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Lola Blanche Higgins–A Bright Light from London via Edinburgh

Posted in Maureens printmaking workshops, Printmaking Courses Spain, Printmaking Granada, Workshops, tagged Lola Blanche Higgins, Lola Higgins, Maureen Booth, printmaking Spain, printmaking workshops, solar-plate printmaking on April 29, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Lola Higgins arrived at Maureen’s studio a couple of weeks ago, a timid, uncertain recent graduate from the Edinburgh College of Art, the art department of the University of Edinburgh. She had made a few solar prints there but didn’t like neither the process nor the results very much.

Lola´s plan was to reproduce some of her photographs as high quality solarplate prints. When Maureen suggested going beyond mere reproduction, to start from scratch with freehand drawing in India ink on a laser acetate, Lola’s reaction was: “Draw? I can’t draw!”

With a little bit of encouragement Lola started drawing and never stopped. She went from strength to strength and, with Maureen’s help, turned her drawings into stunning solarplate prints. She finished up after 10 days with a portfolio with which the maestra affirms she should start visiting galleries in London, her home town. (See photos of the prints on the drying racks below.)

After Lola left, Maureen said to an artist friend, “I d0n’t think I’ve ever seen a young artist make so much progress in so little time.”

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More TASIS in Spain–February 18, 2016

Posted in Maureens printmaking workshops, Printmaking Granada, Printmaking in Spain, TASIS, Workshops, tagged Granada, Maureen Booth, printmaking courses, printmaking Granada, printmaking Spain, TASIS in Spain on February 18, 2016| Leave a Comment »

The printmaking continues and the results are gratifying

The TASIS artists and photographers surprised themselves with the quality of the work they produced in Maureen’s studio. Have a look:

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Hasta luego, TASIS. You’re brilliant.

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Looking Back with Love–Chapter 9

Posted in Featured Posts, Maureen's World, Workshops, tagged Bernice Strawn, Maureen Booth printmaker, Maureen Booth studio, Mel Strawn, printmaking in Granada, printmaking Spain, Robyn Smith, Vesna Pantelic, Zahra Buali on May 14, 2015| 1 Comment »

Mel & Bernice Strawn, Salida, Colorado, USA

Mel and Bernice Strawn are a young couple whose entire lives have been dedicated to art. He taught at universities in Michigan, Colorado and, I think, Chicago. She is a painter and sculptor with a long trajectory of incredibly imaginative and delicate work. When Mel retired from teaching they made their home outside Salida, Colorado, high in the Rockies, where they still live. Mel has the honor of being one of the world’s very first digital artists.

He and B came to the Gallinero and my studio in February of 2011 to work on solarplate prints. Mel had already done some solar work but, tireless researcher that he is, he wanted to delve further. Working with them was a delight and a learning experience for me as Mel questioned and experimented every step of the way, while B did what she is: pure creativity.

We’re still in touch via email and Mel is still experimenting with new solar plates. (The manufacturers should supply him with plates and pay him for publishing his findings!) Thanks for coming, Mel and B. It was a pleasure to meet and work with you. You’re two wonderful role models for the creative life.

Here’s a longer article on the Strawns from the Colorado Central Magazine.

From the visitors’ book: “My husband, Mel, and I have stepped out of the cold February weather of Colorado to enjoy the sun on the little deck to draw, work on prints and sip a little afternoon wine. The view across the valley to the south dips to the River Genil and then up the steep terraced hillside carpeted with green and glowing with blooming almond trees. The Booths have cultivated an exotic garden here which immediately captivated me. The local nopal, prickly pear cactus clumps, are fascinating and I did several prints based on those forms. In Maureen’s studio you can try out different approaches to printmaking and with her help you can find one that relates to the direction of your art. Maureen and Mike are very generous in their concerns for your comfort and the success of your art goals. We couldn’t have asked for more caring and attentive hosts.

Bernice and Mel Strawn, March 2011

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Looking Back with Love — Chapter 8

Posted in Featured Posts, Granada, Maureen's World, Workshops, tagged Carole Pearson, Maureen studio retrospective, printmakiing in Spain, printmaking in Granada on May 8, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Carole Pearson, UK

Carole Pearson is a English painter and printmaker who came to my studio for a week last summer after a two-week walking holiday in Andalusia. As well as being an engaging person, she’s a born artist who took to the studio like a natural. By the end of the week we were soul sisters and she’s coming back at the end of this month (May, 2015) to mount a joint exhibit with me at my new mini-gallery and studio.

Here are some of her observations from her stay in the Gallinero:

Instead of going to art school, I went to work in a bank. Not that I miss formal art training. I’ve always suspected–and this week working with Maureen in her studio has confirmed–that my work is more original for not having entered into the system. What Maureen made clearer than ever to me was that what an artist expresses sincerely is all valid.

I really had no idea what to expect, beyond an etching press and a nice person whom I had been corresponding with by email. But in the end it was a tremendously fulfilling experience. I’m convinced that I’ve advanced more than a year in printmaking in just one week’s intensive work with Maureen. Working one on one with a master is such a luxury.

From the visitors’ book: “Thank you so much for a wonderful week. I am rested, instructed, filled with creative hope and stuffed with all the goodies you keep bringing me. And not to forget Mike’s paella–a dream.”

