Ball Bearing Baren

A new linocut suite

I've been busy working on a small suite of lino prints designed to be displayed individually and as a collage group.

I was having a little difficulty printing the group piece. 

Finally I had the justification I needed to purchase a ball bearing baren.

(T.H. Lawrence )

Used it today for the first time and allowed 3 of my star GCSE students to print their exam pieces 

with it too. 

My colleague also seemed to enjoy using it to print some of her food lino prints. 

She was reluctant to give it back.

Linocuts by Kate Guy 

www.cardabelledesign.com

I have been quite happy using wooden Lino handles, door knobs and occasionally spoons for 25 years.

Three summers ago I took a Japanese woodblock course with Paul Furneux at Edinburgh Printmakers.

(This was a really interesting introduction to an alternative approach to relief printing)

The baren was a joy to use, particularly on delicate papers and complex blocks - also so much less effort!

Does not really work so well on heavy papers.

This is not a cheap tool ( my year 9 class will definitely not be using it) but I'm really pleased with the initial results. If you get a chance have a go. I think you will be surprised by the results.

Douglas

Picasso linocuts, Hockney prints & other print related shows

Last weekend to catch the Picasso Linocuts at The British Museum

Show finishes 6th May.

David Hockney prints are on display at the Dulwich Picture Gallery until 11th May

RE Original Prints show

Bankside Gallery

9th May - 7th June

Matisse Papercuts

Well worth a visit.

Just opened for the summer.

The room with his Jazz collection is particularly successful.

Really nice to see the original collages alongside the litho printed concertina book.

Coming up - 

Comics Unmasked - art & anarchy in the UK

British Library

I have been reliably informed that this should be well worth a visit if you are interested in 

Illustration & storytelling arts.

Opening 2nd May.

On line gallery of BBH PRINT SOCIETY work.

Monthly ON LINE GALLERY

I would like to propose developing a REGULAR on line gallery page for our blog.

(Remember - pass on the address www.bbhprintsociety.blogspot.com 

to anyone you think might be interested.)

To get this started I am going to suggest a theme for the month.

If you have ONE image (any print medium) you think relates to the title send me a good quality jgep with a brief description of the piece. - www.dandersonarts@yahoo.co.uk

I will make up a gallery page each month.

This will then become, hopefully an evolving record of the society members' work. 

This is an opportunity to show each other what we are working on.

The blog can be used to promote the work of the society and help to advertise your talents.

However please remember - once submitted your work will go on to a globally accessible open portal.

(Advantages & disadvantages of living in the digital community!)

As we are nearing the end of April showers I am proposing...........

MAY FLOWERS - work to be sent to me by End of Bank holiday Monday please.

I know - short notice but one photo & title is fine.

JUNE - markets, fairs & carnivals. Images to me by 28th May.

JULY - "we're all going on a summer holiday....."

Let's see how this goes.

I'm already preparing to be inundated with submissions - a born optimist.

Douglas

National Original Print Exhibition - calling for entries

THE NATIONAL ORIGINAL PRINT EXHIBITION is a new annual show being organised by the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers at Bankside.

Deadline for on line submissions:- 30th June 2014

For more information go to www.nationalprint.org

BBH Blog - thanks for encouragement

Thank you to the members who have emailed to offer support for the blog.

Don't forget - it is there for all members.

Just drop me a quick line or jgep if you want to get your latest print news 'out there'.

For longer articles send me a 'word' document.

Best wishes

Douglas

Reflections on last year's activities

In 2013 the BBH Print Society members took part in several exhibitions

I thought for new members it would be particularly useful to provide some background to recent activities.

Hatfield House 
May Art & Craft Fair
For several years society members have been exhibiting, demonstrations  and running 
drop-in workshops in drypoint and collagraph.
These have always been popular with the visiting public, particularly on the weekends.

Unfortunately sales were disappointing and several days ended up as VERY DAMP 
experiences for the members manning the stalls, displays and workshops.
Kim and Peter put a huge amount of work in to setting up and coordinating these events (Thank you) but last year it was decided that BBH should look at alternative venues.

The real benefit for members was the opportunity to meet each other, discuss our work 
and really feel part of a tangible organisation in a bustling environment.

If you have any ideas or suggestions you would like to offer about venues and events for BBH members please get in touch with Kim.

Regards
Douglas

BBH Annual exhibition 2013

The BBH annual exhibition held in summer in Harpenden went off extremely well, many of you I know could not make it but we had 15 members who took part .

I was extremely grateful for this last minute slot, as you may all know we were let down by the Bedford Museum and were not allowed our  November slot which we has  previously  been guarantee two years ago when I booked it.

After a few desperate phone calls to try and get a replacement venue etc for the members,

it was after a phone call to Linda Warminger  of the H.V.A.F. who offered us the Southdown Room at their Summer exhibition in July in the Harpenden Public Hall .

 So after we talked about money and what they wanted from us, I felt it was too good an opportunity to miss. The H.V.A. F. is a lot bigger than us and has a good advertising budget and was prepared to get invitation printed at their own cost.

