I know it's been a while, but I've not long sent out a newsletter, and thought I'd share some of the information here about what's been going on and what's coming up too.... it's been quite exciting!

GIANT ADVENT CALENDAR AT COMPTON VERNEY: THE DODO!
 
Thanks to a fabulous opportunity as part of a collaboration between Warwickshire Open Studios and Compton Verney I submitted some of my print images to be considered for their giant advent calendar. Around 90 artists entered, and I was so happy and proud to learn that Dodo had been chosen! On Thursday (it was grey and Very wet) we went over to visit Compton Verney and see if we could spot Dodo..... you couldn't miss him! Here I am with him for a bit of scale!!! The house and grounds look fabulous, they have installed the 24 images in the windows of the house and they are dressing the winter/Christmas too. It was a real treat to see so much colour on a grey day and well worth a visit! I'm not sharing too many photos as I don't want to spoil it for anyone who is going to visit! You can obviously work out from the picture that it's in a ground floor window 😉 If you click on their picture below it will take you to their website.

NEW CARD DESIGNS ON WEBSITE SHOP
 
I launched a new greetings card design at the end of November on my website shop which had a suitable theme for the time of year! I also realised some of my other designs were ​missing - they aren't any more!! The Robin cards are 5"x 5" when folded and can be supplied naked (plastic free) but safely wrapped for postage. There's currently a special offer on my 5"x 5" cards - a set of five robins for £10 or a set of 5 wildlife cards (from a choice of nine designs) for the same price - these are mix and match so you can pick five of one design if you like or a combination of images (or opt for the random choice where I'll pick for you!) All of the cards are professionally printed by a local printer too. 

I've also been having a general website update with some new images for my products. there's also my hand-stamped Christmas cards available too which are made to order. 
 
You can get straight to my shop by clicking the SHOP tab above on the menu! Here you can find all of my cards and prints - both mini-prints which would make great stocking fillers - and also my other prints too, both limited and open edition. Plus, there's a new Alpaca in town..... it's now also available in orange! (Click on the picture below to take you there!)
 
If you ever do fancy one of my single colour prints in another colour, please ask, I'm more than happy to oblige if the edition allows..... Dodo, of course, can be printed in any colour as it is a varied edition 😉 
 
I'll be posting out orders up until the Royal Mail final postage dates before Christmas, but please make sure you get your orders in as soon as you can to make sure that things will get there to you in time.
 
KOI CARP: LIMITED EDITION MULTI-LAYER PRINT

I've finally got round to starting to print my Koi Carp (I have to be so careful typing that word!!!) Each print will be individual as the two layers are hand-coloured and then printed on top of each other. This gives different colour combinations each time so even though it is a limited edition print, each print made will be totally unique within the edition! I've been using the new addition to my 'workshop' a printing press! This has enabled me to play with different techniques for printing. Do not fear though, the trusty spoon has not been retired!!! 
​
I will be listing them on my website over the next week (definitely by the 10th December!) if you fancy popping over to have a look. So the image below is an example - some are lighter and some are darker in how they print - I'm also open to requests!

WORKSHOP UPDATE​

With the announcement of #lockdown2 I had to postpone my workshops again for November - the patience and understanding of the workshopees has been phenomenal, with some people having their workshop postponed for the second time. Thank you so much to everyone for their support.

Here's a quick update of availability:

Single colour linocut workshop at Bonds Lifestyle
Saturday 9th January - Fully booked
Friday 29th January - Fully booked
Saturday 13th February - one space remaining
Friday 12th March - two spaces remaining
Saturday 10th April

To book, please e-mail me on alixalmond@hotmail.co.uk or follow the link below.

Two-colour reduction linocut workshop at Sew Me Something
​Sunday 7th February
Saturday 20th March - Fully booked

WEEKEND LINOCUT WORKSHOP - DATE ANNOUNCED!
​20th/21st February

Held at Sew Me Something, this whole weekend workshop immerses you in the wonder of linocut printmaking!

Please follow the link below to find booking links for the Sew Me Something and Bonds workshops:
 
More information about all of the workshops and can be found on the WORKSHOP tab above.

