I’m currently in the process of future proofing my studio. That is to say, as someone who has inherited her parents genetic predisposition towards arthritis, I’m taking a number of steps to ensure I can continue to work for as long as I am physically able.
I recently blogged about Chris persuading me to invest in a proper ergonomically designed chair to reduce the strain on my body. This week I took delivery of a (nearly) new Etching Press 545 Hawthorn Printmaster for much the same reason. Much as I love my Hunter Penrose Little John, I do feel like I’m doing an aerobic workout when I’m using it and I’m knackered at the end of a full printing day.
Oh the joys of getting older! My body is screaming at me to ease up a little bit. That does not come naturally. I currently have chronic tennis and golfers elbow. I’m taking steps both inside and outside the studio to ensure I can continue to work through my soon to be entered sixtieth decade.
There are other reasons why I bought the press. The press bed is longer and slightly wider than the Little John which gives me more flexibility for making larger work. It also makes it easier in a workshop situation to allow at least two people, if not three, to put their plates through together thereby eliminating the queue during a workshop.
I bought the press on behalf of Allendale Forge Studios, back in 2011 when I went to work there. As workshop coordinator at the time with responsibility for developing printmaking workshops with my expertise alongside creative workshops of all types, I set up a fully equipped studio at the time. When I left there was no one who was in a position to take over and so the printmaking equipment languished largely unused in the main. A decision was recently taken to sell the equipment and I was offered the opportunity to buy it.
The press is a Hawthorn Printmaster 545 etching press made by Hawthorn Printmakers Supplies, a small family run business based in Murton North Yorkshire. I’ve been buying my supplies from Barry Rushton and his son Michael, who own and run Hawthorn Printmakers Supplies, for over ten years now. Everything they produce is of excellent quality and their customer service is brilliant. Michael agreed to come up from Murton to check the press over and to help me move it from The Forge to my studio. He also offered to check over my Hunter Penrose and advise me what, if anything, it needed if I decide to sell it.
I love their obvious enthusiasm for what they are doing. Barry can and will talk to you for hours about inks and pigments and the latest colour he is working on, or has just released. Such passion for colour is bound to grab my attention. There is almost always a small pot sample or two of colour in with an order for me to try – they know how to tempt me – but it is genuinely fascinating and enlightening to hear from the horses mouth how best to mix their metallics, for example to get the best results. Barry was telling me about a new grey which I’m hoping to get a sample of to try and I’m going to also play with the metallic gold on different papers to see how the paper substrate influences the end result.
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