Lino Cut Workshop at Winterbourne

I ran a workshop today at Winterbourne in the Old Tool Shed and had some lovely folks attend. We were looking at the Kelmscott Chaucer borders, the plaster details in the house and, using plants from the garden as inspiration, we created some unique lino cuts.

We started by looking at the honeysuckle design that runs along the length of the hall. Everyone transferred that on to lino and then cut it using their own interpretation.

Then, after a trip round the garden, everyone came up with their own designs.

Highbury Hall

I went to Highbury Hall today for the Heritage Open Weekend. Fantastic gothic detail with plants and birds used as decorative features throughout. The marquetry was particularly notable.

Margaret Nettlefold would have been familiar with all this detail, as it was built for her uncle Joseph Chamberlain.

There will be a print based on Margaret's diary entry about a ball at the Nettlefold's house. In the absence of any photographic record of that house, I am considering setting the ball at Highbury. The hall would be a good backdrop to an image of Margaret and John dancing.

Return from the West Indies - First Proof

Having decided on a border of forget-me-nots to symbolise the fact that Margaret carried a lock of Robert's hair with her for the rest of her life, today I took the first hand burnished proof from the second lino.

A few tweeks to make, particularly lightening John's face, but overall I'm quite pleased with the result.

Events at Winterbourne

On Thursday I did an evening talk at Winterbourne about my current project. I also have a workshop coming up on October 16th. We will be looking at the plasterwork decorations in the house, linking them to the border details in the Kelmscott books and producing some lino cuts inspired by the gardens.

The plaster details are the work of George Bankart (1866-1929) who was born in Leicester and worked with Ernest Gimson, who introduced him to William Morris. In 1899 he moved to Bromsgrove and for the next seven years worked with the Bromsgrove Guild.