vires, virtus, maiestas

The image for my Green Door IPE 2012 submission is now finished, well ahead of schedule (get me) – now the business of printing the edition. It’s been awhile since I printed a whole edition but this is a mini one (just ten) and on a dinky little plate(10 x 7.5cm) so should be a joy to do (hopefully!). There’s great satisfaction to be had from tearing down the paper, pulling the prints, trimming them and cutting the tissue for wrapping; one ends up with a neat little bundle to parcel up lovingly and despatch north.

I particularly like this print exchange because it’s so well organised and the standard of work is high. The parcels of prints we receive back are so well put together and give details of those who took part and those whose prints one receives. I take my hat off to you Green Door; job well done.

IPE 2012 submission progresses

Last week was studio-rich. Two good Saturday / Sunday sessions punctuated with a mid-week day off work devoted entirely to etching, culminating in a spring weekend; working on a plate whilst sitting in the sunshine. Studio doors thrown wide, birds singing in the trees, I continued developing my Green Door submission whilst topping up my vitamin D. Does it get better than that?

This image is surprisingly challenging; the plate is only 10 by 7cm and I’m not used to working this small. Inking and wiping is superfast though so it should make printing the edition fairly simple. More work to be done on it before I get to that stage though.

I heard last week that Green Door will be showing the last three years’ worth of International Print Exchange submissions at Derby Arboretum’s Orangery in May, so the Datamonger (submitted for the 2010 exchange) will get an airing; how satisfying. Maybe I’ll pay him a visit.

Green Door International Print Exchange 2010

Last week, I was really excited to receive my package from Green Door Print Studio in Derby containing prints by ten other participants in the exchange. This is the first time I’ve taken part and only the second year the exchange has been running; 103 printmakers from 11 different countries took part.

I’ve participated in other exchanges but this one has been the best so far, partly because it’s so well organised and professionally presented. The standard of work is high too. A particularly useful aspect is the personalised insert within the folio detailing whose prints I’ve received and who my prints have been sent to. Well done and thank you to the Johnson family for all their hard work.

I received prints from Candice Perry, Chris Rollins, Gina Louthian-Stanley, Judith G Leppert, Julianna Joos, Kirsten Kinnear, Michelle Keegan and Pat Crombie. These should be available to view on the exchange website shortly.

An art-filled week

Although last week was a bad one domestically (leaky pipes and plumbers – AGAIN), it was a good week for art. There was life drawing on Saturday - poses inspired by Degas’s intimate paintings of women going about their daily rituals; studio time on Sunday; an intaglio supervised practice session at the workshop on Tuesday which was fun – three people using four different techniques (as technician/facilitator, that kept me on my toes!); on Wednesday I gave someone at work some advice about drawing and critiqued a portrait he was working on, and on Saturday, I received an email from Green Door Printmaking Studio in Derby announcing this year’s international print exchange. A delightfully varied week – rare these days. If only there could be more like those!