Printmaker David Frazer owns one of the oldest and rarest print presses in the world.
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His Columbian Print Press is an antique and used for creating the wood engravings David works so hard on.
There are just 30 in Australia and an estimated 400 in the world.
David arrived at printmaking after studying art and trying to be a songwriter.
“I started out doing art because I had some good art teachers at high school.
“When I went to art school, I was a painter but struggled with it.”
David’s creative streak led him to temporarily quitting art and trying his hand at music.
“At one point I wanted to be a singer-songwriter or a pop star,” he said.
“But I was no good at songwriting, so ended up being a karaoke act in the early ‘90s. I was running a show six nights a week in Bendigo. It wasn't quite the dream.
“When I discovered printmaking, I found it suited the storytelling and narrative form I like to use.”
“To me, this was like writing a song, and when I was introduced to wood engraving, I fell in love with it.”
David held his first solo exhibition in 1996.
He would eventually get a strong link to music in an unusual way when he produced a book on his Colmbian Print Press with Paul Kelly.
The 20-page, hand crafted book tells the visual story of Kelly’s song Little Aches and Pains. Only 20 copies of the book were made.
“It was a great experience, Paul sang at the launch and it satisfied my pop star urges,” he said.
During March David is opening his studio as part of the Castlemaine Arts Open event.
The event will see more than 100 local artist throw open their studio doors to the public.
It gives people the chance to see the world behind the art they love.
“It's fantastic. I have done quite a few (open studios) with Arts Open and the Castlemaine State Festival,” David said.
“You get hundreds of people through and usually sell a bit of work. You have to answer a lot of questions but it's great exposure.”
David’s hand-craft prints and etches often remind both children and adults of a time before computers created images for us.
“I can remember a world without computers but the kids have no idea. Nowadays it all comes from a computer,” he said.
“Before that this is how we would illustrate. Adults love it and there are hipsters getting into the old presses as well.
“You never get the same quality from a computer. It’s a very hands on process.”
Arts Open is on from March 12-14 and again on March 19 and 20. For go to www.artsopen.com.au
