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Final decisions made on book and exhibition
With the Paston hand-made book nearing completion, four members of InPrint met with Lucy Care, of the Paston Heritage Society, at Annette Rolston’s studio in the Bally Art Factory, Norwich. A variety of prints, plates and pages were available for viewing, and decisions were made on the running order of the book, publicity for the exhibition and practical matters including finance and setting up subsequent exhibitions.
As well as organising the whole project Lucy is also an artist, and has contributed images and a poem to the book. Annette, on whom the burden of printing has largely fallen, also has images in the book, as has InPrint member Joan Murray. Poems from InPrint members Caroline Gilfillan, Lisa D’Onofrio and Tim Lenton are also included.
The main exhibition, at which the book will be on display, is on October 11 and 12 in St Margaret’s Church, Paston. It will be followed by exhibitions at Cromer and Nottingham, and the book will eventually be on display at the Millennium Library in the Forum in Norwich.
The pictures here were taken at the Bally meeting on 14 August and include a few of the prints that will eventually become pages in the book, though not necessarily in their final form.
Week of work on Paston book
26 July 2008
A full week as far as work on the Paston book is concerned. On Tuesday Annette and Tim met in Norwich to discuss how the various pages might look. On Wednesday the final, full workshop, led by Annette and Caroline, brought in views from other poets and artists, as well as doing some key printing. And on Thursday Annette, Caroline, Tim and Lucy made the final decisions on what will be included - though not the order of the pages. It all seemed to fit together rather well. On Saturday, Lucy and Tim printed off acetates - the font chosen was only available on Tim's computer in Norwich. Further work on the plates will be done under Annette's direction next week.
Work on Paston book nearing completion
The printing and writing workshop on Wednesday 23 July will be a key moment in the Paston Project. Final decisions will be being made on the composition of the hand-made book – which images will be used, which poems, and how it will all fit together. Annette Rolston and Caroline Gilfillan will be leading the workshop, with some assistance from Mike Fenton and Tim Lenton as far as the book is concerned.
Excitement is rising as InPrint members – notably Annette, who has worked her socks off – overcome technical problems in the new process with the help of experienced workshop members. Any of the high quality material produced over the past months that doesn't make it into the book will in all likelihood find a spot in the Paston Heritage Society exhibition scheduled for autumn.
Meanwhile Mike Fenton is putting together a website dedicated to the Paston Heritage Society, which should go live ini the near future. It will contain much of the work produced by InPrint and others during the Paston project.
Next Paston workshop
The Paston workshop this Sunday (June 29) will be led by Caroline Gilfillan and Annette Rolston, and will probably follow a similar pattern to the last one. Caroline says: "We'll all work together for a short time, and then the artists will work with Annette, and the writers with me – though I must stress that you can move between writing and visual arts and vice versa. I know that several of you are interested in both, and that's fine.
"In the writing section of the workshop, we'll spend some time on new material – we have two new writers joining us – and devote some time to sharing and workshopping poems you've already written. Some of these will have been circulated already, but please bring copies of up to three poems – eight copies of each should be more than enough. Getting feedback on your work and having it heard can be such an exciting, instructive experience, so do bring work with you. Plus, hearing the work written by others is always interesting and inspirational.
"This part of the workshop might also help you decide which poems you might want to put into the book, too – if you need to choose. I'll prepare some activities both around writing in a specific form (probably the sonnet) and writing in free verse. As before, we'll use specific extracts from the Paston Letters as source material."
Here is an example of a ghazal written by Caroline at a previous workshop:
St Margaret’s Church, PastonThe wind sighs through the pale horse chestnut flowers
And ivy spills like water over elderflowers.A spider’s web is glued from pew to pew,
Its maker crouching in the carved wood flower.Outside I gather speedwell, borage and cranesbill
untended beside the dipping heads of gilt rose flowers.Beneath the stinging locks of nettles, a tombstone warms my hand.
And Margaret gives thanks for every leaf and flower.
