Nell Smith Prints

Solstice blessings my fine friends!! Summer is here and it’s going to get up to 21 degrees in Manchester today!! Hurray!! I’m going to go for an early swim tomorrow then get out camping and walking with my friends in the lakes at the weekend. Brighter days are here. Enjoy the long day my loves 🌞 xx

Beltane blessings, my fine friends! I was up with the larks this morning to greet the day with a bit of at the allotment. I dug up some dock for the dye pot and hung out with some bird pals.
This weekend you can find me and my work at number 18 with .pewter, , .patel.artwork and .gornall.art Hope the weather lasts, it’s beautiful out there 🌞
I hope you have the chance to prance wherever you may be today 🌱

Spring Rises. Gentle colours of Spring, screenprinted with plant dyes, hibiscus, chlorophyllin, coreopsis and modifiers. Part of a new collection of prints from my Chroma project.

HAPPY SPRING EQUINOX FRIENDS! We have made it to the light half of the year (in the Northern Hemisphere)
I went for a soggy stomp this morning, I’ve been awake since 4:30, thanks to my fizzy brain I often get bouts of insomnia. It’s good to embrace it sometimes and my reward was a banging dawn chorus. 🐦 Saw lots of wild garlic too, but foolishly left my findings bag at home!!

Enjoy your day, I hope you see many signs of Spring wherever you may be 🌱x

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Celebrate Spring! If you are an email subscriber you’ll receive a link to a free botanical inks video tutorial in this month’s Equinox newsletter. I show the steps to making lovely plant based colour and how to achieve different shades using modifiers 🌱 Link to subscribe here: http://eepurl.com/hor98r ✌️

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Days 1-9 of . I’m using up my oddments of fabric that I’ve dyed with natural dyes to make hand stitched improv cloth collages. So far I’m enjoying their flag-like qualities. Always nice to see work laid out neatly too!

Natural dye sample cards. I have lots of these. And sketchbooks. And notebooks. And many scraps of paper and fabric. Missing the studio while I made through masses of admin and applications. A growing sense of dread that too much time has passed and all my potions will have grown legs and run away. February is feeling long but I’m planting my seeds and taking my time. 🌱

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Imbolc blessings, friends! The 1st February marks a midway point between winter solstice and spring equinox- a tentative step towards the start of warmer, longer days. My time in California already feels like an amazing dream, the haze of jet lag drenching everything with unreality. It was real though! I have the photographs and the prints to prove it! I’m back in my studio, sorting and sifting through work and ideas, making ink and planning my next moves. Wishing you a bright start to the month ahead x

I'm back from a wonderful few weeks in California In Cahoots Residency and adjusting to real life slowly. I've written a little about it in my newsletter, you can sign up here to read it when it's released on the 1st of February http://eepurl.com/hor98r

Solstice blessings, friends! More reflections coming up: although lots of great things have happened this year, I have also found things tough personally. I’ve struggled with my mental health and found myself isolating more and more (to anyone I’ve bailed on this year, I’m sorry!) and I know that isn’t a great strategy for wellbeing. So it’s good that things are changing next year, and I solemnly swear to have more fun in 2024! With that in mind I went for a little walk this morning and saw this amazing rainbow cloud (swipe for pics). I’ve never seen this before, apparently it’s a rare phenomenon called a nacrous cloud, isn’t that amazing?! Thank you nature for always blowing my mind. Wishing you all a safe and peaceful Yuletide, ramble over ✌️ xx

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Hello all, it’s my last day today, just wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone who has supported me over the last 15 years, all my customers and the wonderful crafty crew - I’ll miss you but it will be nice to come visit you as a customer next year! 😘
I’m looking forward to spending more time in my studio next year and working on some big exciting projects using natural dyes and pigments. 🌱
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This will be my last event this year, I'll be showing my research into natural dyes and pigments for screenprinting, and showing new work!

📣✨ Hot Bed Press Open Studios 🖼️

📅 Save the Dates:

Friday, 1st December: 6 PM - 9 PM
Saturday, 2nd December: 11 AM - 5 PM

Join us at Hot Bed Press!

👩‍🎨 Meet our talented artists, explore their studios, and find some original art to take home.

👀 Check out the Ground Floor exhibition featuring the 20:20 Print Exchange.

🎁 Looking for unique prints for Christmas? We've got a print sale with great finds.

🎉PLUS on Saturday, 2nd December, at 1 PM and 3 PM, we're doing FREE print demos in our first-floor workshop areas – come learn some printmaking tricks!

See you there!

Samhain blessings, friends! We are now in the dark half of the year 🖤
I ran my last workshop of the year last night, we had lots of fun with botanical inks and modifiers. If that sounds like something you’d be interested in, sign up to my newsletter and I’ll let you know what I’m up to next year.
My research is going well, I am having less stinky disasters and firming up ideas for my final prints, which I’ll be showing open studios on Friday 1st & Saturday 2nd of December. I’ll be talking about my project and doing some demos, so come along and say hi 👋
This week I’m getting ready for on Saturday. Can’t wait to be back at one of my favourite print fairs in the glorious city of Glasgow! Wish me luck on the train 🚂 ✌️

So pleased to be paired up with this fab ceramicist, dont these colours look great together??

Have you always wanted to try your hand at Screenprinting? ✨ Look no further!

