Category Archives: Euskal Herria

Claire’s Collograph Workshop

Claire has extensive experience with presses and traditional printmaking processes, so she offered a Collograph workshop during our time in Tolosa. Collography is the low-tech cousin of etching, with cardboard or matte board plates, leaves, feathers, string, sand and other materials that create printable textures. Typically we ink the plates with a roller, then rub off the excess ink with a rag so that we can print the ink remaining in cracks, hollows and scratches in the plates. Usually a thin residue of ink will persist on the flat areas of the plate, which results in a thin unifying grey throughout the print.

Garikoitz made arrangements to do the workshop in the ceramics studio upstairs in Tolosa’s Casa de Cultura – Kultur Etxea (Culture House) where a small press was available, and designed another beautiful, bilingual poster:

pantallas-solClaire only had one participant, Gurutze, an aspiring landscape and garden designer, but I assisted and the three of us did a lot of printing and had many good laughs.

Gurutza-Claire183659

Claire & Gurutze preparing plates.

Gurutza-Claire190931

Gurutze & Claire laughing & working on their plates.

PlatosBIBDC3~1

A few plates and test prints.

Platos3038

PruebasBICDC7~1

Prensa3056

Placing an inked plate on paper in the press with blankets.

Bill-Gurutza-Claire3074

International collography team; Garikoitz C. Murua Fierro photo.

Here are some short video clips from the workshop:

Gurutze printing #1 – onto paper.
Gurutze printing #2 – onto fabric.
Gurutze printing #3 – with leaves.
Claire inking plates.

A Sunlight Photostencil workshop

In addition to our exhibition at GKo Gallery, Claire and I offered to present two low-tech printmaking workshops while we were in Tolosa. Since I shoot almost all of my silkscreen photostencils in sunlight in Wells (sometimes overcast, often with snow around!) instead of using an expensive, electric-powered exposure unit, it made sense to share what I’ve learned about this process over the years. The best place to do this was at the studios at BoxA Arte Elkarte where Garikoitz and others do screen printing and mural project preparations, as well as other activities. He put together this nice poster in Euskara and Castellano for the workshop:

pantallas-solBoxA is about a 15 minute walk from GKo and located in an old warehouse. It’s operated by a collective – the Association of Young Creators of Tolosa – and has a performance space and bar on the ground floor, as well as a patio and an area that the collective has gradually been developing as a garden. There are always people working in and around the building, and lots of workshops, events and jam sessions; energy radiates from within and without.

Xabier-mural191749

Collective member Xabier Xtrm & assistant working on a mural near BoxA.

Earlier I had attended an excellent workshop at BoxA on photo transfers that Joseba Mercader, a local photographer and collective member led, and met more artists who became good friends during our stay in Tolosa.

joseba-claire1

Joseba & Claire with one of his whales made from driftwood.

IMG_20150411_173944

Adhering colour laser images to boards, then soaking & rubbing away the paper backing.

I wasn’t familiar with the extremely sensitive photoemulsion they used for screen printing at BoxA, and the sun was much more intense than in Wells at this time of year, so our first test screen was completely overexposed! Oops.

The second attempt worked well enough and from then on, everyone succeeded in making a stencil they could print. What a fine crew of people! I’m grateful to Garikoitz for having organized this, to BoxA for hosting, Claire for assisting, and of course to Izaskun, Jorge and Nader for their participation.

BOXA-exposure2

Our first exposure test in the courtyard below; Garikoitz C. Murua Fierro photo.

BoxA-exposure-chart2996

My 5-in-1 exposure calculator with a chart I developed for tracking exposures according to date, time of day, season, weather and results.

Nader-printing2988

Bill & Nader discuss how to print his design on a canvas bag and align a second print to the first; Garikoitz C. Murua Fierro photo.

Izaskun_2995

Izaskun inspects her prints on canvas bags and on paper; Garikoitz C. Murua Fierro photo.

drying-rack2992

Jorge’s bag design drying; Garikoitz C. Murua Fierro photo.

rubylith165616

pI demonstrated the use of cutting rubylith for making film positives; these are the days of the week in Euskara, with a new variation on GKo Gallery’s logo.

BoxA-sunlight-crew_3002

Claire & I with Izaskun, Nader & Jorge in the BoxA studio; Garikoitz C. Murua Fierro photo.