As always you can keep up to date on social media too - I'm currently collaborating with seven other Warwickshire/Coventry artists to promote local craftspeople and artisans to help people to support local businesses with posts appearing for the 12 days of Christmas! 
 
There's also the odd video that appears here or there including a quick tour of my 'studio'! 🙂
Here it is if you fancy a gander: https://fb.watch/2cNVIiPbKq/

You can find me here:
instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alixalmond/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlixAlmondArt
 
and less often on twitter as @alixalmond
 
AND FINALLY......
Thank you to all of you who have made it this far through the blog! Thank you all for your support over what has been a really tough year in so many ways; it has been fabulous to receive photos from those of you who have continued to make prints after being on one of my workshops, or for the orders received and the comments of support left on my social media. It really is very appreciated.
 
I wish you all a peaceful time leading up to Christmas. 
 
alix xx

Blue Magpie Contemporary Craft Fair @ Elmslie House, Malvern
Saturday 16th November 10.30 am - 4.30 pm
£2 entry per adult

https://www.elmsliehouse.co.uk/
​
I am really excited to be travelling a little further afield and taking part at this fair in Malvern! There are over 35 designer-makers set over two floors in a fabulous building; tea and cake also available!

 I always seem to be starting off my blogs in the same way; by saying that the time seems to be flying past! But it really is!! It's been a really busy couple of months as the Fair season has kicked off, and I've also been busy printing and making. I'll put a quick round up below of what's been going on and also what is coming up..... for those of you that receive my newsletter (you can sign up on my homepage if you wish) you'll notice that it's a similar format but with added information and more pictures - including my newest print - bit of a giveaway withe the picture up here!

Festivals and Fairs:

It's been a great start to the 'festival and fair season' and "hello" to folks I have met through being at either The Herbert Art Gallery Spring Makes Fair, The Bird and Wildlife Fair at Focus Optics or the Earlsdon Festival!

The Wildlife Fair at Focus Optics was spectacularly windy - we borrowed a marquee from Stoneleigh Male Voice Choir (my Dad is a member) and we had a few hairy moments as it threatened to fly! Eventually we managed to move sites and it calmed down a little! It was a good day though, and fabulous to get time to go on a walk round the reserve with Simon King too. I didn't have to explain what my birds were to the people at the fair either! I'm glad they recognised them - always a good sign!

Earlsdon Festival was excellent - fortunately it was cooler than last year and we met lots of folks. I've had some new cards for sale this year - a new linocut card of a Long Tailed Tit, and new cards printed from my drawings - of a mouse and a frog, and it was lovely to see how well received they were. They'll be making their way in to my online store soon. I've put a few pictures below, including one with my fabulous Mum and Dad on the stall at the end - they are always out and about helping me at fairs and functions. and it is really appreciated! You'll notice I'm in my big winter coat for both fairs too! 

Workshops:

I've been running workshops at Bonds Lifestyle in Stratford-upon-Avon and also at The Farthing Gallery in Kenilworth, including a reduction linocut workshop. It has been great to introduce people to the wonders of linocut, and I have been so happy with the results of the participants - there are some very talented people out there. The days have been happy and relaxed, and great to share the time with like-minded people!

There are a couple more dates coming up, and I will update you as more are added!

Bonds Lifestyle (you can book places through my website).
Saturday 13th July - 2 places left
Saturday 14th September - 3 places left

There's also a new workshop which is about to be added at Brandon Marsh Nature Centre, which is being run through Warwickshire Wildlife Trust - you heard it here first - it literally is breaking news! This will be on Sunday 25th August - more details will be added to the website soon.

I am also really proud to receive a Silver Students' Award from Craft Courses where I also promote my workshops for the excellent reviews I have received. This really does make me happy! You can have a read of them HERE.

Here's a few photos from my workshops at Bonds and The Farthing Workshop:

Which leads me on nicely to.....

Japanese Vinyl

Quite a few folk have asked about buying the Japanese Vinyl we use at the workshops, as it is quite heavy and comes with a hefty postage fee attached to it from the usual supplier; so I have bought a 'weight' of it (not sure how else to describe it!), which is now available to buy via my website.

