Following the success of the SVAF More Than project, we decided to do it again: "More more than". The focus this time was: 'what it means to be finished' and I was sent 2 unfinished original prints by Chérie Lubbock in return for some uneditioned print experiments from my collection.

This second edition began to feel like an intrusion. With vaccinations pushing ahead, the end of lockdown looming and a sudden urgency for "real work", I struggled to focus.
Experience has shown that the somerset print paper is not an easy medium for me to draw on but I was enticed by the coloured piece - within a largely monochrome studio finding touches, a glimpse of colour is tempting.
Boxes have become a feature in my recent work, maybe a metaphor for the restrictions or maybe simply a need to "craft", the rhythm of process. I'm fascinated by the glimpses through the cut out paper scraps lying around the work surfaces. Windows, found compositions, snippets of interest.
With the deadline looming I finally focused. An opportunity to clarify a few random thoughts and try some techniques that have been floundering around in the back of my mind.

The first job was to create an appropriately sized box net template and test the process. I used a photo-etched print from an earlier project featuring butterflies and text from Charles Darwin's Origin of Species, tying this project back to the work I sent to Chérie. The print was sandwiched between two randomly selected postcard sized pieces of graphite marked paper from my current work. 
Gradually the collection of postcard pieces gathered ready to be glued and stitched together to form a book sculpture. In places the net was cut out, allowing glimpses through the structure, in others part of Chérie's work was sandwiched between. A mix of preparation and planning against random selection in the final presentation, some happy accidents.​

So is it finished?
​Once started this project became a plan, still room for manoeuvre, for experimentation, but an approach and an end in mind. It also became compulsive, a need to move onto the next stage to check if it worked, an impatience with sticking to the process. The tight deadline helped keep it on track.
There are other ideas, further stages or sidelines, more practice, but as I knotted the thread I knew this piece was complete. It has a balance, weight and presence, a sensory experience in so many ways.
This project drew on so many of the skills I have developed throughout my life and is now a part of that journey. The collaboration element was important.

Meanwhile .... well I had to use up the cuttouts:

23 March - 6 April
Curated by Amanda Lynch in association with Correspondence Collective and Clayhill Arts

Initially drawn with explosive mark-making techniques on large sheets of paper, the cutting and folding process creates unexpected compositions, glimpses of textured surfaces that draw you in. As the piece grows it becomes a sculptural entity with endless possibilities for display.

In 2019 I joined a Kickstarter Campaign to support the creation of a mini 3D press through the Open Press Project. Long story short, it finally arrived in October and I had a wonderful day in the studio printing a pile of mini bees from etching plates made years ago. Perfect timing to join in with the November edition of #oneofmanypostcard - an initiative organised by John Pedder on Instagram.

In lieu of two postponed residencies this summer I gave myself permission to play with the graphite and created some artist books. This is a short video of the first.

Imagine, six days at the edge of the land with permission to immerse yourself completely in art. No phone, no internet, just the vast Atlantic ocean outside your window.
This is the promise that comes with a residency at Brisons Veor, a studio set up to enable professional artists to spend a focused period of time developing their work. Its purpose is to provide accommodation and work-space to selected practitioners in need of assistance and who are making a significant contribution in the creative arts sector. Located on the westernmost edge of Cornwall (Cape Cornwall), Brisons Veor provides a dedicated live-work space for self-funded residencies of between one to four weeks.
In mid-April I travelled to Brisons Veor for a week with ​Leila Godden.

Amongst the Thorns
Graphite and pastel on bristol board
Andrena varians, aka The Blackthorn Mining Bee

For the second round of FiftyBees I was allocated Andrena varians, aka the Blackthorn Mining Bee. There are substantial areas of blackthorn on the South Downs and a lovely walk between Lewes and Ringmer where they are often found by bee specialists. But this is January and I really need to find inspiration more locally.
Research taught me how to tell the difference between Blackthorn and Hawthorn. In spring the Blackthorn flowers earliest and before the leaves emerge, Hawthorn is later at the same time as the leaves. So a long walk around muddy footpaths and I found a Blackthorn bush (only to return home and find we had planted one amongst our Hawthorn hedge!)

It's hard to know when an idea first germinates, what makes it grow and why it suddenly needs to flourish.
The Wasps came to a head last summer when we had a huge nest in our loft and we began to find dead ones laying around the house (and a huge number of live ones too!)
They found a way down next to the chimney and, once the pheromone path was set, it became part of their daily flight path. We ducked as they shot across the room to the window, waiting patiently until we released them. Evenings were spent listening to incessant buzzing, a fatal attraction to the lights. And so the collection grew.

During the drawing there is a need to learn more. Did you know that wasps eat spiders? they clear the detritus from our gardens? they pollinated the raspberries last year? The fluffy bee has a wonderful reputation, it's time someone championed the wasp.