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!

Exhibition and Open Studios

The beginning of July is going to be very busy with the two biggest events in my calendar both beginning in the first week. My exhibition at the Old Fire Engine House, Ely Opens on Friday 6th July and continues through to the 5th August. You are cordially invited to the private view on Thursday, 5th July between 6:30 and 8:30pm:

Once again, I am downstairs at the Old Fire Engine House in the lovely room that shows my work well in a domestic setting. Here is a photograph from my 2010 show:

I will be exhibiting approximately fifty engravings an about half of them are being shown here for the first time, including much new work. Some old favourites will be shown for the last time

At the same time, I am opening as part of the Cambridge Open Studios on the weekends of July 7th/8th and 14th/15th between 11am and 6pm.

 I will be showing the whole range of my engravings and handmade books. The work is for sale but do feel free to just come along and have a look.  I will also  be demonstrating engraving and printing on the Albion handpresses:

You will also be able to examine my sketchbooks and see how my work develops form the initial rough drawings:

You can see photographs and a short movie of last year's Open Studio in this blog post from last year.

 It would be great to see anyone who follows this blog - do say "Hi!"

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.