"El Gallinero"–An Artists' & Writers' Refuge in Granada

The Chicago Girlz (our affectionate nickname), an extraordinary trio of printmakers made up of Deborah Lader, founder and director of The Chicago Printmakers Collaborative, her mother Carol Lader and Carol’s sister (Deborah’s aunt) Janet Imerman, have set new benchmarks for printmaking zeal in my studio. These remarkable young people stepped off the Chicago-Granada flight (Janet was actually coming straight through from Los Angeles) at midday last Monday, put down their bags in the Gallinero, rested for a whole hour and then proceeded to my studio to begin making prints. And that was the pace they maintained for the rest of the week, till we put them on the bus to Madrid this morning. I never saw such printmaking  joy and fervor. Most nights they were in the studio until past midnight. It was a challenge to keep up with them.

They had never done solar-plate prints before, and were anxious to immerse themselves in the techniques and get a grip on them once and for all. This was particularly true for Deborah, who wanted to determine whether solar plate was something she should be offering in her Chicago Printmakers Collaborative open studio at home. She concluded that it was.

Though the Chicago Girlz only left this morning (with piles of prints under their respective arms), they have left an emptiness in my studio which seems to lack hustle and bustle, good humor, interesting conversation and, well, oodles of creativity.  Here is a photo gallery with some pictures Mike made during their stay: