Days 20, 21, 22. The final days of printing

Wednesday was the start of my final big print here at Chhaap. Wow, I can’t believe it’s coming to an end. I wanted a change from the lush scenery and couldn’t forget the cows. How could you, they number more than 150 million and they roam anywhere they please. Many a time has my rickshaw swerved out the way of cow casually crossing the street. They have a lot of attitude.

Day 21 was actually the final day of printing. I had finished my cow print and decided I wanted to just let loose, have fun and make a mess. So I combined the stencils I had collated from all my prints and made some smaller images and cards. I did also start on that second print of the Palm Trees. The first print I did, but with slightly different colours. This one will have to be completed in the UK after I ship the big parcel of my work home.

There was also time to visit some more studios, meet a few more artists and invite them to my exhibition on Sunday. There are over 700 full time artists in Baroda! It’s great to be in a place with art everywhere.

Day 22. I got on a bus to Ahmedabad at 5.00am! I saw some of the oldest parts, with lots of character and beautiful architecture. Then a visit to Ghandi Ashram and Konoria Arts Centre, where a talk by the brilliant printmaker Jyoti Bhatt was taking place. Shame it wasn’t in English! But I did get to see lots of his work and check out the amazing print making studios.

Day 17, 18 and 19

I completed the print of the view from the houseboat, a square image for a change. It was a challenge getting the reflection in the water. This is also the image chosen for the poster/flyer for my open house/exhibition this Sunday.

Then I went for something more urban again. These vibrant colours were typical of the houses scattered across the high hills of Darjeeling. It actually reminded me of the brightly painted houses and street art in Bristol.

I also went to visit some artists studios and to MS University to attend a presentation on the outcomes of a sound workshop. It was great up until a swarm of mosquitoes, reasonably near my head, started to distract me.  

Me, Aditi and Dev stopped for some Chai before the presentation.

Day 15 and 16:

I have one week left to make prints and with that thought in the back of my head I am working pretty hard. Here’s what I’ve been doing with the last couple of days...

The first beach I got to in India, dotted with lots of these brightly coloured fishing boats. And the fish they caught was very tasty. Arambol, Goa

This unfinished print is the view I had from a houseboat cruising down the beautifully calm, serene backwaters in Alleppy, Kerala. This print is dedicated to my Dad.

Day 13 and 14:

I wanted to try something more urban, with lots of angles and straight lines. This print is from a photo I took in Ranthambore. We couldn’t believe it when there was a pool there, luxury compared to the places we had stayed previously.

 It was tricky drawing this one, I’m not usually one for rulers. So in the past two days I have managed to draw and print the image. There are a lot of images I have floating around in my head that I want to print, but I only have a week and a half left until my exhibition!

This is the print in progress:

Day 3:

Final day of Mark’s exhibition. Not as many people turned up today, so I had the chance to complete my Palm Tree print. I also accidently made a beautiful blue, which I thought would be great for the background, so I have started another print, with the same stencils. I will come back to it later and try a different combination of colours.

Artist in Residence at Chhaap Printmaking Studio. Baroda, Gujurat, India

I am spending the whole month of February as the artist in residence at Chhaap Printmaking Studios. I am delighted to be here and have the opportunity to liaise with many local Indian printmakers. Many graduated from MS University here in Baroda, I'm told it's the best University for Arts in India.

The facilities are perfect. I can wake up and walk into the printmaking studio, literally. So for the next month I’m living and breathing printmaking and I will be documenting my progess here.

The prints will be a visual diary of the past three months I've spent travelling. I started in Nepal, in the stunning Himalayas. I then began my India trip in Darjeeling in the North West, after a very bumpy 18 hour bus journey from Kathmandu to the border crossing. I finished all the way down South in Trivandrum in the state of Kerala.

It’s been vibrant, exciting, emotional, relaxing, exhausting...it’s been incredible.

Day 1 at Chhaap:

Introduction to the studios...buying art materials...finding places to eat...meeting Mark Brusse, the previous artist who has just spent all of January printmaking here at Chhaap. (Look him up he’s done a lot!) He believes "one of the functions of art is to exacerbate the irrational side, the part of art and life which isn't reasonable".

Day 2:
I’ve started printmaking already. My first image is of the palm trees in Goa, on Arambol beach.

It was also Mark’s exhibition of the work he has produced throughout his month's stay here. People from The Times of India came to interview him. And it also gave me an opportunity to meet some of the local artists and people who will be attending a workshop I will be holding.