaining the intricate symbolism of all the Mafia's tattoos. So... with this in mind... here is this months submission....

 

A collaboration with Tattooist Kris Olsen, with the donation of flesh from Terry & Ben.

We have recreated just a few of the Russian criminal Mafia's iconic tattoos.

 

Although our method was slightly different from the traditional Russian prison way (burning the heel of a shoe, mixing the soot with urine & injecting into the skin with the use of a guitar string & an electric razor- we just used sharpie permanent textas) the symbols are the same.

 

Dagger for a sex offender, a spider web for a junkie, stars on the knees symbolise the wearer will bow down to no man and each point refers to a predominant rival gang member he or she has murdered. Criminal accomplishments meaning the wearing rose further in the ranks of mafia are symbolised by military insignia & uniform.  The Russian Cathedral spires are symbolic of the amount of years the wearer has spent in prison.

 

Thank you very much to Kris, whose time & talent were invaluable as well as the very handsome bodies of Terry & Ben.

Laura.

MY SUMMER ALBUM BY ANTON CHEKOV (REALLY BY SALLY REID)

Chekov’s plays often feature his wonderful characters sitting in blistering heat for days at a time.  If Chekov was alive today he would be 152 years old and here are some things he might have enjoyed today, where the temperature in Moscow is 21C, contemplating in the sun. . . .

These are Sally's first submission for our Around the Kitchen Table project, we love them!  Thanks Sally! 

Enjoying a 99...

         

Tolstoy and Me have a Bru Break...

My Cherry Orchard glasses...

RUSSIAN DOMES BY KAREN NIX

Here are two lovely Russian lino prints from Karen Nix.  Inspired by the magical buildings in Russia, Karen carved lino and hand printed these.  Each print measures 15.5 x 15cm.

Thanks Karen!

CHAMOMILE PILLOW BY ANNE HOODLESS

My entry this month is based on the Chamomile which is the National Flower of Russia. I started with a plain red cushion cover,made a template for the chamomile flower and used white chalk to draw the flower onto the cushion. I used white wool for running stitch and yellow for the French knots....