In Lincolnshire, on a former WWII airfield, a once dairy farm, the corn is ripening. This is the home of botanical print maker and nature inspired metalsmith Su France, whose Victorian barn is her home studio – a place where bulls were once kept, potato pickers stayed, and tractors used to be stored. There are names in stonework, with lines inscribed on the beams, showing that humans have, across the ages, shown a need to leave their mark. Su leaves her unique marks too.
‘’I love it in Spring when fiddleheads start to unfurl, emerging from light brown, parchment like covers. I explore with my camera, taking its macro lens, capturing the magic of this awakening time. I have also been experimenting with pressing ferns at this stage, so tightly spiralled heads, will be available for printing, later in the year.’’
Su was recently thrilled to be awarded a grant from The Arts Council England – to develop her practice for a year, as she embraces sustainability in her jewellery and printmaking process. Su’s prints link to people’s relationships with their own special visited woodlands or gardens.
Ferns have also gradually crept inside her home, including footed ferns and maidenhair (which she hasn’t quite mastered growing).It is inside her home studio, where a very special lodger resides. It is an etching press, a Gunning, with a large wheel, reminiscent of a Victorian industrial machine.
For this area of her creative practice, she takes heavy weight FSC approved dampened papers, blotting them so they are not ‘over wet’. Having hand inked the ferns, which have been picked and pressed (weeks or even months before) the plate is then placed onto the bed of her etching press. The dampened sheet of paper is placed on top. Felt blankets are placed on top of the paper and she then turns the wheel to move the bed through the rollers. With the pressure just right, the outcome is a print, showing crisp details.
“The look of the final print is affected by many factors, including the amount of ink, and whether it’s a ‘first pull’, the first image, or a ‘ghost print; the second pull I take from a print which sometimes has a gentle graphite, more whispered quality.”
Su takes commissions, where she works directly with the client’s own plant material, therefore creating a direct link to a special garden, place, or time.
The printmaker tells us; “Much of my colour palette is somewhat muted, hinting of the ‘golden hour’ a favourite time of day”. She also prints using a modern gelli plate (made from non-toxic, synthetic gelatin) where colours are more vibrant and the pieces created, experimental. Su will shortly be running courses on this process from her workshop.
“I’m still not adept at knowing the names of ferns. I take my waterproof, fern guide on walks with me, so I am gradually learning, but I’m taking my time to develop this knowledge, which seems quite apt, when you think of the subject matter and its longevity.”
www.sufrancedesigns.com
@sufrancedesigns
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