Chicago: WEN Workshop (4)

*Warning - this post features an extraordinary number of printing presses*

Now this looks an interesting place to start a day:


Paul Aken's wonderful Platen Press Museum in Zion, IL.


Walking into the first room, we were met by a group of iron handpresses, including this handsome Hopkinson & Cope Albion Press:


The unmistakeable Columbian press. We were given the opportunity to print on this during our visit:


A large Washington Press:


A sweet Hopkinson & Cope table top Albion. There were many of us who would have liked to adopt this and take it home:



Finally, a wonderful Reliance:


In another room, Earl had found a Columbian No. 2 Platen press, similar to his own.


Everywhere, there seemed to be a handpress.


Carl and Rachel were among those who pulled proofs from the Columbian.



In the meantime, I explores Paul's "Toyroom":




In the book room, a poster that caught my eye:


I have never in my life seen so many presses together in one place:




Elsewhere, there were various casting machines, including this wonderful linotype:



It was getting towards lunchtime and some more people were due to fly out so we drove to the Illinois Beach State Park for a picnic lunch:


After lunch, we went to the beach for a last look at Lake Michigan. I skimmed stones into the lake and then sat and made towers of pebbles, contemplating the directions that my printmaking might go as a result of my experiences during this week.



We drove back to Sharen and Don's.


The basement was growing quieter and more empty all the time. Sometimes, Kitsi had found it difficult to cope with so many visitors but now she could relax again - and enjoy Sharen's proofing press:


Saturday morning found me relaxing again at Kildeer.


Then it was time to leave for the airport (and a wonderful upgrade!) for the flight home.


I am so very grateful to the Wood Engraver's Network for their kind invitation, to Sharen and Don for their generous hospitality and for the friendship and companionship of my fellow engravers. I know that my work will change as a result of my experiences and I look forwards to a time later in the year when I can start to explore some of the ideas that I am forming. In some ways, I left for Chicago a jobbing engraver and arrived back in England an artist.

Chicago: WEN Workshop (3)

Wednesday morning was a working morning and it was interesting to hear the sounds made by massed engravers - the sounds made by movements of gravers against wood, of wood against leather sandbags and quiet words...





I engraved a little but my mind was partly on the presentation that I was scheduled to give after lunch. I decided to walk out and enjoy Sharen and Don's lovely garden and the wildlife that it harboured:


I watched a small group of Canada Geese land on the lake...



Seeing them against the reflected light was a wonderful illustration of a point that I wanted to make - the fact that sometimes opportunities present themselves like this; sometimes we "see" the world as engravings.



A brisk and welcome walk (accompanied by ominous thunder) to Chipotle and an equally welcome burrito set me up for my presentation before the assembled engravers and guests. I spoke about my development as an engraver, my influences and the way that I work, emphasising my belief in the importance of sketchbook work. The audience listened to me kindly and patiently. I enjoyed a most pleasant afternoon meeting people.

In the evening, we ate pizza and enjoyed the first of two sessions during which members made their own presentations of work.

All in all, a most enjoyable day.


Thursday morning found us driving to Evanston and Northwestern University. First stop was the Deering Library where eyes were caught by a reconstruction of a Gutenburg Press:



Once again, we were given access to some very interesting and beautiful treasures.


I poured over a set of re-strikes from William Blake's 1821 engravings for Thornton's Virgil:


We had already seen three early proofs from these blocks at the Art Institute.

I was particularly taken by a group of blocks engraved by Eric Gill. One seldom sees these and it was interesting to see how seemingly effortlessly they were cut and cleared:



There were more Blakes on display, including a wonderfully printed re-strike from one of his largest Copper Engravings: The Canterbury Tales:


The linear work in the background is simply beautiful:


I find this figure simply breathtaking in the way that she is drawn and engraved:


Yet more Blakes - his illustrations to Dante's Inferno:


There was much to catch the eye and cause debate:


In this case it was the "make-ready" formed from layers of tissue that was used to print one of Thomas Bewick's engraved blocks:


Apart from prints and blocks, there were some well chosen books; I could have pulled up an armchair and spent the day here.


