I had a super time in collaboration with some lovely artists, working our way through printing with natural objects.  Time flew and there was much concentration in the room.  Absolutely loved it!
Thank you to the Horsebridge Whitstable for putting on the art workshop and The Arts Council for funding the workshop.

A wonderful exhibition @piefactory .
Check out the link for more information.

I along with other printmakers from the Print Makers Council will be exhibiting at the Highgate Gallery.  Details below

I have been priviledge to have been selected to show my work with the 'Journeys'  exhibition, a traveling exhibition to be shown in the London Print Studio and The Jack House Gallery in Portsmouth.  What a wonderful way to start the year.

I do love a good workshop and I can thoroughly recommend the very talented Sue Brown, over in Cheltenham for a good one.  Sue helped 8 of us students to get to grips with image transfer using gum arabic.  It was just great! And the people on the course were brilliant too.  Not very often do you get such a combination.  I really enjoyed this technique as it appeals to the abstract that I so love.  Check Sue's website out........she has a lot more amazing workshops to go on this year!

Looking forward to this exhibition, Although the weather forecast will be against us with temperatures in single figures and a good prediction of rain, I hope that there will be enough brave souls who come to the Winter Gardens (aptly named) and the Tuner Contemporary to view the work on display. Brrrrr! 

What a wonderful evening at the private view for the Memory exhibition.  I made my way with my good friend and fellow printmaker/artist Jo Austen to London from Kent on Aug 28th and full of anticipation we made our way to the Royal Over-Seas League.  It is a beautiful building nestled at the back of a road backing onto Green Park.  Over 200 people were at the PV and that was another delight, that the event was so well attended.  I am buzzing with excitement and joy at being part of this wonderful show with so many talented artists/printmakers.  More information can be found here. 

Well ........How absolutely pleased and delighted I am, to have my monotype selected for the Memory exhibition at the Royal Over-Seas League as part of the Print Makers Council, in August this year.  This year was abound with poppies and I was inspired by the beautiful ladybird poppies to make a work in memory of my Great Uncle Horace who was killed at the Somme in WW1.  The poppies are also based on the poem 'In Flanders Fields' by John McCrae

​​In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn saw sunset glow
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields

Take up our quarrel with the foe; 
To you, from falling hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.” 

I have become more interested in developing safer ways of printing and eco-printing was a process that was really appealing to me.  Although the process is really for cloth, I thought I would have a go at developing this process in order that it could be printed onto paper.  The results are unexpected and sometimes a surprise, but that is what I like about the process as there is an element of the unknown to this process.  Also the slightly abstract quality of the results from the printing process are very rewarding and something that I strive for in my work.  The process is safer than traditional methods of printing, in that no harmful acids have been used and the natural dyes from the plants and flowers that I use are imprinted onto the paper.  

My son Rich gave me some super soft lino to try.......Which I did.  I cut the piece he gave to me in half,  as there was a smooth side and a grainy side to the lino and I wanted to see which of the sides produced the best print.  Whilst super soft lino is easy to cut I worried that it would be difficult to get finer details in the lino.  Firstly the lino is like cutting through toughened gelatine and the speed at which you can cut a design makes the printing process easier overall.  Secondly the grainy side inked up better, and as seen by the blue butterfly a better print.  The smooth side although a pleasing design was more difficult to get an even spread of the ink, especially in the orange areas.  Thirdly I was able to get a print using a barron as the lino has a spongy feel to it and the pressure of the barron gave up the ink to the paper more easily than hessian backed lino.  Overall I think that for small areas, super soft lino is a useful addition to relief printing processes, but I feel would not eliminate the longevity of hessian backed lino for printmaking.