Long ago, O Best Beloved, in the Before Times, I made printmaking demonstration videos, uploaded them to YouTube and then posted them on my website. This was in the those far off days when people hadn’t heard of Instagram Reels, and newsletters like this one didn’t allow you to upload video clips directly.
Things have changed, not least my work practices which now focus on reduction linoprint, which has lots of intermediate stages which conveniently lend themselves to short clips, rather than the one-off lengthy session of printing a collagraph or etching. So now I share my work in progress and my printmaking tips direct to you here, and the videos on my website are getting old and dusty. I will therefore be removing that page at the end of this month. If you would like to peruse its contents before then, click on the button or image below. It includes collagraph and etching demos as well as linoprint.
Actually it’s not quite true to say that this is the last chance to see my videos as they will still be available on my YouTube channel, along with a few others, until I decide what to do about that. But that wouldn’t have made for such a dramatic subject line.
First chance to see
A new linoprint is in its earliest stages. Progress has been slow, largely because of a wagon-load of York Open Studios admin (including what’s going on in the photo right at the bottom of this newsletter) and also because of the inordinate number of strange men in and outside my house over the last week, vacuuming the gutters (two men), measuring the kitchen (one man) and performing surgery on our large lime tree (four men), necessitating chat and tea making and also generating so much noise it was very hard to work. (Not the kitchen measuring guy - he was very quiet).
Anyway - this is where I’ve got to. There’s probably about another 40 minutes of carving to do and then the first layer to go down will be very pale grey. Before that of course I have to tackle the frankly tedious job of preparing my paper and registration jig. (No I do love my job, honestly).
Hopefully by the next time I see you, maybe later next week, there will be something to show on paper.
Bye for now
Jane