We walked from The Deering Library to the Block Museum where we had the opportunity to examine some extremely fine engravings. I was pleased to have this session which was dedicated almost exclusively to American engravers.




We enjoyed lunch in the cafeteria and then walked to Bookman's Alley. This is a most marvellous bookshop and the hour we spent there was as pleasant as any during the week:






In the evening we enjoyed lovely food at a local restaurant befor returning to Kildeer for coffee, desserts and more member presentations. This was a most convivial evening. Carl played his concertina and farewells were said as some members would not join us for the final day.

I was given a very beautiful book:


A 1947 facimile of William Blake's "America A Prophecy"


I could not have received a more well chosen, appropriate gift and memento of my visit; it is a lovely addition to my own Blake collection that sits above me as I type:


To be continued...

Chicago: WEN Workshop (2)

Tuesday morning found us driving towards downtown Chicago:




We met up at Cosi's Coffee shop where I grabbed a welcome smoothie.


We were in for a real treat at the Art Institute of Chicago. We visited the Print Study Room where a selection of prints and blocks had been selected for our enjoyment:


The first item could not have been more appropriate for me - three proofs from William Blake's wood engraved illustrations to Thornton's 1821 edition of Virgil.

The middle one is probably the most important print in terms of my own development as a printmaker. It is a tiny thing but of huge significance to me and one that I wanted to refer to when I spoke the next day:


Of the blocks on display, I was particularly taken by one engraved by Lucien Pissarro, son of the Impressionist Camille. If you click on the image to enlarge it you can see where the block is starting to split. This is not uncommon with engraved blocks, which are often made from smaller pieces of wood glued together:

Another exciting inclusion for me was one of the small number of wood engravings that the English Pop Artist Peter Blake (he of the cover to the Beatle's Sgt. Pepper album) has made.



We had lunch in the Art Institute restaurant and then took the opportunity to see some of the other treasures from the collection. I was particularly keep to see Seaurat's La Grande Jatte, having seen the other version and many of the preparatory sketches. Grant Wood's American Gothic was another "must see".

The works that made the most impact on me were by Ivan Albright. Having seen his work only in reproduction, it was stunning to see pieces for real. Even the carved wooden frames were fascinating. There was something Blakean about the figures on the frame of "Into the World There Came a Soul Called Ida":



I was particularly taken by a large gouche called "The Rustlers" (Thanks, Tony for the photo). It is an image that I find myself returning to over and over again:


Eventually, we had to leave and walk a few blocks through the city:



To catch a bus:


To the wonderful Newberry Library. Once again, we were able to view rare items at close quarters. Highlights included a large collection of engraved blocks by Thomas Bewick and an early book by Maurits Cornelis Escher.

Afterwards, we walked to the Sherwin Beach Press. Here we enjoyed refreshments, examined the work of the press, showed off our own and chatted to members of the Caxton Club. It was a very pleasant occasion.



This was followed by a drive through the city.



Then a stop to enjoy a view of the skyline and Lake Michigan.




We then parked and walked past hedges (some appropriately of box) to...


...the magnificent Buckingham Fountain:








This had been a long and tiring day but a most memorable one.

Chicago: WEN Workshop (1)

The open studios were over very quickly and I had just under a week to prepare to fly out to Chicago as guest artist to the Wood Engraver's Network at their annual workshop. I had a pleasantly uneventful journey to Chicago O'Hare International Airport, where I was met by our wonderfully attentive hosts Sharen and Don Linder who took me to my hotel. I tried to ignore the fact that everything electronic that I owned reminded me that it was about 4am back home.



I awoke 4:30am local time Sunday morning and enjoyed a swim before a leisurely breakfast at six o'clock and a walk around the neighbourhood. There was a lovely lakeside park opposite the hotel.


After my walk I was ready for a nap and then, getting hungry, I wandered round to Tacos El Norte, a Mexican diner next to the hotel for a burrito. It was good to be back in the US again.



