XGen / EPC / spiked
A little news! I’ve been having a great time this week, working at Spike Print Studio making the first of what I think will be many etchings. As you’ll know from previous posts, I have several plates on the go, ReVOX and Sennen, but the first one to actually be editioned this week, largely because the plate has great tone and is therefore ‘print ready’ was XGen.
I’ve cropped it to a portrait format, and printed it with a mixture of blue and black inks, that lend it a cool mono feel on a radiant white Somerset paper. I finished printing the edition yesterday evening, and the prints are now stacked and will dry over the weekend. I then need to collect them, trim them, sign and edition them, and post them out to you.
I’m hoping to continue visiting Spike regularly, so the next piece shouldn’t be too far behind this one. I want to use a Chine Collé technique on it, so there’s some more learning to be done to really get that at least some version of mastered. It’s quite a fiddly process, and my hands are not particularly delicate with fiddly tasks!
There’s some brave talk in the studio of floating the Kozo paper in a water bath, and then dipping the printing plate under it, and picking the Kozo up as a kind of wet transfer, as the plate comes back out of the water, inked and ready to print. But the alignment has to be spot on, so it’s an interesting and difficult challenge.
The community of makers at Spike has been something of a revelation this week, people are quietly getting on with their projects, but also discussing and critiquing, sharing mugs of tea and tips on process and technique. I can almost feel my practice expanding just by being in the space. In essence there is an old fashioned art school vibe in the air, which is really energising.
This piece in many ways is a process experiment more than anything else. Can I edition a print successfully using photopolymer, as opposed to furthering the narrative arc of the practice. It’s not a new drawing in other words, but as always, ideas for new drawings flow from the practice and the process, so I think it’s best to view this piece as a rung on the ladder, a stepping stone to a new place, as opposed to a destination in itself. To some extent all the works are that of course. The answer to the question is yes, the edition is really uniform, and has gone well, so I feel the process has been a real success.
In the studio I’ve been working on several large commissions since Battersea. Three 5ft pieces for a new building in Macao, and seven new pieces for an insurance company's office in the City, including an 8ft panel. It’s making for a busy time, which is great, there seems to a little energy in the air at the moment. I’ll share images of those works next time.
Intaglio Printmakers, Southwark
A few photos here of the fabulous Intaglio Printmakers shop, tucked away down an alleyway in Southwark. A beautiful old fashioned place full of the most amazing collection of inks, papers and tools from all over the world. It's become the latest addition to the places I visit when I'm up in town...
Waking Up
As an aside, I’ve also been enjoying this new (to me) meditation app, Waking Up. It’s by Sam Harris, one of the ‘four riders’ of the new atheist movement. The others being Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Daniel Dennett.
I’d recommend trying out the 30 day free trial, if you’re interested in thinking about consciousness in and of itself. I’m finding some of the concepts really illuminating, although I’m sure it’s not for everyone. Thought I’d suggest it here though, I think it’s quite intriguing, and has already adjusted my view of the day to day experience of being alive in some really positive ways.
The trial link is here, and its worth noting there is no cod spirituality here, it’s just about thinking and how the mind may work, which is of course what makes it fascinating…
https://dynamic.wakingup.com/shareOpenAccess/SCA9A3FB4
I'll look forward to being in touch again soon, hopefully with news that the next editions are in the post...
Chuck Elliott
If you’d like to receive three or four exclusive new editions in the post each year, alongside personal news and views from the studio, and invitations to shows and fairs, please do consider becoming a member of my Experimental Print Club. You can join or leave the club at any time, with absolutely no obligation to stay any longer than you want to.
New works are sent out somewhat sporadically throughout the year, often in line with the changing seasons. Each piece is unique, exclusive, and only available on the day it’s editioned, the size of the edition being determined by the number of members on the day.
I hope the club presents a more personal and intriguing way to connect with the studio, by creating a platform for collecting engaging new works for your home. The club is hosted online here, and I send out fairly regular blog posts and emails about the work too. I’d like to think that it’s an interesting proposition!
Membership is currently priced at £36 per month inc. UK delivery, or £42 for an international address.
