Liberation & Freedom through Printmaking - Exeter Open Studios 2014

Exeter Open Studios 2014 at Double Elephant Print Workshop
'Liberation & Freedom through Printmaking'

As part of Exeter Open Studios 2014, seven local printmakers will be featured in a lively exhibition at Double Elephant Print Workshop, at Exeter Phoenix on Friday 28th and Saturday 29th March, 11am – 6pm (closed Sunday 30th March).

The open studio event at the Double Elephant Print Workshop offers a rare opportunity for art lovers and buyers to meet local printmakers in the workshop where they create their artwork. Talk with experienced printmakers at Double Elephant and catch a glimpse of the antique and modern printing presses they use. See the printing plates and find out how the artists use them to create the prints. Double Elephant and the exhibiting artists invite you to ‘come along and experience first-hand this hidden gem at the Exeter Phoenix. Discover original, locally-made and affordable fine art prints at the show’

The featured artists are Virginia Bridge, Richard Hodgson, Bev Samler, Catherine Cartwright, Lynn Bailey, Alison Savic & Sally Hebeler. Framed and unframed artworks, employing a wide range of techniques, including etching, woodcut, screen-print and linocut, will be displayed in this fascinating and vibrant print workshop.

Artists often find something seductive and invigorating in printmaking. Some speak of it as a collaboration between the artist and the process. Richard Hodgson, who has relatively recently taken up printmaking says that he “finds the limits of the medium oddly liberating”. For Virginia Bridge the liberation of printmaking has come after 26 years of working in education. This new found freedom resulting in an outpouring of creativity. Some of the artists represented here have been printmaking for a lifetime. Bev Samler brings an influence of her life in Africa and makes connections with the very different landscape of Dartmoor. Also influenced by landscape, Lynn Bailey is an eccologically minded printmaker inspired by bugs, hedgerows and reclaimed landfill sites. “I make my printmaking as environmentally friendly as I can and it is still magic”. Catherine Cartwright uses printmaking as a means to make work that explores “the facets of freedom, both spiritual and political”, often collaborating with other art forms such as dance and animation. Sally Hebeler also likes to liberate printmaking from the confines of tradition by combining drypoint, embossing, relief and carborundum with unorthodox materials. Alison Savic’s prints often depict local scenes and architecture. She says, “I am really excited to have this rare opportunity to meet and talk with viewers who are fascinated by printmaking”.

Alongside the seven featured artists, many of Double Elephant Print Workshop’s 90 members will be contributing artwork for the exhibition too. There will be a wide range of styles offering something for everyone, from traditional to more experimental, large and small scale works.

All of the artists are looking forward to the show. Free to the public, this event offers a unique chance to see new work. DEPW exhibition is open on Friday 28th March and Saturday 29th March from 11am to 6pm. Closed Sunday 30th March.