I have some sheets of 15cm x 20cm. I can either deliver your order to The Farthing Gallery for you to collect, or there is a separate shipping section for vinyl listed on the shipping options (no trying to sneak it through as a greetings card!!!) 

I think that has probably got long enough now!

Finally I'll leave you with a quick sneak peek of my newest Owl linocut - which is a two layer print - there will hopefully be a blog soon - which should be all ready for Discover Gather Give at the end of May. Just to remind you, you can always keep an eye out for more regular updates on social media; I'm on instagram and twitter as @alixalmond and on facebook as @AlixAlmondArt (links to all of these are on the 'Welcome' page).

Looking forward to seeing some of you at the different summer events that are lined up - and hope that the sun shines on us all!!

Alix x
​​​

​I'm not too sure where the year is flying to! I’ve waited a while to write a blog as I wanted to get a few fair dates finalised so I was able to share with you what was coming up - hopefully there will be more to share very soon; it’s also been a busy start to the year for one reason or another.  I’m finally getting round to some new linocut designs too – here's a little sneak peek at my sketchbook to show you what's coming up - there's a couple more at the end of the blog.... I have a carving day booked in to my diary for tomorrow to start him!

I was incredibly proud to have two of my linocut pieces chosen for the Coventry Open at the Herbert Art Gallery – the exhibition ran until 24th February, and I received some lovely messages online; my favourite being from a chap whose son had been to the gallery and had drawn his own version of my White-tailed Sea Eagle. It really made me smile – you can find the post on twitter (that should link you through) if you wanted to see.

I am very excited to announce some new venues both for fairs and workshops; here’s where you can find me over the next few months - you may have noticed a few changes and additions to the website layout in terms of tabs and page changes and additions.....

Workshops:
Saturday 16th March: The Farthing Workshop in Kenilworth: single colour linocut workshop.
Thursday 28th March: The Farthing Workshop in Kenilworth: two colour reduction linocut workshop.

£65 for a day’s tuition (10am – 4pm approx.), all materials for the day are included and Helen provides lovely tea and cakes too! Please contact The Farthing Gallery on 01926 851481 if you wish to book a place. All workshops are limited to six people to allow for plenty of attention and guidance.

You can also book on The Farthing Workshop listings on Eventbrite  - Single Colour HERE and Reduction Workshop HERE.

Sunday 7th April, Friday 10th May and Saturday 13th July: NEW VENUE!
Bonds Lifestyle near Stratford-upon-Avon –Single colour linocut workshop.
£70 for a day’s tuition (10am – 4.30pm approx.), all materials for the day are included as well as a light lunch, morning coffee and afternoon cake. You can book on my website HERE and can find more information on the Workshops page. Again, the workshops are limited to six people.

Art Fairs and Events: 
There are links to more information for each event on the 'Events' page.

Spring Makes Art & Craft Fair – Saturday 23rd March (10am-4pm) at The Herbert Art Gallery, Coventry.

Bird and Wildlife Fair – Saturday 27th April (10am-4pm) at Focus Optics near Coventry.
This is the ornithological centre’s first wildlife fair, and Simon King, the naturalist, will also be there for the day to give tours around their nature reserve. 

Earlsdon Festival – Monday 6th May (10am-4pm) Earlsdon High Street, Coventry
My second time at the festival – the High Street will be full of lots of different stalls, music and entertainment. A really great day out – let’s see if it’s as hot as last year! 

Warwickshire Open Studios – 15th – 30th June
This year I have a new venue! You will find me alongside four other artists as part of ‘Artists at the Sheep Dip’ in Princethorpe. There will be another blog on it’s way with more information about the event, but if you wanted to whet your whistle, please visit our venue website at www.sheepdipart.weebly.com to find out more about the venue and who you can find there!
 
I think that’s just about everything caught up! Here's another couple of sneak peeks at my next linocut.....and it’s not a bird! Although the one after this one will be!!!