 

Hanging our exhibition

A few weeks before leaving Canada, I emailed Juantxo Garmendia, a metal fabricator and sculptor I had met through master papermaker, Juan Barbé in the fall of 2013. I had seen some of Juantxo’s work first hand, and also knew that he had built a remarkable “Naginata fabrication” fibre shredding machine for Juan. We wouldn’t have room in our luggage for the two metal rings we originally wanted to use to hang Claire’s work, so I sent Juantxo technical drawings and asked him if he could make them, and if so, how much would they cost. He said sure, easy, but he wouldn’t charge for this! So I decided I would return the favour by designing and printing some shirts for him, using copper ink as the base.

Shirt design based on one of Juantxo's pieces.

Shirt design based on one of Juantxo’s pieces.

I had assumed that we would pick up the rings at his shop or rendezvous in Zizurkil or Billabona, then train back to Tolosa. However, when we rolled our two suitcases of art to GKo Gallery on April 8, the rings were already there; Juantxo had driven to Tolosa to drop them off for us ahead of our arrival! How very kind.

Closeup of Juantxo's wizardry.

Closeup of Juantxo’s wizardry.

Juantxo's metal rings that awaited us at GKo.

Juantxo’s metal rings that awaited us at GKo.

 

 

 

After getting settled in our room at Garikoitz and Kizkitza’s a few blocks away, we unpacked and laid out our pieces around the room according to the miniature maquette we had made back at home; Garikoitz had sent us very accurate wall and ceiling measurements, so there were no surprises; everything fit!

 

 

 

Claire unpacking.

Claire unpacking.

Unpacked and unrolled; ready to arrange and hang.

Unpacked and unrolled; ready to arrange and hang.

Claire ready to attach the central fabric column of her piece "Grove" to Juantxo's metal rings.

Claire ready to attach the central fabric column of her piece “Grove” to Juantxo’s metal rings.

Bill & Claire preparing to hang the central fabric column of her piece "Grove". Garikoitz Murua Fierro photo.

Bill & Claire preparing to hang the central fabric column of her piece “Grove”. Garikoitz Murua Fierro photo.

Bill & Claire hanging the central fabric column of her piece "Grove". Garikoitz Murua Fierro photo.

Bill & Claire hanging the central fabric column. Garikoitz Murua Fierro photo.

Hanging canvas pieces. Garikoitz Murua Fierro photo.

Hanging canvas pieces. Garikoitz Murua Fierro photo.

We first hung Claire’s green fabric column with her torn, stained canvas trees encircling it. Then we anchored her larger pieces and my larger prints before devising an arrangement for my miniature prints in between.

Hanging system.

Hanging system.

Hanging system: closeup of sliding metal hardware.

Hanging system: closeup of sliding metal hardware.

Garikoitz had milled up a few wooden cleats for some of Claire’s paintings that “float” off the wall; we cut a few more wooden bars at the BoxA Arte Elkarte studio. Other pieces could hang from the gallery’s heavy duty nylon with adjustable stainless hooks – nice system!

 

 

Installation view.

Installation view.

Installation view. Garikoitz Murua Fierro photo.

Silkscreened beetle galleries & bark textures by Bill Horne.

Silkscreened beetle galleries & bark textures by Bill Horne.

Silkscreened beetle galleries by Bill Horne.

Silkscreened beetle galleries by Bill Horne.

Claire’s “Forest Carpet #3” (mixed media on canvas) near gallery door to Kale Nagusia.

Display of mountain pine beetle “galleries” in bark, with three of Bill’s beetle silkscreens.

Claire Kujundzic's "Opening"; mixed media on canvas

Claire Kujundzic’s “Opening”; mixed media on canvas

Claire's "Forest Carpet #5" with two trees (mixed media on canvas).

Claire’s “Forest Carpet #5” with two trees (mixed media on canvas).

Claire's "Forest Carpet #4", "Deferred Area" and "Understory #7" (all mixed media on canvas).

Claire’s “Forest Carpet #4”, “Deferred Area” and “Understory #7” (all mixed media on canvas).

It took all of Thursday and most of Friday to hang everything, and we were very pleased in the end with how everything looked. Garikoitz was incredibly patient and calm throughout! He and Kizkitza generously provided refreshments and lots of local people showed up for the opening. It was great to reconnect with Juantxo and a pleasure to meet his wife, Eli, and their daughters, Araia & Laiene, as well as Garikoitz and Kizkitza’s mothers! Plus Alex, Joseba & Xabi from BoxA Elkarte, Sonia from the Casa de Cultura, Brian Cullen from the Tolosa visitor centre, and Ura.

