Monday 18 December 2023

THANKS!




This is just a quick thank you to all the people I have worked with, who have bought my work, and have supported my practice this last year!

It has been a great year, with my 'Donkey Nonsense' exhibition playing centre-stage, but also so many great events, commissions, collaborations and conversations.

Creatively, some new ideas seem to have sprung up from nowhere, others have been well planned and very overdue (trip to Filey!). It will be a sad day when my 'ideas list' is empty, and I'm very grateful that most of the time is is well stocked.

I hope you all have a good festive break and I look forward to telling you about new plans for 2024 soon!

x

Friday 3 November 2023

No more nonsense..


photo by Danni Maibaum














Hi there

My 'Donkey Nonsense' exhibition has now finished. It has been a really fun time, and I'm totally blown away by all the positive comments I've had from people, in person and on social media.

It is the biggest exhibition I've had in my life as an artist, and it really means a lot to me that the exhibition has connected with people who have visited. Apparently there were over 42,000 visitors!

Sheffield Museums staff have been super-helpful, the curators, technicians, workshops/events crew and the shop staff too. The workshops and talks seemed to go down well. My favourite event was meeting a group of Sheffield Museums volunteers and talking them round the show. They were a really engaged and interested bunch!

The new 'Donkey Monolith' (10 to 16) prints went down well too. I've sold a fair few of them, but the remaining prints will appear in my Folksy shop very soon.

What to do next? Watch this space...

In the meantime I have created a new rather small new donkey print called 'Donkey No.1'. This clearly isn't the first donkey print I've made, but the first in a long time of a simple portrait, so the title seemed fitting. I actually created it for a talk/demonstration I was giving to the Heeley Art Group (oldest art group in the UK apparently!), and I rather liked the result so thought I'd make a proper edition.

It is an A5 size linocut/screenprint, in an edition of 94, printed with black ink on 250gsm off-white Munken paper. It is now in my Folksy shop.





Monday 5 June 2023

Donkey Nonsense now open!


 I'm very proud to announce that my new exhibition, 'Donkey Nonsense' is now open! It is the biggest exhibition I have ever had, and focusses on my donkey-related prints from over the last fifteen years.

It is at The Millennium Gallery in Sheffield city centre, and features 50 prints, plus textile pieces, ceramics, an animated film and more. The prints start from 2008 up until the current day, and there are seven brand new prints exclusive to the exhibition. You can buy these from the gallery shop, along with donkey greeting cards, enamel badges, vinyl LPs and exhibition posters.

The exhibition has been two years in the planning, and I can't quite believe that it is now happening! I was lucky enough to receive some funding from the 'Freelance Fund' via Sheffield Council, plus help from Sheffield Museums too, which helped a lot.

The exhibition also features collaborations with fellow artists and creatives vinegar & brown paper (linocut/letterpress print & etched mirror), John Pedder (woodcut/screenprint), Hunk Print (screenprinted t-shirt), Finger Industries (animated films) and The Stitch Society (smock and apron). I love collaborating with people and it is a great opportunity to show these pieces to the world!

There are a couple of events related to the exhibition that you might be interested in too:


Meet The Artist

This is a free event where I'll talk about the show, inspiration and answer any questions you may have. It takes place on Thursday 29th June 2023, 6pm-7pm and you can book a free place here


Introduction to Linocut Printing workshop 

I am running an 'intro to linocut' workshop at the galleries on Saturday 2nd September 2023. There will be 10 places available. All materials will be provided and no experience needed. You can book a place on it here.


The exhibition runs until 8th October 2023, so plenty of time for a visit if you want to check it out.






Tuesday 11 April 2023

Donkey Nonsense!

Hi there

At long last I can spill the beans and tell you about my 'secret project' that I've had to keep quiet about for quite a while.

On 27th May 2023 I will have a new exhibition at The Millennium Gallery in Sheffield, entitled 'Donkey Nonsense'! It is an exhibition tracing my donkey-based artwork from 2008 until now, including 50 prints, textiles, collaborations, ceramics, films, sound and more...