Please remember, you can sign up to may newsletter on the homepage and you can always find out more regular updates about events and my work on social media. You can find me on Instagram and twitter as @alixalmond, or on facebook as @alixalmondart

alix x

Over the past couple of days I've been starting to think about the journey I've been on in 2018 - it sounds cliche and a little corny, but it really has been a journey - and a blooming good one! This time last year I was in a very different place with my art - just starting to feel my way around what was out there and the possibilities of taking it forward... roll on to this December and as I look back there has been so much change and forward movement with it all! However, I also realised how long it has been since I blogged - so thought I better do a quick catch up of the last few months as they have been busy!! I've included plenty of photos too! (The little chap at the top is a Long Tailed Tit - my newest linocut card for this Christmas).

October saw my second workshop at The Farthing Gallery Workshop in Kenilworth. It was a fabulous day and the ladies produced some great linocut prints - this was the start of the Christmas season as some of the ladies made their festive cards! I really hope they continue to print as they made some great images. I think my favourite part of the workshop is where they print their linocut for the first time - that's a part of the process that always gets me too - the feeling of relief of it working after spending so long carving the lino, and also the "Oh goodness - I actually made that!!" feeling when you peel the paper back for the first time and see what's been created!

I also finished off a new print in October - ready to launch at Discover Gather Give at the beginning of November. #ProjectPuffin - otherwise known as Jack Puffin. It was one I'd wanted to do for a while - and once I had finally seen a Puffin at Bempton Cliffs in the summer, I was able to start - it was based on a drawing I did from a great photo taken by my lovely friend Sarah, and it is called Jack after her little boy. 

Discover Gather Give - Contemporary Arts Fair - on 2nd/3rd/4th November at Stratford Town Hall was a fabulous experience  - I was over the moon to have one of my Dodo images chosen to be on the flyers and banners advertising the Art Fair - on the drive in ready to set up for the PV on the Friday I spotted one of the roadside banners for the first time - I may have squealed a little! The fair was excellent - such a wonderful relaxed vibe and a beautifully curated selection of a wide range of artists. I met some wonderful people - artists, customers (both new and returning) and mum and I had a lovely weekend. Friends travelled over for the PV too which was really lovely. Judith - the curator and director of the event really works hard to think of everything for the event and this is what makes it such a varied and beautiful fair - plus the great setting too. Hidden behind my trusty doors was a large bust of a chap who worked very well as my hat stand!!

November and December were busy with fairs and bits and bobs! Next up was the Craft and Flea event at Coventry Cathedral - my doors looked very small in the vast Cathedral. An amazing setting for a fair! I also launched my hand stamped Christmas Cards and started to offer a Naked Card service via my website too - cards can be purchased without the cellophane wrappers they need to keep them clean at fairs. This has proved popular with the orders I've received :-) I also stepped away from etsy and decided to try and concentrate solely on selling though my own webstore. I have more options doing this with selling products, although it's hard work getting the word out and about about it!

Some of my framed prints were part of Slate Art Gallery's Christmas Pop-up at The White Horse too - unfortunately I was too poorly to go so no piccies  :-( Then it was on to Christmas Wildfest at Warwickshire Wildlife Trust's Brandon Marsh centre - the first time I haven't had to explain what the birds are on my cards and prints as there were plenty of bird enthusiasts!! The following weekend I managed a last minute spot at the Santa's Little Makers Market at Fargo in Coventry where I had a change of elf helper and my Dad came along for the evening. Plenty of Christmas songs and getting into the Christmas Spirit! 

