How my print came about

I was telling someone the story of one of my prints the other day and they told me to out it on the website. It's HangZhou Pavilion. I became a member of BPW 3 years ago I had though about it for a year my mum had done a printing course and I thought oh! I want to learn a new skill it was August and I thought I'd look up the website for details, I thought about Seacourt first as I had heard about it but when I looked at BPW website they were having a course starting in August. Etching was the only printmaking technique I had heard of so I thought I'd go for it.

I had walked up to the studios before when there was a David Mach exhibition on but when I looked in the window I just thought. Oh my Lord what a strange place and what are all those pieces of equipment for.?

Anyway I went on the course and started to get a feel for the technique. I though I might start there and then move on to something else but I'm still on the etching. I eventually decided to become a member and slowly made my way into the habit of going when ever I could . The first year I was so busy I didn't even get into the Christmas show but the following year I did put a piece in new members show which was interesting.

Anyway fast forward and an e mail came around one day from one of the members saying she was going to China and she thought maybe some people might like to go with her. Do you know the way you get one of those e mails and you think maybe that's not for me?? well this one I thought , oh that's interesting maybe it is for me.

Eventually it all got sorted out and we had our magical trip, funny how already it seemed like a strange dream. I came back with about 1000 photos and a sketchbook filled with thoughts and ideas. Just how do you distill that down to it's essence? So I started by working on 5 prints
the first one I went for was Hangzhou pavilion . Hangzhou is known as one of the most beautiful city's in China. In one part of it it has a lake with lots of willow trees around it dripping into the water , drip, drip, drip .They have these pavilions and pagodas jutting out into the lake very mystical Chinese kind of sense. I loved the shapes and styles the colours and spaces.

So looking through all my 1000 photos Hangzhou was the place I wanted to start. I thought I would do a bigger plate but when I started I on the etching I kind of got side tracked . I put it in the acid one day and didn't check the strength as a result it was very strong in one place and I didn't like the marks . Anyway to be technical I did some aquatint on it and played about with the tonal values but it still was not getting there so I cut some off the plate and still it was not there.

(to non print makers out there this took about 2 weeks in between the other work I was doing at the time) I was also playing about with painting on paper before actually printing and then started to get an image I liked. I then decided I'd go for "Chine colle" a sort of Chinese collage that you do while printing. IT was only then that I had a break through and started to get the misty mountain scene that I ended up with. I printed about 15 of which eight were good. It's the thing about doing "chine colle" the way I do chance has so much to do with it that sometimes it's not on your side and some times it is.

I choose the red colour as red is very important in China it is a fantastic colour and you don't often see it used well in Ireland or Europe. I did submit the print into the RUA exhibition but it didn't get in . When I went to see the exhibition I thought where on earth would they have put it if it did get in ? the black and white room? where would anything red have gone???

So I have it in a series of eight because 8 is the Chinese lucky number and it's a varied edition which means everyone if different this is because of the element of chance that happens in the "chine colle" process that I use. You do not always get the magic but when you do you do......................................................................................someone told me it reminded them of a Chinese restaurant but if that is the only connection with China you have ever had well then that's it then..............So one edition of that print is now in the BPW Christmas show there is another on in the exhibition at clotworthy. One in a collectors house and so it goes on.