I suggested we linked it to the North Herts Samaritans( the charity Peter helps out a lot ) to do a fundraising link, taking advantage of their contact locally and their inter branch network.

 We offer 10% from sales on the Friday preview night , entrance fees and money from the random buckets . So after we had remove the button and foreign coins we raised £450 , not a huge amount but it was certainly thank fully received by the branch treasurer.

The whole exhibition  with the two room combined  worked out very large  with a big turnout from the H.V.A.F. members, making the two rooms very interesting for the many visitors who looked around.

The BBH members put on a splendid show of work with again a very good standard from all who took part, some established members and some new all mixed very well together .

We also did a meet the artists day on the Sunday and this was well receive by the visitors to the exhibition .

Kim 

Obsidian Art Gallery

During April 2013, several of the members of BBH took part in an exhibition, “The Art of Poetry” at Obsidian Art Gallery in Stoke Mandeville.  The exhibition asked artists and makers to create a piece of work inspired by a poem, and the resulting show was a wonderful variety, both in terms of styles and media, but also the poetry - from classics such as Keats, Yeats and Wordsworth to contemporary and self-penned poetry.  Printmaking was well represented with BBH members exhibiting including Alexandra Buckle, Annette Sykes, Bernie Griston, Diana Ashdown, Douglas Anderson, Kate Watkins and a section of work by Kim Major-George.

The poetry reading evening, held on 23^rd April - to coincide with Shakespeare’s birthday and World Book Night – was really well attended and a lovely evening with many of the artists reading from the poems. 

Obsidian Art published a book illustrated with a selection of work from the exhibition, which has completely sold out.

Following the success of the exhibition, Obsidian Art have announced that they will be repeating the theme for a similarly timed exhibition in the early Spring next year, with plans to publish another book to accompany the 2014 exhibition.  Entries are invited.  See their web site – www.obsidianart.co.uk – for more details or emailtrisha@obsidianart.co.uk.

Kind regards

Trisha

Trisha Woodcock
Obsidian Art, Layby Farm, Old Risborough Road, Stoke Mandeville, Bucks, HP22 5XJ
Tel : 01296 612150 

Positive news for Printmaking

New opportunities for printmakers

An interesting article in the current edition of Printmaking Today by Sean Rorke discusses the dramatic and encouraging rise in the number of Open Access Print studios being set up across the country. (P.31, Printmaking Today, Spring 2014, Cello Press)
This is really encouraging for all of us involved in education, promoting and collecting prints.

At the beginning of the month Edinburgh Printmakers got the go ahead to take over the landmark British Rubber Company building in central Edinburgh.
The aim is to create a brand new home for EP. This will be a purpose build print centre containing workshops, artists studios, education facilities, gallery, cafe and meeting spaces. 
A £5,000,000 lottery fund, on top of a previous award from the Scottish government will allow this important centre for innovative printmaking to flourish and expand. 
Some of you may have attended some of the excellent courses run by the studio but most of you will have changed some of your print practices over the last few years as a result of the research in to safer printmaking pioneered by members of the Scottish workshop.

(It is such a shame the lottery funded National Print Centre proposed for Milton Keynes all those years ago didn't materialise).

I recently visited the new London Centre for Bookarts in Fish Island near Hackney Wick. 
This is the only open access book arts studio in London with facilities for book binding and letterpress printmaking. 
(I used to run the school letterpress printing press during my sixth form  - pre digital, photocopy, computer days! so it was a pleasure to see the same machines again which clearly inspired my passion for print all those years ago.)

I'm looking forward to signing up for a course over the summer.
The centre is a pleasant 20 minute stroll through the Olympic Park from Stratford Station.

The centre has all come about through the commitment and determination of one individual, Simon Goode, the founder. It took him 8 years collecting machinery, saving and planning but  it is well worth a visit - and so clean . It certainly shows what can be achieved.

If you have not had a look check out the centre at

 londonbookarts.tumblr.com/

Hambis Printmaking Centre, Cyprus.

During a visit to the island a few weeks ago I visited Hambis Tsangaris at the 
printmaking museum and studio situated in the countryside a few miles from Limassol. 
The centre, set in a remote little village away from the tourist areas, has become the catalyst 
for a huge growth in printmaking across the island.
Hambis, a Cypriot born print artist and illustrator established the charity organisation 
which now manages the work of the centre in 2008.
Since that time thousands of visitors, school children, teachers, artists and locals have taken 
part in workshops and varied arts events organised around the museum.
The centre now coordinates workshops and exhibitions across the island and printmaking 
has been written in to the art curriculum as a core topic.

The organisation is now finalising details for its next exciting development - 
they have secured a building and funding to establish a second gallery / museum and 
education studio in the centre of Old Nicosia. 

So next time you are in Cyprus or looking for a print workshop in the sun see what is on offer
in Cyprus. 

www.hambisprintmakingcenter.org.cy/‎

  

Douglas Anderson.

BBH Print Society Annual Exhibition at Bishop Stortford 2014

The BBH Print Society Annual Show - April 2014

Congratulations to the 25 members of the society who exhibited at the Rhodes Centre in Bishop Stortford this month. The show looked great and lots of very positive, supportive comments from visitors.

