Hello
I realise it’s been more than a month since my last confession newsletter. I don’t imagine you’ve been missing me but I thought I should pop my head round the door of your inbox anyway.
I had planned to be launching my new print this week, but once again I have been caught out by how much slower ink dries once you have built up (as I always do) a ridiculous number of layers. Early layers dry partially through absorption into the paper, but once an impenetrable coating of ink has built up, the ink’s moisture has nowhere to go but evaporate into the air. Slowly. Very slowly.
I showed you the first three layers in my last newsletter and I am now up to layer seven. Here’s a detail of what it’s looking like now. One more layer to go so hopefully I’ll be able to show you the finished piece next week.
Delfins!!
One of the reasons for slow progress is that I bunked off for the first two weeks of February and ran away to Mexico. I will not make you endure all my holiday snaps - in fact I took very few this time because we’ve been to the same place four times now and I’ve already photographed everything. A regular highlight of our trips though is a visit to the Sian Ka’an Biosphere and it was a treat this time as always. It is not for the faint-hearted (or those pregnant or with back problems) as it starts with a bumpy 40 minute drive along an almost impassable pot-holed track, followed by another 45 minutes in an even bumpier concrete-hulled speed boat (an innovation this year is the introduction of thin but nevertheless welcome seat cushions in the boat). The reward is seeing wonderful wildlife including manatee (not this time unfortunately), giant turtles, crocodiles and a wealth of birds. This year we saw, from the non-intrusive distance of the boat, a Roseate Spoonbill sitting on its nest with THREE BABIES. Yes I’m still squealing. Oh yeah and two ospreys on nests. You get a bit blasé about osprey as they are all over the place . Also……DELFINS! As shouted by our guide Fernando and as I will now always think of them.
Also…..FRIGATE BIRDS.
Back to reality
All holidays must come to an end and within days of my return from Mexico my garage looked like this.
What you are seeing here is just over 10,000 copies of York Open Studios directories (169 boxes). The stacks have reduced a bit as I have been driving around delivering boxes to places like the libraries and our tourist information centre and artists have been coming and collecting supplies to distribute themselves. At the last count I’m down to 70 boxes. I always panic that I am going to be left with loads which of course become fit only for recycling the day after the event has finished in April, but for the last few years that hasn’t happened. Well apart from 2020 when the event, along with normal life, was abruptly cancelled with only a month to go but we try not to think about that.
The directory is, as always, beautifully produced, thanks to our phenomenally hardworking team. I must say the person who writes the intro every year has a real way with words. I wonder who it is??* You can seen a whizzy online version with turnable pages here. Pay particular attention to the fascinating sounding artist at venue 19 on page 20.
*IT’S ME
If you are in York then you will be able to find a free copy in a wide range of shops, cafés and galleries as well as the libraries and Visit York.
York Open Studios 2024
13th-14th and 20th-21st April
10am - 5pm
Nearly 160 artists in over 100 venues
Free admission
An enforced break
While I still have to print the last layer of the linoprint above, I have finished the carving. So as I have a lot of other things to be doing in the next couple of weeks, getting ready not only for York Open Studios but also major work to the house happening soon after, I am taking the opportunity to send my most used carving tools off for a spot of R&R** at a luxury seaside spa***. I’ll spend some of my downtime planning new prints to work on during the open studios weekends, for the delight and entertainment of visitors.
** re-sharpening
*** Lawrence Art Supplies in Hove
Well I suppose I should start tidying up the studio ready for visitors. (Yes it probably will take me five weeks). I’ll let you know when that river linoprint is finished and I will initially make it available only to newsletter readers via a special link.
See you soon
Jane