Last year, we were all shocked and appalled at the felling of the tree at Sycamore Gap. The incident led me to think a lot about the power of nature to renew – already, a seedling grown from the tree has been replanted. The roots continue to feed the stump, which will regrow, given time. The tree we had all come to know and love is still there, just in a different form.
I decided to print a little sycamore seed as a reminder of this, that something so small and fragile can hold the power to grow into a tree, which can release yet more seeds and eventually, become a forest. I made a tiny reduction linocut print of the seed, using several layers of ink on an increasingly minute scrap of lino.
Once it was finished, I continued printing. I had decided during the course of making that first print, that I would continue to explore seeds, leaves, flowers, weeds, shells, pebbles, feathers, nuts, seedheads – any small details in nature which I found interesting or inspiring. And to be fair, I already had a huge archive at my disposal – the studio is crammed with my ‘collection’, from rabbit skulls to sand dollars, pine cones to grasses.
And so the collection of prints grew. I set myself parameters – each print was a maximum of 9x9cm in size, printed on A5 paper, and in a limited edition of just 10. I also decided to keep the price of the prints low and uniform, so they’re each just £15. I am currently working on the eleventh print in the series, a type of large clam shell we call a Druridge shell, as we always find them at Druridge Bay in Northumberland. Although my initial idea was to produce a series of twelve prints, I know I am nowhere near finished with this series! Each time I go for a walk I come back with specimens to sketch, or photographs on my phone, and even now, I have another half dozen or so prints planned out. So this really is an ongoing body of work, which I will continue to add to. In the spring I printed cherry blossom, and in the autumn I imagine I’ll be printing beech nuts and conkers. If there’s anything you’d like to see me add to the series, just get in touch and let me know!
