Print It 2023!

Close up of the stitching - Giant Cauliflower Harvest - embroidered word, red thread about my father and his allotment

I’m pleased to announce that a digital print of Giant Cauliflower Harvest will be on exhibition at Print It 2023. The mixed-media exhibition takes place at Aire Place Studios, Unit 2C, Aire Place Mills, Kirkstall Road, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS3 1JL, 3rd February – 3rd March 2023.

Pop along and visit – selected pieces are for sale – including mine.

Print It 2023
Print It 2023
Giant Cauliflower Harvest
Giant Cauliflower Harvest

Now in its third edition, Print It! 2023 has showcased artists from London to Zimbabwe, Tokyo to the USA! Exhibiting is not always accessible to everyone. From printing costs, framing, transport, and room hire, it all adds up. Designed to be a show beyond the constraints, Print It! features examples of fine art, photography, design, sculpture and more. This inclusive show looks to reflect the creativity and diversity out there and with an astounding level of submissions received, we are featuring over 70 artists, displayed for four weeks in the APS Gallery. All works have been submitted in digital form, printed and displayed in our gallery; removing boundaries and bringing together fantastic works from regional, national and international artists. Alongside the exhibition each artist will receive a book which includes all of the artworks in the exhibition bringing the exhibition directly to the artists. Prints on display in the APS Gallery will be available to purchase from £25 and copies of the Print It! book will be available from the APS Shop from £10. Visiting times are Fridays 11am – 5pm

Exhibiting Artists: Leanne McWilliams , Basia Asztabska, Edith Young, HezronH, Jingkun Qi, Joe Fenna, Celeste Drouin-Davis, Ping L, Philip Westcott, Janet Stafford, Lita Doolan, Louise Wiseman, Mato Enki, Kayleigh Whelan, Helene Fiegl, Anderson James Hargreaves, Kate Marsden, Ben Sheppee, Ayan Aziz Mammadova, Cesar Mammadov, Beth Hinde, Kay Nyx, Keremy Aldis, Catherine Hill, John Walmsley, Teresa Schippel Hales, Marlene Jorge, Deirdre Kashdan, Sukhmani Kaur, Caleb Hernandez, Sharon Platt, Lois Palframan, Jude Lin, Jane Walker, Alison Dollery, James Mellor, HS.FataMorgana, Dolores Ros, Vicente Fos, Gerrit Hodemacher, Tallulah de Castro-Gray, Andi Balogh, Bahar Acharjya, Nicola Garvey, Frankie Bones, Chloe Henderson, Sophia Lindstrom, Mariia Tokar, Galen Chen, Evan Larson-Voltz, Kuan-Hsuan Lu, Beatrice Dina, Michael Trozzolo, Caitlin Morris, Dasha Shipukhina, Veronika Krämer, Jena Jerms, Valeria Roglinova, Rose Reuben, KruMaM, Alison Herbert, Lucien Torlot, Liliia Filina, Paul Maven

Aire Place Studios

Summer 2022

For the past few months I’ve been busy designing & stitching a new artwork named ‘Summer 2022’ . 

Last year I was honoured to be invited by artist Harry Meadley to take part in Free-For-All at Touchstones Rochdale from 7-10th September 2022.

I created an event called ‘Stitched Memories’ to collect Rochdale’s memories of the 2022 heatwave for a new artwork – a companion piece to Summer ‘76. The responses were handwritten on postcards and displayed within the gallery.

My original idea was to create a single artwork of around 400 words. In reality, after collating so many wonderful hand written phrases a unique story started to evolve – enough for two artworks.

The artworks cover the period from early summer, through the heatwave and drought and end with the loss of HM Queen Elizabeth II (which occurred during the time I was at Free-For-All).

Each piece is 21 x 21cm, hand embroidered and hand stitched with vintage Sylko thread onto cotton cloth. 

Summer 22 Part 1
Summer 2022 Part 1
Summer 22 Part 2
Summer 2022 Part 2
Part 1 - detail
Part 1 – detail
Part 1 - detail
Part 1 – detail
Part 2 - detail
Part 2 – detail

This is the first time I’ve created an artwork from a ‘Stitched Memories’ event and would definitely like to host another one in the future.

Thank you the curators at Touchstones, Harry Meadley and all the visitors who contributed to Summer 2022.

Hello from England

This handwritten postcard called ‘Hello from England’ is part of a postcard exhibition at Marion Branch JC Public Library, Jersey City, NJ, USA curated by Walk Bye. The artwork features an extract from ‘Giant Cauliflower Harvest‘.

The theme of the exhibition – ‘The Surprising Thing about Gratitude’ – made me think about things I’m very grateful for – a childhood full of freedom, love and home-cooked food. These warm memories have inspired a great deal of my own embroideries including Giant Cauliflower Harvest.

The Surprising Thing about Gratitude Exhibition
The Surprising Thing about Gratitude Exhibition
Hello from England
Hello from England

To send a postcard in today’s digital world is a simple, and incredibly underrated experience. It’s an expression to acknowledge others especially outside this new, mostly virtual way of life. A postcard expresses a desire to maintain a connection regardless of where the sender and the receiver may be. In addition to the beauty of the created or manipulated postcard, the story also includes the handwriting, which is peculiar to a specific person, the precision, or lack thereof of the placement of the postage stamp(s), the stories told by damage that can be incurred during its travels – all carry a rich narrative and establish a profound, interpersonal connection that simply cannot exist in cyberspace…. The theme is “The Surprising Thing about Gratitude”. We encourage you to use lots of words and/or phrases in your submission, please use your native language, or that of the place you are living in… it DOES NOT need to be English only.

Walk Bye
Message to New Jersey
Message to New Jersey

This is latest Walk Bye exhibition I’ve taken part in.