Prints for a Floating World

Here is some work from my 'Garden' project. I started with the Japanese idea of the 'Floating World' or Ukiyo-e, 'living only for the moment, turning our full attention to the pleasures of the moon, the cherry blossoms, the leaves...diverting ourselves in just floating...'

And went on to experiment with making a portable 'sky dish' or reflecting bowl that can help capture a sense of this floating world...creating simultaneously a sense of sensuality, containment, openings, vistas and temporality. These were some of the images I made this way

I went on to design a series of prints inspired by the incredible pools and puddles I was cycling through everyday (it was raining torrentially throughout this time); each puddle shape taking on a different character and spirit; as each print came to life I began to recognise particular people...

I discovered that love is a great aid to design and I really enjoyed surprising my friends with their prints once I had photoshopped them back into it. But  I used handblock printing to make most of the marks.

Through this project I have discoved a kind of 'digital hand', which enables me to combine my love of spontaneous handmade textures with fantastical shapes and sizes.

Thanks especially to Evie and Robin for all their help and inspiration.