After All These Years...
I received an e-mail a few months ago from a place called "Ulverston" in the U.K., inviting me to participate in a print fair there. It seems they had found me on the World Printmakers website. I confess I was fascinated, because it's more than 30 years since I left England to live and work in Spain and, though I have exhibited and participated in art events all over Europe, my professional contacts with my home country were practically non existent. I thought to myself, "What would it be like to go back after all these years, participate in a small-town print fair, meet British printmakers, see what they're doing, eat fish and chips…?" So I decided to go along, and I'm so glad I did.

My four days in Ulverston, a market town in Cumbria on the southern edge of the Lake District, brought back to me so many of the good things I remembered from the North of England where I grew up, things that I was afraid had been lost, victims of modernization. But none of that. The people up there are still as kind and generous and down to earth as ever. And the fish and chips are still a religious experience!

Angels Peering Down
The flight from Málaga to Liverpool was cheap and cheerful. Judy Evans, co-organizer along with Veronica (Ronkey) Bullard, met me at the Ulverston train station and drove straight over to the Coronation Hall venue. The 100-year-old hall, which is the home of the local opera society, is a delightful place for a little print fair, with plaster angels peering down from above on all the proceedings.

Judy introduced me to the artists at work there painting the panels; I picked up a brush and started painting along with them. After 20 minutes of wall painting and chit chat I felt as if I'd formed part of the group forever. That's how easy and affable the atmosphere was among these English artists in this charming and unpretentious little fair. I do believe, however, that all printmakers have a special affinity, no matter where you go. I've experienced similar feelings among print artists from Spain, Austria, Russia, China, Yugoslavia and lately with a group of Moroccan artists at the Estampa print fair in Madrid.

A Micro-Mini Cultural Centre
Judy had arranged for me to stay at Liz Drew's house. Besides providing wonderfuul warm hospitality, Liz runs the bookshop part of a delightful bookstore/framing shop/gallery operation shared with Chris Benefield and called "The Tinner's Rabbit," certainly one of the most civilized micro-mini cultural centres in the world. I had some prints which needed framing and Chris did them up for me in a jiffy, and gave me a cup of tea and some ginger snaps while I waited. I actually left some work with him to hang in the gallery when I left. In general, "civilization" seemed to be the theme both in the fair and in the town, from the stores and pubs down to the butcher shops and Lou's delicatessen which was a work of art in itself.

The Fair
Forty or fifty printmakers from all over the UK, plus Greece and Spain, participated in the four-day fair (Thursday through Sunday, May 30-June 2). The level of work was uniformly high, both in terms of creativity and workmanship; these British printmakers are at a very high international level. All aspects of the organization were impeccable: excellent stands and lighting, nice music playing, super attention to artists' needs, thoughtful touches like a violinist at the entrance. North Yorkshire artist, Tim Slatter, brought his etching press with him and, during the fair, actually worked on an edition he had to get out, explaining the process to visitors as he went along, lending a nice note of authenticity.

Another artist, Jim Anderson, ran a linocut workshop for kids. One of the nicest details at the fair was the coffee-shop, run by Lou, who put together a wonderful selection of homemade curried chicken, cous cous, cakes, pies, sandwiches and other goodies, all the more remarkable as she was attending twins in a pram in her spare time(!) Attendance and sales were good (though they would have been even better if the fair had not happened to coincide with opening of the soccer World Cup!) Again, the atmosphere among the artists was very cozy and friendly, like Estampa in Madrid was in the early days, before it became massified. Even the weather was beautiful. Presumably the fair organizers arranged that, too.

The Queen
The theme of the fair was "Queen," in keeping with Queen Elizabeth's Jubilee Year, though not all of the illustrations for the catalog expressed precisely unadulterated monarchist enthusiasm(!) (See illustrations at the right.)

I think all of the printmakers who participated in the Ulverston fair found it worthwhile. I know I did. I had a great time, made a lot of new friends and some good contacts, covered costs and brought home a bit of money. In short, delightful; I want to go back next year!