And here is a verse from Tim Lenton, also based on the Letters and written at a workshop:
PartridgeI fear that Partridge may attack
He really has no business here
My husband must come home and drive him backA thousand angry men are drawing near
And he is miles away in London town
While I am pregnant, lost in fearI'll write and tell him to come down
He must bring crossbow, spear and shield
And I will wear my broadcloth gownHe'll slaughter Partridge in the field
The thousand men are bound to yield
The photograph at the top of of this section is of St Margaret's Church, Paston, from the path to the cliffs. It shows how unusual it is in being situated in a hollow, whereas most Norfolk churches are at high points. The picture was taken by Tim Lenton, who added this verse to it:
Balanced like light on fields of barley
Margaret the sleeper
slips into the background
becomes part of the picture
seen from the sea
More pictures from Paston
A selection of photographs taken at the two most recent workshops at The Barn, Dayspring. At the first, on May 11, Annette Rolston was leading with Rupert Mallin; at the second, on May 31, she was in charge of the artists while Caroline Gilfillan was with the writers. Some high quality work is being produced, and the prospects for the planned book and exhibition are excellent. However, a great deal remains to be done.
Closer look at Paston writing workshops
Further details are now available of the writing workshops being held over the next three months at Paston in North Norfolk (see item below). They are held at the same time as art workshops and are as follows:
• Sunday 11th May, 10am – 4 pm, led by Rupert
Mallin
Textures. Combining words, images and textures using The Paston
Letters - texts, symbols and imagery - brought together in print.
The workshop will include n exploration of form in poetry and
visual art.
• Saturday 31st May, 10 am – 4 pm, led by Caroline
Gilfillan
Finding Form. In this workshop we’ll try our hand at some poetic
forms – ghazals, pantoums and terza rima – while responding to
the rich source material in the Paston Letters, and in the church
itself. Suitable for beginners or those who’ve already written
before. All that’s needed is a notebook, a pen or pencil, and a
curious mind.
• Sunday 29th June, 10 am – 4 pm, led by Caroline
Gilfillan
Poems-in-Progress: revising and developing your work. This
workshop will give you a wonderful opportunity to share and get
detailed feedback on your poetry. Please bring poems developed
during the course of the project for discussion. At least one of
these should be directly inspired by the Paston project, and a
possible candidate for inclusion in the book, but you can also
bring other work in progress, which we’ll discuss if time allows.
• Wednesday 23rd July, 10 am – 4 pm, led by Caroline
Gilfillan
Making the Book. In this workshop we’ll decide on the order in
which pieces should appear in the limited edition book, and how
these can be integrated with the visual artwork produced during
the course of the project. You may also have the chance to print
your own work.
Opportunity to take part in prestige Paston project
If you are an artist or a writer, you can explore a fascinating area of Norfolk, past and present, and discover more about new types of printmaking by taking part in workshops in the coming months. If you are interested, please contact Annette Rolston at annetterol@yahoo.com or Lucy Care of the Paston Heritage Society at lucyecare@aol.com, or write for our leaflet and booking forms to Mrs L Care, Dayspring, Mundesley Road, Paston, Norfolk, NR28 9TE.
Dates for workshops:
• Sunday 13th April, 10 am – 4 pm
• Sunday 11th May, 10am – 4 pm
• Saturday 31st May, 10 am – 4 pm
• Sunday 29th June, 10 am – 4 pm
• Wednesday 23rd July, 10 am – 4 pm
All workshops will take place at The Barn, Dayspring, Paston, and be led by Annette Rolston. A variety of printing techniques may be used, including non-toxic intaglio printing and collagraph – if you would like to discuss this further, please contact Annette. Workshops cost £20 a day (concessions £10), materials are included in the cost and drinks will be provided, but please bring a packed lunch.
The workshops will explore both the world of the Paston letters and the landscape and buildings of Paston today. There will be opportunities for collaborative work with artists or writers on the project, or to work alone and be assisted by the printers in the production of plates for the book.