December also saw us attending the Private View of the Coventry Open for 2018. This is a biannual event where artists in and around Coventry can enter their work to be part of an exhibition at The Herbert Art Gallery in Coventry City Centre. Three hundred and thirty pieces of art work were submitted, and 99 chosen for the exhibition. I am very proud to be one of the eighteen artists to have two pieces of work selected for the exhibition - so White Tailed Eagle and Wren are currently hanging in the Herbert in Coventry as part of the exhibition. I have my name in a catalogue and everything! It really is a great exhibition with a real variety of works - well worth a visit! Plus there is a 'Peoples' Choice' vote too - so if you fancy popping a slip in the voting box..... ;-)

It really has been a busy end to the year! I have to finish with my thank yous - firstly to Dave and my wonderful parents. Dave for having to share the house with me and the mess and clutter that comes with my printing, trying to store my art stuff, pictures and fair-going-bumph around the house as well as for his ongoing patience with waiting for me to 'just finish this bit'!! *heart*
My mum and dad for just being awesome and giving so much of their time to come and keep me company at different fairs, helping build my doors to be able to use them to display my work and just for the belief and encouragement that they never fail to give me. Thank you xxx

And then also to everyone who has given me the opportunity to do so many of these fabulous events this year. Thank you. I have met so many fabulous people over the year at different events - artists and customers - and thank you for your kind words about my work - it keeps a little light going even when sales aren't going quite so well!!! Never underestimate the importance of 'Just A Card'. It really does help and support independent traders - one card can make all the difference! And thank you to all those who have bought my work over the year - be it a card or a print. I still have to pinch myself sometimes!

Thanks also have to go to Rich at  WreckedAngle Framing- he always creates fabulous quality handmade frames for my prints, and has helped out at last minute times too - please go and have a look at his website!! There's more on there than just picture frames!

2019 is beginning to be planned: starting with new prints and drawings to be made at the beginning of the year and then hopefully getting some fairs booked in too and I will be exploring venues to be able to teach more linocut classes as well - keep your eye out! I will be returning to Warwickshire Open Studios in the Summer in a new venue which I am Very Excited about :-) More to come on that later....

For now, thank you for reading to the end - and I wish you all a fabulous 2019.

alix xx

P.S - to keep in touch with what's going on you can sign up to a newsletter HERE (I promise I don't send many!) as well as being able to follow me on twitter, instagram and facebook - all links can be found on the 'Welcome' page too or by clicking on the words! Thank you xx

Oh my goodness, where has the time gone?! I'm quite shocked that my last blog was in August. I'm hoping to get back into the habit of blogging my printmaking rather than have it all swept up along with other things. 

After a quiet end to August after Art in the Park, September has definitely been busier! 

Saturday 29th September was my first workshop at The Farthing Workshop in Kenilworth, and it was a fabulous day! I really enjoyed teaching the ladies about linocut, and I don't think I waffled too much! I am very proud of them and the prints that they created. What I am even more pleased with is that they now know methods that they can use to be able to print at home, and that you don't need any fancy stuff to be able to create great prints; I really hope they all keep it up. We had a great laugh at times too, as well as a good supply of tea and cake! I kept having to remind them to eat - especially around lunch time - as everyone was so focused. The day went very quickly.... Here they are in our lovely sunny setting, and their fab prints too... 

I have another workshop in October - you can find the details on my Events page. (that should make a link!) If you fancy coming along, it would be worth giving the gallery a call to see if there are any spaces...

I'm also back printing again. I have #projectpuffin on the go currently, which I am going to get finished for my art fair at the beginning of November. If I have time I'm going to be turning him into a layered print as well as a mono-print - pictures to come soon. I've also started my Christmas cards that I'll be selling at my Autumn/Winter fairs.... no sneak peeks of that yet either, sorry! I also have a mega print plan under my hat - I have to draw him first, which I am hoping to do as part of my #inktober challenge (more on that below!).

You may have noticed a few website changes too - there's a button on my homepage now where you can sign up to a newsletter. I promise there won't be many and the first one, as a thank you for signing up, will include a discount code; which brings me very nicely to the next bit of news.... I've taken the plunge and will be opening a new web store on this site. It is much better than the last version I had on here and can offer better prices and separate shipping choices. (I'm sneaking away from Etsy as it's getting more expensive to run things on there) So if you sign up to the newsletter you can get some pennies off in the shop! I'll be selling my cards, digital prints and mini-prints through it; you'll still have to contact me directly to purchase my larger linocuts (the discount should be available on these too!). I finished uploading all of the product pictures today, so it will be launching in a week or so.

