I'm an
Intaglio Printmaker working from home using a small
desktop press. I'm expecting a baby at the beginning
of October 1997 and anticipate my out put to decrease
over the next couple of years. I have given up using
the toxic chemicals associated with the etching
process and have returned to the medium of Drypoint.
I also intend to use this opportunity to explore the
possibilities of collagraphs and cardboard etchings.
This will be my strategy while our child is small.
The Unborn One has also had an
effect on my content. Gone are the fruity angels and
miniature masturbators, overt genitalia and the
implication of darker desires. Though I have no
intention of losing the Nude, or the Y-fronts and
bums.
I've
found myself indulging a passion for dogs and cats,
and winged domestic objects such as baths, sinks,
vacuum cleaners, and rubber chickens. In my defence
the dogs and cats are sometimes three-legged, but
even they are kind of cute - it's all very
disturbing.
In the past I’ve exhibited
regularly in group and solo Shows but it is
inevitable that this activity will decrease. However,
I intend to use this to my advantage by taking a more
considered approach to the content and quality of
future shows. I’ve always had the problem of
working closely to deadlines and been force to hang
the occasional image which has compromised the impact
of Exhibitions. Therefore, when I
do begin to exhibit again I hope to have a completely
new and much larger body of work. Maybe the
limitations of time in bringing up a child will
impose some much needed discipline in my methods.
Nevertheless, the baby is more important than making
works of art and will come first in the order of
things. Therefore, this priority will determine where
and when I make prints, what processes and chemicals
I use and how often I update the galleries. But then,
I’m ready for this change and will adapt.
The
baby is not the only adjustment; being hooked up to
the Internet and the possible applications for the
"homebound" artist are slowly dawning on me
- Printworks is an obvious example. My husband is
currently designing a web site, which will enable me
to keep recent work in front of a yet unidentified
audience. This technology certainly makes me feel
that I have a part to play in the world. I’ll be
less isolated because of it.
This year I’ll confine myself
to just a few shows; the excellent Designer/Maker
Show at MAC in Birmingham, and a Christmas fair at
the Watershed in Bristol. I find it very satisfying
to have direct contact with the art buying public
although the content of my pictures sometimes offend
the over sensitive. But as they say ‘beauty is
in the eye of the beholder’.
Louise Gabriel is based in the UK
and you can see more of her work at the Lamont
Gallery, 65 Roman Rd, London E2 and also Agata , No
5, 7 - 9 Union St , Stratford upon Avon .
The information
resource for printmakers 
I'm an
Intaglio Printmaker working from home using a small
desktop press. I'm expecting a baby at the beginning
of October 1997 and anticipate my out put to decrease
over the next couple of years. I have given up using
the toxic chemicals associated with the etching
process and have returned to the medium of Drypoint.
I also intend to use this opportunity to explore the
possibilities of collagraphs and cardboard etchings.
This will be my strategy while our child is small.
I've
found myself indulging a passion for dogs and cats,
and winged domestic objects such as baths, sinks,
vacuum cleaners, and rubber chickens. In my defence
the dogs and cats are sometimes three-legged, but
even they are kind of cute - it's all very
disturbing.
Therefore, when I
do begin to exhibit again I hope to have a completely
new and much larger body of work. Maybe the
limitations of time in bringing up a child will
impose some much needed discipline in my methods.
Nevertheless, the baby is more important than making
works of art and will come first in the order of
things. Therefore, this priority will determine where
and when I make prints, what processes and chemicals
I use and how often I update the galleries. But then,
I’m ready for this change and will adapt. 
The
baby is not the only adjustment; being hooked up to
the Internet and the possible applications for the
"homebound" artist are slowly dawning on me
- Printworks is an obvious example. My husband is
currently designing a web site, which will enable me
to keep recent work in front of a yet unidentified
audience. This technology certainly makes me feel
that I have a part to play in the world. I’ll be
less isolated because of it.