Homespun, Authentic, Absolutely Delightful

The regional website describes Ulverston as: "A friendly and historic market town with its own unique charm. There is a colourful street market on Thursdays and Saturdays and an indoor market five days a week. Birthplace of Stan Laurel, the town is full of specialist shops, cobbled streets and winding ginnels just waiting to be discovered." And one weekend each May since 2001, when they're not discovering "winding ginnels" (!) this seaside town on the southern reaches of the Lake District stages PRINTFEST, one of the world's most endearing small town fine-art print fairs.

Founded by Judy Evans and Veronica (Ronkey) Bullard, both printmakers from London who wended their way north to Ulverston for the quality of life up here, PRINTFEST has the double-barreled appeal of a village fete and a first-class printmaking event. The fair has advanced from strength to strength over the past four years, in quality of work displayed, attendance and sales, and has even earned an Arts Council England North West grant to develop and enhance the next three years' editions.

World Printmakers co-founder, Maureen Booth, returned to Ulverston for the second time in three years and found it as delightful as ever. "I went back because of the people," says Maureen, "everybody, the organizers, the artists, the townspeople and the visitors. For me it's like a nostalgia holiday, it reminds me so much of the intensely human north of England where I grew up, so homespun, so authentic, absolutely delightful. I thought all that had been lost long ago, but no, it's still there, alive and well, in Ulverston."

 

 

Ronkey Bullard (above) and Judy Evans
(below), founders of the fair, get into the
spirit of the Elvis recital at PRINTFEST 2004.

 

 

 

The Coronation Hall is an evocative turn-
of-the-century theater which is used as
a multi-purpose community center.

 

Mission Accomplished

Their mission statement says: "PRINTFEST is a relaxed and friendly selling exhibition exclusively for printmakers from all over the UK and abroad. The event provides printmakers with the opportunity to network, secure commissions, gain inspiration and sell work direct to gallery owners, art lovers and the general public," and that is exactly what PRINTFEST achieves.

"They want to see more participants from abroad," says Maureen, "and they certainly deserve them. I think everyone made a profit this year. The exhibit space is so economical; this year it cost just 75 pounds (about 112€ or $135) for three-and-a-half meters of wall space. Accommodation in cozy, cheerful bed and breakfast guest houses is economical, and the area around Ulverston is a wonderful place to visit. The Lake District has been renowned for inspiring artists since Wordsworth's time, and springtime is an ideal season to visit. Artists would do well to stay on for a few days after the fair and do a bit of touring."

"The American Dream"

The catalogue theme this year was "The American Dream." You can imagine. The illustrations submitted by the participating artists ranged from Richard Foster's superannuated Marlboro cowboy to Raymond Higgs' solid black patch, and included Jim Anderson's alluring death's head bathing beauty entitled "Guantanamo Baywatch" and Dutch artist, Monique Borst's joyful portrayal of the globe as a skewered Big Mac. Maureen's illustration was a cowboy boot stuffed with crosses and dollar signs, and Paula Smithson's image portrayed the world buckled under the weight of an American refrigerator. All in good fun, as you can see.

 

Debby Mason, from Plymouth, attends
a client on her stand at PRINTFEST 2004.

Fair visitors were taken with
the quality and variety of the
work at PRINTFEST 2004.

 

Printmakers, Jim Anderson and Helen Moore
get into the red wine and the Elvis show.

A two-pound admission fee assured
that visitors were there to see prints.
There's Maureen in the background
waiting for her first clients of the day.

 

Something for Everyone

PRINTFEST 2004 appealed to a broad public, with live music daily (from an Elvis imitator to classcial guitar music), and get-involved stands where children and grownups could make digital prints with Adela Jones and linocuts with Jim Anderson. Tim Slatter, who was scheduled to demonstrate etching, unfortunately couldn't make it, as he broke his collarbone. The coffee shop with Louise's homemade cakes and sandwiches was a quasi-religious experience, according to international experts who attended.

"I'm very enthusiastic about Ulverston's PRINTFEST," says Maureen. "They do a wonderful job of bringing fine-art printmaking to the general public in a friendly, low-key way. If only other towns this size around the globe would develop similar events, it would make the world a little bit better place, and printmaking would take its rightful place in it."

 

A print fair is not a proper event
without some real, live buyers.

 

Loise Stebbing shows a client the linoleum
matrix from which her print was made.

Printmaker, Fran Riley and her
husband, another couple who moved
to Ulverston for the easygoing lifestyle.

 

Judy Evans explains her
(serious) work to an art lover.

 

Elvis wouldn't have missed
PRINTFEST for the world!