Meet 'Prints' William

Instead, he took up a university place in England, at the University of Kent, studying economics, politics and international relations.

"I was disappointed that I didn't do art," he said, "but I kept up an art practice. I'd produce a mural in my college room made of ash and then I'd have the Vice-Chancellor in my room the day after saying 'What is that, young man? Take it down immediately!'."

Since that time, William's life has encompassed politics, finance, retail (his business Greenfibres is at the top of Totnes' High Street), family, meditation and the charity sector.

As Chair of the Sharpham Trust, he oversaw the charity's expansion from a single retreat venue, The Barn, to an organisation offering multiple places and spaces for people to connect to mindfulness and the land.

He's still a Sharpham Trustee - and helped to curate work from local artists to adorn the walls of the Coach House retreat venue - but these days he's able to return to the intense creativity he first displayed as a young man. Each week he devotes several hours to printmaking.

William spends up to a day a week creating work. "In the last year it's been around rivers, and flowing - my works in that time have been quite colourful & expressive reflecting the last 12 months of positivity and upward spiral in my private life," he said.

Sometimes they're a scene, sometimes they are more figurative, but often transient, fluid, reflective. 

"A bit like what we do at Sharpham, with my art I’m looking to suggest a way to be at peace with nature and ourselves rather than 'tell' anyone anything," he said. 

"I think the artist is half the process and the viewer is half the process. That feels more inclusive," he said.

"My art self has always been quite private, very much done for my own education, and growth, but about 15 years ago I thought I'd like to do something with others. A little bit like if you're doing Buddhist sitting and you decide you want to find your sangha, your group. I wanted that for my art practice."

He joined Dartington Printmakers, with Michael Honnor and continued his practice.

Right now he's in a weekly class in South Brent, currently working with wood plates printed onto recycled Chine collé - thin paper made from particular plants and coloured with natural dyes. In early 2024, he'll likely release a run of 14 original prints, illustrate a small book of poems by local poets, and have a joint show in the Autumn with 4 other printmakers at Birdwood House in Totnes.

He's also due to get married - to an art-framer & restorer! His bride-to-be Elizabeth runs Leading Edge Art Gallery & Framers in Ivybridge.

Meanwhile, there's a neat echo in the family. William's son Max did the opposite of his dad. He left a science course to attend art school and is now a graphic-designer who has worked on William's website: www.williamlana.com

 

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Keith Haring portrait: dmax3270, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons