As I type this, It’s Sunday and outside its blowing a hooley. Storm Eunice hit the south coast on Friday lunchtime but the aftermath has left some very dreary wet and windy weather. So, a good time to sit and type out some studio news.

Dusk at Farlington Marshes, January 2022

January can be summed up with - Discovering the Wonderful environment of Farlington Marshes which is just on our doorstep. In fact this small coastal Marsh, which is managed by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust is only a 10 minute drive over to the Eastern edges of Portsmouth. Farlington is ‘internationally important for the migratory wildfowl and wading birds’ and in winter is home to a ‘staggering number’ of migratory birds. We went there a few times in January and it will be fascinating to see how it changes through the seasons.

At home I was hooked on watching Winterwatch on the telly, and I loved their new’ Mindful moment ‘ feature- just wonderful. Even though the landscape trips have been a bit scattered and fewer than I would have liked they have inspired some new work that’s been evolving In the print studio and the home studio.

Using mainly photopolymer plates - some old and some new - I have been working on a series of prints that take my fascination with wetlands and marshes into some new interpretations.

As yet, I don’t have any great photos of work in progress so I shall only pop this one on here. They are all very much in the stage of making but I am pretty excited about how they are looking.

Bookmaking at the studio, Photo credit Lorna Tyrie

Another preoccupation is the ongoing bookmaking and I have been exploring some different approaches and ways to work with the wetlands imagery in the book format.

Coming up -

2022 is going to be a mixed picture as I have some different ventures and excursions in the diary.

In April I will be working with another company who will be filming at the studio. I am beyond excited about it. There will be more news about this when I am able to announce more. For now I have lots of planning and prep to get on with.

In May - I will be heading to Wales with a stash of paper and art media to undertake an art residency at the Mawddach Estuary. During the 2 weeks of this very immersive residency I will be working with another friend and artist who I met at Digswell Arts. We have been looking for a project to do together for some time and when we saw this opportunity it felt ideal and perfect for our work. We will be sharing a studio and also have the opportunity to work in a print studio on the ground floor of the house. Most of all having the beautiful welsh landscape right outside our window will be very fulfilling and ideal for the current threads of my work and ideas.

Also in May - My book work ‘10 inches to 1 mile’ will be on show at The Turn The Page Artists Book Fair.

In September I will be heading to Ballarat in Australia and working with the team who deliver Fibre Arts Australia. I am delighted that finally it does all look promising and hopeful that these wonderful ‘live’ events will get the green light. It’s great news to hear that my workshops are fully booked.