The Events page now also includes where you can find me at my Autumn/Winter fairs, kicking off with Discover, Gather, Give in Stratford-upon-Avon at the beginning of November (3rd and 4th) . Then to Craft and Flea at Coventry Cathedral on the 17th November before my final fair at Warwickshire Wildlife Trust's Brandon Marsh on the 4th December as part of their Wildfest!

Keep an eye out as you are travelling around Warwickshire to see if you can spot the Discover Gather Give banners.... you might recognise one of the images :-) 

And finally, October sees the return of #inktober - a challenge of drawing every day, so if you fancy keeping up to date with what I'm doing you can follow me on instagram, facebook or twitter where I'll be posting my drawings.

That's enough for now. Time to walk the dogs in the sunshine!

alix x

This time last week we were bathed in sunshine and listening to the music coming from the music stage a stones throw from our gazebo at Art In The Park.  This afternoon is much soggier, and I am being entertained by the European Championships as the Cricket is currently rained off!

And what a wonderful weekend it was! It was fabulous to see so many people - it was a very busy weekend, and thank you to everyone who came to say hello or to purchase a card or print. It was also very lovely for people to let me know that they follow my page on Facebook or Instagram too! I was sharing a gazebo with Don Mason, a really lovely chap who does beautiful paintings. I didn't get too much time to look around the park, but the atmosphere oozed with happiness and fun - I loved the brightly coloured knitted birds hanging from the trees, and I got to catch a glimpse of some of the different performances that were going on too. Of course we were in prime spot for the music tent, so got to hear some great music. It was also lovely to meet and talk to other Warwickshire Open Studio artists, meet other printmakers, as well as introducing folk to the wonder of printmaking. I always take along some of my carved plates to be able to talk about the process behind making my prints, and it was good to talk to people of all ages about it.  I need to say a huge thank you to my lovely mum who was there with me on both days, and also to hubby who came along (the dogs visited on Saturday afternoon too!) and my Dad who helped me construct my doors to use as backboards - and they worked really well - as well as for his general awesomeness :-)  A massive thank you also goes to all of the organisers and volunteers for all of their hard work that went in to making the event the success that is was.

The other exciting news that was launched at Art in the Park was about the workshops I am going to be running at The Farthing Workshop - attached to The Farthing Gallery - in Kenilworth. There are currently two dates; Saturday 29th September and Thursday 25th October. The workshops will have a maximum of 6 people and will be a great introduction to linocut, and teach you methods that you can use to create your own prints at home. The workshop setting is great too - they should be really relaxing and creative days! There's more info on my events page about how to book - I am really looking forward to them.

I've also started to fill my diary with my Winter outings - which doesn't seem quite so bad now the sun seems to be taking a little break! I'm really pleased to be joining the Contemporary Art Fair - Discover:Gather:Give in Stratford-Upon-Avon in November, and then another date is on the cards for early December. I'll be back to blog more as they get closer.

I'll pop a few photos from last weekend below :-)

​alix x

P.S. My etsy shop is back up and running after our holiday and Art in the Park - it's HERE..... and the mini-prints that debuted at AITP should be appearing there soon - please feel free to e-mail me about them if you are interested in the meantime..... images in the previous blog post!!! 

​Drumroll...... and here they are! I've finally framed some of my mini-prints. This is a new series of prints I have been working on - they are all around A5 in size and are original hand printed linocut prints.

The aim is to produce smaller prints which are available unframed, and therefore can be used to create a gallery wall effect at a sensible price! My lovely sister-in-law Sam has been my sounding board in terms of designs, and I think they'd be a really good addition to anywhere in the home - including children's bedrooms of nurseries. There'll be more designs coming soon!  Some of the prints have also been hand-coloured - there's some more images below of the ladybirds in red, and I also have some with the conker with a hint of brown!  You'll need to pop along to Art in the Park to see them though as that's where they'll first be available. There should be link above to the event or you can find the links on my homepage too - including to my festival artist's page.

