I'm so excited to share my new collection FRUIT.
A couple of months ago I was contacted by Galerie Handwerk in Munich. I've previously sent some of my screen printed napkins and pouches for exhibitions. They asked me to be part of their new exhibition 'FruchtWerk' or 'FRUITS'.
I have previously produced work inspired by fruit, such as my Lemon Napkins and Zip Pouch. However I saw this as an opportunity to produce a new collection of work. The deadline was quite tight but I thought I could use that to my advantage, sometimes a bit of pressure can stop you from second-guessing and get the creative juices flowing.
I wanted to produce some limited edition prints that were a departure from my usual style. I wanted to play with some bold and bright colours as well as changing the composition of my images.
The process began with a trip to Norwich Market, I often visit the fruit and veg stalls there as the produce is always excellent and also has a bit more character than you'd find in a supermarket. I picked up some apples, pears, plums and blood oranges.
I've been spending a lot of time on the less creative parts of running a business recently, which is very boring but sadly necessary! That meant that I was a little rusty when picking up my fine-liner pen. This can be really discouraging as you feel like you've lost your creative mojo. Like all things though, practice makes perfect and I just needed a day or two to get back in the creative mode.
My work always begins with a pen and paper, I'm still trying to learn to draw digitally but I still feel like I'm an analogue person at the moment. After I'd completed my drawings, I had them transferred onto acetate (that clear paper you used to put on the overhead projector in assembly!). Then I paid a visit to the lovely people at Well Nice Prints in Norwich. They're alway so helpful and their studio is just the coolest. I got to have a play with their massive exposure units.
I know how exposing silk screen works but honestly I'm not the right person to explain it! There are plenty of great YouTube videos out there, so I'd recommend looking them up. For now I'll say it's a bit like exposing a photograph, where the aim is to create a stencil on piece of stretched mesh.
Once my screens were exposed, it was time to get printing. As I said, the deadline was quite tight but it still gave me a little time to spend on my favourite part of the process, mixing and choosing colour. Once again this is something I could probably do on a computer in a fraction of the time, but to be honest it just doesn't feel right. I the process of mixing colours, testing them on paper and trying to find the right combination. It's a lot of trial and error but I find it really satisfying.
After a few days of experimenting, I settled on some final designs, so then it was just a case of printing until my arms fell off. I've really enjoyed the process and I can't wait to see some images and videos of the final exhibition. I wish I could travel over to see it in person, maybe one day!
I've been documenting my entire process over on my Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok pages, so head over and take a look.
This week I'm going to be running a special sale of some of the screen prints I've produced for the exhibition. The collection includes artist proofs (that's like a test print) and some different colourways and designs that didn't make the final exhibition.
I'm also including a limited number of special edition Fruit Napkin Gift Boxes!
CLICK HERE to see the collection in full.