Rediscovering print
I studied various printmaking techniques at art college in the 1990s, but I was always chasing new experiences and methods, so this knowledge remained unused for many years.
I always created or painted in some shape or form, that has never left me and is like a life-force. I don't operate well mentally unless I am able to use the creative forces within me.
For ten years I ran a gallery / cafe / framing business in Edinburgh, which I set up with my partner Stuart. The decade took it's toll despite being a glorious time, and we ended the lease in the midst of Covid, burnt out and a little disillusioned.
The pandemic ended up being my saviour in some ways however. Isolating in Warwickshire, caring for my mother, my mind turned back to printmaking.
Long story short, I amassed equipment, experimented with technique and designed ceaselessly - getting my Etsy shop up and running in the summer of 2020.
I now work from home, printing in a workshop space eked out of the back end of my kitchen. I use water based print inks due to the limitations of my space, a lever press and Somerset or Awagami washi paper.
My inspiration comes from pretty much anything; I love nature and wild places, travel and art history, yoga, cycling, cold water swimming (and warm if I can get there!). I am always reading, learning, thinking up new hare-brained schemes and seeing if they will work... Really just amazed and humbled that I can make things that people want to own and hang on their wall.
