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In this exhibition, I am presenting a body of work which focuses on chemical modifiers and natural inks/paints. I began experimenting with modifiers as a response to chemical changes in my own body and have embodied this within the work. I sourced the materials from my own ‘waste stream’, which means that I used inks which would have been thrown away after testing, and I made inks/paints from traditional ancient dye plants. I have made works on paper focussed solely on the chemical reactions with each material and these have produced delicate abstract images with fascinating reactions. I have also been experimenting with making my own vegan plastic-free grounds on canvas and have used the test canvases as a base for expressing my body’s journey through menopause. I have used home-grown flax for mark making as I felt a direct connection with the tool and I selected specific inks to dialogue with, dead brown oak leaf ink, iron oak gall ink and a highly chemically reactive hedgerow buckthorn/privet ink. I added iron water, citric acid, soda ash and alum (aluminium sulphate) as modifiers. The ‘Nest’ series is an ongoing body of work.
I have teamed up with fellow natural colour practitioner, Maria Loring, to deliver a comprehensive overview of natural dyes, inks, pigments, and paints. We are running a series of demonstrations throughout the week.
Tuesday 9th May @ 12 – Ink making demo
Wednesday 10th May @ 12 – Pigment making demo
Thursday 11th May @ 12 – Paint making demo
Friday 12th May @ 12 – Dyeing demo (including indigo and other dyes)
Please come along and feel free to ask any questions you may have about natural colour and the processes.
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2021 BA Fine Art graduate, Jules Bishop, is an artist based in Oxfordshire, UK, and the driving force in her work is environmental activism. Jules works in an intersectional way, crossing disciplines in the humanities, sciences and technology. Her versatile practice embodies sculpture, video art, performance, ‘happenings’, print, drawing, and natural pigments. Jules is an artist who wants a society with a caring operating system and a planet with a future. Her research centres on the natural habitat of hedgerows in rural Oxfordshire and she is part of the ‘Green Plan’ Hedgerow Survey Team; a joint initiative between the Watlington Climate Action Group and the Watlington Environment Group. Jules has built a seasonal collection of hedgerow inks and has developed a unique way of working with the inks, freezing them to preserve vibrancy, and creating ice-process drawings using different substrates. She also works with hedgerow pigments whose uses include mixing into CO2 absorbing plastic VOC-free paint. She raises awareness and facilitates the depth of community engagement by means of poetic activism.
Currently, Jules is working with Brighton-based artist, Kerry Lemon, to develop a drawing kit with natural inks sourced from The Family Oak in Wantage. Recently, Jules has been working with the University of Oxford as a community researcher for Watlington Climate Action Group and they are developing a sustainable research partnership with natural hedgerow inks, pigments, and paints. This work is due to recommence in May as Jules has been awarded a legacy grant to continue the research. Previously, Jules exhibited her ice-process drawing, Sloe Copper, in the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize Exhibition 2021 in London. The exhibition toured in 2022 to Drawing Projects in Wiltshire and The Cooper Gallery in Dundee. Along with contributing to University Celebration Events at the Natural History Museum in Oxford and the Oxford Botanical Gardens, Jules also collaborated in an art workshop, Art, Science and Creativity, at the Living Knowledge Conference 2022 in Groningen in the Netherlands. She participates in Oxfordshire Artweeks every year.