From an early age, I loved to create. Whether it was drawing, sewing collaging or any other media for that matter, I have always been happiest when creating.

One cold October (in 2017 I think), I saw an event listing for the Ouseburn Open Studios. I’d seen it before but been nervous to go along (there was the anxiety that I didn’t realise I had in buckets). It was fun looking around people’s studios and getting to see how they were set up but the real lightbulb moment came when we went Northern Print.

Seeing all the presses and screens and getting the waft of the inks tool me back to the Art rooms in college (the only place I felt happy at the time). Right then, I knew this was something that I wanted to do. I my sketchbook (which I was barely using at the time) with all of the ideas that I collected, used the coming weeks to explore galleries and then bought a Lino Print kit.

My most profound moments have come when the subject really means something to me, like when my daughter learned to say ‘turtle’ then became obsessed with them so I made her a print.

More recently, the things I choose to print come from me - not others. The Seaside Treasures prints are not just about pebbles but the profound need I have to be by the sea. The sea calms me (and terrifies me). Walking on the beach alone is a meditative experience, with my family it’s joyful and always it’s restorative.

The pebbles I printed are symbolic of times when I have taken time for myself. I need my art as a creative outlet, as time to be me and as an opportunity to bond with my daughter. The coast is my calm place. There are times when nothing else will do and I need to go there to feel restored again.

If I sound like the kind of person that you’d like to create you some art then click below and book in a chat so you can see what I can do for you.