Birds & Words
This week I had the pleasure of capturing the lovely Jessica at work in her studio space at Seacourt Print Workshop.
Jessica who goes by the Artist name Birds & Words is a master of many talents including photography and marketing but this week I got a little bit of insight into her screen-printing process.
For someone who isn’t very familiar with the this process I really enjoyed watching Jessica work. Each aspect of it is very intriguing and I loved watching and learning about each element that goes into creating one of her beautiful limited edition prints.
During our shoot I was able to ask Jessica a few questions about her work and how her road to becoming an Artist all began.
Tell me a little bit about yourself and your journey to becoming an Artist.
Hi, I’m Jessica, an Artist and Printmaker living in Bangor by the Sea, with my daughter Juno. My company Birds and Words was founded in 2012 as an outlet for all of my creative pursuits. Under this umbrella, I undertake many freelance jobs, as well as creating my own original prints. I have been a member of Seacourt Print Workshop since I graduated from collage, and am also Artist in Residence at Wallhangers Gallery and Framing on High Street in Bangor. Printing is in my bones. I was immediately hooked back during early demos at Seacourt as an A Level student, and have practised the art form ever since. There is no better feeling than pulling a print. The element of the unknown and the subtleties in the lay down of ink on paper, are parts of this process that I will never tire of! Printmakers are a complex bunch, but once you know, you know
You mostly work from your studio space at Seacourt Print Workshop, Can you tell me about this space and what happens there?
Seacourt Print Workshop was founded in 1981 by Margaret Arthur and Jean Duncan. They wanted to be able to practice printmaking close to home and starting small, they established a print workshop. To help pay for overheads and purchase equipment they delivered courses to local people, then schools and the membership started to grow. It is an open access printmaking studio with fantastic resources, courses & workshops. It is a lifeline to many artists, and has provided a space to exhibit, learn and create, thanks to the Arts Council N.I. support over the years.
Your prints have a lot of different aspects to them, does your printmaking process take long? Can you tell me a little bit about your making process and what is involved?
Of recent years, I have been increasingly interested in creating work that has a modern, contemporary aesthetic, but using imagery which harks back to a distant era, mainly focused on my home town of Bangor. Primarily interested in the notion of memory and nostalgia, I look to these images for clues of how lives were lived then, in comparison to now. I aim to revive old, nostalgic memories and help to form new, positive ones, closely linked with the regeneration of my home town through other avenues such as Bangor Waterfront Master Plan, and Queens Parade Regeneration. Screen printing is about layers of colour and imagery, printed in succession, to create a complex work of art. Some of my pieces may have 10-12 layers, which equates to a lot of work! You have to enjoy the process, and be interested in the technical side of things. Otherwise you would get quite frustrated! I love to see a piece come together. I use the screen and inks as my tools and the paper I print on like my sketch pad. I find it hard to visualise a piece before I have started printing, but once I start laying down layers of colour and photographic elements, it all naturally comes together.
What advice would you give people wanting to start or learn screenprinting?
Come and take a class with me in Seacourt Print Workshop!
What has motivated you to create this new series of artwork?
I wanted to have a play with some different imagery, and illustrate the revival of sea swimming around Bangor’s coastline. Not that I’m brave enough to tip my toe yet, I enjoy watching the little fluorescent floats bobbing in the water, and wanted to honour the connection of Bangor back with the sea.
Jessica’s new Limited Edition Prints will be released on Thursday 10th December and will be available to view and purchase at the platforms listed below.
You can view Jessica’s work on Instagram @birdsandwords
On her website www.birdsandwords.co.uk
Or locally at Wallhangers Bangor where you can purchase all of her work, expertly framed of course!