what is your inspiration?

My recent works have been a celebration of the landscapes I've visited, or travelled through on the train.

A misty morning when the sun is ready to shine through the low, leafy Cheshire plains, or a rainy July day in the Lake District. 

Through printmaking, I try to capture that brief moment in time.

you trained as a jeweller - why the transition into printmaking?

Between 1994 -98, I studied Design & Applied Arts at Edinburgh College of Art , and then on to the Royal College of Art in London (1999-2001) where drawing and painting were as equally valued as jewellery making. We were encouraged to draw every day & create sketchbooks.

I went on to create artworks which captured the feel of printmaking.

You see, then as now, I didn't have easy access to a printmaking studio, so I took the principles and make them kitchen table friendly. That's why the works are rarely larger than A3 (29 x 42cm).

I think I became a jeweller because I love noticing tiny details & working with my hands, both of which are elements which transfer into printmaking... the big difference, however, is colour. Mixing inks & creating colour recipes is such a change from working in silver & gold. The tone & intensity of a colour can transform the mood of a print... that's where the magic happens.

what are your favourite aspects of printmaking?

The lines and textures of a print are impossible to create any other way.

The layering using so called 'ghost prints' can create an other worldly atmosphere.

I enjoy the control that using tools gives the finished work. The contrast of the loose painterly marks in the background with the crisp prints layered over the top creates an exciting contrast.

But, even though there is a suggestion of the possibility of repeating a print, no two prints are the same, or, at least mine aren't, and that's a good thing. It means whichever print you choose will be uniquely yours.

what's next?

So far, the work that I have created has been inspired by the landscapes near my home in Cheshire or those that I have visited... but recently, I've been asking friends to send me pictures of their favourite places around the world. Places I may have never visited... so the next chapter will be a series of prints of places I've never been.

Let's see where it takes us.