I got out of the habit of using a sketchbook. I just started put things down on random pieces of paper instead which I discarded after I’d used the idea. Which meant I had nothing to look back on, no record of what had (or hadn’t) worked.

It was recently when I was looking through some old sketchbooks that I realised that they are so much more than just a random number of images and words.

For example, I found this one which I made after I found one of my neighbours ducks dead one morning. In fact the whole sketchbook is more than a collection of sketches – it’s a train of thought, a record of what I was thinking about and why: a kind of diary.

A sketchbook is a great way to document observations from around you as well as ideas from your mind – and quite often a combination of both – which is what makes your art particular to you.

I have noticed recurrent themes and it’s interesting to see how some have developed and how I am still struggling to visualize others. It’s a reminder of what an ongoing process that being an artist is.

Sketchbooks allow you to experiment without fear of failure, both with ideas and with materials. There is no need to pressure yourself – no one else need ever see your sketches, thoughts and ideas unless you choose to show them. They are a place to play, to work things out and mine are often loose, a bit crazy and messy.

So I am excited to have decided to start using a sketchbook again, it’s good to have a healthy habit!

I’ve been doing some research on birds and birdsong as I have some ideas for new work but I need to find out more.

A friend introduced me to the Merlin Bird ID App and has been developed by The Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Once downloaded you can use it to identify birds from a photograph or from a recording of the birdsong you can hear.

Merlin was created by bird experts for everyone. Merlin is global—look up any bird at any location. Keep track of your sightings—linked to eBird, a global database of more than 1 billion bird observations! Powered by Visipedia, Merlin Sound ID and Photo ID uses deep learning to identify birds in photos and sounds

It’s really accurate as I tested it against a friend of mine who is a life long bird spotter and can identify birds by their song and everything matched!

What I think is really clever is that it can identify many species of birds at the same time by the sound of their song. The recordings are available to listen to and it also tells you where the recording was made. Here’s a list of the birds that I heard on my walk in the woods this morning.

There are many other features to explore. For example you can download your data to their database which helps the Cornell lab to build a picture of which birds are living in which areas.

I am slightly obsessed by it.

Which is why I am telling everyone about it. Why not download it, see what you think and let me know

I have made a series of cyanotype artworks about the fractured habitats that birds and animals have to try and adapt to in order to survive – habitats that have been destroyed (wholly or partially) by mankind.

Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold coloured glue/clay/lacquer. The point is to highlight the breaks, not disguise them, in order to embrace the flawed or imperfect. It is built on the idea that in embracing flaws and imperfections one can create something even stronger and beautiful. Sometimes in the process of repairing something that is broken one can create something that is more beautiful and resilient.

I am using gold metal leaf in these artworks in order to highlight the broken habitats that so many birds and animals have to live in – the gold is a message of hope – that there is still time for this destruction to be reversed and in some cases made even better than it was before.

We made two zines!

Me and my long time collaborator Richard Nicholls have just published 2 zines – each very different in concept, style and message.

A zine, (short for magazine or fanzine), is a self-published, limited run publication; traditionally hand-made and reproduced on a copy machine, although these days are often commercially printed, albeit still in small numbers and with the same non-commercial DIY philosophy.

The first zine we made, ‘enough to see but not enough to see by’, was inspired by ‘House of Leaves’ (Mark Z. Danielewski, 2000) which was also used as the starting point for one of our previous collaborative projects ‘Wall Stories’ which was shown as part of the ESPY Photographic Awards in 2019.

We set up some props in Richard’s studio and spent a day photographing them to give our interpretation of the complex novel. It has no clear singular meaning and the author has largely avoided giving a set interpretation of the text. This forces readers to walk away with their own conclusions.

It is one of my favourite books and I often go back to it to enjoy it’s complexity. It is typographically unique with copious footnotes and it is impossible to read the book the same way twice.

Our second zine, ‘end of an era’, shows photographs of the former Royal Worcester Porcelain Factory which closed in 2009 after 258 years. We took these images in 2012 when we had the opportunity to go around the site before it was cleared. This is the first time that the images have been seen in public. A zine seemed the most appropriate way to share the photographs in order to make them accessible to as many people as possible.