It was good to see several new members showing for the first time and as always the quality of work was impressive with a broad range of processes and approaches on display.

I was particularly drawn to the range of mono prints on show - Helen Boden's beautiful new floral images, the intense, gestural layers of colour present in Antonia Glynne-Jones 'churchyard' compositions and the dramatic, atmospheric monochrome prints by Eleanor Long. 

In contrast the bold, eye catching linocuts by Keith Baker, Fran Bugg and Mandy Wax positively jumped off the paper.

Marian Carter's drypoint 'hare' is a distinct and successful departure from her winning reduction linocuts, always a fascination for visitors.

So many other interesting pieces - we just need to find new and innovative ways to share the work of all our members with a much wider audience. 
All this talent and effort needs to be displayed.

Douglas Anderson

Share your practices with members and the wider global community

Sharing your practices, discoveries, new processes and current art work

The BBH Print Society is rich in the variety of print activities it's members are engaged in.
One of the joys of having group shows is the opportunity to catch up with 'the latest adventures' our members are engaged in. 

Some of you are fortunate to be able to commit large parts of your week to making art while others squeeze in precious time between other demands. A few of you have beautiful studios, presses and all the paraphernalia we, as artists like to hoard, collect for a rainy day or simply discover tucked in a corner waiting to be used for an exciting new project.

We hope the BBH blog can encourage all of you to share some insight in to your working practices, new collections or simply interesting discoveries, workshops you are running this year, recent exhibitions you have visited ................


So drop me a line, send me a short article or a few photos and I will pop them on the blog.

dandersonarts@yahoo.co.uk  


What is a BLOG?

Basically it is a simple way to keep in touch, document news, views or activities, let others see what you are doing and provide a quick, simple archive of events.
Websites can be difficult, costly and challenging to set up & maintain.
Many artists use Facebook, Linkedin and other media to keep in touch with friends and colleagues.

A blog is a friendly, easy way to explore the internet, let your customers know what you are doing with your work, advertise shows & workshops and it is FREE.


An example
I thought it was about time I invested more time and energy in to moving my work in a different direction so I have decided to pilot a new business venture this year.
In preparation for my 'launch' in a few weeks I have been keeping a blog of developments, more for my own experience, as an experiment but also a record for future customers (hopefully) to explore.

www.puddledaypress.blogspot.com

North Berwick Feather Collection

monoprint footwear

Volunteering at Stoke Mandeville by Sheila da Rosa

VOLUNTEERING AT STOKE MANDEVILLE

2012 was a year which, in many ways, I’m glad to see the back of.  The recession had a bad affect on everyone’s pockets, and my little corner of Tring was not exempt.  So rather than re-train as a RBS Chairman, I decided to volunteer to help out on Stoke Mandeville Hospital’s Arts4health programme which promotes the arts for patients, staff and visitors of the Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust.  Set up by David Elliot, an artist who balances this work with the rest of his chaplaincy role at the hospital.  He has said that he “would like to see the creative arts groups expanding to the community hospitals and would love to include a wider range of creative activities.” 

Recently Art4health has introduced Aaron Meli in a day of drumming and percussion at the Spinal Unit recently; Tom Doughty paid a visit to the Spinal Unit to share his unique talents as a lap slide guitarist with patients; stroke patients at Wycombe have created an innovative piece of artwork using more than 200 chocolate wrappers, sequins and shiny wrapping paper called ‘Splash of Inspiration’; and volunteers from Aylesbury Youth Action Group put their talents to good use by teaming up with spinal patients to create a mural celebrating the history of the Paralympics.

    

1 - Monoprints produced in Spinal Unit Workshop

After my volunteer induction and CRB check I was invited to ‘shadow’ David Elliot’s art classes at the Cancer Care & Haematology Department (CCHU) and also starting doing some arts projects with Vivienne Gordon who runs the arts & crafts workshops as part of an expanding arts rehabilitation initiative at the National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. Vivienne says, “Sheila has introduced patients to printmaking techniques with some unusual and creative results. Many patients had limited hand-function and few had any previous experience of artistic activities. Using simple equipment such as brushes, scissors, paint and rollers is automatic to most of us, but spinal patients have the frustrating task of re-learning these simple moves.”

I have now just finished four Monoprinting workshops on the CCHU and a block of workshops at the Spinal Unit, and I have been amazed at how much I have also gained from these sessions. I’ve learned that when using art to help cope with physical problems it is not just about how good the final piece of work is.  What strikes me is that, in this environment, it is about the little trials and triumphs of re-gained ability, from putting paint onto paper, training muscles to hold rollers, pencils, brushes and scissors, Furthermore in a situation which could become quite frustrating for participants who want to be able to do more, this programme acts as an aid to help patients verbalise and interact with helpers calmly & clearly. 

Having completed these workshops I have a much greater appreciation of the therapeutic effect of quiet, companionable activities that keep the mind occupied, and it has been such a joy to meet so many interesting and brave people whilst having the time to really enjoy this print process.