Conversations at the opening. Garikoitz Murua Fierro photo.

Conversations at the opening. Garikoitz Murua Fierro photo.

Garikoitz organized several interviews which resulted in two articles in Castellano (Noticias de Gipuzkoaand Diario Vasco) and one in Euskara. We really appreciated the interest and attention to detail of all the journalists who wrote about our exhibition.

Arrival in Tolosa

From Deba we took one, then another Euskotren east and transferred to the north-south RENFE line in Donostia. The Euskotren platforms are almost all level with the trains; easy to haul our suitcases on and off. Not so with RENFE Cercanías, whose cars have steep steps to climb up and down. But it was a beautiful day to travel by train.

RENFE train map: Donostia to Tolosa.

RENFE train map: Donostia to Tolosa.

We texted Garikoitz Murua of GKo Gallery when we caught the RENFE southbound so he could meet us on arrival in Tolosa and help us take our suitcases to the gallery. As a surprise, we put on our red and black plaid wool toques with brown beards (we got them from CANFOR’s warming hut at the Canada Winter Games in Prince George) as we disembarked the train. He laughed and took a few photos of us as we left the platform.

Claire adjusts Bill's wool "beard" on arrival in Tolosa; Garikoitz Murua photo.

Claire adjusts Bill’s wool “beard” on arrival in Tolosa; Garikoitz Murua photo.

Crazy Canadians. Garikoitz Murua photo.

Look out: crazy Canadians heading this way. Garikoitz Murua photo.

Bill & Claire exit train platform; Garikoitz Murua photo.

Bill & Claire exit train platform; Garikoitz Murua photo.

GKo Gallery is only a few blocks away from the train station, so we took everything there, dropped off our art, then rolled our personal belongings back a few blocks to Garikoitz and Kizkitza’s apartment. We’d then return to GKo to start unpacking the art and doing some preliminary arrangements to start the process of hanging everything.

Arrival.

Our destination.

Garikoitz and Kizkitza have a beautiful place on the fourth floor, overlooking the central commercial district which is designated pedestrian-only from the next block over to the Oria River. It was extremely generous of them to accommodate us, and we felt very fortunate to have our own room right in the centre of town, just ten minutes’ walk from the gallery, the market, the Casa de Cultura; five minutes from the TOPIC puppet museum; fifteen minutes from Box.A Arte Elkarte studios. Wonderful.

View from Garikoitz and Kizkitza's.

View from Garikoitz and Kizkitza’s.

Just up the street is a classic millinery store that has been in business for several generations. Drawers and shelves and boxes of buttons, threads, needles, pins … we would be there soon to buy some special pins for mounting matted prints on the gallery walls!

Ayerza Mertzeria millinery story.

In the Ayerza Mertzeria millinery story.

Central Tolosa is full of every kind of shop, all independent – we never saw any chains. Each block seems to have several bars, a bakery, shoe store, jeweler, deli, maybe a fish store, toys. It would take weeks to visit them all. There are several plazas with bars and shops facing onto them, and people of all ages wandering about.

Map of Tolosa courtesy of Tolosatours.

Map of Tolosa courtesy of Tolosaldea Tour.

The Garia Bakery is half a block from GKo Gallery. Operated by Raúl and Amaia, they make a variety of delicious levain breads (traditional sourdough), including whole grains and some pastries. They were always welcoming and generous, especially having learned that I had worked at Uprising Breads Bakery in East Vancouver – originally modeled on the Basque Mondragon cooperatives – for 11 years. What a pleasure!

Unloading the oven at Garia.

Bill behind the till with Amaia.

Bill behind the till with Amaia.

Claire with one of Raúl's tasty treats.

Claire with one of Raúl’s tasty treats.

Decompression in Deba

Our Air France flight landed in Paris on Easter Monday morning. After being thoroughly frisked when my Mountain Equipment Co-op backpack tested positive in Charles de Gaulle airport’s security, we shuttled our way to another terminal for our afternoon connecting flight to Bilbao. The small number of banana-shaped couches were occupied, so we tried sleeping on the floor, but general noise, cell phones and announcements made that difficult.

It was a relief to land in Bilbao, bus downtown and check into the family-run San Mamés Guesthouse. Ekaitz helped us haul our suitcases up a couple of short flights of stairs to reception where we were able to leave the larger items containing our exhibition pieces, and took our lighter luggage up the elevator to our room.

Next morning, we took the tram to the Euskotren station and took a train east to Deba.

The main Euskotren route (does not show the Gernika/Bermeo spur line).