In October, at the end of the project, participating writers will
have the opportunity to have a piece of work included in the
hand-bound book that will form the centrepiece of the autumn
exhibition. If you’d like to take part, you’d need to attend at
least one workshop. Writers of all levels of experience are
welcome: published or unpublished, experienced or beginners. All
you need is enthusiasm for this wonderful project, and a
willingness to produce work informed by this unique source
material.
If you would like to book for a workshop, please contact
Lucy Care at Dayspring, Mundesley Road, Paston NR28 9TE, or email
lucyecare@aol.com.
Paston Medieval Fair huge success
Annette Rolston and Tim Lenton ran a poetry and print workshop at the Paston Medieval Fair and Open Day on Easter Saturday - March 22. Despite Arctic weather conditions, including a day-long gale and occasional blizzards, the event attracted an amazing 800 or so people to St Margaret's Church. At least we were inside the church: some medieval characters were camping in the graveyard, which I think is what is known as a near-death experience.
This was part of InPrint's participation in the Paston Project, which aims to produce a hand-made book of poetry and visual art, and an exhibition in the autumn. On this occasion children and a few adults made letters and bookmarks illustrated and printed, with technical assistance from Annette and encouragement from Tim, whose grandchildren turned up late in the day to join in. Other members of InPrint present were Lisa D'Onofrio, with her family, and Caroline Gilfillan. Rupert Mallin also came along at the outset with some welcome encouragement and a helping hand or two.
The workshop was a bit pushed for space between the font and the refreshments, and we caught only a glimpse of the other things that were going on, such as medieval dancing, tours of the church, metal stamping and skinning a rabbit in the church porch. Mud was an additional hazard as we unloaded and loaded up again, and by the end of the day we all felt pretty medieval. But we were delighted at the degree of interest from all and sundry.
Pictures from Paston
Pictures taken at a workshop for artists at The Barn, Paston, as part of the year-long Paston Project.
New print process at Paston
The Paston Project got into full swing at the weekend (Feb 16-18) with photo intaglio-type print workshops run at The Barn, Dayspring - home of Lucy Care, the project organiser. InPrint member Annette Rolston is a key member of the arts team on the project, and she was helping to run these opening workshops with expert Sarah Godfrey. The workshops were run for other artists, some from the immediate area but others from much further afield, and produced an amazing variety of work using an exciting new process that was new to all of them.
InPrint members Joan Murray and Mike Fenton were also involved, and Tim Lenton joined the group on the Monday afternoon. The workshops were being professionally filmed as part of the project.
Rupert steps down
Rupert Mallin, who has been the driving force of the group since its inception five years ago, has decided to step down from InPrint to pursue his own work. He will retain close links to the group and will be working with us on occasion. He is already committed to one of the Paston Project workshops, in which InPrint has a key role.
Rupert is a very talented performance poet who is also a visual artist. His enthusiasm, hard work and friendship have been strong motivators for the group in the work that has been done, especially connected with the poetry vending machine, where he produced some exceptional boxes with Tonia Jillings, who is also stepping down. They will be missed.
InPrint, however, goes on. We are now a looser collaborative group with much the same aims and looking forward to creating unique work together. At present our concentration is on the Paston Project, which launched on February 2 with a Latin Compline at Paston Church and some memorable mulled wine and food. Quite a striking experience in a remote, candlelit church. Date for your diaries is the Open Day on March 22.
Happy new 2008
Very best wishes to all our friends and visitors! In the coming
year we have several collective projects planned, including The
Paston Letters throughout the year and Mike Toll's sculpture
trail at Antingham and Norfolk Open Studios at the Art Factory in
May and June.
We also hope to have a party to celebrate five years of
InPrint's collaborative work.
InPrint came into being because of Creative Arts East, a group whose existence is now under threat because of draconian cuts in arts funding. So we encourage anyone who cares about the arts in East Anglia to come to the aid of Creative Arts East. See CAE website.
The picture is of a window in Paston Church.