An Interlude

The studio has been cleared this week so that a new oak floor can be laid. There were just enough planks left over from other rooms and now the tatty old carpet has gone for ever:

The skirting board still needs to be fitted but things are coming back into the room; I'm trying to keep the floor as clear as possible so that I can enjoy the sense of space that the new floor gives me.

Back at my desk, I am enjoying the little catalogue produced by the Library of Manchester Metropolitan University to accompany the current Society Of Wood Engravers Exhibition. This is from the MMU website:

Special Collections

The Best Tools, the Best Methods, the Best Aims... : The Society of Wood Engravers 1920 - 2012

16th January 2012 - 23rd March 2012

MMU Special Collections Gallery,
3rd Floor,
Sir Kenneth Green Library

"It is admittedly a time of experiment. We have to rediscover the best way of doing things - the best tools, the best methods, the best aims." Eric Gill, 1927

This exhibition celebrates the very generous donation by the Society of Wood Engravers (SWE) of their archive to the Manchester Metropolitan University Special Collections. The archive includes material from the Society's foundation in 1920 and traces its development up to the present day.

The exhibition includes material from the SWE archive along with examples of some of the finest 20th century wood engraving from our book collections and unique material from some of the artists' archives. In addition to showing the work of current members each has nominated a past member, who they regard as having been a particular inspiration to them; either through their work or more personally. The contemporary print has been displayed alongside a print by this 'sage'.

In depositing their archive with MMU Special Collections the SWE have ensured its long term preservation, as well as making this fascinating material available to those interested in the SWE illustrious past and its exciting future. They have also placed the archive alongside exceptional collections of books related to wood engraving and with the private papers of a number of artists who are recognised as being amongst the leading engravers of the 20th century.

By displaying the work of some of today's members alongside that of some of the key figures from the history of the SWE we hope to highlight both the continuities and also the developments in the art of wood engraving in this country through the 20th century and beyond and also to echo the words of Eric Gill in suggesting that this is still "a time of experiment".

I chose to be paired with Reynolds Stone, with whom I do feel a great affinity. For my own image, I chose the bookplate that I engraved for my wife to mark our 25th Wedding Anniversary:

The exhibition continues in Manchester until 23rd March

A New Engraving: Rescued On The Back Of A Goose

Having caught up with older work, this is the first of two posts about recent engravings, although the first was done at the end of last year.

They are both illustrations commissioned for The Dawn Herald by L. B. Mara. This first one shows a dramatic moment when a baby is rescued from a castle tower on the back of a goose. It was great fun to design, especially playing about with the design of the castle. As will all commissions, it started as a rough sketch and developed into a finished drawing:

 I felt that I needed to practice the elements in the border so I did some tiny trial engravings on a small piece of lemonwood:

I was happy with what I had done and so drew the design in reverse onto a large lemonwood block, picked up my gravers and set to work:

It is a special moment after hours (days, actually) of engraving to pull the first proof from the block and see the image just how you had planned it:

Here is the finished engraving:

I am hugely pleased with it. It is now available in an edition of 125 copies, printed from the original engraved block onto a special smooth making of Zerkall paper. Every detail is crystal clear.
It is available from both my Etsy Store and from my Website.

Catching Up 3: The Letter "L"

From time to time I take part in a collaborative print project and early last summer I contributed a letter to the Wood Engravers Network Alphabet of engraved, decorated capitals. Early on I had chosen the letter "L" with the intention of engraving a lighthouse but, as the deadline approached, I changed my mind, largely through having these splendid lilies in the house:

The letter was engraved on a 5cm square "lemonwood" block which I had darkened with ink. The letter was drawn freehand but owes much to the capital letters of the lettercutter and typographer Will Carter. I started by engraving the outline fo the letter:

The Form of a capital "L" give much space for background engraving. I developed ideas in my sketchbook and then drew them in reverse on the block:

I enjoyed engraving the lilies. I kept the marks simple as the block was going to be part of a composite print and I wanted it to print easily:

Here is the engraved block before I took the first proofs:

The block was duly posted to the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum in Two Rivers, Wisconsin where it was printed with others to make a wonderful poster:

Before the block left the studio, I printed a small edition of thirty engravings on Zerkall paper:

It is available for sale from my Etsy Store.

Catching Up 2: Long Tailed Tits

I have been wanting to include long tailed tits in an engraving for a long time. I see them in small groups when I take my daily walks and they are also frequent visitors to the bird feeders in the garden; here are a couple sharing their meal with a starling:

However, I wanted to show them as I see them in the hawthorn hedges, with Ely cathedral glimpsed in the background. I spent some time making sketchbook drawings and then trying to find a combination that worked as the image I had in my mind:

Having established the composition, I transferred my drawing into reverse onto a darkened boxwood block and started to engrave:

Here is the final engraving:

The image measures 70 x 65mm and has been printed onto Zerkall paper in an edition of 100.

 For a limited period, I am selling these at a reduced price in my Etsy store. Here is the link:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/92278861/long-tailed-tits

Catching Up - Three Netsuke

I have some projects from 2010 that I have been meaning to share with you. Here is the first.

I have always had a fascination for netsuke. I love the wonderful combination of art and function that they can display; I also like that many of them are carved in boxwood - my material of choice for engraving.

Last year 2010, the BAREN group of printmakers organised "Inspired By Japan", a portfolio of prints to raise money for people affected by the earthquake and tsunami that struck on 11th March 2011. The prints were to be sold through exhibition as well as online. Most of the printmakers involved practice traditional Japanese moku hanga techniques but I sometimes contribute my own engravings to the print exchanges that BAREN organises and I wanted to take part in the fundraising effort but could not find a subject that seemed appropriate and also suited the technique of wood engraving. I knew that I wanted to include a fragment of a map of Japan but that was all I could come up with.

