Reflection
on the past 10 days, 10th August 2017
A final etch
Most of my “spare”
time since last week’s post has been taken up with preparing for hand-in, but I
did get time to have one last day in the print room. I decided that I would
like a souvenir of the “Movement” show at Left Bank Leeds, so I did a small
plate etching of the venue. Etching and aquatint are teaching me a lot about
composition and tonal values. However,
the foreground was still a bit light after the plate had bitten. I only had
time to do that one ground on this plate, so I had to drypoint into it. This
worked OK in the hatching of the shaded areas. The end result was pretty good
for a piece that took just a couple of evenings to prepare then a leisurely day
to etch and print. It was great to work without the pressure of trying to get
something done for hand in – if it didn’t work, it didn’t matter. It printed up
really quite nicely on the Somerset paper (soak well, blot well!).
 |
| Souvenir: of the exhibition at Left Bank and of happy days in the Print Room at College |
Preparing for
submission
Getting ready for
the final submission has been a long process. It was quite exciting to see all
my work together ready for mounting, but less exciting when I got spray mount
onto the face of one of the aquatint prints and had a paddy of Biblical
proportions (both situations were dealt with swiftly and smoothly by my
in-house team).
Writing up the
entire module’s practice holistically (rather than chronologically) has, inevitably, yielded fresh insights. One
of the more interesting ones is the creative tension between controlling a
process and letting the process take its own course. Whilst experimenting with
different types of paper for etching (see this week 79 blogpost), I’ve been
making notes on soaking times and amount of blotting needed, plus ideas about
how to ink and wipe the plates. I also made a test aquatint strip to try to
have some control over how long to bite the plate for. This methodical,
controlled approach is quite in contrast to the much looser process of
monoprinting, where the colours and shapes drive the process. The inking of the
“Gentrification” drypoint is somewhere between the two; part controlled inking
and wiping, part monoprint. This then starts to give rise to thoughts of how
these different approaches could cross over into one another.
It’s incredible to
think that the MA is now at an end, but really it feels like a stepping stone
to whatever comes next, rather than an “end” per se. That said, I was really
sad when I left the Print Room today after saying goodbye to the staff. I’ve
learnt a great deal over the two years, and in particular I’m amazed at the
amount I’ve achieved in the past few weeks, especially as I work part-time too.
It seems that since the start of June, all the hard work has started to pay
off. I believe I now have a consistent practice, anchored in theories of place,
psychogeography, identity and heritage, that
I can articulate visually and verbally, and which is of interest to others.
Next Steps
The first thing after
hand in will be to have a rest, some time off from art practice completely,
then come back to it afresh from September. I will obviously have to move my
printing practice from College (no more big Rochat press! Aagh!). Hopefully I
will move to Leeds Print Workshop, where there will be some familiar faces as
some of the College staff and former students are members of the co-operative
there. I’ve got a future reading list lined up, both theory and practical. I
also want to do a lot of mark making to loosen up my style a little. Alongside
this I will be keeping in touch with fellow MA-ers who have become my Community
of Practice, and looking for opportunities to exhibit together.
I would like to
thank everyone who’s helped me along the way; my classmates – especially Sue,
Carol, Mel, Paula and Larissa; Sharon; all the Print Room staff; Michelle; and
of course, Nick, without whose support I wouldn’t be doing this. Thanks also to
everyone who’s read the blogposts and found them interesting. The encouragement
is much appreciated.
Pressing publish on
this post will be the last action of the MA bar the hand-in (and probably a few
beverages thereafter). However, the blog has helped my reflective practice so I
am intending to continue to blog but not as frequently, perhaps one or two
posts per month.
Signing off for
now. Got something in my eye. Honestly.
There is a mixed feeling of elation combined with grieving for the end of a course, a weird mix. You have done so well to work to the end of your two years. What an achievement. X
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