A Postcard From the Barn-March 2025

spring presents,

original prints

&

pigmented skies

A sweet gift

Don't you just love receiving plants as gifts?

The flowering quince (Chaenomeles) - which I find harder to pronounce and remember than its common name - was a birthday present last year.

This spring, it's rewarding us with gorgeous splashes of colour in our awakening garden.

Gifts like these carry special meaning. They remind me of the thoughtful person who carefully selected something they knew I would treasure. The fact that it grows and changes with each season makes it all the more meaningful.

The deep coral-red blossoms seem to capture that perfect moment when day transitions to evening, bringing warmth and visual interest to the spring garden, when many other plants are just beginning to wake. It looks amazing just after the rain.

Before blooming, the plant displayed tight, round buds clustered along woody branches - small promises of what was to come.

I'm eagerly waiting for the next phase of the quince's yearly cycle. After the blossoms fade, small apple-like fruits will begin to form, ripening to a golden yellow by autumn. Though too tart to eat raw, these fragrant fruits are said to make exceptional jellies / jams - recipes anyone?

Collage on Japanese papers

I have thouroughly enjoyed printing lots of new collage papers recently and am making some small block pieces. They are semi abstract works that make me feel like a cartographer, mapping the marks on farmland, using earth pigmented papers, which vary from opaque to translucent. More on that soon...

Leicester Print Works

There are 4 places left on my Summer School: 'From Leaf to Print' at the brilliant inky venue of Leicester Print Works.

An exploration of botanical printing using

Gelli plates, suitable for beginners and those with some experience - you'll be printing layers, finding your own palette, trying out different plants, in a small group for days of creative fun.

Emphasis is on playful experimentation, plant selection, how to forage responsibly, taking joy from the process and creating finished pieces, including collages and mounted works.

This will take place at LPW, Leicester Print Works, where I'm a member. Find out more here

Attenborough Arts Centre

Join me for a calming day course of botanical printing.

Discover the art of plant printing in this calming, creative one-day workshop, where you will be introduced to making an impression using plants, ink and gelli plates to print a garden!

This will take place at Attenborough Arts Centre, Leicester and is a one day course. Find out more here.

Blankney, Lincolnshire

...or you can always come to my home, where the 'Postacrds from the Barn' is sent out from, for a course for a 1:1 or up to 4 people. I've now done couples courses, a day to to celebrate a birthday, a Mother's Day treat, a day with a printmaker artist and a gardener who wanted to do what I do and grow specific plants to create with. If you'd like to contact me so we can discuss what you'd like, please do so.

From the meadow, near the gate, by the hedge.

I've been creating some prints using specimen from the paddock. Each is a unique print, a one off. Find some of these delicate beautiful works, here.

Markets

I've a fair few markets this year. These are the places where I enjoy meeting and chatting with the folk who buy my work.

You will find me at The Ropewalk Print Fair, - within a regionally acclaimed centre for the arts, housing galleries, sculpture garden, coffee shop, and Ropery Hall

This is taking place on 12th and 13th April.

If you'd like directions, click below...

Platform & Function 2025

The exhibition at the Platform Gallery continues.

It runs from Monday 20th Jan – 19th April

Exhibition closed for Good Friday (18th April)

The last day is Saturday 19th April

I do hope you might get to see it.

Blogs, Blogs, Blogs- the 'Name Nursery' & books

I have recently written a blog post referencing some of the books which inspire, help or simply bring me joy on our book sheves. If this sounds like something which may interest you, click the link to turn some pages. Please make sure your hands are clean first and no folding the corners!
There's another post about the creation of titles for my work, how the ideas germinate and why I need them to resonate.

LAS- Lincolnshire Arts Society

The Lincolnshire Artists’ Society is returning again to Doddington Hall & Gardens at Easter for an Art Exhibition in the Stable Yard Gallery.

This will be the Society’s main show in 2025 featuring carefully selected paintings and sculptural art and almost every piece in the exhibition will be for sale. This time it includes one of my pieces, as I am a new member.

Entry is free to the gallery and no booking is required.

Start date: Friday 18 April 2025

End date: Sunday 4 May 2025

Time: 10am-4pm daily

Location: Stable Yard Gallery at Doddington Hall, Lincoln, LN6 4RU

Have a great few weeks

Su x