We’re delighted to introduce a selection of print projects from our community that celebrate all things flora and fauna. From linocut illustrations of small eco-systems, to Risograph prints of birds in their natural environments, our members have used their printmaking skills to advocate for the respect of the wonderful world we live in and all of it’s creatures.
Isabelle Lin: Homing Instinct
Homing Instinct is Isabelle Lin’s first screenprint experiment with homemade ink from copper and indigo artist pigments. It is printed on Keaykolour Sunshine, a recycled paper with golden inclusions. “Here’s to hoping for more peace, more strength, and more starlight to light our paths in 2024,” says the printmaker.
Emily Jackson: Squillo & Frogmella AIMPE
Back in early 2023 linocut printmaker Emily Jackson entered the Awagami International Miniature Print Exchange and submitted these two 10 layered reductions with stamps. In February 2024 she received her Jurors Choice certificate for her Squillo print and is incredibly “thrilled” with the reward. These prints are both named after fond childhood memories, which makes them that much more valuable to Emily. Their contrasting colour palettes and overall feel are what she finds most appealing; “They’re both opposites and a pair of Flora & Fauna themed designs”.
The Burrow Prints: Vergangen
Vergangen by Steffi Möbius Ehrlich aka The Burrow Prints is a linocut print about the transience of fauna and flora and our interaction with nature. “We should safeguard the importance and beauty of nature and support it instead of destroying it,” says Steffi. She continues; “Every living creature, no matter how small, is important, but if we are not careful, the generations after us will only learn about it from books, because the fauna and flora will no longer exist.”
Cally Conway: Eden
Inspired by a beautiful Iranian manuscript, this lino print celebrates the flora and fauna of the Island of Guernsey and the life of the Guernsey Nomad Bee. Created for the ecology art project Fifty Bees, the Interconnectedness of Everything, Eden features flowers the bee feeds on: Tormentil, Thistles and Scabious, surrounded by Guernsey wildlife, the Guernsey palm, and the famous Gansy knitting.
Jenny Robson: Spring Vignette
This small etching by Jenny Robson was created using dilute nitric acid on zinc, with aquatint for shade and tone. The print features a Spring-inspired floral design, showing stylised Daffodils and Snowdrops emerging amongst a leafy background. “I often include a theme of celestial and weather-inspired motifs within my prints and have added some small details in the upper corners,” says Jenny. After inking in black, she used Caligo safewash to experiment with different colourways. She concludes; “I’ve enjoyed experimenting with intaglio methods, and the contrast in working to my usual technique, linocut”.
Laura Garrahan: First Snowfall
First Snowfall is an original illustration of a fox admiring the first snow of the season. Laura Garrahan tells us “I was inspired to create this one cold day thinking about how an animal might react to seeing snow for the first time. If anything like my dogs then they would probably just look to the sky in wonderment.” Laura has recreated the stillness and magic on a snowy night, just when the small snowflakes begin to fall.
Julie North: The Symbolism of Plants in Print
An explosion of colour debuts Julie North’s new series of linocuts, depicting the symbolism of plants, inspired by the flora in her natural surroundings. Purity, Pureté is the first of her planned designs, focusing on the humble, yet joyful nasturtium. Julie has created this varied, limited edition of hand-pulled prints, using 3 linoleum blocks. An initial sketch was rendered in pen and ink, then transferred to multiple blocks before they were hand carved, ready for inking in a choice of colourways. Made from strong Mulberry fibres, the fine Chinese Wenzhou paper enhances the jewel-like quality of the inks used. A selection of these prints will be presented this spring in her solo show in the Parc Naturel Normandie-Maine, Carrouges: Les Botaniques en Gravure.
Carolina M Correia: Memorari Loxodonta
Memorari Loxodonta is a print that celebrates the biggest terrestrial mammal, the African Elephant (Loxodonta africana). The elephant is surrounded by Leopard Orchids (Ansellia africana), a species of orchids that cohabitate the same environment as the African Elephant. This design was created as a commissioned piece where the elephant was set out to be the star of the show and a symbol of memory and loyalty. However, it was important for Carolina Correia to elevate the composition with a floral element that made sense and was relevant to the subject matter. After some research, she found these small beautiful orchids that are used as love charms and antidotes for bad dreams. Carolina states; “This print became not only a representation and celebration of two beautiful species from Africa’s natural world, but also an ode to ever lasting and trusting love, a love that conquers all that is bad.”
Emma Make: Calendula
Calendula is part of an ongoing project around medicinal plants by illustrator Emma Make. Emma comments; “As a fan of fauna and flora when gathering inspiration I was already excited with the subject. However, I was then enthralled by the connections between the commonly known Marigolds and their healing properties such as dental care (hence the tooth motif on the print).” She decided to make the print a Risograph this year and experiment with a 5 colour registration. The result is a vivid, almost psychedelic print.
Stefania Patrikiou: ESC Book
Stefania Patrikiou’s ESC book was inspired by short trips away from the stifling urban landscape of the city. Travels to various countries, summer vacations, mountains and seas are combined with an informal herbarium of flowers and plants found in those areas, which were collected, stored, and then directly used on the silkscreen matrix. The book is handprinted with various silkscreen colours on transparent and cream 300 gr paper.
