I’ve just returned from the opening of the latest exhibition at the Apothecary Gallery, in Thornton. This is a fairly new enterprise, and I really want to show some solidarity, even ‘though the material on show is not exactly my cup of tea. It was an exhibition largely of letterpress work, which is all a mystery to me. The visit was worthwhile, even so.
I have had no training at all in print-making, so that I am hard-pressed to make any judgement at all on the technical ability of the artists involved. Nevertheless, it was evident that they were all having fun in one way or another. There was a sense of humour underlying a good part of the exhibition, and even where I could make little sensible judgement about the quality of the work it did appear that the artists had actually enjoyed what they were doing. Then it stuck me that, for the most part, that couldn’t be said about my work. Certainly it is the case that I get a great deal of satisfaction from doing what I do. It is rarely possible to say of it, “That looked fun!” From time to time I have pottered with various print-making techniques, but I have to admit that I have never produced a piece by any of these methods which I would want to exhibit.
Bearing in mind the fact that I have decided definitively to give myself a break it has crossed my mind that pottering about with some print-making could be a very pleasant distraction …. and you never know, something interesting might well come out of it. I’ve never ever, attempted collage since I was in junior school. The cover of a little collection of drawings I did before last Christmas was actually a print. I’ve got some rollers and printing inks, and a large sheet of glass on which to roll out the colours, so there is actually nothing to prevent me from letting my hair down. That’s the trouble. I have to admit that I’m a bit of a workaholic, and normally everything has to be done as a contribution to some serious project. You never know: I might actually be able to produce better art if I took myself less seriously.