Sledgehammers (1937)
Sybil Andrews (1898-1992) was an English-Canadian artist best known for her stylised linocuts portraying daily life. Born in Bury St Edmunds, Andrews was unable to attend art school due to her family's lack of funds. Instead, Andrews apprenticed as a welder and worked at an airplane factory during World War I, where she helped in the development of the first all-metal aeroplane for the Bristol Welding Company. During this period, she took an art correspondence course. Influenced by English Vorticists like Wyndham Lewis, Andrews did not rely on traditional perspective in order to convey space. Instead, she overlaid dynamic forms and figures in action. She also helped in the establishment of the The Grosvenor School of Modern Art and was employed as the first secretary there between 1925 and 1928. Andrews exhibited her linocuts extenseively at the 'Exhibitions of British Linocuts' annual exhibition at the Redfern Gallery between 1928 and 1938 which were organised by Claude Flight, whose linocutting classes at the Grosvenor School were highly influential on Andrews' own artistic devlopment. Her lively prints were made with ordinary household linoleum, as well as gouges made from umbrella ribs and a simple wooden spoon to rub against the paper during printing. The softness of linoleum prevented the cutting of fine lines, resulting in the bold shapes seen in Andrews works. Andrews also employed a technique of repetitive hatch-marks in order to create the impression of texture throughout her work.