Printmaking Courses in Spain

Dave McConnell, Boston, USA

Dave McConnell was a special person and it was a privilege to have him in my studio for a  week’s collaborative work in photogravure solar plate. To begin with, a few days after he returned home to Boston he turned 90. He was accompanied on this trip to Spain by his son, a banker with the Boston Fed. Dave, who had spent his working life as a photographer at the Boston Globe, was the quintessence of the charming Irishman with a young heart, excellent humor and that glint in his eye. His project was to make a four-color solarplate photogravure print from a color photograph he had made many years before. This was new territory for me; we both learned a lot from the experience. And we had a grand time in the process. Here’s some pictures Mike made.

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Debbie Haskard, Australia

Debbie and her husband, Steve, were en route from Australia to Holland for a grand family reunion, but they found the time for Debbie to spend a few days with me and my studio. The plan was for Debbie to do printmaking with me and Steve to rent a mountain bike and attack Sierra Nevada. In the end Steve wandered into the studio with us, got fascinated by the solarplate process and spent time helping us, rolling out inks and generally enjoying the smell of the studio. That happens sometimes.

Debbie worked both in solarplate and liquid metal and produced some charming prints that I thought might work very well as children’s book illustrations.

 From the visitors’ book: “Thanks for your hospitality and for all your knowledge of printmaking that you have shared with me. It’s been a long-time dream for me to come to Spain and to have discovered a “wonderful little place like ‘El Gallinero’ has just made it that much more special. It’s been absolutely beautiful to be surrouned by the wonderful sounds of nature and, of course, the view. I’ve left you my ‘possum’ linocut as a reminder of this Aussie couple. If you ever head “down under” be sure to look us up.”

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Deborah Lader and the Chicago Girlz, USA

Deborah, is proprietor of the Chicago Printmakers Collaborative, an open studio that has gone from strength to strength over the past 25 years. She is now at work (with her architect husband) on a project to adapt an old building to house the workshop. Her visit a few years ago to the Gallinero and my studio, accompanied by her mother and her aunty took me utterly by surprise. In short, I never expected to have so much fun, nor to be kept so busy keeping up with these three extraordinary young women. Here’s a selection of Mike’s photos.

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Edith May, Fire Station Print Studio, Melbourne, Australia

Edith May was recently appointed as manager of the Fire Station Print Studio in Melbourne when she came to my studio. She said that, if she was going to manage a printmaking studio, she would like to learn more about printmaking. She made some very charming prints with me and returned home to become a dynamic director of a lively printmaking studio. Her work organizing printmaking activities and keeping the Fire Station in the news on Facebook deserves a lot of credit.

From the visitors’ book: “Thanks for all you have done for me these past 10 days. ¡Muchas gracias! I’ve had a great time.”