Back in the studio at last
Hello
It is an embarrassing amount of time since I last wrote, in fact it’s a good job this Substack is free otherwise you would all be quite rightly demanding a refund. In my last post I mentioned that I was about to be flung into a second stage of building work with a new kitchen being installed; I expected that to keep me out of circulation for a couple of weeks, but instead it’s been a couple of months.
The installation went well, apart from me realising that my stock of lino was completely inaccessible behind furniture that had been moved into the studio. However just as the kitchen was finished I caught Covid which put me out of action for a week or so.
Fortunately it wasn’t too severe and was over quite quickly (probably because of the booster I had had in May). I managed to get a couple of prints planned and drawn out once I was back on my feet but then immediately travelled to Canada to spend time with my son’s family including our newest grandson who was just a few weeks old. I returned with another horrible virus, this one much more tenacious than the bout of Covid (probably because I hadn’t had a vaccination for whatever vile thing it was). Finally by late July I was in a fit state to start the preparation for the two new prints, including making some poupées to ink up small areas. Here’s a short video showing how to make and use them. Apologies for the portrait format but I originally posted these snippets individually on Instagram stories - I’ve stitched them together for this post. (The term poupée comes from the French for doll, on the basis that these little dabbers look a bit like very simple dolls).
In a panic about my recent lack of productivity I have embarked on both prints at once. It probably won’t help me catch up but I have a fond idea that I can be printing on one while I wait for the other one to dry. It could also mean I get very confused indeed. No change there then.
Anyway that first bit of preparation and printing was about as far as I got before I went off on a week-long archaeology training dig. I had a great time with the splendid folk of York Archaeology and it was really good to spend time doing and thinking about something completely different.
It turns out you can teach an old dog new tricks after all, and I was lucky enough on my first morning to notice that a small bit of dirt where I was scraping was not like the other bits of dirt and was in fact A Thing. I was duly awarded ‘Find of the Week’ for discovering a 17th century trade token, which was rather unexpected. That token, as well as the piece of Viking comb found in almost the same place the previous week and the bits of medieval pottery which were also showing up, should really have been further down if they’d remained undisturbed since they were dropped, but they had presumably found their way there in the soil churned up during the construction and subsequent demolition of the Victorian school we were excavating. Whatever its journey, it’s probably safe to say I was the first person to handle ‘my’ token* in 350 years and that’s quite something.
*not my token. Sadly I don’t get to keep it.
So now I am finally able to apply myself to some serious studio work (ignoring the fact that most of the house needs redecorating, especially the kitchen which is still a mix of old paint and bare plaster). I should have these two prints finished in plenty of time for the York Printmakers Print Fair next month. I’ve just had a new batch of paper delivered and will be making a trip down the road to Hawthorn Printmakers soon to stock up on ink so it’s all systems go.
Oh one last thing to mention: ‘Boardwalk’, the print I was making in my last couple of posts, has been selected for the Ironbridge Fine Arts annual printmaking competition, so I’ll be making a trip down to Shropshire later this month to drop it off for exhibition. I have already worked out which National Trust properties we can visit on the way because that’s how we roll.
I think that’s all - I’ll try not to leave it two months before I write again.
Best wishes
Jane
