Sheffield Print Fair 2024 and other November happening..

Howdy

As usual it has been a while. Rather than try and recap goings on for the last few months, I'll waffle on about a few new things, and about what is happening at printworks HQ for the rest of the year...

SHEFFIELD PRINT FAIR 2024!

Yes, it is the one I co-organise, with my good pal Suzi Thompson, and this year is looking to be a corker! 43 artist/printmakers from all over the UK come to Sheffield for the day to show and sell their work, plus there are print demonstrations, a kids workshop, a free print raffle and free SPF tote bags to the first 50 people through the doors...

It takes place at The Millennium Gallery in Sheffield city centre on Sat 9th November, between 10am and 4.30pm. You can see more info and a full line-up on our blog at:

http://sheffieldprintfair.blogspot.com

Come along if you're in town!

I have a few other events coming up in November, and they are:

Endless Love Creative - Sheffield Makers Market
Sat 16th Nov (10am - 4pm), Showroom Workstation, 15 Paternoster Row, Sheffield S1 2BX
ELC seems to be turning into a bit of an institution, with great contemporary fairs popping up all over the place and a community vibe to them too. All sorts of great art and craft, and you can bring your dog along too! 

The Hepworth Wakefield Festive Market
Fri 22nd Nov (7pm - 10pm), Sat 23rd Nov (10am - 4pm) and Sun 24th Nov(10am - 4pm), Tileyard North, Wakefield WF1 5FY
It is always a pleasure to return to the Hepworth for events, and this one, at Tileyard North (next door to the gallery) is no exception. The place will be full of lovely art, craft, food and drink and proper festive!

Sunny Bank Mills Christmas Market
Fri 29th Nov (2pm - 8pm) and Sat 30th Nov (10am - 4pm), Sunnybank Mills, 83-85 Town St, Farsley, Pudsey LS28 5UJ
My last event of the year is in North Leeds and another fantastic venue (home to the Sewing Bee too!). Over 60 makers on site, plus print workshops, mulled wine and more..

and that is it for my 2024 events..

NEW WORKS

I've been working mostly on donkey-related prints over the last few months, including several versions of a rather minimal 'Magic Donkey No.12' screenprint. i'm not sure why, but I've found this image somewhat compelling. I think I just like circles! I have also created a print of the town of Wirksworth in Derbyshire. I'm very fond of the place and visit most years to take part in the brilliant arts festival there. I've been meaning to create a print of the place for years now, but never found the right view, until now!

Donkey On Hand No.2 A4 screen-print (edition of 25)

Donkey On Hand No.3 A4 screen-print (edition of 25)

Magic Donkey No.12 (Moon Edition No.4 - silver) A2 screen-print (edition of 5)

Magic Donkey No.12 (Moon Edition No.3 - light blue) A2 screen-print (edition of 5)

Magic Donkey No.12 A2 screen-print (edition of 20)

Wirksworth A4 linocut/screen-print (edition of 80)

Happenings In Donkey World No.14 A3 screen-print (edition of 40)

Next year exhibition plans are afoot, and hopefully some collaborative work too. Fingers crossed! Thanks for your interest, as ever! x

Plates, donkeys and a fox....

Hi there

I'm not going to apologise for the lack or recent posts on my blog, as I seem to say this every time. I think I just need to accept that my blogs are an 'as and when' kind of thing, rather than a monthly missive. Right, I've said it!

I hope you're doing well. Since the start of the year I have had quite a productive time, mostly making donkey prints, but some others too, and I've even delved into ceramics, working with potter Charlotte Berry on some sgraffito plates!

Some of my Donkey Monolith prints from my Sheffield exhibition are still available in my Folksy shop, and there are a fair few new ones alongside them.

DONKEY PLATES

Earlier this year I had a conversation with ceramicist/potter Charlotte Berry. I had been on a pottery course with her last year and really enjoyed it, and had a brief go at sgraffito. It felt a bit like linocut, in that you're cutting away rather than mark making on the surface. I asked Charlotte if she would work with me to make some stoneware plates, and she agreed! We made ten, she making the basic plates, then I painted on the coloured slip, cut away the parts I didn't want, then passed the plates back to her to be fired and glazed. I was really happy with how they came out (no breakages!) and I took the plates to a fair at The Hepworth Wakefield, and they all sold! It seems like other people liked them too. My next plan is make some more for later in the year and probably take them to events like 'The Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair' in Manchester.

NEW PRINTS

I'll not post up every print I've made since I last blogged (you can find them all in my Folksy shop anyway) but here are a few that stick in the mind..

Midnight Fox (A3 poster-print)

I love foxes. Beautiful and rather illusive creatures. I always feel very fortunate to spot one where I live, usually once the sun has started to go down. One regularly trots up and down our garden (probably every day), and very occasionally I see them. This print is actually one of our garden (slightly altered and tidied up!), with the fox on their travels and the moon shining on some of the tree branches. They are usually at this point on their journey where I spot them from the back windows of the house, sometime between 8pm and midnight.

I did create an original edition of this initially, but this quickly sold out, so i have now made a poster-print version.

The Donkey Leap (A2 screenprint)

This is perhaps my most ambitious print, in terms of colours and composition. It certainly took a lot of planning, and I was somewhat relieved when I'd completed it!

The small orange donkey puts all their trust in one of 'the helping hands' to catch them after climbing on top of a strange monolith, and we see them mid-jump. In a way, it is related to my older print 'Red/Blue Donkey Regrets The Adventure', but instead of regret, the donkey is filled with confidence!

Magic Donkey No.11 (A2 screen-print)

The eleventh print in the 'magic donkey' series, this is a continuation of my donkey dreamworld theme. I started experimenting with bright colours a year or so ago, within this series, and it looks like they are here to stay! The inks that I use are very transparent, so you get all these lovely extra colours appearing when the layers are put on top of each other. Like all of my donkey adventure prints I decided to try and create a secret world that only donkeys know about. In many of the prints, 'helping hands' appear, and in this one, the biggest hand of all appears to assist this special donkey! I was really happy with how the colours sat on top of each other, and how the colours 'pop'.

Magic Donkey No.10 (A5 reduction linocut)

Yep, another one! I created this during the recent Open Up Sheffield open studios event, as a demonstration. The print is an A5 size, 3-colour 'reduction linocut', which means that the whole print is cut from one piece of lino, printing layers, and cutting out more areas until the print is finished. This means that the edition sizes are generally small, and no more can be reprinted from the lino afterwards!

Happenings In Donkey World No.13 A3 linocut/screen-print

This the latest in the long-running 'happenings' series in a strange landscape. It started out as a plasticine model, then a linocut, then a screen-print (with the added halftone dots). I then had an idea to print a few on different coloured papers, and rather liked the results! Each one on coloured paper is a one-off (there are some left), but there is also a standard edition of 40 on cream/off-white paper.

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

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.

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.

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:

Meet The Artist - Thursday 29th June 2023 - free but booking recommended

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!

https://www.sheffieldmuseums.org.uk/whats-on/donkey-nonsense-prints-by-james-green

x

 

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.