Lino cuts and letterpress (again)

I've spent a good part of the Summer drawing in my favourite locations, now I'm turning those drawings into lino cuts for my next projects. I've also been given the task of managing and promoting the St Bride Print Workshop, which is going from strength to strength! (Two Vandercooks, an Albion, a Stanhope, two galley presses, a Heidelberg platen and a herd of Adanas!) As well as letterpress, wood engraving, lino cutting and bookbinding are on offer. Brush lettering, gilding and calligraphy are coming soon!

The next course is master printer, Richard Lawrence's two day letterpress intensive on Nov 18 & 19. More details HERE

Charlie and Caroline's Blog: Goodbye Bert Jansch. RIP.

Charlie and Caroline's Blog: Goodbye Bert Jansch. RIP.

Swing High print for Pedlars

Pedlars, purveyors of fine European household items, now have this exclusive print for sale. I carved 5 individual lino blocks, then had to register the buggers (none of this lightweight, reduction cut business, you see)! Anyway, this is the result and here's what Retro To Go had to say about it in their review:

Pedlars has done it again with another great limited edition print.
The latest in their long line of exclusives is Swing High by Helen Ingham, which is restricted to 32 editions. The artist specialises in using letterpress with this particular design using traditional wooden type and hand-carved lino block and is printed onto cotton rag paper using period machinery. Besides the old-fashioned techniques used, the print is also worth considering for its delightful retro image of two woman on a swing boat.

The prints cost £595 from Pedlars.

Vintage Festival Here We Come!

I'll be at the Vintage Festival on the Southbank, SE1, this weekend, helping to man the St Bride Print Workshop stand, which happens to be fellow printer, Richard Lawrence's pink milk float,above, (driven all the way down the A40 from Oxford). We'll be next to the Royal Festival Hall.

Come and say hello, print something, find out about St Bride Foundation and Printing Library, our workshop facilities and the courses we run!

The first St Bride Summer School!

What a busy couple of weeks it has been! After finally recovering from the Artsmart event, I have been teaching on St Bride's first Summer School. Another great group of students, featuring an antiquarian book collector, a graphic designer, a visiting student from America and a fledgling printer who has just obtained her first press. One of the things I love is the variety of people I come into contact with, all learning to print for different reasons. Welcome to the club, chaps!

I have another Summer School booking up for next week and St Bride have a free open evening on Monday, from 6pm, where the public can come into the workshop and have a go at printing, lino cutting and bookbinding. Come on down!

http://printworkshop.stbridefoundation.org/

Scrapheap Challenge Disco!

Had a very busy and enjoyable time at So Far, The Future, yesterday, at this great new space run by Rebecca and Andreas Pohancenik. An exhibition of five mechanical record-playing machines, made entirely from found and recycled materials, courtesy of Hendzel + Hunt, plus my prints on show and sale.

44 Emerald St (off Lambs Conduit St)
London WC1N 3LH

info@so-far-the-future.co.uk

Pop-up-Shop

selection of my prints, large and small will be on sale here from 16th June until 21st. Address is below, but it's just off Lamb's Conduit St - I'll be there after 8.30, likely with some of my graphics students.
Helen x

So Far, the Future presents '24h Design Challenge' by Hendzel + Hunt, which saw teams of designers take on the challenge of creating a machine that could play a record from found and recycled local materials in the space of 24 hours. Come and see the results of their efforts! The exhibition is accompanied by a pop up print shop featuring original letterpess prints by Helen Ingham of Hi-Artz press.

Thurs 16 June
Late opening of '24h Design Challenge' with demonstrations of the machines in action.

SO FAR, THE FUTURE
44 EMERALD STREET
LONDON WC1N 3LH

T 02079980199

E INFO [AT] SO-FAR-THE-FUTURE.CO.UK

Smile (damn yer)

More stuff for Artsmart. Gold and silver ink, old circus type and star border - always makes me smile anyway, especially when it's been raining all day and I've just had a row in Tesco's!

Back to my roots

I have begun printing some smaller work ready for my stall at Artsmart in July. There's a few songs I've been wanting to feature for a while - here's one of them.

Artsmart here we come!

Yes, I know the weather is PERFECT for long motorbike rides, but Artsmart is looming and I need more saleable goods for the Hi-Artz stall, so nose to the grindstone, platen or cylinder for me!

Solo Exhibition

My first solo exhibition is now up in the Bridewell Theatre Bar. It features a selection of my posters from 2004 onwards. The cellar bar is open from 6.30pm weekdays, but do check first if you are planning a visit to this lovely, intimate venue. The exhibition will run until June 13th. A donation from any sales will go towards St Bride Foundation.