🌟🗓️ Join us on Saturday, 26th, our resident screenprint tutor Mandy Tolley - will be there to guide you through the process of printing your very own design onto a postcard that you can take away! 💌

Suitable for all ages, this is a great opportunity to have-a-go at printing and get creative!=

Looking forward to the Hot Bed Press print fair! Bank holiday weekend, 26th/27th August, come say hi 😊

Lammas blessings, friends! It doesn’t really feel like August does it?? 🌧 Despite all the rain, my spirits are high as I’ve been doing some good growing and learning the past few months. And this is set to continue, thanks to a grant from . My DYCP application was successful, so I’ll be spending the next 8 months researching natural dyes and pigments, HURRAY! Massive gratitude to , .pewter, and for help and support with my application. Thanks for believing in me 🤗 I have also teamed up with on an allotment, which is very exciting 🌱 More growing and learning please! 💫

Come and visit us Hot Bed Press for a wonderful late summer print fair!

📣 Join us for our August Hot Bed Print Fair extravaganza! 🎉

SAVE THE DATES

Saturday 26th & Sunday 27th August 2023

11am - 5pm

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More info and Eventbrite link in our bio!

🔎 Stay tuned for more details and posts about the artists, activities, and music coming soon!

Also, if you are a printmaker and interested in having a table at the fair we have a couple of tables left so please email [email protected] for more details & how to apply.

Really happy to have a couple of pieces in this lovely exhibition of Manchester makers, including my Ostara quilt, which I'm very proud of! Starts this Saturday and runs til 9th September Waterside Arts in Sale.

Photo credit: Elle Brotherhood

Solstice blessings, one and all! 🌞
These limited edition A3 prints are available 0nline and in Studio 9 , where you can find me every Wednesday 👋
Have a beautiful and magical day, friends, especially if you’re going to Glastonbury this year✌️

📸 by the wonderful

These collages have a more delicate feel than my usual style. I am itching to get making and experimenting again, but I’m holding myself back a bit. Had a funny feeling of being on the edge of a change for so long, maybe it’s time to take a leap of faith. These are available individually, A4 Canford card backing ready to frame.

More collages in softer colours. I use these as a starting point for future prints, cutting and selecting shapes intuitively. Great for getting into a creative flow ✂️
Had another lovely morning with getting these photographed with lots of chat about making and creative processes 🙌

Here are some Summery collages that are available. I love making these, find it very soothing to turn off the over-analysing brain and go with the flow 💆🏻‍♀️
It feels a bit cooler in Manchester today, I’ve been loving the sunshine but my plants will be glad of a spot of rain 🌞

Big thanks to for asking me to be part of his final uni project about zero hours workers. Here I am in the printroom where we had some great chats about creativity, money and precarious working situations. Thanks again Ed, it was great to meet you, looking forward to seeing what you do next and good luck with the degree show! 🌟

Looking very happy to be presented with the Awagami Award Printfest Ulverston! 😄

Awagami Award Winner ~ Nell Smith
Washi editioning papers from Japan

Awagami papers are crafted exclusively at their Tokushima Mill in Japan with the refined artistry and knowledge gained through their eight generations of washi papermaking. Awagami Editioning papers are 100% acid-free and made with a strict attention to professional artist quality and preservation.

Nell Smith was selected by Patron Alan Stones on behalf of Awagami Factory. The print selected was 'Lammas'. Alan said of her work "The Awagami Award is so well suited to the way Nell collages and layers papers and I'd love to see how these Awagami papers influence her work."

The runner up was Alison Diamond for her print "Sweet Dreams'. Alan said of her work "Alison's work is so joyful & exploratory. I love the freshness of her drawing." ._.diamond

Beltane blessings, friends!
Huge thank yous to everyone that came to see me , I had a great weekend. It was so good to be surrounded by amazingly talented printmakers and friendly folk. Thanks to everyone who chatted to me and bought some of my work, thanks to all the team for your hard work and enthusiasm and thanks to for my wonderful prize! Can’t wait to get back in the printroom (might have a little rest first though, it is May Day after all!) 🌸

Can't wait to be back in Ulverston with my inky friends! I've now finished printing and am on to planning my stand and writing many lists😊

Welcoming Nell Smith back to Printfest 2023.

I take a painterly approach to printmaking, playfully and intuitively exploring process. My prints are built up in layers, combining screen and monoprint techniques. I develop contemporary, expressive compositions with an uplifting use of colour. My prints have a joyful and musical feel, lying somewhere between painting, collage and printmaking. With a background in textile design, I love unusual and interesting colour combinations. I make hundreds of collages to inform my printmaking, using them as meditative sketches. They are made up from scraps of paper, chopped up prints and ink drawings, ensuring my practice is a circular process.

Nell Smith Prints

Printfest Ulverston: 27th ~ 30th April 2023

Looking forward to running another lino print workshop Flock and Gaggle on Saturday 13th May. Eurovision themed prints will be encouraged, but not enforced!

Lino Printing Workshop with Nell Smith at Flock and Gaggle Join printmaker Nell Smith for an evening of lino printing to make your own cards and prints to keep or as a gift for someone special

I'm going to be helping out Hot Bed Press on their stand at The Hepworth Wakefield print fair this Saturday! Can't wait to see everyone's work :)