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Back to Our Memories of Dennis McWilliams
From Australia
Submitted by Graham Willoughby on 01/Sep/2007
66.190.54.131
Message:
It is much sorrow that I am writing this a great man has left this life for some
other existence. I found out about Dennis's death from my ex partner, so the news
was slow getting to me, non-the-less that news threw me for that large and generous
man was a part of my life and he taught me more than etching and printing.
It has taken me a while to put my thoughts in order so I can honour Dennis in words.
I first heard of Dennis back in 1976. I was a counsellor at Winnetka Community House
summer camp, which meant I visited that community house and couldn't believe the
printing set up they had upstairs in the art school. I was also amazed at the
quality of the prints and the wide ranging subject of those prints. I asked Dick
Martin who taught print making and he said a guy called Dennis Mc Williams. It was
then that I decided that if anyone was going to teach me printmaking it was going to
be Dennis. It was easier said than done let me assure you.
First of all I had to return to Australia via England to my hometown of Adelaide
where I was unemployed for several months until I got a geological drafting job in
the very remote desert of Western Australia. I stayed there for about eighteen month
saving money for my nrxt trip over seas. Whilst there I wrote to Dennis asking him
if I could do a printmaking workshop with him. He didn't reply so a couple of months
I wrote another one which got the same treatment. I decided that I would call in to
Chicago on my six week trip around the world seeing friends in America on the way.
Any way when I was in Chicago I stayed with Dick and I asked him to get in contact
with Dennis so I could at least meet him. Dick found out that he was maning a
display of his prints at an Art Fair in a shopping mall the next day a saturday. I
decided I would surprise Dennis so I got my d*** to engage Dennis in
converstion so I could walk up behind him and tap him on the shoulder which I did.
When Dennis turned I said, Hi I am Graham Willoughby to which he smiled and said,
When do you want to start. What? was my natural reply. I figured if you really
wanted me to teach you you would come here whether I said yes or no so when do you
want to start. I looked at my friend who said you can stay with me.
That was the start of my association Dennis and I spent four very happy months
living in Wildwood and commuting with Dick to Winnetka each day. To pay for the
tuition I was the print room dogs body and I was there from ten in the morning until
ten at night sometimes. To earn a bit of extra money I was the supervisor of the
bowling alley at the centre from four until six.
Dennis was very generous with his time knowledge and help. I valued his advise as I
coped with the new medium for me that perplexd me and that I found difficult to come
to terms with. I soon discovered that doing the imagery in the etching technique was
relatively easy but the printing of consistent images of the plate was nigh on
impossible for me and took heart in the fact that it was early days.
When I got back to Australia and settled into a new life as a partnered person in
Melbourne with a studio Dennis called me and told me he had found an etching press
for a very good price and did I want it and so I said yes and sent him the money to
buy it and to fly it out to Melbourne.
Whilst in America Dennis once said to me that etching should be taught to children
and so to earn money I did day long etching classes to six children per day in the
school holidays and in doing so introduced the techniques to a whole range of
children. My daughter was quite young when she did her etching and she and I would
spend time happily etching and printing until she was an assistant for the day
classes.
I can't remember what year it was that Dennis, Sue, Haven, Jan Hunt and her husband
visited us in Melbourne to meet my family and see some of the works I had printed.
It was great to to see them all again for the Mc Williams have been on my itinerary
when ever I have had time and money to visit them after my one of my four yearly one
man watercolur shows in Rochester New York. Unfortunatly it wasn't always possible
to visit them but I have a photograph of us all together on my mantlepiece so even
though they are in America they are a part of my life and so its with much sadness
that I look at the photograph and know that big generous man is no more pulling
prints for Sue and if not that flumxing an Aussy guy.
Rest in Peace Mate.
Graham Willoughby
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