More details about the venue can be found here:
http://stbridefoundation.org/bridewelltheatre/bargallery.html

St Bride Foundation
Bride Lane, Fleet Street
London EC4Y 8EQ

020 7353 3331

info@stbridefoundation.org

Hi-Artz Press in the press!

I was really pleased to be commissioned to design and print this Friday's Sport Magazine front cover, especially for the FA Cup Final! If you live or work in London, eager distributors will be thrusting free copies your way outside every tube and rail station. Come on you blues!

St Bride Foundation also gave me the opportunity to design and print a special napkin to be presented to acerbic Sunday Times food critic, AA Gill.

Speaking of St Bride Foundation, there will be a small solo exhibition of my work in the bar, starting next Wednesday 16 May. It will be on for the next six weeks. No private view, I'm afraid, as I work most evenings, but the bar is definitely worth a visit - I may even join you after I'm finished teaching in the print workshop!



I will be shortly producing a second edition of "Up Over The Downs"
in a new colourway. The second print, "Rise Aloft & Soar" has also been selling very well. I also have just finished preliminary sketches for the third and final print in the series, but will be working on other commissions first - I envisage this will be ready by Autumn!

East End Prints commissioned me to produce an edition for the Royal Wedding - I wanted to avoid patriotic hysteria and cheap cynicism and decided to produce an uplifting celebration of successful relationships, using a quote given at my own wedding - I didn't sell any at the exhibition, but like all good relationships, this one is in for the long haul!



Must dash, work to do!...

Al Mutanabbi St Broadsides Project in Arizona

Just got an email saying all the broadsides are currently on exhibition in Arizona at Yavapai College - you can just about see mine, behind the bench...

Al Mutanabbi St Broadsides Project

Just received notification that my donation to the Al-Mutanabbi St Broadsides project has been featured in Australia's Imprint magazine. The exhibition is currently touring the world and the prints are being auctioned to raise funds for Doctors Without Borders.

Al Mutanabbi St was the multicultural bookselling area of Baghdad, which was car bombed in 2007 killing or injuring 130 people.

You can read about the project here:
http://www.library.fau.edu/depts/spc/JaffeCenter/jaffemutanabbistreetstartshere.htm

Dirty Rockin' & Rollin'!

This morning's trip to the post office/PO Box saw me sending a consignment of prints to Kings Framers in Lewes, my latest stockist, who got in touch after seeing "Up Over The Downs" at London Art Fair.

I also picked up aforementioned copy of The Dirty Mag. Thankfully, this isn't some tedious retro-billy rehash, but a great publication if you are into the less obvious facets of lo-brow culture. It's A5 in format, thoughtfully designed and exceptionally well printed. This issue, which is the 3rd, is a corker, certainly not just because of the article on Hi-Artz Press on p.32, but also the "electric" multi-process print work of Andy Fisher, Honkeyfingers lino-cuts and blues recordings, Gary Margerum's black and white reportage photography, featuring Ken Fox's Wall of Death... and plenty more. Buy it and find out! http://thedirtymagazine.blogspot.com/ http://www.dirtymagazine.co.uk/

I'm still working on the second of the glider prints. Bit of a bugger to get right, but I will win!

Lordy Hoody and Blimey O'Reilly!

Today started off rubbish - had a monster headache, but ended well. Got an e-newsletter from TAG Fine Arts, who've put Up Over The Downs on the front page along with Rob Ryan, announcing their presence at 20|21 International Art Fair, 17 - 20 February 2011, Stand 38, Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London SW7 2EU, www.20-21intartfair.com

I also Picked up my current issue (nov8) of Uppercase Magazine, a sumptuous design publication from Canada.
http://www.uppercasegallery.ca/uppercase-journal/2011/1/31/a-look-at-issue-8-now-with-dog-and-baby.html
This issue is a letterpress extravaganza and Hi-Artz Press get a mention. I fired up Vandercook and Valor heater on Boxing Day, in order to complete my contribution to their sampler (far too cold before - ink was solid!). Looking at this issue, it was worth it - better than rotting in front of Christmas telly anyway!

I'm also awaiting issue 3 of The Dirty Magazine which is also available now. It's dedicated to people who do unusual things in sheds (not making this any better, am I?) Basically those who are into old techniques and technology. Lovely, talented Scarlett Rickard came and interviewed me just before New Year.

http://www.dirtymagazine.co.uk/

I've also sold 2 prints - headache's better now.

Hello Bloggers everywhere!

Right, just got started on this, because they said blogging is a good idea on my PG Cert course.

A good few days for Hi-Artz Press, sold well at Reverting to Type and London Art Fair and been approached by a couple more online dealers. I now need to finish all my acounting, so I can get back on my press again! The lovely people at Eye Magazine published s blog about their Christmas do in the print workshop at St Bride Institute http://blog.eyemagazine.com/?p=2329

I start the next round of evening classes there this evening - can't wait!