Firestone Bay

I have had a vague idea about making book about a place called Firestone Bay for a few years, with initial inspiration coming from Gretchen Peters' song 'Everything Falls Away'. 

There is a bay in Plymouth called Firestone Bay. It has a small shingle beach and a concrete, man-made tidal pool, with beautiful views of Plymouth Sound, Mount Edgcumbe and Drake's Island. It's often a quiet beach and is very popular with sea bathers.

The Firestone Bay area has a system of coastal defences dating from the Tudor era. The name Firestone may refer to the type of stone used to build early fortifications or it may be linked to beacons lit in times of danger.

I spent a short while at the beach and wrote a small piece of prose. Later, I split the prose into two, using every other line, to create two separate verses.

Using my usual method of extracting text, I compiled three more verses from newspaper articles about drowning incidents on beaches in the UK.

Adding to the sombre mood, I created hand printed covers I made using an inked plate and clingfilm. This method created interesting marks, evoking disquieted seas.

'Firestone Bay' is an edition of six A6 books.

'Firestone Bay' 

2026

Cover: Printed on 50gsm Japanese Hosho paper

'Firestone Bay'

Title page: Inkjet printed on Fabriano 120gsm tonal paper

'Firestone Bay'

Inside: Prose I & V by Clare Rogers

Extracted text II, III & IV from

bbc.co.uk articles on 28.10.2015, 14.05.2026 & 15.05.2026

 

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