After the journey to libraries in Manchester and Sheffield I headed north to Edinburgh and stayed with Jon and Eleni. Jon is a friend and wonderful illustrator . Over the years we’ve worked together regularly and I’ve always loved the work we’ve done together and illustrated a couple of bookmarks printed in Oxford and Winchester early in the Summer. We’re also working together on the Alan Bennett book that we are making about the libraries in his life which was published originally in the London Review of Books.
On Thursday 10, I headed from Jon and Eleni’s down to the National Poetry Library in the centre of Edinburgh. It is a fine place, very welcoming and a beautiful visual space, lots of poetry (letterpress by the wonderful Robert Smails Printing Works) on the wall.
Here, I met Rebecca from Ploterre, who had designed and illustrated today’s bookmark. It is a visual feast, but with a great story. Becky writes:
‘The text ‘just passing through’ is a slightly changed line from Ellen Renton’s ‘passing’ poem (she’s an Edinburgh poet - https://ellenrenton.co.uk/). This is her reading the poem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T96mFkA8rus
It’s essentially about climate change / human treatment of the earth. So it’s a bit around nature, it links to the poetry library and being in Edinburgh but also linked quite well to Press On - passing through the libraries of different places…
The design itself is a map. And each letter (in computational terms) has a number attached to it - so I used the numerical values of each letter from this line to create the different elements. So the curve of the river is made from the word 'just’ the contours have been created from the word ‘passing’ and the path through the bookmark has been made from ’through’.
Later I headed off on the bicycle towards the Forth Bridge and cycling 30 odd miles before arriving at today’s stop at Glenfarg just short of Dundee.
I must also mention the slightly terrifying experience of finding myself cycling on the A90 from Dundee. Which my Komoot (cycling app) took me onto. I’ve got to say the A90 isn’t a road any sane cyclist would want to be on, basically it’s a 80mph non-motorway to Aberdeen, my 20 minutes on the road were about as scary a bike ride as is possible and ended with a police blue light escort the last mile or two back onto the relative safety of a B road. I have to say the blue light escort was much more fun and probably as near a Tour de France experience as I’ll get.
Then two more cycling days which were great (and dry!) to Forfar and finally to Glen Dye. Glen Dye is a magical place, a long ride (and a bit of pushing) up the mountain road. Charlie and Caroline have put a lifetime of passion into this place, beautiful cabins and houses in wild and beautiful forestry and mountains. It was also very quiet and peaceful.
A short hop followed down to Aberdeen the next day and onto the 5pm ferry to Orkney.
I cycled to Orkney on my 2009 journey around the coast of Britain and loved it then.
This time I was looking forward to seeing my friend, the artist Joanne B Kaar who now lives in Stromness on Orkney.
The ferry arrived in Kirkwall around midnight and I’d booked to stay at the Kirkwall Hotel, a fine proud old hotel facing the harbour. My bicycle left propped on the reception desk for the night.
Early next day I headed up to the brilliant Orkney library and archive, a brilliant community resource buzzing with people and ideas with an extensive island archive and research centre. Here I printed Peter Lord’s beautiful Morph on Orkney bookmark. Peter and his wife Karen are long time supporters of our letterpress adventures and also regular visitors to Orkney.
Later I cycle the 17 or so miles over to Stromness across the beautiful Orkney landscape. Stromness is a wonderful picture perfect little town and harbour where the Scrabster ferry arrives. It’s also where Joanne has set up her home and studio. Joanne is a member of the Soulisguoy Printmakers and we popped down the road to the studios where I talked about my project and learnt about their work.
On the 15th October (next day) I nervously cycled back to Kirkwall in a slightly worrying cross wind to catch the midnight ferry to Shetland. I popped back to the Kirkwall Hotel for a fine supper and I enjoyed listening to an Orkney farmer meeting with his accountant and being told he should travel first class to Edinburgh now to spend a little of his money (he didn’t sound too keen on that).
Next morning the Northland ferry (which were all amazing) pulled into Lerwick about 7.30 and I was met by Jono Sandiland, who is a Shetland islander who also happened to train as a printmaker in Bristol a few years ago. Jono runs the workshops and publishing at Gaada, an artist-led social enterprise print collective on Shetland. If you check out their website https://www.gaada.org/events, you’ll see what a buzzy and brilliant place Gaada is. It is flourishing and works with artists and islander to produce challenging and exciting print and published books and zines.
At the Lerwick Library I printed a beautiful bookmark illustrated by Helen Balfour, a Shetland artist who has been creating work in Grytviken, South Georgia. Helen’s illustration is of a Guddick, a traditional Shetland riddle. Lots of people came along and printed their own bookmark which included the Guddick in a Shetland dialect.
I was sad to leave the islands the next day, both Orkney and Shetland are special and beautiful and very welcoming places and I hope that I will be back sometime.
Back on the ferry and this time managed to wangle a cabin, which I have to say was worth every penny with a tv (a tv!) fancy shower and comfort. This journey was a long 14 hour one back to Aberdeen where I’d been invited to visit Peacocks, a famous printmaking workshop which works with artists but also does important work in the community. Jon Reid got in touch and gave a brilliant tour of Peacocks which is a brilliant example of a printshop both producing brilliant international artist’s work but working closely with the creative community.
Then the long haul on the train back to Bristol.
I did one more short visit by taking a train to Telford and riding to Much Wenlock to stay in the amazing Wenlock Abbey and then to print at the smallest library in Shropshire, the lovely little public library in Much Wenlock.
It’s now the end of November and I’m getting the Crowdfunder rewards out this week.
I’m sorry they are a little later than I’d hoped, I’m just waiting for some lovely hand made boxes to get the bookmark sets out. But hoping that everything will be in the post by the first week in December.
