printmaking – Amy Jane vdb

The Makings of “Partedahs”

Posted on May 14, 2021May 14, 2021 by Amy Jane

Love them or hate them, Hadeda’s are everyday familiar visitors to any South African home. The sound of one passing Hadeda is enough to startle you, but when a colony of Hadedas (yup, that’s their collective noun) lands on your wall or roof, it takes a strong constitution to not jump right out of your skin or stare with indignation out of your window.

Quite frankly, they should be known as “a SCREECH of Hadedas”, or better yet, “a PARTY of Hadedas”. Colony sounds far too dignified and pompously colonial.

During my time in bed-rest earlier this year I became a lot more aware of my surroundings, and almost looked forward to the daily screech and visit of the neighbourhood Hadeda flock. They reminded me of the noisy, teenagers I used to teach – in their own world, completely oblivious to the noise and disruption they were making. Joyful and full of stories. Without any warning they would arrive as loudly as they possibly could, much like my Grade 10s students would arrive for art lessons. Caught up in midway conversations and social cues, enraptured in their own world. And as suddenly as they arrive, swiftly they’re off to their next hang-out.

In my screenprint I have designed for “Partedahs” I have created the scene I envision happening daily on my roof. And now every time I hear this unruly gang of Hadedas screeching on my roof I enjoy imagining them in some version of this image.

The print will be screenprinted onto Fabriano. The image size is 60x60cm, the paper size 70x70cm. I will OF COURSE be using my usual mix of pinks and greens, while introducing some more neons too. It will be a 9 layered screenprint.

The Process:

Hopefully this provides a bit more insight for you about the process and planning that goes into screenprinting.

1. This was the initial sketch in my sketchbook, during bed-rest, that inspired the piece.

2. During our renovations Mark and I packed up our entire house, except the kitchen and bathroom, and lived in Fynch’s room. Picture a Dr Seuss balancing act of furniture. That was life for 2 months. We had just enough space around the bed to get in and out of the bed. And, during this time I was still on bedrest. In the middle of the furniture piled up on top of each other, and under a frighteningly large amount of baby clothes and nappies, I began creating the final image of “Partedahs”. I draw these final sketches for my prints on drafting film so that they are transparent and I can start to add differed layers.

3. This image shows 5 transparent layers placed on top of each other. Although it is in black and white, each layer, once exposed/burned onto one of my silkscreen screens, will be printed in either a shade of pink or green.

4. This is all 9 layers placed on top of each other. Below is a GIF for you to see how each layer builds on from one another. It’s tedious work that takes a lot of concentration. I also find that working in black and white, but thinking in colour, makes my brain hurt! I work with transparent colours, so I also have to think about the different colours they will make when overlaid. For example, if I layer green over pink it creates a brown!

So, now all 9 positives are ready to be exposed/burned onto my screens. I also have to decide how big I want to make this edition. I like to keep my editions small, but I’m thinking that I might do an edition of 10. (Thats quite big for me!). Watch this space to see the print progress 🙂

I will make sure to film how I expose/burn these 9 layers onto 9 different screens, and then go about printing them. I’m hoping to have them printed this coming month. Fingers crossed x

Unsung Art

Posted on July 22, 2020June 18, 2021 by Amy Jane

Click on Unsung’s Logo to listen to my Podcast Episode

During July 2020 I was interviewed by Warren and Inge from Unsung Art Podcast. I’ve worked with Unsung Art for years, and admire their continued efforts to give lesser-recognised artists in SA a platform to show and sell their work.

Unsung Art was launched in 2014 by Jessica Kramer as a means to give local artists an opportunity to sell their work online. Since then, it has been taken over by current owner/operators Inge and Warren, whose vision for the brand has bolstered it into one of the foremost online marketplaces for original South African art.Unsung Art strives to create a fantastic customer experience with each parcel wrapped with our uniquely branded packaging and a personalized note to the client, which can be customized for gifting.

Local artists now have a space to showcase their works and grow their art career in a safe and open environment.

With art for anyone’s taste, great customer service and free national shipping, there is no reason not to support the amazing local art talent in our beautiful country.

I have a selection of artworks available at Unsung Art online gallery.

MASSA

Posted on July 22, 2020July 22, 2020 by Amy Jane

One of my guilty pleasures is miniature art, which is why I am a committed member of MASSA (Miniature Art Society of South Africa)

The Miniature Art Society of South Africa was founded in 1992 at the instigation of Charmian Kennealy, who had participated in the Miniature Art Exhibitions throughout America and Canada, and Jeff Sochen whose interest in miniaturism was the catalyst needed to help her. The first meeting was held in February 1992.

With miniature art societies, world-wide, reviving the age old artform, it seemed only right that we, in this part of the world, should have a like-minded band of artists promoting and pursuing it. For many artists the more disciplined and detailed approach of miniature art was a welcome change from the predominantly large and freer paintings in fashion today.

The Society has some 65 members throughout South Africa. It has held successful exhibitions in all the main centres of South Africa. We are affiliated to the World Federation of Miniaturists and have participated successfully in four world exhibitions where our work was highly acclaimed. We keep in touch with the ten other recognised societies in the world through the exchange of newsletters.

Our headquarters are in Johannesburg ,and regular meetings and demonstrations are held in a pleasant little hall in Edenvale.

Flights of Fancy

Posted on July 22, 2020July 22, 2020 by Amy Jane

A collaboration in whimsy by Amy Jane van den Bergh and Elizabeth Tristram

Whimsy (n) whim.sy | \ ˈhwim-zē

WHIM, CAPRICE
The quality or state of being whimsical or fanciful
A fanciful or fantastic device, object, or creation especially in writing or art

Both Fine Art graduates from Rhodes University, Elizabeth Tristram and Amy Jane van den Bergh have been working together over the past few years. “Flights of Fancy” is a collaborative exhibition between the two artists.

Each of the artworks began with Elizabeth’s watercolour succulents – a theme she enjoys exploring. Then, Amy Jane, whose art practice is focused on birds, screen printed the whimsical, playful figures over the completed paintings.

Watercolour captivates me, I fell in love with the delicacy and looseness required for watercolour work
Elizabeth Tristram

“I like my work to be playful and imaginatively illustrative”
Amy Jane VDB

What started as an exploration of the artists’ individual themes resulted in a collaborative body of work that celebrates playfulness and whimsy. This exhibition presents a refreshing perspective, to be relished by anyone who recognises that art is not always a serious business. It showcases the light-hearted nature of illustration, and the joy of creating, and of being artists.