Letterpress Workshop

I spent a great day at the Princetown Press recently, making a good selection of prints using their proofing press.

Emma Hogbin, who runs the Press with her partner JP, guided me through the setting up and font selection. Her expertise and approachable style of teaching was brilliant, gently reminding me of parts of the process that I had briefly used many years ago.

I had spent some time prior to the workshop thinking about the text I wanted to print. My drawings of trees and the words connected to them were my first idea, but I finally settled on a selection of words from my own prose used in some of my hand made books.

Emma helped me make several practice prints, playing with different layouts and colours. These were printed on lightweight, white printmaking paper. Once I felt the designs were ready, I used some lovely handmade papers I picked up at Matt Thomas' Paper Hog at RAAY in Plymouth.

It was a great day and I was thrilled with the results. Many new ideas came to me during the workshop and I plan to revisit the Princetown Press next year for another day of Letterpress.

www.princetownpress.co.uk

@princetownpress

@raay_artandyoga

 'inky indigo translations' 

taken from 'Unspoken' February 2018

'uncertain and wordless' 

taken from 'Photographic Tales: Path' June 2018

The Mountains are Calling

The Mountains are Calling is my next contribution to World Book Night for 2026.

The prompt came from Sarah Bodman of CFPR UWE Bristol. The title appealed to me immediately, as I have enjoyed recent trips to Scotland and Austria.

I extracted text from Nan Shepherd's book 'The Living Mountain', an interesting account of her relationship with mountains, specifically the Cairngorms. In the book, Nan not only speaks of her experiences of lone walks, but of the magnificent landscape and how she feels connected to it in both its beauty and harshness.

I decided to represent the mountains by making abstract marks using printing ink. I initially tried monotype printing, but felt that the marks were too soft. I switched to applying the ink directly onto the paper with a roller, rather than using a press. The mountain forms became more pronounced and rugged as I built up the layers of colour, and were enhanced by making concertina folds and cutting mountain top shapes into the paper. The final additions were a select use of crayon, pastel and graphite for finer detail.

The extracted text was kept as simple as possible, to reflect the awe inspired by nature and the mountain environment.

I made five varied copies of the book, one of which will be exhibited for WBN 2026, then used in a book swap for the same event.

Cover: 'The Mountains are Calling' 2025

Hand printed on 220gsm Fabriano Rosapina Bianca.

Inkjet printed on 120gsm Fabriano Tonal Paper

Inside: 'The Mountains are Calling'

Reverse: 'The Mountains are Calling'

Shepherd, N. (2014). The Living Mountain: A Celebration of the Cairngorm Mountains of Scotland, Canongate. pp16, 18, 21, 62, 63.

 

Wales Artist's Book Fair, Newtown

I'm delighted to be taking part in the Wales Artist's Book Fair (Llyfr Artistiad Cymru) in Newtown, Powys on the 6-7th September.

It's the first time I have been to this fair, organised by the talented  artist and book maker Amy Sterly at the Hafan Yr Afon Centre in Newtown. 

Please do come along if you're in the beautiful mid Wales area and have a browse at a great selection of handmade artist's books. There's a lovely cafe too and walks along the river.

Hafan Yr Afon

Newtown

SY16 2NH

Open Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th 10am-4pm

Wild Bird of the Ink

Clare Rogers 

In the Beginning

In the Beginning is a very simple book about Dartmoor. It's inspired by the open expanses of moorland, which can look desolate, like an imagined place at the beginning of time.

I had previously made four abstract collagraph prints with a wild landscape vibe. However, I didn't feel that they worked with my intention, so I kept them tucked away in a drawer to use for another project. Once cut down to size, the prints have worked perfectly for 'In the Beginning'. Every cloud....!

I have mentioned before that I never throw away any prints from my printmaking, as they can always be repurposed for book covers or cut down to fit another project.

The text inside 'In the Beginning' has been extracted from two books about Dartmoor; 'Diary of a Dartmoor Walker' by Chips Barber and 'After Dark on Dartmoor' by John Pegg.

The short piece of extracted text, or prose, describes another time within the National Park and I've illustrated the inside with cropped photographs of some my monotype prints made with a theme of the Dartmoor landscape.

There are 8 copies of the book, which are a little smaller than A6.

The inside is inlet printed on 120gsm grey Fabriano paper and set in Gill Sans font.

Cover: 'In the Beginning' 2025

Original collagraph print

143 x 102mm

Inside title page

Inside 'In the Beginning'

Cropped greyscale photograph of monotype print

and extracted text.

 

Stamp Album

I've made another book in the Stamp Album series, this one titled 'Presidents of the United States.'

It uses original stamps from the United States that feature statements by Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin.

For contrast, I have included typed statements made by Donald Trump.

These little albums are a delight to make, although quite time consuming. I do tend to get lost in the typographic detail and colour of the stamps as I browse through my stamp albums from the 1960's and 70's.

Each book is a one-off.

Cover: 'Stamp Album: Presidents of the Unites States' 

2025

Inkjet printed on tracing paper and squared paper.

Includes card and printed paper

Inside: Stamp featuring quote by Abraham Lincoln and excerpt of statement by Donald Trump.

World Book Night 2025

I'm delighted to be taking part in World Book Night again, which takes place on Wednesday 23rd April 2025.

This year's theme was a response to Richard Powers book 'The Overstory.' The story is about individual people who are summoned different ways by the natural world. It's a thought provoking piece of writing that challenges us to rethink our response to climate change and the protection of the planet, specifically trees.

My book 'Silent Observation' was made using a print from a section of a huge local oak tree. The Lucombe Oak came down in Plymouth in storms in 2024. The text I chose was extracted in part from 'The Overstory' and asks us not to remain silent, but to speak up about the importance of trees for human survival.

All the entries for WBN have been organised, collated and curated by Sarah Bodman, Linda Parr, Nancy Campbell and Rachel Marsh and MA students and is on display at UWE, Bower Ashton, Bristol. 

All artist's work can be viewed at www.instagram.com/lsp_books/

Part of the installation from the contributors to WBN 2025

'Silent Observation' 2025

Single page inside 'Silent Observation' 

Tavistock Group of Artists Talk

I'm delighted to be invited to meet the Tavistock Group of Artists to talk to them about my handmade artist books this month!

It's a great opportunity to give an insight into the wonderful world of handmade books, as well as share my ideas and inspirations.

My books will be on display for the evening at the Tavistock Parish Hall and I will be talking about the making of individual books and reading from some of them. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions and the purchase books.

I'm very much looking forward to meeting members of the group and sharing my book making practice.