Saturday, August 1, 2009

Ampersand Duck's new studio

Yesterday the Noodle and I, with another friend, attended the launch of Ms Duck's new studio and her beautiful press. I love the elegance of a proper piece of industrial machinery, and the process that goes into to producing art (durable and ephemeral) from ink and paper and metal. I wish I knew what it smelt like.

The event was, of course, celebratory. The happiness of something new is always fun, and you only had to look at Ampersand Duck to see what the studio meant to her.

I think, for those of us who aren't artists or who don't make things with our hands, we tend to forget the work, the space needed to make things, the hands on doing of making. We get used to seeing the finished thing, and nothing else. Ampersand Duck's studio has space for the process of printing, space for designing, space for reading and thinking. I guess the garden outside is for time away from the desk, away from the work; a mind-freshing place.

I love the beauty that Ampersand Duck produces. It was a Good Thing to see a part of how it happens, and that there is a place just for that, and not for all the other bits of life.

3 comments:

Ampersand Duck said...

Oh, so true! I would live to live in my studio instead of my house, but I think the family would complain :)

Lovely post, thanks.

Zoe said...

Yes, they would!

I'm sad that I didn't get to meet you there - we must get something small-boy friendly organised.

Penthe said...

I couldn't quite see who you were, and I didn't quite like to leap upon strange women asking if they were Zoe or not.

It would be great to have a meet up catch up kind of thing.