Experiments in gold

Fragments of gold cling to the rough outer edge of a striking blue agate. The once rough edge takes on a new appearance and is unrecognisable from what it was moments before. The transformation is almost complete…

Gold leaf and agates © Hazel Saunderson 2019

My partner Kevin’s sister recently had a beautiful small wedding in rural Scotland, just outside the artists’ town of Kircudbright. In preparation for this, she asked if I would take on the task of making the place cards. There wasn’t much of a brief, just an indication of the two main colours – blue and gold.

Learning Relief Printmaking

Four days of printmaking, three final prints, lots of cleaning up paint, good studio vibes, and creativity unlocked. This was how I spent my summer holidays. A staycation, but one spent learning new things and getting to know an inspiring new place – Edinburgh Printmakers. There was even some sunshine, so I spent one of my lunches sat outside in the courtyard and another looking out over the canal. Pretty sweet by all accounts.

Life is a jigsaw, relief print © Hazel Saunderson 2019

This was one of the prints I created during that week, a jigsaw print that started life as abstract sketches of beautiful flowers that I got for my birthday. On day two of the class, we were told to bring an idea for a jigsaw lino print on our third day of summer school. So I spent the night before sketching…

Late-night sketches © Hazel Saunderson 2019

I used the sketches to make a more detailed geometric drawing the following morning, with the idea that the central circle would be what helped to connect the jigsaw pieces once they had been divided.

Transferring sketch to detailed drawing © Hazel Saunderson 2019

Then I started cutting the design into the lino, the key being to remember which bits I wanted to remove to create bright white space and which bits to keep that would print. I tried to add some organic touches back in whilst cutting out the lines.

Cutting up the pieces © Hazel Saunderson 2019

Then the afternoon was spent inking up, lining up and pressing down to make a small print series. I really felt like I turned a corner on day three of class and was really pleased with how this came out.

That moment when all the pieces fit together © Hazel Saunderson 2019