The main Euskotren route (does not show the Gernika/Bermeo spur line).

Deba.

Deba.

The Zumardi Pentsioa is only a few blocks from the train station and just a few stairs from the street to reception. Deba is a lovely, quiet town on the coast with a sandy beach and a pedestrian zone in the old downtown. After such a long time in transit and a nine-hour time difference, we were keen to walk, rest and recuperate. There were plenty of places to shop for picnic items, as well as many bars with tantalizing pintxos.

Organic bakery, Deba.

Organic bakery, Deba.

Claire in front of a palette mural in Deba; “erakusketa” is Euskara for exhibition.

The display of hand made slippers in one store window caught our eyes, and there we met Mikel. He has been making shoes for over 31 years and produces much of the traditional Basque footwear used in festivals and folkloric events throughout the region. He kindly gave us a tour of his workshop which was filled with rolls of various kinds of leather, templates, tools and shoes of all sizes. He also makes beautiful stamped leather boxes.

Claire with Mikel in his shop.

Claire with Mikel in his shop.

We chatted about what it’s like to work as an artisan or artist, the risks of repetitive strain injuries, and making a living in a globalized economy. It was the first of many encounters with people who generously welcomed us into their lives.

Traditional footwear in Mikel's shop.

Stacks & shelves of traditional footwear in Mikel’s shop.

Templates for various kinds of shoes and sizes in Mikel's shop.

Templates for various kinds of shoes and sizes in Mikel’s shop.

Preparing for an exhibition in Basque Country

Last fall Claire Kujundzic and I received an invitation from GKo Gallery in Tolosa in Basque Country to exhibit our work in April. I had been wanting to return to Tolosa and the surrounding area where I had been in October, 2013 while apprenticing in paper making with Juan Barbé at his Eskulan studio in Zizurkil (see blog posts from that period). While there, I had met Garikoitz at GKo, thanks to a tip from Brian Cullen at the visitor centre. After discussing the invitation for about one minute, we decided to go, even if we weren’t successful accessing some travel assistance from the BC Arts Council or the Canada Council.

In January I started making inquiries about the best way to deal with bringing our art through Spanish customs and back to Canada. Melissa Gruber at CARFAC National kindly wrote the Canadian Trade Commissioner in Spain to ask about proper documentation, taxes, etc. Susan Madsen, Richard Tetrault and Gregg Simpson shared their art travel experiences, which was helpful. In the end, following the advice of a customs broker in Bilbao, we paid the Canadian Chamber of Commerce $315 + a deposit of 40% of the retail value of our work in order to have an ATA-Carnet document. Supposedly this is the simplest way to deal with temporary imports.

Preparing our artist’s talks took a couple of days. I saved some time by editing previous versions, but it still took a long time going back and forth between QuarkXPress, Illustrator and Acrobat to finalize our PDFs 😉

image

Claire took charge of packing our artwork. Except for two larger prints, I was showing small and miniature silkscreens, all matted with archival backings and ready to pin to the gallery walls. Claire’s canvas paintings and “trees” could roll up, and everything fit in our suitcases. We didn’t have to carry any wooden cleats for her paintings, as Garikoitz had offered to cut them at Box.A Arte Elkarte’s workshop. And we didn’t have to squeeze any metal rings into our luggage, because Juantxo Garmendia’s website was very kindly making two custom rings for us, complete with little hanger loops, at his workshop in Atseasu. He is an artist-wizard with steel and iron!

image

 

image

image

A week before leaving Wells, where we had had the mildest winter in 20 years and the least amount of snow anyone could remember, we changed our tires back to summer treads from winter. Naturally, a few centimetres were waiting for us when we left home at 6 am, and a bit more on the plateau south of 100 Mile House!

image

We reached Vancouver in time for a short, but lovely visit with Alan Zisman and Linda Read, who generously loaned us Kate’s old (new to us) smartphone, plus a nifty charging expansion cable. Then Susan Madsen and Stephen Mitchell generously hosted us overnight with a delicious supper and breakfast, then driving us to the airport. We are so fortunate to have such fine friends!

After visiting customs with our ATA-Carnet, we boarded Air France Vancouver-Paris-Bilbao.

TOPIC Puppet Museum, a Last Walkabout, & Printing at El Hacedor

It’s worth visiting Tolosa just to visit the TOPIC puppet museum which houses an amazing collection from around the world, but plan on spending at least half a day in there. An animated puppet will greet you in one of several languages as you enter a labyrinth of displays, projections and exhibitions.

