I’m writing this on Sunday evening. R and M are off with the horse, eventing at Ivesley (apparently she’s doing very well) while I’m slowly demolishing a delicious bottle of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc; I can recommend it highly. It’s not the only thing I’ve been doing but it’s probably the more pleasurable. I’ve finished off the images I need for my book, finalised my NLP (Negotiated Learning Plan), sorted out my Professional Practice folder and now I’m writing this. An untypical Sunday, I can assure you but then most of my days are becoming un- or even a- typical. Oh, and I’ve listened to the football.
At the beginning of these entries I mentioned the deluge at Burlam Rd. Burlam Rd. is the CCAD site for Fine Art and, in the last few years, Photography. It’s a Victorian warren, crumbling from neglect because the college would ideally like to remove to one central site (there are 2 others at Green Lane down the road and Hartlepool). Rumour has it that not only was it once an institution for bad boys but that it’s also haunted. But, as I said to one of our external examiners who asked how we coped with the idiosyncrasies of the site, you don’t notice it after a while: it becomes the norm and you get quite fond of it. So when we were told not to come in because of flooding, M and I nearly hit the nail on the head when guessing the reason for the flood. We got the blocked sink but not the faulty boiler – it flooded for 24 hours, down 3 floors, ruining the 3rd year studios and particularly the printroom on the ground floor. Any printmakers out there will wince because our printing facilities are out of action until October at the earliest. The best and only alternative is Northern Print at North Shields, a fabulous set up on the fish quay but a good hour plus journey away. My mate S who’s a brilliant printmaker very kindly offered me the use of her own press but, again, any printmaker out there will know it’s not that simple. So how do I make my book?
The answer is by trawling the depths of my creative ingenuity by using monotype and monoprint techniques from the dark past. I think printmakers are the most dedicated form of artist. To observe a print artist examining every mark, tone and registration is enough to scare the daylights out of most normal people. That’s why printmaking will always be an ‘also ran’ in my portfolio; I just do not have the temperament. My workshop this week has been littered with monoprints that haven’t worked, one of the reasons I was so fed up last week. But eureka! I’ve finished now and it’s the serendipity that wins through in the end – that’s the secret of printmaking, the mistakes can be better than the plan. Well, I say I’ve finished but I only have images that I’m happy to use. The next challenge is adapting them digitally – oh joy…
Anyway, I’m free from the trip to the Netherlands at least which will save me some time (J’s tutor kindly re-arranged his oral, lucky boy). The whole town is buzzing with Eindhoven excitement; I don’t think Middlesbrough has ever had such exposure or such empathy. Fingers crossed…..
