Since I've been down in Devon I was determined to title this entry, "when it rains, it pours". The fact that every time I've had to make a trip Westwards the dark rain-filled clouds have never failed to welcome me. So why should things have been different this time around? Well, to begin with they weren't and my bad karma has become quite the joke at Devon Record Office and Double Elephant Print Workshop, but it is amazing what a few hours of bright sun can do to a sceptical soul and with yesterday's burst of rays I've decided not to dictate this post by weather(!)
My recent visit has been very hands-on - I have been printing my bandanas for the Politics in Print commission at Double Elephant and it's felt great to be back in a print studio and producing again. Established in 1997 by Simon Ripley and Lynn Bailey, Double Elephant is a fantastic resource for fine art printmaking and it's been a pleasure to work in the studio and meet a few of the members who use the studio and contribute to such a creative and supportive environment. As all printmakers know, once your image is burnt onto the screen or transferred to the plate, the process of multiple production can begin and the adrenaline hits. Armed with my squeegee, my monochrome multiples were ready to be printed on crisp 100% cotton sheets - here are a few previews of my design on the screen inspired by Devon's political history. Be sure to visit jonathanvelardi.blogspot.com tomorrow for images of the finished prints...
And to prove I'm not lying about the sun, here are some shots from Exeter's historical Cathedral Yard which is a short walk from Double Elephant down Gandy Street and over the High Street.
This part of the city is the only area that survives after severe German bombings in the Second World War - surrounded by buildings from as early as the seventeenth-century, Exeter Cathedral stands proudly in the face of history since 1400. Noted as having the longest uninterrupted vaulted ceiling in England as well as the ornate bosses that decorate it, the cathedral has been the seat of the Bishop of Exeter after it was transferred from Crediton in the late eleventh-century and Crediton happened to be where I have been staying this week. Just North West of Exeter, the town of Crediton has one of the most unique parade of shops I have ever seen on my travels and with the rolling hills that surround this typically Devon town, it is most definitely worth a visit in rain or shine!
More on my Politics in Print commission tomorrow!
