Art in the Pen

   So you own a cattle market. Make a good living selling livestock. Then along comes foot and mouth - no livestock to sell. What's the obvious way to make some more money?
   Yeah, that's right. You organise an art fair. The artists can set up shop in the pens, once you've hosed the shit off the floor. Obvious, really.
    And it really works. Art in the Pen at Skipton is a yearly event where painters, printmakers, sculptors et al gather to exhibit and sell their wares, It's not like a craft fair where any old tat goes - there's a vetting process to weed out the dross. So the stuff you see is pretty good.
    I went to pick some brains - primarily those of the linocut contingent (though thanks to one of the other exhibitors I'd already started messing about with acrylics). The artists are sat there, so you can ask what you like, and everyone I spoke to was very helpful and informative. Try doing that at the Tate.
    Ever heard of solar plate etching? Me neither, until today. It uses a light sensitive steel backed polymer and sunlight instead of acid to mark the plate. Lisa Moore showed me how she does it. Louise Jannetta explained her paper, thread  and paint constructions. Rosie Scott Massie demonstrated her map - based papercuts. And Debbie Williams and Kerry Tremlett gave me linocut tips. That's a lot of info for two quid.