Print Club Edition 8
Hello!
First off, apologies for not getting on with Edition 8 sooner. Spring has been a truly busy time here, with a number of fairs and commissions to complete. That said, I seem to have entered a calmer piece of time now, starting today, that is going to allow me to get back to what I really want to be doing, which is of course making new work, not least for the Print Club.
Edition 8 is going to be a celebration of Spring, and in particular that particularly beautiful combination of greens, pinks and deeper carmines that marks out the first flush of really powerful colour that comes out here in May. I've attached an image here of my new tulip border, that I planted deep in the midst of last winter, with freezing hands, sure in the knowledge that I would get a sensational blast of colour as the gardening year really gets going this spring. I have to say that I didn't plan for the bright orange ones, but in fact they have been a serendipitous addition that has no doubt been bolder and better than my original choices.
Edition 8 is being colour balanced and tested today, and will be printed here over the next day or two, and as such will certainly be some variant or version of the latest colour palette for my Rubicon study, which will be suffixed 'viridiflora'. I've yet to nail the exact blend of greens and pinks that I want, but I think it'll resolve shortly. I'm expecting to make the image area about 44cm SQ, in order to provide a good blast of colour, and allow the details to reveal themselves, so I guess the paper size may end up around 50 / 60cm. All will become clear as the work progresses...
I hope it has something of a 'parrot' feel, if you're up on your tulip types...
Editions 9 and 10
I've been talking with a well known British tailor recently, with a view to making / using some of my images as the basis for colourful new silk linings for his suits, an idea which has real appeal for me. After visiting Sonia Delaunay's recent show at Tate Modern, I thought her brilliant work across paper, canvas and fabrics was absolutely dynamite. So with that in mind, I'm thinking of making a Print Club edition on silk too. Friends of mine who work in the textile industries are ever more impressed by the capabilities of short run digital fabric printers, so maybe I'm going to explore the medium a little too.
As an aside, but also an inspiration, I saw a great Grayson Perry drawing printed onto silk at the Serpentine Gallery recently, which has been produced as an edition to support the gallery, and I thought I'd attach a link for it here, just in case it's of interest. The fabric printing is / was fabulous.
I'm also planning on working with Ripe Digital again, who have recently acquired a digital cutting machine. This effectively allows you to create a line drawing, that the machine will use as a template for cutting out paper and thin cards. Enabling the print maker to add cut out lines and shapes to a project. I'm envisaging a series of folded stand alone cards that interplay with each other when arranged one behind the next, on a mantle or shelf. Imagine a miniature Japanese screen, with cut outs, standing ahead of a second and maybe even third piece, with an interplay of colour and shadows as the light moves across it during the day.
Finally for now, I'm also exploring the idea of cutting a metal plate, probably by computer controlled water jet, for a new etching, perhaps in a toroid, or a more complex shape, that would both ink and deboss the paper simultaneously as it passed through the press. I'm not sure if I've seen a shaped etching plate used before, and feel that using the plate as a way of adding an extra sculptural component to the print could be a really interesting exercise.
I'll post a few more images shortly of Edition 8 in progress, and am looking forward to posting it out to you next week...
Thanks for your ongoing support!
Best as ever - Chuck
