The Press Gang
Printmaking is renowned for being a collaborative activity; studios and workshops play a crucial role in the development of artists’ concepts and techniques in print.
In July 2011 The Wallarobba Arts and Cultural Centre opened with a print studio included. From those first weeks, the response to the opportunity of a community open studio was very positive with numbers around 12 to 18 including printmakers, painters, graphic artists, photographers and talented first-timers.
It has been a great 18 months of printmaking on Fridays and the mediums used have been as broadly varied as can be expected in a relatively compact studio.
There are two principle categories of method: Relief printing - linocuts, woodcuts and monotypes. Intaglio printing - etchings, dry-points, solar-plates, collagraphs and carborundum prints and several combinations of more than one technique, referred to as “mixed media”.
The works showcased in this, our first formal exhibition, are a representation of the diversity of materials, processes and techniques that have been utilised in both traditional and experimental ways by the members of the group in their individual approach to image making.
As part of this exhibition, several members of The Press Gang have presented a special collection of prints, all using aspects of Wallarobba as a theme. Many of these prints are editioned works intended as a print exchange amongst the members. This project has further strengthened the group dynamic through a journey of shared experience and inspiration.
John Crawford
All Photographs Copyright 2013 Frances Brown, Artwork Copyright 2013 Individual Artists