The mascot puppet at TOPIC.

The mascot puppet at TOPIC beckons visitors into the museum & explains what awaits us inside.

One of my favourites sections is a long corridor of shadow puppets; the 1955 film by Jean Painleve of the US sculptor Alexander Calder performing his “Circus” is enchanting, too. The poster collection is outstanding.

Part of the shadow puppet corridor.

Part of the shadow puppet corridor.

Puppet wearing a Basque txapuela at TOPIC.

Puppet wearing a Basque txapuela at TOPIC.

Low tech puppets at TOPIC.

Low tech puppets at TOPIC.

The temporary exhibition I saw displayed work by Enkarni Genua & Manolo Gomez of Txotxongillo Taldea who have worked in puppetry and theatre since 1971. TOPIC also organizes occasional workshops and has an online archive of posters, festivals, books, etc.

Another inspiring display at TOPIC puppet museum.

Another inspiring display at TOPIC puppet museum.

My papermaking apprenticeship had ended, and I planned to take the RENFE and Euskotren trains back to Donostia and Bilbao, then a bus to Oña where Dorien Jongsma from El Hacedor could meet me. There were no buses running to Oña that Saturday, though, because it was Columbus Day (!), so I had to wait another day to make this trip. This meant I’d have less time at El Hacedor, but the bonus was a last chance to walk around Tolosa, Hernialde, Anoeta and Billabona with a camera.

Billabona plaza, near Paperlan fibre/paper warehouse.

Billabona plaza, near Paperlan fibre/paper warehouse, public library & police station.

A view from Hernialde above the north end of Tolosa; black bean field in the foreground.

A view from Hernialde towards Mt Uzturre above the north end of Tolosa; black bean field in the foreground.

Freshly harvested black beans drying in a driveway; Hernialde.

Freshly harvested black beans drying in a driveway; Hernialde.

Alubias con chorizo - a traditional Tolosa black bean dish.

Alubias con chorizo – a traditional Tolosa black bean dish.

Plus I received a supper invitation at Boxa Arte Elkarte studios with Garikoitz and Xabi!

The amazing Xabi & Garikoitz in the kitchen at Boxa Arte Elkarte studios.

The amazing Xabi & Garikoitz in the kitchen at Boxa Arte Elkarte studios.

They thought I was a bit crazy taking trains instead of buses, which are faster, but coming from a country where successive governments have hollowed out or privatized train travel, I enjoy them. And then the little bus on a windy highway makes for a pleasant contrast.

The Bilbao-Poza de la Sal bus waiting at Termibus, Bilbao.

The Bilbao-Poza de la Sal bus waiting at Termibus, Bilbao.

I was sad to leave Zuloaga Txiki, though, where Carmen, Iñaki and José had made me feel so much at home.

Carmen outside the hostel.

Carmen outside the hostel.

José & Iñaki joking around in the kitchen at Zuloaga Txiki.

José & Iñaki joking around in the kitchen at Zuloaga Txiki.

There’s always something to work on at El Hacedor – Imágenes y Palabras in La Aldea del Portillo de Busto, and watching Dorien install a new set of windows in her house was inspiring. I’ll never complain about renovating with old Douglas Fir again: it may be hard to hammer nails into without pre-drilling, but it’s not stone!

Dorien hard at work on her new windows.

Dorien hard at work on her new windows.

I had brought a silkscreen from Wells with two different sized photostencils of the El Hacedor logo, but what should we print?

ImágenesyPalabras

After considering various possibilities, we settled on printing the logo at both ends of fabric “scarves” that could be used for a number of activities. Since Dorien has a couple of burros that live in a lovely corral just down the road, we could easily envision a kind of Dadaist chorus of the Burros of Burgos!

Preparing scarf fabrics to print.

Preparing scarf fabrics to print.

Printing scarves on the t-shirt press.

Printing scarves on the t-shirt press.

Heat setting two scarves at once.

Heat setting two scarves at once while printing the next ones.

Scarves drying on lines.

Scarves drying on lines.

One of the finished piles of scarves.

One of the finished piles of scarves.

It took half a day to sort and cut material, then much of another day to set up and print the scarves. The nylon ones were very tricky to print, because of static cling; my favourite fabric/colour combination was the natural cotton with dark green ink. I look forward to seeing them fluttering in the wind some day, whether from people, animals or trees 😉

My pending return flight to Canada had a departure time of 0655 hours, so I needed to be in Bilbao the night before. There are very few transit options from Oña, let alone from La Aldea, and Emilio kindly arranged for a rideshare for me via BlablaCar.