During a visit to the Victoria and Albert museum, I was examining a case of fine netsuke when it struck me that here was a theme that would work for me. Several of the netsuke had damp or watery connotations which would be interesting to engrave. I was particularly struck by a snail on a lotus leaf which a friend kindly photographed for me:

Back in the studio, I researched netsuke images and the snail was joined by a water buffalo, a duck/swan and an octopus. I had my design.

Unusually for me, I decided to engrave this work in maple. I had a block which I brought home with me from my visit as a guest artist to the Wood Engravers Network in Chicago. I had been waiting for a suitable project.

Here is a detail of the octopus:

The background became a map of  the area of Japan where the earthquake struck shown as a white surrounded by engraved watery waves:

While I was engrossed in this task, I was being interviewed for a feature in the UKHandmade on-line magazine and a photograph takes at this time shows the work in progress:

Here is the finished engraving after being taken through eight states:

The "Inspired By Japan" prints have been exhibited several times (details and on-line sales are here)

For a long time, I have been planning engravings with the theme of collection - either created by myself , other people or occurring naturally. This engraving seemed to me to fit into this group and I decided that the image would have a subsequent life, albeit in a changed form.

It seemed to me that the design was a little tall and unstable. This is a purely personal response but masking off the top of the image convinced me to take drastic action and I sawed off the upper portion and re-engraved the top, removing the water buffalo completely.

I have given this engraving the title "Three Netsuke" but then added text along the sides: "Thinking about the Tohoku Earthquake 11th March 2011". It has been printed in a smaller than usual edition of fifty. It has been accepted for the current Society Of Wood Engravers touring exhibition and is now available from my Etsy Store.

In Praise Of Ely

In Praise of Ely is a new 'Fine Press' book designed and printed by Chip Coakley at the Jericho Press, now located in Ely. I am lucky enough to have several Jericho Press volumes on my bookshelves; they are always interesting and well produced. I contributed an engraved press device to "Psalter Collects" (see here). I was pleased to be asked to engrave some small "spots" to decorate "In Praise Of Ely, part of a Latin text that has been translated into English verse by Janet Fairweather (whose translation of the Liber Eliensis is available here).

The verses paint a very pretty picture of Medieval Ely and I illustrated some of its glories with a series of small engravings.

I used a piece of resurfaced Victorian boxwood which I cut into several smaller pieces:

We started the work with a headpiece showing the early cathedral:

Another showed Norman arches inside the cathedral:

An engraving of an eel was made for the title page. Yet another showed bees around a skep and, finally, a tailpiece showed a heron with an eel. This was not specifically mentioned by Brother Gregory who wrote the original verses but it seemed to me to be appropriate:

The book was printed at the Jericho Press in Ely in an edition of just 100 copies and the results are very fine. Here are some photographs of the finished book, nicely bound in green cloth.:

 

If you live near Ely, copies can be bought from Toppings, a very fine bookshop. You can also purchase the book directly from The Jericho Press:

http://www.jericho-press.com/


Finally, a trial version of the title page eel that I engraved during this project, together with a signed proof pulled from it using my 1865 Albion handpress, is currently being offered on Ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200698700463&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:GB:1123

Since this is my first post of 2012,  may I wish you all a Very Happy New Year?

Oxford And Onwards

I spent last weekend at the Oxford Fine Press Book Fair and had a very busy and successful weekend. The fair takes place at Oxford Brookes University and features Fine Presses, book artists, book dealers and suppliers from all over the world; it happens every two years and it is always a pleasure to go and catch up with what others have been doing.

I splashed out on a stand with a screen in one of the quieter corners where I could sit and work as well as sell my things:

 I had room for two small browsers of engravings:

The rest of the front of the table was taken up with my handmade books and portfolios:

There was still room for me to engrave; I like to be able to show what it is that I do and let people handle the block.

 I never work on a commissioned project with so many distractions as its so easy to make a mistake. I brought out a personal project - some long tailed tits that I see on my walks. I actually made a lot of progress and this image will be available before too long:

I came home with many treasures, including 500 sheets of wonderful Magnani laid paper from John Purcell Paper. Magnani papers have been made in Italy since 1404. This will make wonderful notepaper as well as being used for book projects. They also supplied the lovely Curwen pattern paper on the right below; it was designed by Sarah Nechamkin. The paper on the left is a very individual paper by Susanne Krause who brought her paper from Hamburg to sell. I am going to use it for a single portfolio to hold engravings.

I use papers by Victoria Hall on all my small book projects; they are sensational. I bought some for my next books and some wonderful individual sheets for single portfolios and sketchbooks; here are three.
They are (c) Victoria Hall

A huge pleasure of the weekend was collecting my copy of "the Play Of Pericles Prince Of Tyre" from Barbarian Press. It is simply a staggering book and satisfying in every way. Design, printing, illustration (by Simon Brett) and binding were all breathtaking. I am looking forwards to a third collaboration with Jan and Crispin soon.

After Oxford, I caught up with framing and then travelled to Lancashire to deliver framed and unframed prints to Artroom Gallery at Garstang, near Preston, where they will be available from now until January.

Now I am back and have tidied the design studio so that I can get on with the work in hand. I am making the final drawing for an exciting illustration. More about this very soon.

I am pretty much in the studio until Christmas now.