Today, I’m starting to edition the first print I’ve made this year.

I’ve always loved William Morris, his work and his ideas; and, over Christmas, I got time to put some drawings together. It has ended up as another print from my “Outside In” series. The silhouette of Morris is filled with one of his most famous designs, “The Strawberry Thief”, and the embossed plate is based on his “Acanthus” pattern. I proofed the plate on a number of different papers, but have plumped for a beautiful paper that I bought when we visited Amalfi a number of years ago. It’s made in the last paper mill there, where it’s like stepping back in time. If you get the chance to go to Amalfi, do not miss the museum for paper-making at Amatruda. They make a rag-based paper, and this is the nerdy bit, all four sides of the sheet are deckled. As I am using a full sheet for each print, this imposes a strict absolutely-no-mistake-allowed registration regime. Anyone who knows me will know that this is, to put it mildly, very challenging.