Title

Art Videos

Raku and Blackware Pottery

Tools and materials. Clay, wirecutter, kidney tools, brush, etching tools, moulding tools, bat, rolling pin, talc, glaze, clay slip, tongs, kiln, and sawdust - how they are each used. The history of raku and blackware pottery. Japanese roof tiles. Making a raku slab pot. 'Groggy clay' - when this is used. Biscuit firing to 1,000 degrees. Applying the glaze. 'Fluxes'. Building a kiln: firebricks, gas burner and concrete lid. Taking the pot out of the kiln. Blackware firing: Sculpting Burnishing. Applying the stain. Using fireclay to seal the kiln. Sugar used to carbonise the oxygen.

(26 min) - Year of Production 1992

Stoneware

Ancient Chinese ceramics. Porcelain. The development of the kiln. The updraft kiln, the bottleneck kiln and the downdraft kiln. Stoneware firing. The gas-fired kiln versus the electric kiln. The rise in temperature through to 1300 degrees. The reduction firing. Wedging the clay. Undercutting tools, turning tools, bamboo skewers, calipers, pot lifters, calligraphy brushes, glazes. Weighing the clay, throwing and turning. Using the pottery wheel - lubrication. Making the handles. Painting and decorating. Putting on the glaze. Glaze firing. Finishing off with a caborundum stone. Making a large jug on the pottery wheel. Making non-functional sculptural forms (mock cakes).

(29 min) - Year of Production 1992

Tapestry

The history of tapestry. Coptic textiles. The transformation of weaving from an original art form into an imitation of painting. The resurgence of tapestry. Materials used: paper, wire, wool, silk, plastic, rubber, cotton, fabric. Warping the loom: masking tape, cotton seine twine, waterproof marker, steel ruler and plumb weight. The nature of the weft. Cartoons. Ideas and inspiration. Mixed media materials: newspaper treated in various ways, dyed fabric, steel wool. Commissioned tapestries .

(27 min) - Year of Production 1992

Sculpture

Primitive sculpture. Egyptian, Greek and Roman sculpture. Renaissance sculpture. Rodin. Futurism. Picasso. Materials, tools and techniques: wood, steel, corrugated iron, scrap from demolition sites. Working with metal - safety observations in welding and grinding. Cutting and shaping techniques. Shaping a wax model with a soldering iron. Working with cloth. Sketching ideas in a sketch book. Working with stone. Carving tools. The special properties of limestone. Cutting using a jigsaw. Making a wax model 'maquette'. Preparing the wax for modelling. Making a large clay model, shaping over reinforced struts. Casting on the clay with cement and fibreglass. Runners and risers in making up a wax model ready for casting. Chasing and flashing. Sandblasting and applying a patina. The 'lost wax' method of casting bronze. Lighting the furnace. Melting the bronze. Digging the pit. Wrapping the mould in hessian and plaster. The pour.

(33 min) - Year of Production 1992

Oil Painting: Tools and Materials

Colours mixed with oils. Jan Van Eyck. Tempera - egg, water and pigment. Mixing pigments using a muller and slab. Powdered pigments and linseed oil. Mineral pigments. Methods of storing oil paints. The manufacture of oil paints. Brushes: the bristle brush, sable brush, synthetic brushes, ox hair brush. Applying varnishes. Squirrel hair blender brushes used for finishing touches or removing brushmarks. Staining the canvas and applying washes. Palette knives, easels. Palettes. Dippers. Pine, linseed oil, turpentine and flux. The colour wheel. Canvas. Cardboard. Wooden panels. Plywood. Particle board. Masonite. Stretching a canvas with primed or unprimed cloth. Sizes, grounds and varnishes. From drawing to oil painting. The camera obscura. Using a grid system. Red transfer powder. A viewing card. Sources of light. Choosing a subject.

(22 min) - Year of Production 1995

Art Videos: Approaches to painting

Choosing What to Paint

Nature of the scene - picturesque, dynamic etc. Emotional and aesthetic criteria. Portraits. Creating a mood. Dramatic and unrealistic angles. Using light in interesting ways. Indoor and outdoor paintings. Source of inspiration. Watercolours and oils. Acrylics. Glazing and scumbling. Using gouache.

(24 min) - Year of Production 1995

Composing a Painting

Photographs as opposed to live painting of a scene or portrait. Detailed sketches. Shapes within the painting. Re-organising nature for the sake of composition. Proportion. Distortion - deliberate in a way that enhances the drama. Getting an aesthetic response from the viewer.

(18 min) - Year of Production 1995

Using Colour

(30 min) - Year of Production 1995

Methods of Working

Painting surfaces: paper - thickness and texture, stretching a paper and stretching a canvas. Techniques of working. Approaches to illustration and rendering. Priming and glue-sizing. Mixing watercolours on your palette. Brushes. Turpentine. The fat over lean principle. Varnishes and stand oil.

(34 min) - Year of Production 1995

Set of 4 Approaches to Painting Videos

Art Videos: Printmaking Videos

Etching

The plate is cleaned and prepared and made ready for the ground. A ground is selected and applied to the plate with a roller. The artist draws onto the plate aware of the many drawing techniques available at this stage. The plate is etched in a solution of acid, and bubbles from the chemical reaction are removed with a feather. Health and safety rules are observed at all times. The plate is then cleaned and made ready for the print. Ink is prepared and rolled onto the etched plate. Finally the plate goes through the press and the finished print is seen. Other examples of etching are shown.

(25 min) - Year of Production 1993

Lithography

The stone is prepared to receive the drawing. Various drawing effects are shown using touche and greasy crayons. The effects of the materials used in the chemical process of lithography such as rosin, gum arabic and nitric acid are explained. The stone is etched and the asphaltum and lithotine applied. Health and safety rules are always observed. The ink is applied with a roller. Finally the stone goes through the press and the finished lithograph is seen. Other examples of lithography are shown.

(37 min) - Year of Production 1993

Relief Printing

A piece of artist's lino is prepared. Many effects are created as the artist cuts into the lino with differently shaped cutting tools. The ink is prepared and applied to the lino surface with a roller. The lino is printed on the press and the relief print is seen. Further cutting takes place and the lino is once again inked up. Finally the effects of a two colour print are seen. Other examples of relief printing are shown.

(16 min) - Year of Production 1993

Monoprinting

The advantages of making a monoprint over other forms of printing. Making a negative and a positive image. The registration marks. Changes for a second print. Layering effects. The inks are prepared and applied to a glass sheet. Many drawing effects are shown using different tools and techniques. Finally the image is printed and the one-off print is seen. Other examples of monoprinting are shown.

(23 min) - Year of Production 1993

Set of 4 Printmaking Videos

All 13 Art and Printmaking Videos