The variety of Sphagna...

The delicate variety of Sphagna, begining to notice for myself the huge range of this wonderful species.
Seen with magnification these unassuming plants show the rich structures and forms used to grow in these difficult conditions. These plants have mastered the art of survival, when dried out they can survive without water for long periods and then come alive when water becomes available again.

beautiful and soft to touch....
always coexisting with lots of other mosses
 
Sphagnum acts as a sponge holding 20 times its dry weight of water

Sphagnum is what makes peat - it forms at 1mm a year - so 1m is 1000yrs old, the weight of the plant growth compressing the layers beneath.

The different spahgnum species forms a rich tapestry of living colour in the bog;red, orange, yellow, pink, green, ochre, brown, copper, red.

In Edinburgh again...

Edinburgh print workshop

Visiting again to try and print a series of things, peat stories, photographic separations of Sphagnum and some text, thinking about the layering of colours something I have avoided with using peat.

Being in Edinburgh I notice moss where it grows and makes use of places other plants can't manage as in this wall head beside the Water of Leith.

prints gathered together

This seems to sum up the special properties of this plant - printed using peat.

I have been looking through, selecting ones that are ok and signing them, very like finishing photographs properly, quite satisfying.

I like the balance between the delicate line of the actual grass (purple moor-grass), the drawing and the colour block, something which screenprinting can do well.

This print uses peat as the ink and I like the white space below - I originally planned this for a smaller piece of paper but felt it needed the space. Four different sphagna pencil drawings then reversed in photoshop in order to give the peat more prominence.

Sphagnum in its own place

It rains, it rains quite a lot, we often just have damp air, grey and laden with moisture. This is the ideal habitat for the mosses that live in Scotland, especially on the west coast. Scotland is known worldwide for the mosses and bryophites that flourish here.
On a grey windy dark day you can look amongst the heather and discover carpets of bright greens, yellows and reds, these belong to the many different species of Sphagna we have in Scotland (34).

Often the differences between species can only be seen up close, with a hand lens or even under the microscope. For me I am interested in noticing the general feel and different appearances in the landscape for the different species, but it is also interesting to see the changes during the year with a specific plant. When there is no water the plant dries up becoming white or pale green and just waits for the rain. Some sphagna hold 90% water! 

There is a whole mini ecosystem of single celled organisms, plants and animals which live only on the surface of and inside the waterlogged cells of Sphagna.

assessing the prints

Back on Skye I have had time to assess the prints, looking at all the work that I have done;
some, like this direct print of the bog moss, I had originally thought didn't work, now it think there is some potential.

Some work involved printing on glass, these are old glass shelves from a shop display, I printed five different drawings of different sphagna onto different size glass sections, using peat only - the results are even more subtle than I had expected, which I like as it expresses something about this plant - you need to look to notice it

Some prints which I thought would work just didn't - like this one using inks I wanted to balance the block of colour with the delicate drawings of different plants, but the whole composition doesn't hold together - subtle changes in printing, the lines being a bit thinner (than the photocopies I was using to imagine it) the colours being very slightly different - ......

printing again

There has been a bit of a break; I had  short residency in France in November and my trip down in December was thwarted by snow, but now I am back in Edinburgh and seeing how much I remember about the whole process. Before coming down I had prepared a number of pieces ready for printing, I am experimenting with many different things: using peat itself, trying inks and mixing colours, layers, drawings, photocopies, using the computer etc. etc.
The atmosphere is great in the workshop; calm working environment, helpful advice if you need it. The one thing I thought I knew how to work with, the peat, turned out to not work so well this time.

satisfying when it works

view under the screen 

screenprinting further developments...

the draw of the empty notice board - i can't resist it 

Visit during Oct, I feel that I am begining to understand the process and method of working. It is a real pleasure working in the print studio, just a pity it is such a long journey and so much else to get to grips with! I am getting the hang of the buses, having the correct change to hand, walking dark streets in the rain, finding where to park and learning my way round the city by foot and by car.
I managed to print a series using peat, I find the colour and texture most beguiling. I am experimenting with using straightforward photocopies of the plants, drawings, flat colour, photographs... I need to refine it a bit now that I can see the effects that each gives.

marks on the floor edinburgh printmakers

This time I managed to see a couple of exhibitions at the Ingleby gallery and at the Royal Scottish academy. I really enjoyed the 'Mystics or rationalists' http://www.inglebygallery.com/exhibitions/mystics-or-rationalists/ at the Ingleby gallery exhibition - this made excellent use of the existing space within the building. I found it was a really stimulating mixture of artists and their work, lots to think about as well as physically engage with.
I also enjoyed the RSA exhibition, Residency: 11  http://www.royalscottishacademy.org/  which showed work done at various residencies around scotland, the variety is great.