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.