The exhibition will run until 8th October 2023 and entry is free.





































I was very fortunate to receive some funding to help put on the exhibition from the Freelance Fund for Freelance Workers and from Sheffield Museums, and I'm hugely grateful for this!

The exhibition is part-retrospective showing prints from the past, some long out of print, but I will also be including seven brand new prints, which will be exclusive to the exhibition. I'm very excited to unveil them. They will be available to buy from the Millennium Gallery shop, as will a range of new greeting cards, a new enamel pin badge, and an A3 exhibition poster (similar to the poster above).

There will be a couple of events happening at the Gallery as part of the exhibition:

I'll be talking about the exhibition and my inspiration, plus signing exhibition posters if anyone wants one.

Introduction to Linocut Workshop - Saturday 2nd September 2023
Booking not yet open but it will be very soon. A day workshop to create a one-colour linocut print. No experience needed and all materials provided.

I hope you'll be able to come along to experience the nonsense!


x

 

Wednesday 1 March 2023

Spring donkeys..

 Hi there

I hope you're well. This year has so far consisted of working on commissions, a 'secret' project and a couple of new donkey prints. I will soon be able to reveal what the secret is, but for now, I shall keep schtum!

I've also run a couple of linocut workshops in January and February. They have been a lot of fun, and good to return to after a long time away from them. I will be arranging more for later in the year, so if you're interested, keep an eye on my social media.


NEW PRINTS

I have created two new 'Happenings in Donkey World' screen-prints, and here they are. I actually created No.12 before No.11, which is a little confusing, but I shall present them in number order!

Happenings in Donkey World No.11
















HDW11 is an A2 size 3-colour screen-print, printed in bright blue, pink and yellow. As I've used very transparent inks, you also get several overlayed colours too! It is perhaps my most abstracted donkey print, with the donkeys exploring a very curious landscape. It is printed on 300gsm Seawhite paper in an edition of 30, stamped, titled and signed, and available in my Folksy shop now. I really love using these bright colours, and the playful way they work when overlayed on top of each other.


Happenings in Donkey World No.12


HDW12 is an A3 size 3-colour screen-print, printed in rust, light blue and dark grey. Another very odd landscape for the donkeys to manoeuvre, as gravity doesn't seem to be working quite right. 
It is printed on 300gsm recycled Cyclus Offset paper in an edition of 40, titled and signed, and available in my Folksy shop now. 


EVENTS

Here are the events I'm taking part in, in March and April 2023:














North Wales Print Fair 2023

Sat 4th March 2023, 10.30am to 4pm, Oriel Mostyn, 12 Vaughan Street, Llandudno, LL30 1AB
This great print fair returns at last. The Mostyn is one of my favourite galleries in the UK, and Llandudno also one of my favourite places, so I'm obviously excited! the line-up looks great too, with artist/printmakers from all over.








The Hepworth Wakefield Print Fair 2023

Sat 25th and Sun 26th March 2023 (10am to 5pm), The Hepworth Wakefield, Gallery Walk, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF1 5AW

This fantastic event is back to its former size, and at a new venue on site, Tileyard North, a refurbished textile mill opposite the gallery. There is usually such a great buzz at their print fairs, and always an amazing selection of artists!










Printed Bound 2023

Sat 1st April and Sun 2nd April 2023, 10am to 4pm, Sunny Bank Mills, Farsley, Pudsey, West Yorkshire, LS28 5UJ
I'm glad to report that this event is returning after its debut last year. Over 40 printmakers and bookbinder will be on site (interestingly at the same place where 'The Great British Sewing Bee' is filmed!), with talks, demonstrations and really nice food and drinks too.




Open Up Sheffield 2023

Sat 29th April, Sun 30th April and Mon 1st May 2023, my studio in Sheffield!












