Wednesday 21 March 2007

Bookplates

Its been quite a while since we last posted here, partly because the main project we were working on (an engraving for a bookplate) had to be kept secret until this weekend as it was a surprise wedding present! And partly because its spring and we've been out frolicking.

The design for the bookplate was engraved on 'new' formula resingrave which is meant to be less prone to chipping than the old one, though we weren't sure it was that noticeable a difference... The lettering was a new challenge and required lots of painstaking drawing of guidelines and double-checking in a mirror to make sure nothing had gone too awry.

The picture at the top is a view of the cathedral across the rooftops of Ely, and those of you who know it might spot that the tower and the lantern have been squashed together to make them fit in the space! This was the biggest edition we've ever tackled in one go, 50 copies in total, all on Zerkall paper.




















We're currently planning our contributions to the Periodic Table of Elements printmaking project, which aims to recreate the entire periodic table using a unique 6x6in print to represent each element. Loads of printmakers are involved and it'll be intriguing to see how it develops! We've been allocated selenium (Jon) and Neodymium (Sarah) and, armed with a few scraps of information courtesy of Google, we're already thrashing out some design ideas. As usual, watch this space!

Currently listening to: Gruff Rhys, Candylion, after seeing his wonderfully mad live show at the Arts Centre last week.