... and some drawing - working out the design for the block that I planned to engrave during the week - a view of part of our garden. It was a detail from the steps that already feature towards the left of the centre of this print.



Other engravers arrived during the afternoon so it was back to the diner for a beer and then we drove to Sharen and Don's lovely house where we set up our gear in the basement and enjoyed a very pleasant supper with the assembled engravers before heading back - very tired - to the hotel.

The next morning, we started work in earnest in the basement. There was so much space and the light was great to work with. I squared down my image and transferred it to the block so that I was ready to engrave. It was a real pleasure to get to meet and work with the engravers. I had known many of them for years through their work.






In the afternoon, we were the guests of Graphic Chemical & Ink Co. The lobby and offices were hung with a wonderful variety of original prints. We had a tour "behind the scenes" and watched the process of making printmaking inks from the selection on the medium...


... to the pigment grinder...


... and then the machines that use heavy rollers to make the ink smooth...



... before the cooled and thickened ink is transferred to the tins that we are familiar with:


Elsewhere, in the warehouse, there were gravers galore...


... and piles of paper to peruse:


We returned to WEN HQ for more engraving. I enjoyed the exotic elements of this lovely suburb of Chicago; hummingbirds and, later, fireflies.


We ended the day with a shared meal. The week had made an excellent start.

IN Print and Business as Usual

The Open Studios have been and gone and were very successful. On the first morning, I received a copy of East Anglian Ex-Libris by John Blatchly. It covers bookplates related to East Anglia from 1700 to the present day and is a wonderful addition to the collection of anyone interested in bookplates. Dr Blatchly has included two of my engraved pictorial bookplates: my own that I use for larger books and the one that I engraved for Joan..




Since then, both presses have been busy as I have been working hard to complete jobs before I head off to thwe WEN gathering at Kildeer, IL.


As the engravings have dried, I have been sitting and signing and numbering them. I will feature this particular project in a couple of weeks time:


I am planning a project of my own to engrave in the US. So much of what I do is commissioned work that it will be a treat to do something for myself. This morning, I received a pair of wonderful boxwood "rounds" from blockmaker Chris Daunt. I use his blocks exclusively in my work. These are beautiful and, for me, the natural shape of the wood is a pleasure to work with. You may remember one that I engraved before.


I fly out on Saturday - so much more to be done.

Open Studio - First Weekend

This year's first Open Studio weekend was a very pleasant occasion with a steady stream of visitors and pleasing sales which, traditionally, go towards my purchase of printmaking paper for the next twelve months. The weather was beautiful, with the sun streaming in but not as hot as earlier in the week, when the rollers on one of my small Adana presses melted in the heat.

Inside the door, There was a wall of framed engravings, a browser containg the newly editioned prints from Freshly Picked and a folder of the engravings for Philip Pullman's A Outrance. This was followed by a group of sketchbooks to show how projects develop from the first pencil sketches to the final ink drawings:



The central table had wood engravings for sale in browsers:


Also on the central table was a disply of many of many of my engraved bookplates and some of the books that they have featured in:


At the far end, I was demonstrating engraving and carrying on with one of my current projects:


Moving through into the press room, there was another wall of framed engravings behind the smaller 1865 Albion Handpress:


The recently tidied shelves had small displays, including some of the engravings that I have made for wine labels:


"Red", the larger 1902 Albion was in use to demonstrate printing from engraved blocks:


I was able to get on with some work, enjoy the company of new and old friends and have a relaxing but surprisingly tiring weekend.

It all happens again next weekend and you will be most welcome to visit.

I made another short "Walk through" movie and, this year, added commentary as I walked around. Here it is:

Open Studios 2009

Once again, I am opening as part of the Cambridge Open Studio scheme. My studio will be Open from tomorrow (July 4th-5th and 11th - 12th) between 11am and 6pm.

I will demoinstrate engraving and printing on the Albion handpresses. There will be engravings for sale but there is no obligation to buy - feel free to come and look.

The details are here: http://www.camopenstudios.co.uk/ you can find them by searching for me in the "Artists" section. I will post photographs very soon.