Both are available to buy on our websites. £5 if you would like to collect person or £7 if you would like one posted to you.

The process of making a zine has been really liberating and we are looking forward to making some more. I thoroughly recommend having a go yourself as there is lots of online advice.

Having a solo art exhibition is really exciting as well as hard work. It’s not just about making the art, there are lots of other jobs that need to be done and as I’ve just been through the process I thought I’d share it with you. Here goes….

 Title and theme

This is always my first decision; it provides clarity for both you and the gallery.

Size of gallery

You need to know the meterage (if that’s a word) as well as the position of windows, doors and other immovable objects are so that you can formulate a hanging plan – or at least work out how many pieces of work at what size will fit in the space.

Make and select the artworks.

You may be making new work, showing old work, or a combination of both. I always try to show mostly new work. I love making new work as it evolves all the time. I sometimes include relevant older work. This always takes longer than I think as not everything makes the grade.

Number and size of artworks.

Including whether any need to be hung together (eg triptychs)

Document the artworks

You need photographs of the work before it is framed (I failed on 2 for this exhibition which is really annoying and completely my fault). Once documented you can use them for the exhibition catalogue, your website and your future book 😉

Title the artworks

Titles are really important to me. I like the title to be ambiguous but also hint at what I am trying to convey in my work.

 Provide artist biography/information about the artistic process

Although the gallery may do this for you it is worth putting some time into it. If you have an unusual process the audience will be interested to know about it.

Provide gallery with information about each artwork

Size, medium, price etc

Frame the artworks and attach suitable fixings

This varies according to the gallery’s hanging system

Label the artworks.

Wrap the artworks

This protects the frames. The gallery will do a check for any damage prior to you leaving the artworks with them.

Deliver the artworks

In my case it’s ‘how many artworks can you fit in a mini’ !? The answer is 46 but there’s room for more.

Liaise with the gallery

Keep in contact with the gallery the whole way through the process. You are working together to make this exhibition happen

Share information about the exhibition

The gallery will also be doing this but I always do it too, both on social media and via artist newsletter (before and during). You will reach different audiences.

There’s no point in having an exhibition  if no one knows what it is or where to find it

Whilst researching for an upcoming solo exhibition I discovered that the UK is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world.  I was genuinely shocked. My artwork is about declining natural habitats, loss of species and decreasing biodiversity but I had no idea that it is as bad as it is. I live surrounded by farmland but of course that is not natural – I walk in ancient woods and meadows but they are currently under threat from a big housing development – so short sighted as once natural habitat has been built on it is gone forever.

The World Wildlife Fund states that one in seven native species in the UK face extinction and that more than 40% are in decline. 30% of UK birds are threatened with extinction with 70 species now on the red list of Birds of Conservation Concern – you may have read in the national press recently about the addition of the greenfinch to this list but there are other birds on the list that you may not be aware of such as such as sparrows and starlings.

A report by the Natural History Museum in 2020 states that UK has only half of it’s natural biodiversity left. It is in the bottom 10% of all countries globally.

Farmland covers 70% of the UK and as it has intensified there has been a decrease in habitat for wildlife. Larger fields mean less hedgerows and trees for example. And then there’s the pesticides and herbicides that are used on crops that are dangerous to small mammals and pollinators – and ourselves.

Fly tipping is also a big problem –from leaking toxic fuel from dumped motorbikes to large items such as trolleys and baths that trap silt and smother natural gravels on the beds of rivers that support wildlife.

Also in the press recently there has been a lot about the decline of hedgehogs – this is linked to loss of hedgerows too.

I hope this has given you some insight into the enormity of the situation and why I feel compelled to try and bring it to people attention through my art.

If you want to read more then here is a list of links to sources of the above information and more. Sobering but essential reading.

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2020/september/uk-has-led-the-world-in-destroying-the-natural-environment.htm

https://www.wwf.org.uk/future-of-UK-nature

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/uk-conservation-status-explained/

http://ww2.rspb.org.uk/Images/A%20LOST%20DECADE%20FOR%20NATURE_tcm9-481563.pdf