Dorien & Emilio in the hills above Pancorbo.

Dorien & Emilio in the hills above Pancorbo.

After a quick detour to Miranda de Ebro (sadly, not enough time to visit my friends Eduardo Alvarado & Cristina Montoya & their family) to check on the new windows, Dorien and Emilio dropped me off in Pancorbo where I loaded my gear into the car of a national police officer (I figured this ought to be a safe ride!), who kindly dropped me at a Bilbao metro station and only asked for four Euros towards gas. Another generous person in this country that’s experiencing such acute economic challenges.

I didn’t have nearly enough time to spend with Dorien, Emilio and Edo, but they were wonderful hosts as always and I was very grateful for their warm welcome and hospitality.

At the end of nearly a month of learning, discovery and new friendships, it was time to go home. Gracias a tod@s – eskerrik asko – agur!

Morning light, La Aldea del Portillo de Busto.

Morning light, La Aldea del Portillo de Busto.

Zumarraga-Antzuola-Zestoa and Ahora! Kmk13 Tolosa

On one of my free weekends, I visited friends in Antzuola and Zestoa. There are lots of trains every day between Tolosa and Zumarraga, and from there it’s not far by bus to these beautiful towns. The valleys are narrow and the roads are extremely windy! My friends were incredibly generous and hospitable and it was hard to leave.

Tolosa, Zumarraga, Antzuola & Zestoa.

Tolosa, Zumárraga, Antzuola & Zestoa.

Antzuola.

Antzuola.

Antzuola and Aiherra are sister cities.

Antzuola and Aiherra are sister cities.

The beautifully restored Olaran House in Antzuola houses various municipal offices.

The beautifully restored Olaran House in Antzuola houses various municipal offices.

My friend in Zestoa suggested I might want to visit the neolithic caves a half hour walk from town, and I took her advice. While not as large a site as Altamira, the Ekain Berri cave paintings are very evocative. Like Altamira, it’s a replica site; the actual caves are a little farther up the road. This museum has an exhibition space which was showing contemporary art inspired by cave paintings. I’m really glad I went.

The road to the Ekain Berri caves.

The road to the Ekain Berri caves near Zestoa.

A lovely fall day for a walk to the Ekain Berri caves.

A lovely fall day for a walk to the Ekain Berri caves.

Iñaki Extebeste and Amaia Pavon had told me about a festival taking place in Tolosa on this particular weekend, so when I caught the train back from Zumarraga, I phoned to arrange a time and place to meet. Unfortunately, they were both sick, but I remembered Garikoitz had invited me to help out with a youth mural project at the same festival, so I planned to look for him at the underpass they were going to paint.

I hadn’t realized the scale of the festival, though. When I got off the train in Tolosa, the streets were filled with tens of thousands of people and the auxiliary train station, Tolosa Centro, was shut down for the day. I hadn’t arrived in time to catch the scything competition, wall climbing, paddling or many, many other contests, but large throngs of young people marched through the streets singing together while bands played and vendors hawked food, drinks, crafts, and prisoners’ rights.

When I found Garikoitz and his friends, they had finished their mural and were staffing a Gko Gallery table. Sales had been slow, so I offered to help pack it up after dropping my things off at the hostel. By the time I got back, though, they were already done and were heading to the musical finale. “Come on, Bill! If we get separated, look for the big cardboard hand,” they shouted, waving a cutout arm.

As we picked our way through the crowds – mainly teens and young adults – I learned that “Ahora! Kilometroak 2013 Tolosa” raises money for Basque language instruction in schools. Just as I was trying to absorb this fact and the incredible excitement in the air, Gatibu’s music began to blast us in the warm light of sundown.

Part of the crowd at the KMK13 finale. Photo courtesy of KILOMETROAK 2013 - TOLOSA.

Part of the crowd at the KMK13 finale. Photo courtesy of KILOMETROAK 2013 – TOLOSA.

I found myself in the middle of a giant mosh pit, with thousands of young people singing along with the band, chanting, waving Basque flags and Repatriate the Prisoners flags. Wow. I couldn’t imagine a similar event taking place in Canada – maybe Québec – but this was incredible.

I think this is Gatibu's Gaizka Salazar. I'm somewhere in the crowd between his guitar & the tents. Photo courtesy of KILOMETROAK 2013 - TOLOSA.

