What do we want...
I'm starting to think that most of us don't know...apart from some very obvious things that we are unlikely to get anytime soon.
Why the Gap?
It’s been a while since I last wrote here, but life, travel, work, and parenting have filled a lot of space in the Triangle world, and while the blog was quiet, the print studio was warming up.
I am very excited to share some news about a little seed of a project that has started to show some shoots, not quite fruit yet (or even a leaf…but definitely lovely little green shoots.)
One of the issues with being a sporadic nomadic printmaker (i.e. without a permanent studio space) is that, if you are trying to create a big impressive print, you have to put a lot more work into planning and logistics than actually crafting and creating the print. Sometimes that can mean working across a couple of different print presses (adding what some would say is a touch of “charm”…but not for my hyper-registered reductions) otherwise it is lining up 7 or 8 midweek evenings to hit regular Open Access sessions (with frantic weekend and Monday night prep to make it worthwhile.)
So about a year ago I decided to invest in one of the amazing little 3D printed Open Press Project print beds (complete with clamps, mats, the works!) The idea was to have something more immediate that would enable me to experiment with different forms of printmaking on weekend and evenings. As you can see from some of my previous posts I have been having a lot of fun, I have tried some blind embossing, etching and obviously also had some fun with small lino prints. It has also meant that I have gotten the mini Triangle Printmakers in my family involved in creating their own prints, with great success.
New Print - What do we want?
Around all of the experimenting I also started planning a proper little print to deal with the massive sense of bemusement that a number of folks in my bubble/echo-chamber were feeling at the start of 2025. There were so many situations coming to what I thought was a head at the time, I wanted to capture overwhelm, as well as my own instinct to seek consensus rather than confrontation (as I write that I appreciate that most people who take part in protests and “turn-up” are probably also not doing so for the comfy chairs!)
So this little print was born, it only measures a few centimetres across but it is a start of a conversation I am probably mostly starting with myself…but hopefully will resonate with you too?
In most of my other work I have conveyed my awe at the monumental scale of natural and built environments I have found myself in, this is more the awe or angst at how varied the needs are for us as humans, it is about whether there are just too many things to protest about because we have lost sight of some kind of grand overall plan, or whether we are so divided that there is no longer a cohesive grand overall plan.
The great thing is that as part of an annual Open Print Exchange nine versions of this edition will make it to random printmakers and one will form part of a global touring exhibition through 2025/6. I hope it will start a few conversations and maybe kick-off something bigger, I am already thinking of a few follow-ups (mostly giving myself a nudge do more to bring about some of the change I hope for from behind this screen / sketch book / printing press.)
What next?
For now, I sketch and doodle through the week, collate at weekends in outdoor cafés while my daughter plays sport, and work on a few more mini-prints. There’s also a possibility of an interesting large-scale commission, and if a theme grips me, a larger print could follow.
Thanks for reading, it feels good to be back here.