Much of Joanna Bourne's inspiration for her prints comes from her local area of Newcastle with its town moor and parks and her allotment and garden. She is interested in the places where urban life and the natural world meet, and her images convey the impressions of a given moment in time, a scene glimpsed which has resonated with her, initially working from drawings, photographs and memory. She responds in particular to the atmospheric incarnations of ‘northern’ weather – wind, snow and rain, and the changing times of the year.

Joanna Bourne studied Fine Art at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne where she discovered a love of printmaking. She became a member of Charlotte Press in Newcastle in the late 1980s, exhibiting widely and experimenting with a variety of print techniques.

Following Charlotte Press' closure, Jo continued printmaking at home making woodcuts which she printed by hand, until joining Northern Print in 2007. Since then she has taken part in many group shows, and had a solo exhibition at the Brewery Arts Centre in 2011. She has been a regular exhibitor at Printfest, Ulverston, and was voted Printmaker's Printmaker in 2014.

About the print

‘Celebration’ is a woodcut inspired by the garden flowers Jo grew this year for her daughter’s wedding in August. Plants featured in the print include Cosmos, Dill, Cornflower, Ammi, Fern, Basil, grasses, Cotinus, Flax seed pods and Love-in-a-mist seed pods, just some of the many flowers grown, watered, dead-headed and nurtured through the long, hot summer to produce flowers for bouquets and decorations.

Jo’s intention with this print was to create an image that celebrated a time of great joy, and also paid tribute to the wonderful vitality and beauty of the flowers she grew throughout the season.

‘Celebration’ is printed from 3 blocks in 11 colours on Kozo paper, using oil-based inks.'