I think this is Gatibu’s Gaizka Salazar. We are somewhere in the crowd between the top of his guitar neck & the tents. Photo courtesy of KILOMETROAK 2013 – TOLOSA.

Gatibu's lead singer Alex Sardui gyrates on stage. Photo courtesty of KILOMETROAK 2013 - TOLOSA.

Gatibu’s lead singer Alex Sardui gyrates on stage. Photo courtesty of KILOMETROAK 2013 – TOLOSA.

Gatibu is based in Gernika-Lumo and their name means “captive”. I was able to sing along on the chorus of their song “Gabak Zerueri Begire” as the lead singer danced about on stage, at times with a three-year-old girl on his shoulders. It was a lot of fun.

You can find Gatibu on Facebook, and if you like them, you might also like Su Ta Gar.
There are many festival photos here.

When the concert ended, we started heading towards the old town centre that’s filled with bars and cafés, and I fell into a conversation with a French Basque woman who had been to James Bay, Québec last year with her husband. I asked where in James Bay they had stayed, if it was anywhere near … Moose Factory? Then, just as I started to ask if she had read any of Joseph Boyden’s books, at the very same moment we both spoke aloud the titles “Through Black Spruce” and “Three Day Road.”  The hair stood up on our arms at the surprise of the coincidence and we laughed our way into Tolosa’s night scene…

Boxa Arte Elkarte studios and GKo Gallery

One day after my shift at Eskulan I stopped in the old medieval centre of Tolosa on my way back to Zuloaga Txiki to pick up my repaired shoes and buy some cheese. I had been practicing a Basque phrase for about half an hour (gazta pixka bat mesedez = literally, cheese + a little bit + one + please) and mentally prepared myself to blurt it out. I was rewarded with a tasty wedge of semi-cured sheep cheese from the Idizabal region south.

Looking into the GKo Gallery window.

Looking into the GKo Gallery window.

Part of GKo Gallery.

Part of GKo Gallery.

As I walked out of the deli, I saw that the GKo Gallery, which Brian at the Tolosa Tourism office had told me about, was open. GKo is a unique enterprise that sells work for some Chilean artists who in turn sell art by Basque artists. It’s name is a clever Basque play on words.

Garikoitz Cuitlahuac Murua Fierro greeted me with a big smile and we fell into a long and interesting conversation about earning a living as artists, as well as copyright, culture and food (a typical mix of topics for many artists!)

Garikoitz Cuitlahuac Murua Fierro of GKo Gallery & Boxa Arte Elkarte studios.

Garikoitz Cuitlahuac Murua Fierro of GKo Gallery & Boxa Arte Elkarte studios.

His mother is Mexican, hence his Aztec middle name, so I found his Spanish much easier to understand than some of the Castellano I had been struggling with (I had first learned Spanish in Nicaragua). I was excited to learn that he works in silkscreen as well as murals. It’s always a pleasure to chat with one’s peers about a common craft, and we compared notes about various low-tech exposure methods.

I had brought a silkscreen for Juan Barbé and had been wanting to find a way we could test out a sunlight photostencil exposure of his logo so we could do some printing on hand made papers. But for this I need photoemulsion.

A lovely hand silkscreened poster produced by GKo Gallery at Boxa Arte Elkarte studios.

A lovely hand silkscreened poster produced by GKo Gallery at Boxa Arte Elkarte studios.

I asked where I could buy some and he gave me a name and phone number for someone in Usúrbil, which is west of Donostia. Two other people had mentioned this contact before, including a T-shirt printer I had met in Deba at the beginning of my trip. I had stayed in Usúrbil for two days last year and liked it. Maybe I should take a little train detour back up there…

Just as I was pondering the logistics of this, Garikoitz said if I only needed a little emulsion, he could get me some from the co-op studio he was part of. We arranged to rendezvous the next morning at the “cigarillo” pastry café by the music school and Tolosa Centro train station downtown – a short bike ride from the Zuloaga Txiki hostel where I was staying.

He showed up on his bici and I followed him through downtown into an old industrial district where the Boinas Elósegui beret factory used to be. Eventually we arrived at the Boxa Arte Elkarte studios in an old warehouse. The town provides this space to a group of local artists in exchange for their participation in community projects and contributions to the culture of Tolosa.

T-shirt screen printing press at Boxa Arte Elkarte studios in Tolosa.

T-shirt screen printing press at Boxa Arte Elkarte studios in Tolosa.