It's been a busy few weeks since Warwickshire Open Studios - there's been some more printing going on - see above plus a lot of prep work re-stocking for Art In The Park, and fitting in some supply teaching around that too!  With all this heat it's played a bit of havoc with when I've been able to print and carve. The heat is not a friend to Japanese Vinyl as it can make it very soft and it makes slipping even more dangerous both for the vinyl block and my hands!  Hot hands are also not a friend when hand printing either; I find it can make the print slip on the ink as I'm holding it down, and if your hands are feeling really sweaty it's just not good!  However, the heat does make the printing ink work beautifully! 

The house has been covered in cards and prints drying in lots of different nooks and crannies and any spare ledges out of the way of the dogs! I've re-stocked and printed all of my hand-printed and hand-stamped cards, and there's a new penguin design too - again, you'll need to come to AITP to see them first!

Here's some pictures of what I've been up to - some close ups of the prints, printing chaos in progress, and also one of my mouse - I've also done a little series of harvest mouse drawings which I'll share at some point.

And finally, another Art in the Park plug: 4th and 5th of August at Jephson Gardens in Leamington Spa -  it's open from 10am to 6pm and is a great day out. Over 150 artists, food, drink, music, dance and drama. We went last year and had a great time - I'm really looking forward to being a part of it this year.  Plus, Dad and I have rigged up something very funky with some old doors to help with displaying my pictures!  If in doubt of where to find me...... just look for the Dodos!

alix x

​The last three weekends have been spent doing Warwickshire Open Studios - for those people who have been following my blog,  it also marked a year of me having my work physically out and about in the public eye rather than just on this website!  Doing WOS for the first time last year was my 'New Year's Resolution' to get my printmaking and drawing out there!

The set up took a bit longer this year as I had far more framed prints (hooray!) - and it was a nice reminder and review of how my portfolio of work has grown, and developed, over the year. 

I had the pleasure of being at Hilary Poole's house again - a glassmaker and ceramicist (her leaf is on the picture above) who also has a glass studio at her house, along with Sue Barclay a silversmith and Athina Bastien a ceramacist (it's her bowl on the picture above).  Thank you to the ladies for their chat and company over the weekends, and again a HUGE thank you to Hilary for letting us all in to her house to be able to take part.

Again it proved to be a very warm couple of weekends!  It was lovely to talk to folks about printmaking - some people came especially to see me to talk about printmaking which was lovely - and they left with lists of stuff to look at or try. It made me think that I could do with writing a blog on here specifically to do with things that I've found helpful and things I've tried too.... and I also talked to more people who haven't done printmaking before, or last did linocut when they were at school!  I'd taken along some carving examples as well as my pre-prints for a reduction linocut which helped people to understand the processes involved. 

It was a good two weeks, and this year I managed to get round some other Open Studios too by visiting on the mornings on the days we were open as I wasn't teaching on those days. It was fabulous to go and see different artists in their studios. If you haven't visited or are aware of how it works, essentially artists, or groups of artists, open up their studios or homes and show off their art and techniques for people to come and chat to them and also to buy artwork on display.

As well as Open Studios, I've also been working on some new mini-prints and drawings looking towards my next event which is Art in the Park in Leamington Spa. It's at Jephson Gardens on the 4th and 5th August from 10am - 6pm. It's free to get in and there are around 150 artists as well as dance, music, food and different art displays/installations and workshops. We went last year and it was great - such a fabulous vibe! I'll be in one of the bigger marquees in the Artist's Village if you are about to say hello. 

Time for a few photos from Warwickshire Open Studios and then next week (hopefully!) I'll pop up another blog with a couple more updates - and I'll get thinking about the blog about things that I've found out about printmaking over the last couple of years. If there's anything you would find helpful, leave a comment below and I'll see if I can get it sorted or can help out.

And a quick shout out to say my etsy shop (HERE) is up and running again for selling cards and digital prints.  The shop on here was not working too well as it was charging too much for shipping costs - on etsy it's much easier to control! The picture below is one I took for #justacard week - a way of promoting support for small businesses; believe me that one card really does help! It also shows just how many more designs I now have available!

Hope you're all enjoying the warm weather - it' s a bit too much for our dogs!

​alix  x