Back to normal in the print room and more journeys ahead
At the beginning of my career I was told that to be really professional a distinct line should be maintained between my working and my personal life, and “never the twain shall meet”. But I think, that in fairness, explanations are needed for my long silence.
During the last few years my working life has ticked over very slowly. This was partly due to my mother’s increasing ill health, but last year things took an even worse turn when we discovered, just a few days after Mum’s death, that my husband was terminally ill with a brain tumour. He passed away nearly 6 months ago in March, aged 61. We are gradually piecing our lives back and I am starting to get everything into place again, my own work and my teaching schedule included.
My studio was built and fitted out by my husband and, as I have a tendency to repeat, it has proved to be a wonderful resource for artists in our area and beyond. His memory will live on in this vibrant, creative and productive place, which is set in our lovely moorland garden, surrounded by the ever-dramatic and changing landscape of Dartmoor.
We couldn’t have survived this tragic time without the extraordinary dedication of family and friends, including those artists who made sure we had enough help and support to get through. Without exaggeration or even a hint of hyperbole, I am forever in their debt.
As the saying goes, life does carry on and, while I’ve been out of action, it has certainly been doing so in a positive way with all kinds of rumblings in the background. We have had plenty of successes over the last couple of years, with Tamar Print Workshop members’ work being shown at various galleries in the West Country and further afield and at the RWA Open, the RA Summer Show and the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers at the Bankside Gallery, London. Our own annual show, Fresh off the Press, highlights our previous year’s work and is hosted every February by the Limekiln Gallery in Calstock. It is always eagerly awaited and continues to surprise and delight our followers.
The 400th anniversary of the Mayflower voyage falls in 2020 and we are thrilled to be joining up with the Cape Cod Printmakers in a series of exhibitions, two of which are to run during the commemoration events taking place in the Plymouth area. Twenty of our members’ prints will be shown together with 20 prints from the Cape Cod Printmakers. The first show will be at the Cape Cod Museum of Art, after which all the prints will be donated to the Museum. Then more work from both print workshops will be shown at Torre Abbey, Torquay, and The Theatre Royal, Plymouth. (Click here for dates.) It’s an exciting project and we’re hoping that a few printmakers from each side of the Atlantic will visit each other to share experiences and printmaking tips. This project is testimony to the dedication, enthusiasm, and sometimes perseverance, of Tamar Print Workshop members. And what’s new about that you’ll be asking – if you know anything about them at all?!!
You will find the dates for the next 9 months or so here. As usual, I’m afraid the weekly classes are full but places come available on a regular basis so please don’t hesitate to let me know if you’d like to be added to the waiting list.
My bespoke approach means you can come and work with the technique of your choice whether you’re a beginner or a pro. I offer traditional etching, drypoint, lino cutting, collagraph and carborundum, monoprint and monotype.
Hope to see you soon.
