Q&A with the lovely folks at Artful, makers of creative quarterly subscription boxes.

Were you creative as a child?

Yes, and I thank my Mum wholeheartedly for that. Our little two bed house was bursting at the seams with scrap store materials and often a bunch of extra kids who loved to join in with the make and do. We’d do tie dye on the front lawn, plaster cast hands to decorate, face paint each other and draw anything and everything, all the time.

Once her friend visited while we had paints out and he let eight of us paint all over his car. Neighbours curtains twitched a bit that day! If the kids in your life seem keen, encourage their creativity with all the enthusiasm you can, even if their attention spans are frustratingly short and it's messy!

My Mum kept a lot of my artwork and notes from over the years which I had a look through before writing this and I spotted this fruity Sundae which has made me want to do one as a lino print. It would be fun to do a series based on childhood drawings.

Can you walk us through your creative education, what did you end up studying at university?

I did a mix of creative A levels at Bridgwater College in Somerset, it was there I got really into screen printing and embroidery.

I then did my degree in Surface Pattern Design at Swansea College of Art. I specialised in Textiles for Interiors. The course was (and is) AMAZING.

We were introduced to so many exciting processes and techniques with a strong emphasis on drawing as our starting point, which was so valuable.

I’m so grateful to the tutors at Swansea who have curated a course so jam- packed with experiences and have such skill in nurturing their students to find the approach that works for them.

From your Instagram feed I get a sense that there’s a joy for the work you do, what do you love about your job?

I’m glad that joy translates through my work because I really am having a great time making it.

What I love about my job now is the total freedom to create the work I want to make. That used to often be on hold while I worked on commercial projects but now my prints are my main source of income which means I can fully justify creating more and more!

Of course there’s the admin and the packaging and the not so creative bits in between but the key for me is to make something regularly enough to remind myself how lucky I am that it’s my job and also remember what a huge compliment every order is.

I spotted something you posted which is about the nature of focus within a freelance position, can you talk us through your experience and what works for you / do you have any tips for others?

I do get frustrated with myself about my fleeting focus. I can have an ultra- productive two hours and then the next four seem to fly by while I take too long over the not so juicy tasks! But I’m learning to accept that it’s ok not to function at 100% efficiency all the time.

Last year I was finding I wasn’t making the time I needed to create new work so set myself the challenge to start creating a new lino print every week and also implemented using a time sheet.

The first day I did this, I reminded myselfwhat actually could get done in just 90 minutes when completely focussed. No emails, instagram, even tea breaks while on the clock.Nothing but the task I’d set myself. I would “clock in” on a spread sheet and work solidly until I “clocked out” and would write everything I’d done in that time next to it.

Another important bit of advice I have is not to wait for all conditions to be perfect before dedicating time to making. Don’t wait until you’re on top of all the admin and everything tidy and inspiration has struck. Sometimes you’ve just got to sit in the chair and put your hands to work and see what happens.

What drew you to lino printing and what do you love about it?

I had my first go with some lino in 2018.
At the time I was doing illustrations for books and didn’t get a chance to take it any further. It was when I decided I wanted some variety in my work life, and started running creative workshops, that I realised it would be a great one to teach. It’s so accessible to people with different creative confidence levels.

I started working with lino regularly for demos and creating examples but it wasn’t until 2020 that I started properly dedicating time to making lino prints just for me and challenging myself to work bigger.

For the first time in five years of being self-employed, working in embroidery, textile design, acrylic paint, fine line drawings and collage for a wide range of applications I felt I wanted to really stick with something.

I love lino as a process because I find the planning exciting and the carving calming. With the first ink up I’m all adrenaline and that first peel back is (hopefully) super satisfying.

I believe any form of making with our hands is so beneficial, especially today. Which is why I made this print (Make Things With Your Hands). It’s a reminder and celebration of all sorts of making, cooking, drawing, upholstery, sewing, floristry, print making & gardening.

Pre-Covid I ran a lot of workshops and I loved seeing the joy people felt as they surprised themselves with the beautiful things they carved and printed with their hands in just a few hours. IT FEELS GOOD.

Tell us about the process of creating new work, how do you go about it and what do you get inspired by?

Making feeds into, and enhances my experiences before it begins. My work is often a response to a moment in time or a place which means when I’m in it I want to soak it all up - see it from every angle and visualise how it could piece together as a print.

This means I’m scurrying all over the place taking a stupid amount of photos and planning but that doesn’t detract from being in the moment - for me, it adds to it. I’ll also draw inspiration from my immediate surroundings.

The sprigs that feature on my Vessel prints can often be found around my home. The Willow Pattern Porcelain on the Oranges bowl was based on a mug I had in the kitchen cupboard. I find this is helpful for working intuitively. Tangible objects and recent experiences always require the least planning because they are fresh in my mind or in front of me.

I now begin new work with a very loose quick drawing, partly because I know I’ll refine and tweak the design a bit as I carve and partly because I just can’t wait to start carving!

I also find getting the sketch down as quickly and as intuitively as possible is me trusting my gut and not entering a land
of all consuming over thinking which is something I used to do a lot with digital work.

Weirdly, something that you’d think would be more efficient and save time has the opposite effect on me because there are endless options for the composition and colours and that overwhelms me a bit.

How often do you create new work?

I now try to create one new lino print every week. A challenge I set myself last Summer. I will be resuming this challenge in 2021 because it was so instrumental in my development within lino and within the reach of my business. It also helps me keep to the advice I mentioned above.

A staple question which I think is very revealing, what’s your favourite piece of work and why?

My current favourite piece is ‘Somerset Vessels’ It was a joy to make and to gather inspiration for as it features a load of beautiful spots close to home where I spent a lot of last year walking. I like the irregular shapes of the Vessels and the little touches of oranges that pop against the emerald green.

I created a box design for Artful’s Lino Upgrade Kit, you kind find this and their original full lino kit HERE.