Prints and Practice
Back in Inverness and back through the doors of Highland Print Studio. This time I had some slightly longer sessions booked, which allowed me time to really focus on developing and proofing some larger prepared acetates. This work sits alongside, but separate from, the artist’s book I am currently developing in collaboration with non-verbal adults.
From the outset, it has been my intention to create this series of larger prints: works that are connected to the wider project in theme and spirit, but not part of the collaborative work that I have been doing.
And the results? Well… good. Solid. Promising. Message to myself – ‘keep going, you’re onto something.’
There’s something about working in an open access print studio that I really love—the quiet, unspoken sharing of knowledge that just happens. I met Emma during one of these sessions – she told me she is rediscovering her printmaking practice, and it was lovely to swap thoughts, tips, and small victories. That gentle sense of community really does feel like part of the process.
I also went along to the 40-year anniversary exhibition at Highland Print Studio, which felt like a proper celebration—not just of printmaking, but of all the people who’ve passed through the doors of this print studio. There was something quite grounding about walking around it, recognising the continuity of practice and place. And slightly surreal (in the best way) to see my own print selfie up on the wall alongside everyone else from the past 40 years—casually becoming part of the archive, no big deal.
Outside of the studio, I’ve been exploring more and becoming more familiar with the landscape and place—it’s slowly shifting from new place to somewhere I recognise and feel part of. And the weather has been… ridiculous. Properly beautiful. Hot days, 21–23 degrees, clear skies—this time away was dangerously close to feeling like a holiday… I’m not complaining!!
Nicola Neate 