Open Studio 2012

There is always a feeling of "Its that time of the year again" when Open Studios swing round in July. This year, time was decidedly tight after taking a week's holiday and then hanging and opening the exshibition at the Old Fire Engine House in Ely. I had a week to make sure that the work was ready and that the space was clear for me to bring my engraving studio out of the house to sit next to the printing presses.

There are two many odds and ends to clear the space completely so old bedsheets were used to draw a veil over the accumulation of decades:

Parts of an old wardrobe were recycled to make a stand to display unframed work (most of my framed work being in Ely):

The weather was always going to be a concern and a stroll down West Fen before opening time was typical of the weekend with bright sunny periods interspersed with rain showers. On the whole, it was just fine:

The first weekend was a very pleasant affair with old and new faces among the visitors, much interest in my work and pleasing sales. Here are some views of the 2012 Open Studio:

Wine labels, cards and bookplates:

New work, postcards, blocks and tools:

Handmade books (and unframed engravings):

The Woman In Black Portfolio, magazine articles about the project and a file of other illustrations:

Adana table top presses and ink:

Peeping into the Press Room:

The beloved Albion Handpresses:

"Red" was set up to demonstrate printing:

The drying racks always fascinate enquiring minds:

A seldom seen view of the Press Room:

I am open again this coming weekend (14th - 15th July between 11am and 6pm see http://www.camopenstudios.co.uk) and then I have a long list of commissions to work on. The garden is also calling as both vegetables and weeds are flourishing in our rather rainly summer:

I will post again soon to catch up with recent work and publications.

"Postcards Of The Hanging"

We hung the Ely exhibition this morning and, thankfully, it all went very smoothly.

I was able to get ahead of myself a little by making a plan of the space and so the engravings were already "sorted" onto groups when I loaded the car this morning:

 

The Downstairs room at the Old Fire Engine House is a real treat - I love to gaze out of the windows:

Armed with the plan...

... I laid the engravings on the floor to check the positions. We made some last minute changes which were a definite improvement:

I like to hang along a level line and used cord to achieve this. You can see it on the next photo - it sags but can be pulled tight when needed:

Gradually, the frames were placed and hung. I like to measure everything very carefully but, once started, the work goes quite quickly.

Here are some shots of the finished room after the glass had been cleaned but before numbering:

The venue is also an excellent restaurant and we enjoyed a lovely lunch after the hanging.
I can recommend the herring starter:

 If you are in the area, Do please come along to the Private View on Thursday Evening, or see the exhibition during the rest of July. Further details can be found in the previous post below.

Lots of things ticked off my list today - Open Studios are next!