Join me at Pilmoor for North Yorkshire Open Studios: 1st,2nd,9th and 10th June 10am-5pm

I was chosen to exhibit in North Yorkshire Open Studios as an emerging artist just before Christmas last year and the first weekend is almost here. 

Preparations to open up my house as an exhibition space has entailed much removal of furniture and all kinds of domestic items that visitors might think are for sale!  The spare bedroom is now so full of chairs and kitchen equipment it looks like a car boot sale!  I've been busy making and glazing ceramics and finishing off prints and drawings and have just collected  my framed work from Kate and Graham Durrant of  The Picture Framing workshop based at Shipton near York.  What a lovely couple: vey knowledgeable, great quality and good value.  

My work will be on display throughout the whole ground floor of my house including my studio. You will also be able to flick through my sketch books, handle different printing plates, ask questions or have a cup of tea and a biscuit in the garden. 

My pal and partner in crime at Rural Arts, Janice McVay, will be on hand to entertain you and if you fancy trying your hand at introductory printmaking  you can join me outside (weather permitting) every day from 2 till 3.30-please bring an apron and £3 to cover materials.

My art work is inspired by the area in which I live and work for sale includes: ceramic platters, bowls and vessels, paintings, drawings, original silkscreen prints and etchings.  As well as framed work there is also a large collection of: hand printed greeting cards,unframed prints,sketches and paintings. 

Credit card payment is available.

There is parking outside my house and in a dedicated parking area, please follow the signs and park responsibly. We have a cat and a farm dog so please do not bring any pets onto the farm. 

Please note that I keep honey bees and have hives near the house, if you are allergic please take precautions and do not let children wander off unattended. Thanks!  

 I look forward to seeing you and welcoming you to my studio.

Spring into March

What a busy month! I haven't stopped to take a breath - running drawing workshops for Rural Arts, visiting the studios of Anna Matyus and Kim Coley and filling up my studio with ceramic and print experiments!  Oh and a quick visit to Oxford Pitt Rivers and to see the Don McCullin exhibition at Tate Britain - gruelling!

Experiments with sugar lift etching

I'm really pleased with the new sanded Terracotta clay I have been using to make my large vessels and platters.  I've over laid it with a gorgeous white tin glaze and painted oxides, the colour combinations are really striking and have a great contrast.  The decoration is inspired by the pools that cover the area of Pilmoor where I live and I have tried to capture the coarse grass land with expressive mark, scratching and wax resist. 

Ceramic platter 25cm x 25cm

Ceramic vessel 30cm x 20cm

Photo credit: Dave Burton

Welcome to my Blog!

Welcome to my creative blog where you can read about my recent creative experiments and find out more about me and what inspires my work.  I will be writing regular posts about work in progress, sketchbook ideas, educational workshops and the various artistic processes associate with my print and ceramic practise. You can also find out more about the places I visit through my off road running pursuits and the other creative people and places that excite me.  Please feel free to contact me if you would like more information, wish to buy my work or comment on any of my posts.

First Blog post – A new Adventure

I’m now into my third week of a new adventure, after leaving the organisation (Rural Arts) I established nearly thirty years ago I have decided to follow a new direction that allows me to express my own personal creativity and experiment with printmaking and ceramics - the two creative areas that have grabbed my attention since art school in the early 1980’s.

There has been such a lot of change in the last few months - saying goodbye to colleagues, setting up my studio and frantically trying to get accustomed to new working surroundings.  My appointment as ‘Artist in Residence’ at Harrogate College alongside making work for North Yorkshire Open Studios in early June has meant that I have moved from a challenging and fulltime role in an arts organisation to experiencing life as a full time creative practitioner - an even bigger challenge!

I am currently turning some of my botanical drawings into prints using both the etching and silkscreen facilities that I share with the art students at college where I have access to etching, relief, and silkscreen presses including a rare Victorian Brittania Platten Press and a beautiful Hunter Penrose Littlejohn Etching Press.

My work reflects my interests in natural forms and I am experimenting with techniques such as Sugar Lift to recreate painterly marks on Zinc etching plates.  I have also spent many hours in the college Engineering Department cutting out silhouette shapes using a jewellers saw prior to etching and combining the plates with layers of collaged paper.

Picture illustrated: Etching and Plate Cutting