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