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The Story of This Print: “Grapes for Claudio” / “Uvas para Claudio”
In 2009 our son Bill and his wife Victoria adopted a two-and-a-half-year-old boy from an orphanage in Madagascar. We picked them up from the Granada airport when they arrived back with Claudio, after a two-month get-to-know-each-other period on the island. Claudio was in Bill’s arms with his hand stuck reassuringly in his new father’s shirt.
On his first visit to our house Claudio was taken with the bunches of ripe grapes hanging from the vines over our terrace. He stretched and fretted until Bill lifted him up to pick some, and Claudio stuffed his little cheeks full. There was so much joy in that image in my mind’s eye that I made an etching of the grape arbor. It’s called “Grapes for Claudio.”
Claudio is now four. He speaks Spanish like a four-year-old Granadino, and loves to paint.
This is a relief acid etching worked on a 15 x 30 cm. zinc plate. I first varnished
the plate then did all the line work. The nitric acid (28%) was diluted12:1.
Then I cleaned the plate and painted all the images with covering varnish, and
left it to harden overnight. Next day I put the plate in a stronger acid bath,
and left it for a couple of hours, wiping away the bubbles frequently with
a feather, so as to keep the lines clean. There is no aquatint on this plate.
The stronger acid makes an interesting background. Then I printed it a la
poupé on hand made cream-colored Arpa paper. The little birds are painted
on with watercolor after the print is pressed.
Consider the Luxury of Collaborative Printmaking
One Plus One Equals Three Point Five
We usually think of fine-art printmaking as a solitary endeavor, and until recently it has been that for me. But after years of yearning I finally got my Gallinero artists’ residence built, my husband Mike did a terrific job of introducing it on Internet, and artists started coming from all over the world. Most of them arrived by themselves to work together one on one. This was a relatively new experience and it has opened my eyes to new ways of working and new joys in printmaking.
I have done a lot of workshops, both in my studio here in Granada and around the rest of Europe, and always enjoyed the experiences. But there’s no denying that to work along with another artist is something different, a luxury for both. Clearly, two heads are better than one. Then there’s the mutual understanding which the Spaniards call “compenetración.” Working together intensely establishes a joyful dynamic where images and ideas get bounced around , and suddenly creative things begin to happen. Read more…
A Quick Look at Granada in a One-Minute Tourist Office Video
Wondering what Granada has to offer visitors. Here’s a quick overview:
Video Producer, Juan Carlos Romera Comments on the Printmaking Master Classes Project
When I conceived this video tutorials project I was determined that my first subject should be printmaking with Maureen Booth. I’ve known Maureen and her husband, Mike, for years. In fact, we live just a couple of kilometers apart on the outskirts of Granada. I’ve worked with both of them on other projects and have always admired Maureen’s prints, as well as their uniquely creative lifestyle.
Maureen was actually the female lead in Bive, a 38-minute short film I made in 2006. She played an English printmaker who falls in love with a Spanish fisherman, causing an uproar in Mediterranean fishing village. That film had a brief printmaking sequence which opened my eyes to the magic of creating art with inked plates.
Now, seven years later, I have the privilege of working again with Maureen and delving further into her printmaking world. I hope you find the experience as rewarding as I did.
What Printmakers Need and What They Want
I’ve been doing printmaking master classes in my studio since the late 80’s. Over that time I’ve a learned a lot about what most printmakers need–and perhaps more importantly–what they want (with a nod to Bob Dylan: “She knows what you need, but I know what you want…”) To sum it up briefly, printmakers need to dominate the basics and pay attention to detail. Once they have these factors under control they can let their creative juices flow. To do so earlier often leaves artists adrift for the rest of their printmaking lives. It’s like any other activity you want to take seriously. There’s no substitute for good coaching in the beginning. Read more…
There Are Beautiful Accidents
Video producer and friend, Juan Carlos Romera, working on my master-class videos.
I Was an Innocent Bystander!
Believe it or not, this printmaking-video-download initiative came to me as a surprise. We’ve been friends with video producer Juan Carlos Romera for 12 or 15 years. He and I met literally accidentally, as I bumped into the back of his car with my motor scooter. Now it’s as if Juan Carlos, his wife María José and their two children have been in our family forever. Read more…
Maureen's Printmaking Master Classes in Video 