trickery

Recently, I had a good sort through my plan chest drawers to collate a series of prints relating to Dartmoor. Some of the prints are discarded ones, or ones that needed a trim down. I was surprised at the amount I had, and my intention is to make a unique, one-off, handmade book from the prints. But more on this as it evolves!

However, as I browsed through the papers I found prints I had made years ago at the Arts University Plymouth, in a letterpress workshop run by the talented printmaker and handmade book enthusiast, Monica Rycerz.

I had chosen the word 'trickery' to typeset and print because I enjoy the way the letters fit together when printed out. Their spacial quality really stands out to me. I also found the definition interesting.....there's probably and idea for a handmade book there too!

I printed an edition of ten, which I then trimmed to A6.

'trickery'

A6 postcard

Weight

'Weight' was inspired by a video on social media about the items a woman carries, from children, shopping and appointments, to expectations, worries and hopes.

I wrote a series of statements; my own response to the non physical weight I carry.

The cover was made on 270gsm bread and butter paper, which is a good thickness to absorb watery diluted ink. Another layer of undiluted black Indian ink was added, creating streaks, blotches and interesting marks. The intention was to create an emotional sense of weight in the forms and colour choices. 

The statements were inkjet printed on 120gsm Fabriano grey pastel paper.

Weight is an edition of twelve.

'Weight' front cover

9 x 9cm

'Weight' title page

'Weight' sample of statements

'Weight' inside pages

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.