October – November 2021
Hi All,
It’s been a busy September and October is shaping up to be even busier! Running the print studio full time has created wonderful opportunities for working with people, doing interesting work for myself and developing the studio’s resources. It’s been great to see new faces and equally brilliant to see people who I haven’t seen for months or years. Thank you to everyone for your support and for visiting me during the EVAN Open Studios.
Course highlights
I’d like to showcase a couple of courses that I’m running that I think you may enjoy in the run-up to Christmas:
Stone Seal Carving, Wednesday 3 November, £50
Not carving the aquatic mammals with whiskers but making chops/stamps out of soapstone. A wonderful way to sign your prints and as my uncle used to do, mark all his books. Or you could make one for a friend as a gift. All materials included.
C--------* Lino Drop-In, Saturday 20 November, £8
Short, 45-minute sessions for complete beginners/families/children where you will print C------- cards by hand using pre-cut lino designs. With a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie (donations to Eden Valley Hospice). You will be printing using pre-cut lino designs that you can mix and match to create your own custom cards. Session price includes 10 white A6 cards and envelopes but you are welcome to bring your own. You will learn how to apply ink, create blends and layer up images. Please note that the ink will take a couple of days to dry but should be ready in time for C-------- posting!
Membership
Membership for experienced printmakers is going well – this ensures the sustainability of the Print Studio as a going concern so it’s great that people are signing up. I’m stepping down membership fees from January to £20 and then from May to £10. Membership enables you to use the studio’s facilities (open access). Open access sessions cost only £15 for three hours and includes ink and underfloor heating! If you haven’t done an induction session before you’ll also need to sign up for a 30 minute Health and Safety Induction session before you use the studio and only costs £15.
Hilary Harrison and Vega Brennan at Linden Print Studio until 25 December
As promised, our show of work is continuing until C-------- so if you missed the EVAN Open Studios event, you’re welcome to call in and see Hilary’s beautiful ceramics and my framed or mounted prints. We’re also selling greetings cards and C-------- decorations. And the usual range of weird ephemera: letterpress postcards, badges, weather order forms, as well as some vintage paper packs and art books.
I’ve already sold out of our letterpress calendars, but you can pick them up from the Fountain Gallery in Wigton or send me a message and I’ll get one for you (unless they’ve sold out there too).
Invitation to exhibit at Linden Print Studio 2022
From January 2022, I am inviting individual printmakers to show their work in the Studio on a 3-month rolling programme. There are 4 walls that can be filled with work. I will charge 20% commission if you’re selling your work, but I’m also more than happy to let you use the space for project work or an exploration of an idea. If you’d like to be considered for this, please send me an email and we’ll take it from there.
Exhibitions
There’s a great exhibition at Tullie House until 6 November put together by Harriet and Rob Fraser called Artful Ways (https://artful-ways-cumbria.com/). It explores creativity and moving through the landscape together and features the work of many great Cumbrian artists and friends. I chose to do my walk with writer Sue Allan and farmer William Little around Watchtree Nature Reserve. I used William’s words to make 300 letterpress postcards which were left for members of the public to collect around the site. All the postcards are gone now, but you can see our last 3 little postcards there, along with a beautiful poem by Sue Allan.
The next exhibition you need to know about is RE:FORM at Florence Arts Centre from 6 November – 18 December. It’s an exhibition curated by Amy Story (https://www.amystory.co.uk/). I’m looking forward to showing a piece there.
And finally, a couple of Cumbria Printmakers Exhibitions (I’m not taking part due to time constraints) but shaping up to be great events:
Beacon Gallery, Whitehaven 9 October – January 2022
Broad exhibition with a great range of artists.
John Muir Gallery, Pitlochry 15 – 30 October
Cumbria Printmakers Exhibition on the theme of Landscape.
British Printing Society Convention, Reading, 8-10 April 2022, £220 (including accommodation and most meals)
I’m debating whether to go to this event and would be interested to know if anyone else is planning to or would consider coming along? I’ll need to let them know by end of October. It’s more for letterpress printers but there’s also a fair number of fine artists there too. Here’s the link: https://www.bpsnet.org.uk/
Gift vouchers
If you have a Print Studio gift voucher from before lockdown but haven’t had the chance to use it, I’m allowing it to be redeemed until September 2022. Gift vouchers come in any denomination and are usually valid for 12 months (but I’m pretty understanding under most circumstances!). Share the joy of printing with a loved one this C--------! For the person who has everything and needs to make something with their hands for a change!
New to the Studio – two badgemakers!
I can now make 59mm and 25mm badges! And mirrors, fridge magnets and other paraphenalia. I have been enjoying making them for Watchtree Nature Reserve and for my own nefarious purposes. Open for commissions or helping you make your own in the studio.
Printing Press hire/1:1/consultations
If you’d like to do a run of prints at home you’re welcome to hire one of my portable presses with online or in-person support.
Equally if you’ve already got a press that you haven’t used for a while, I can help you get started again.
Opportunities and open calls
Printfest are looking for people to join their team! Funding, Sponsors, Finance, Marketing, Social Media, Artist Communications, Design and production of print, Public relations, Artist Applications, Operartions, Event Management. If you’re interested, get in touch with them via printfest@gmail.com
Cheshire Print Fair open call, £60, 30 October deadline
Flourish Award for Excellence in Printmaking, £5, 14 November deadline
Whew! That’s enough of me, hope you are having a good Autumn. You’ll hear from me again in December.
best wishes and flutterings of fiery leaves,
Vega
*=Christmas, redacted for those who are trying to avoid rampant commercialism and premature conniptions.
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