Schoolhouse Prints

Preparing for the Lagganstown exhibition

Lagganstown Studio Space - Ian A Mannion

A Gathering in Lagganstown

Lagganstown School Reunion 2013

Former pupils of the schoolhouse are arranging a school gathering on the 2nd & 4th August 2013, to meet old friends and classmates once again. 

To celebrate this event, Art Hive are going to hold a second studio open day. After all if you are going to have a school reunion it seems appropriate to visit the school itself.

Stolen Gate

The front gate to the studio was stolen, sometime between the 20th and the 24th of March we reckon. Though it had a basic design, it was very solid durable structure. Presumably it dates back prior to 1971, when the building was a school. 

Image sourced from google maps

This is most unfortunate. We had planned on letting a neighbour have some goats graze on the grounds round the school. It would have been a more environmentally friendly and economically viable way of trimming the grass. Until a new gate is put in, that's not going to happen. 

We don't have any decent quality photos of it (see above) to send to the Gardai. If anyone reading this has some do please either fax or drop them into the Tipperary station c/o John Bohan.

New members

Kabuki time! (photo of Robin Daly's Lagganstown studio)

Arthive are happy to welcome four new members to our group. Two are taking residencies in the Lagganstown Schoolhouse. They are :-
Emma Hogan, painter and photographer
Robin Daly, painter and sculptor, artvitae.com/robindaly
Tishi O'Malley, ceramist and sculptor, tishi-ceramicsandme.blogspot.ie
Catherine Starling, Arts and Crafts worker, skydrive portfolio

Partitioning the studio

Aisling Egan, Brigid Teehan, Dennis Ryan, Ian Mannion and Violeta Pserackaite all needed studio spaces. In order to delineate them we had partitions built.

View from Aisling Egan's space through to the print press room.

Each partition consists of two large mdf boards reinforced at top and bottom and braced at the corner by timber boards adjoined in T-formation for stability. Though they are heavy two people can move them easily enough should the size of the space need to be adjusted or something large and unwieldy has to be brought in.

Desk and cupboard separating Aisling Egan's and Brigid Teehan's space. 

The old schoolhouse is divided into two large rooms, one with a printing press and other equipment and storage facilities taking up a large amount of floor space, the other largely bare save for a lectern and a table. Dennis and Ian set up space in the print room, while Aisling, Brigid and Violeta took resident in the other. There was some debate over the positions of the partitions but a consensus was soon reached.

In the centre of her space, Brigid Teehan's latest piece of work.

View into Aisling Egan's space

Violeta Pserackaite's space

Lagganstown first studio open day

When Lagganstown held a community gathering to celebrate the restoration of the local handball alley next door to our studio we were invited to take part. We held our first studio open day to coincide with the festivities.

Aisling Egan, Brigid Teehan and Violeta Pserackaite ran workshops for local children. The kids were taught techniques in felting, sewing, clay moulding and got to take home pieces they made such as dreamcatchers.

Violeta's felting workshop

Aisling Egan mentoring local children in sewing

Many older visitors were former pupils of the school, who related to us colourful anecdotes of their experience there. Punitive discipline imposed by the teachers on them for rather slight misdemeanors featured quite often in their reminisces, though these were tempered with plenty of humor, even fondness.

Lagganstown Studio: A Profile

An antique filing cabinet contains an eclectic repository of visual imagery, most of it but not all 2D. 

David Best's work here seems to consist mainly of combined photo-etchings of medieval prints of anatomy, botany and architecture. Some have subsequently been painted on and/or collaged with items such as playing cards glued to them.

A Studio In Lagganstown

Front gate of the schoolhouse left; front exterior right

After a long search through Clonmel town, we went searching further afield. Now courtesy of Maggie Roth we have use of a bona fide artist studio, converted from an old 19th century schoolhouse in Lagganstown, near New Inn, some 20 minutes drive from Clonmel, 10-15 minutes drive from Cashel/Cahir. Two large rooms, originally the boys and girls classrooms, as well as a small kitchen and WC. It's been disused for a while, nigh on fifteen years or so. It took a fair amount of dusting and scrubbing and painting  before we could set up our work-spaces. 

In its previous incarnation it was a printing studio, used primarily by artists David Best and Brian Kennedy. Some of their rough and/or mildewed proofs and rusted plates were found around the equipment left behind. We subsequently discovered Brian had published a book based on the work he did here: “The Lagganstown Prints” a series of colour-field abstractions such as Lagganstown panorama IV.

Side view of print press. Rough proof by David Best, top right.

A huge printing press occupies one end of the studio, accompanied by a large number of slowly drying tins of ink. It must have been maintained in the interim as it appears to be in working order-while the screws to adjust pressure are stiff the bed wheels are well greased and run silently. The bed (1.3 x 2.5 metres approx) is not as wide as the roller (1.5 metres approx) unfortunately, but its still very very big. (Check out the dimensions on Kennedys' Lagganstown panorama IV ). 
The roller can't be extended fully because the wall is in the way but it extends at a comfortable 2 metres plus. 

3/4 view of print press, showing relative widths of bed and roller.

There are also two large glass topped filing cabinets for storing finished prints.

view from door

view from print press through to the adjoining room

Rough proof by David Best (detail)

Unfortunately there is no photo-etching equipment here, you can only speculate whether the plates were done here or some more sophisticated print studio. Similarly there are no baths for etching plates or soaking paper (though for the latter presumably sponging the paper could suffice instead). 

This looks to be a lino/wood cut print on acetate, not sure who to credit this to.

Originally girls classroom, fireplace behind desk

Both classrooms have fireplaces, but the place is more efficiently heated with fixed thermostat radiators that slowly release heat throughout the day.