There’s a large shared studio space, a workshop, and a silkscreen printing studio, complete with a darkroom, exposure unit, washout room and a four colour T-shirt press. There are washrooms, showers, and downstairs, a kitchen and lounge that makes it possible for visiting artists to stay while working on a project. Very cool.

The kitchen-lounge at Boxa Arte Elkarte studios.

The kitchen-lounge at Boxa Arte Elkarte studios.

Garikoitz poured some Murakami emulsion – my favourite brand! – into a jar and taped it  up for me to prevent spills. I contributed some Euros to the studio cash box and cycled back up the road to Eskulan to show Juan my exciting find…

P.S. At the end of November, 2013, GKo Gallery won a Gipuzkoa business & tourism prize in recognition of their innovative work since 2008 – zorionak! ¡Felicidades! Congratulations!

Director de Desarrollo Territorial de la Diputación Foral de Gipuzkoa, Pedro Iturbe, Director de Comercio del Gobierno Vasco, Jon Zarate, Aritz E. Murua, Kizkitza Lasa, Garikoitz C. Murua, Presidente de Cámara de Gipuzkoa, Pedro Esnaola.

Director de Desarrollo Territorial de la Diputación Foral de Gipuzkoa, Pedro Iturbe, Director de Comercio del Gobierno Vasco, Jon Zarate, Aritz E. Murua, Kizkitza Lasa, Garikoitz C. Murua, Presidente de Cámara de Gipuzkoa, Pedro Esnaola.

Paella and Artists’ Books

At the end of my last day at Eskulan, Juan and I walked back to the flat in Billabona where he and his wife, Carmen Sevilla live. While Juan busied himself in the kitchen, Carmen, a printmaker and book designer, showed me around their place and the many pieces of art they have collected over the years. Some were her monoprints; all were pieces beautiful in their own right.

I had accompanied Juan earlier on his shopping expeditions, going from store to store to get all the necessary items. And I knew that an artisan like him who enjoys fishing, cycling, and patiently scraping bark would probably be an excellent chef. But the paella he served was absolutely outstanding – wow! What a wonderful gift to partake of, followed by a delicious fruit salad that Carmen prepared.

Cocinero-papelero orgulloso ;-)

El cocinero-papelero orgulloso ¡salud! topa 😉

After this fine lunch, they brought out their collection of artists’ books. I knew that Juan sometimes leads artists’ book workshops, as well as papermaking workshops, so I was interested to see some examples. Several were one-of-a-kind books Carmen had made using letterpress on exquisite hand made papers or her own pulp painting. They were stitched in innovative and traditional ways.

Juan had been telling me how ingenious Carmen is with book design and bindery, and he was right. One of her pulp painting books evokes the coastline and crashing surf of Asturias where she is from; another conjures up forests. Anyone who has ever attempted pulp painting knows how much labour, skill and serendipity go into this process. She generously gave me a copy of a catalogue of her pastels published by the Caja de Asurias in 1997. Sparse, gorgeous work.

Innovative stitching and folding show in this example of Carmen's artist's books.

Innovative stitching and folding show in this example of Carmen’s artist’s books.

Carmen's forest book made entirely with pulp paintings.

Carmen’s forest book made entirely of pulp paintings.

Another page in Carmen's forest book.

Another page in Carmen’s forest book.

Closeup of a page in Carmen's pulp painting forest book; note her "chop" at the corner.

Closeup of a page in Carmen’s pulp painting forest book; note her “chop” at the corner.

Semblanza de Gijón was one of Juan’s first commissions as a professional papermaker. It’s a boxed edition of 75 books printed with letterpress and etchings by Pelayo Ortega on his hand made paper. Traditional Spanish binding allows the reader to fully open the book without it cracking or breaking.

You can see the letter press impression in this title page.

Carmen leafs through their copy of Semblanza de Gijón.
Carmen leafs through their copy of Semblanza de Gijón. The sepia toned etchings bleed off the outside edges.

Juan showed me what he described as his “only book”: a leather-bound journal of stitched, hand made paper. Each page documents a fibre he has made into paper, with its characteristics, time boiling in lye, time in the Hollander beater, etc. Each has a small sample of the paper attached. Truly a one-of-a-kind document in the world – a live, ongoing and dimensional parallel to Lillian Bell’s classic “Plant Fibers for Papermaking”. A life’s work in progress.

All these are precious objects that would win the top prizes at international book fairs. Carmen and Juan, though incredibly modest, are masters of their arts and crafts, among a handful of such people in the world, and I’ve been extremely fortunate to spend time with them.