Clare Morgan: Unfurl Mokuhanga 
“I love the translucent layers of colour that can be created with Mokuganga, a traditional Japanese woodcut technique,” says printmaker Clare Morgan. For Unfurl Mokuhanga Clare carved intoshina ply and magnolia wood with a hangito knife – very different from the tools she would normally use. The whole process uses damp paper (she used a bamboo select), brushes, watercolour, and nori. She describes; “It was fun doing something that in some ways felt familiar, yet has so many new challenges to navigate. I loved the graceful flowing nature of the chrysanthemum, resulting in a piece that embodies both delicate intricacy and vibrant energy.”
Federico Blu di Prussia: Ciüf
Back in 2022, Federico Blu di Prussia had the opportunity to transform a graphic designed by Manuel Bottazzo into a linocut for the 35th edition of The Maratona dles Dolomites – Enel. Alongside the evocative logo, it was decided to add the same plant soul in the graphics that represented the background for the entire event. The botanical species portrayed have highlighted the indissoluble link with Alta Badia through the representation of the most iconic and representative native species. Bibliographic research was necessary to accurately and adhere to the naturalistic representation of the various botanical illustrations in their fidelity.
VrijFormaat: Bird Riso Prints
For the past few years Vrijformaat have been making bird illustrations to print on their Risograph. This Riso-bird family is still slowly growing, and the green woodpecker and the spoonbill are the latest members they’ve created. The complete collection hangs on one of their studio walls and acts as a remnant of a small expo from the last open studio they had at the end of last year.
Caroline Erolin: Woodland Dreams
Woodland Dreams is a handprinted linocut of badgers and tree roots/branches by Caroline Erolin. The piece incorporates two view points; one looking down on a sleeping badger and her cub, the other looking out at a badger galloping through the woods. Printed on 40gsm acid free Thai Mulberry paper with Cranfield Caligo safe wash oil-based ink in a limited edition of 50 prints.
Jessica Lolliot: The Mildly Miffed Bittern
The Mildly Miffed Bittern is Jessica Lolliot’s second Reduction Linocut in her Mildly Miffed Series. She chose the Bittern as it’s an elusive bird that often looks a bit ridiculous. “I’ve been trying to see one for ages but had no joy, so I thought I’d conjure it up in print instead,” says the printmaker. She continues; “I really enjoy exaggerating the features and playing with bright colours, and I feel that the lino lends itself to giving the birds a great sense of character.”
Becca Thorne: The River
The River is the fourth linocut in Becca Thorne’s Marginal Habitats series of prints that focus on the flora and fauna of niche and fringe UK habitats. Each print is a long landscape that shows a journey through a different habitat, with changes of perspective and focus to celebrate all the different plants and animals, and allow us to see something different with every visit – just like we would in real life. This print explores the river and all the wonderful flora and fauna that makes their home in this amazing, and vital, environment.
Amber Capwell: Endangered Tarot
Endangered Tarot is Amber Capwell’s artistic journey into the heart of the Pacific Northwest’s imperilled ecosystems. The piece breathes life into endangered and threatened flora, fauna, and fungi species of the Pacific Northwest, with each tarot card representing a visual ode to their resilience and vulnerability. Beyond traditional interpretation, these cards serve as symbolic mirrors reflecting the interconnected destinies of all life. The prints are a call to action, urging viewers to confront the pressing need for environmental advocacy. Endangered Tarot transcends art; it’s a plea for awareness, a celebration of beauty, and a pledge to safeguard the delicate balance of nature.
Celia Ciona: The Wonderful Living
Between botanical illustrations and the creation of the series The Wonderful Living, nature is always present in Celia Ciona’s work. This series which was started in 2022 was born of the desire to draw the ordinary for its extraordinary aspects, against a backdrop of enchantment and childhood (perhaps with a touch of animism). They include references to imaginary or existing bestiaries and botany, surrounded by magic.
Natalya Balnova: Trivial Landscapes
Trivial Landscapes is a three-colour silkscreen book, size 7×8″, printed in an edition of 16 by USA-based illustrator and screen printer Natalya Balnova. The book features illustrations of the small insects that make up the trivial landscape, drawn in Natalya’s signature style.
Haychley Webb (Stellabox Designs): Between the Trees
Between the Trees is a linocut print inspired by the most elusive of woodland creatures in the UK; the badger. It was created by Haychley Webb using the multiblock jigsaw method of linocut printmaking. The base colour block was cut into three sections using a Stanley knife. They were inked separately after mixing each colour by hand, and then pushed back together like a jigsaw with the paper then lying on top. Once the colours were completely dry, the key block (the black one) was printed on top to give all the detail. “I wanted to show the elusive nature of the badger by having her hide half behind a tree- using the lino cuts to show the bark and leaf detail around her,” describes Haychley.
Shani McLane: New Hampshire Glass Flowers
This work by Shani McLane offers a glimpse of the natural world on a microscopic level as well as a birds eye view, illustrating the broad scope in which we can observe our impact on the environment. In experiencing both micro and macro perspectives of the organic materials and environments around us, the viewer is placed in the centre of the ecosystem that is both delicate and much larger than any one individual. The series is a reminder that everyone has a part to play in respecting life’s fragile balance and protecting our home for future generations. The New Hampshire Glass Flowers series was created by firing glass powders through screen print onto a glass canvas.
Browse more work by our community and apply to become a Verified POP Member at www.members.peopleofprint.com.
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