Last weekend were expositions at both Cambieure and Cailhau (neighbouring village) to celebrate Achille Lauge (1861 - 1944), a local artist from Cailhau. The exposition was to show-case today's artists who could somehow relate to Achille Lauge's work, in the form of a cultural community event and Wouter was lucky enough to be able to take part.
gathering interesting items for the display
preparing prints and text for hanging
The opening was at Cailhau with 6 local artists exhibiting oils, watercolours, specialised photographical images, sketches and drawings, and glass sculpture. Cambieure and environs exhibited work from artists of oils, acrylics and gouache, paper art, and of course printing. setting up the hall
other side of hall
At Cambieure there were also activities for children - Wouter made a special drawing of the water pump down by the river (well, creek), to make a simple 3 block print, using Cambieure mud as one of the colours. The children were very focussed on putting pressure on the baren to make the ink transfer from the block to the paper. Even some adults had a go and found it enjoyable.Pamela's first attempt at printing
Alice showing correct placement of paper (registration)
Great pressure and concentration for using the Baren
some adults in the Sunday print workshop
The drinks on Saturday evening proved popular with around 90 people attending - the atmosphere was lively and while socialising, people were looking and admiring the artwork - we saw lots of discussion taking place, which is after all, another aspect of art - encouraging discussion on a picture and how the image was achieved. We met lots of new people and also caught up with others we hadn't seen in a while - very enjoyable. drinks are always popular!
The texts for the prints and the story book to show the preparation process before you get to the printing stage explained that there is a lot of work and effort required for making a print. And it was only while doing this I completely understood what Wouter was talking about when he was telling me about such things as registration marks and working the block. People often don't see or know about the planning, the preparation, the carving, the printing - and how long it all takes to achieve the final result - they only see one image completed on a piece of paper. The experience was also valuable for us to know what participants in future workshops might expect, want to do, and what sort of questions can be asked.
All in all the event was a success with locals being able to enjoy some local artistic talent on display, children being able to express their artistic abilities and try something they may not normally be exposed to, and seeing an unexpected horse trek of around 20 horses and riders passing by. As a last treat while we were packing up, a local arrived with a preliminary sketch by Achille Lauge, so we were able to see the real thing. Pity the image was damaged with a long tear in the paper, but hopefully the owner will have it professionally restored to preserve it.
Wouter's woodblock prints can be seen here (please note the image copyright) and his art work here (also copyrighted).