It has been quite a few years since I have done Open Up, mainly to do with date clashes, but this year it works out! If you live in Sheffield and you weren't aware, it is a great open studio event for any artist living in the city to open their workspace to the general public, so they can see the artists at work and maybe buy pieces too. The event runs the dates above and also the following weekend, but I am only available the dates stated. I will be creating some new work while in my garden studio, and setting up a display of a selection of my work. The A5 booklets will be available soon throughout the city, and you can also use the maps on their website to plan your trip! My location and other info are on my page there too.








Wednesday 14 December 2022

2022, thank you!



Before Christmas swallows me up whole I thought I'd just write to say thanks for all your support over the last year.

It has clearly been a tricky year for everyone, and I really do appreciate every bit of interest shown to me and my print work.

As far as prints are concerned, I've had a lot of fun experimenting with bright colours, transparencies, new landscapes, new birds, new textile products and of course a whole load of donkeys! My new screenprint studio is now behaving itself and it is great to have the flexibility to try new things whenever I like. 

Events have been so much fun this year. I have really missed getting out and about over lockdown, and it has been great to see organisers able to launch their events and the visitors too. There have been great new events, like Printed Bound at Sunny Bank Mills, Leeds, and a return to some of my favourites, including Printfest, Wirksworth Festival, Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair, The Hepworth Wakefield Print Fair, Welbeck Winter Weekend and Nottingham Contemporary. Also as a co-organiser myself, it was wonderful to see so many people come along to Sheffield Print Fair this year!

Next year I've already got some exciting plans, but I can't really say anything yet! I hope you have a great festive break, and I will see you in the new year.

Take care

James x


Wednesday 13 July 2022

Yorkshire and the return of the magic donkeys....

Hi there

However much I wish that time would slow down a bit, it ignores me and ploughs on regardless. It has been a lot of fun returning to events so far this year, especially Printfest in Ulverston, Lake District. A long weekend of talking print with all sorts of people, including really nerdy conversations with other printmakers was a lot of fun!

The rest of the year is also looking good for quality events, including Welbeck Winter Weekend, Wirksworth Festival, Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair, Sheffield Print Fair and more.... I'll keep you posted via my newsletter and on social media about dates etc..


REDUCTIONS/SUMMER SALE!

I have decided to discontinue quite a few older poster-prints in my Folksy shop, so many of the are reduced in price, and I have also introduced a Summer Sale for the whole of July, with 20% off all of my prints, if you use the discount code SUMMER22JG at the checkout.

Also I am giving away a free poster-print with every sale purchase, from a selection of one-offs that I have never sold before. Bargain, eh?!







NEW PRINTS

I have quite a few new prints to show you since I last blogged. All are available in my Folksy shop. Here they are...

'Haworth'

A4 2-colour linocut/screenprint, edition of 80.

A beautiful village in West Yorkshire, and home to the Bronte sisters for all of their literary careers.

'Magic Donkey No.4' 

A2 2-colour screenprint, edition of 12.

Further donkey dream explorations...

'Sheffield City View No.10' 

A3 poster-print in dark red/dark blue.

This is a view at Kelham Island looking north up Kelham Weir towards Ball Street Bridge and the Victorian factory buildings in the background.

'Sheffield City View No.10' 

A3 poster-print in grey/brown.

This is a view at Kelham Island looking north up Kelham Weir towards Ball Street Bridge and the Victorian factory buildings in the background.

'Sheffield City View No.10' 

A3 screen-print in warm grey.

This is a view at Kelham Island looking north up Kelham Weir towards Ball Street Bridge and the Victorian factory buildings in the background.

'The Donkey Garden' 

A4 2-colour linocut/screen-print, edition of 50.

Who knew donkeys could have such fun in their own gardens?

 

'Red Donkey Blue Donkey'

A2 2-colour linocut/screenprint, edition of 10.

Upon scaling nearly monoliths, two slightly surprised donkeys discover each other.