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Looking Back with Love, Maureen’s Studio Retrospective — Chapter 7

Posted in Featured Posts, Granada, Maureen's World, Workshops, tagged Iram Wani, Jennifer Morgan family, Jini Grinwald Melbourne, Lorna Ryan-Burden, Louis Netter, Maureen studio retrospective, printmaking Granada Spain, printmaking Maureen Booth, printmaking with Maureen on April 21, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Jennifer Morgan Family, Nova Scotia, Canada

I received an email from Jennifer Morgan in Nova Scotia asking me if I could mount a one-day solarplate printing workshop in my studio for herself and six family members, as a creative stop on their trip to Spain. I thought, “That’s impossible.” But I, who believe in the impossible, said “Fine. Come on over. We’ll give it a try.”

On the day, I had the great good luck that all Jennifer’s family had surprising artistic talent, which they may have inherited from their mother, the Canadian novelist, Bernice Morgan. (See photos) The quantity and quality of work they produced in a single day, their first, was impressive. I tremble to think what they could have achieved in a week.

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Looking Back with Love, A Studio Retrospective — Chapter 6

Posted in Featured Posts, Granada, Maureen's World, Workshops, tagged Fran Ramírez, Gyla Friewald, IB School Bremen, Louis Netter illustrator, Maureen Booth printmaker, Maureen printmaking workshops, Maureen studio retrospective, printmaking in Spain, printmaking with Maureen on April 12, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Fran Ramírez, Madrid, Spain

Fran Ramírez is a talented and dedicated artist. We have been doing collaborative work together in my studio for more than 10 years. As you can see from the images below, Fran has his own particular view of life in Spain plus a unique vision in his paintings and prints. He has recently finished the restoration work on a new studio in Madrid for himself and his photographer wife, Marta. It also includes a discreet exhibit space. We’re anxious to see the work they hang up there.

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Looking Back with Love, A Studio Retrospective — Chapter 5

Posted in Featured Posts, Granada, Maureen's World, Workshops, tagged Dave McConnell, Debbie Haskard, Deborah Maris Lader, Edith May, Maureen Booth printmaker, Maureen studio retrospective, printmaking courses Spain, printmaking Granada, Spain on April 7, 2015| 2 Comments »

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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Looking Back with Love, A Studio Retrospective — Chapter 4

Posted in Featured Posts, Maureen's World, Workshops, tagged Beatriz Taillefer, Catherine Ryan, Cathy Naro, Eduardo Guille, Maureen Booth printmaker, Maureen studio retrospective, printmaking courses Spain, printmaking in Granada on March 30, 2015| 1 Comment »

Beatriz Taillefer, Málaga, Spain

Beatriz is from Málaga, an authentic Andalusian provincial capital located at the edge of one of the world’s biggest tourist booms, the Costa del Sol. She had been primarily a portrait painter (one of Andalusia’s finest) for years when she decided to expand her repertoire and, along with her compañero Eduardo Guille (see below), came to my studio to try printmaking. Already an accomplished artist she quickly started turning out colorful and creative solarplate prints at a professional level.

Shortly after returning home she and Eduardo exhibited in Málaga the prints they had made with me. Not only was the show successful in terms of print sales, but it resulted in a series of commissions for editions.

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Looking Back with Love, A Studio Retrospective–Chapter 3

Posted in Granada, Maureen's World, Workshops, tagged Audrey Feltham, Barbara Milman, Isabel Fallow, Isabel Mitchell, Janet Stahle-Fraser, Maureen Booth printmaker, Maureen workshop retrospective, printmaking in Granada, printmaking in Spain on March 24, 2015| 1 Comment »

Audrey Feltham, Deer Lake, Newfoundland, Canada

Audrey and her husband Jim were here for just a few days but in that time she did some interesting prints and we learned a lot about the Canadian northeast. Jim told some wonderful stories of his experiences as a high-school teacher and basketball coach in a village on the northernmost coast of Baffin Island, which enjoys low winter temperatures of 40-50 degrees below zero. “How far is it from the nearest town?” I asked. “About an hour,” he replied. “By road?” “No, by plane. There aren’t any roads.” And like that. Here’s wishing the Felthams well, and do bundle up, won’t you! (more…)

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TASIS Solarplate Printmaking in Granada

Posted in Workshops, tagged Maureen Booth studio, printmaking workshops Granada, solarplate printing Spain, TASIS in Granada on February 22, 2015| 2 Comments »

Twice during the academic year–in October and in February–the students of The American School in Switzerland (TASIS) disperse around Europe for a week of academic travel. This February the TASIS art department chose Granada as their destination, both for its rich multicultural history and for its storied Moorish fortress and palace, the Alhambra, today a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Granada also offered them Maureen’s printmaking studio where, accompanied by Martyn Dukes, Chair of Fine Art, and Frank Long, photography teacher, they spent five mornings with her learning the basics of solarplate printmaking.

The students, who arrived with a solid grounding in art and a healthy enthusiasm for something new, took immediately to creating images on acetates and burning them onto solar plates. They were delighted with the speed at which solarplate techniques yield results. Before the first morning’s work was done they already had the drying racks filling up with images. In the following days they refined their techniques and learned the importance of creative approaches to printing solar plates. What follows are some snapshots of the TASIS students at work and at play in Granada. (Click on the images to enlarge them.)