Leaving our winter poem here so that you may enjoy it in spring, summer and autumn... The nights between Christmas and Twelfth Night are a time of tradition and superstition, of tales told by the fireside, of marauding spirits - perfect for Christopher's cautionary poem. Look askance at the glade Await the call In summer’s amber And winter’s blaze Autumn’s angles And spring’s tirade Up with the sap Out with the hour Seven silver birches guard The key to this season’s bower

Welcome to the new location for the Number Seven blog. Here you will find our latest book reviews, planned events and the latest deliveries direct from our artists' studios. I do hope that you enjoy the new look website, we felt that after five years it was time to untie the technical knots that an old website can get into and tidy up our web presence to remain future proof and fresh for you the reader. If you are new to Number Seven and intrigued to find out more about us then you may enjoy reading our archive of older posts which you may find here. To keep up to date with all our artistic antics why not sign up to receive our newsletter via the subscribe button. August is a busy month in Dulverton and we are having a very enjoyable time meeting holiday makers discovering the area for the first time and those returning who make browsing and buying from Number Seven a regular part of their holiday to Exmoor. The website is a great way to keep in touch once you return home. If you plan to visit Tarr Steps this summer do seek out the poetry boxes that are located along the path - they ask that you spend some quiet time being creative, inspired by the landscape. Number Seven is also a haven of inspiration and a wonderful place to feed your artistic soul - we look forward to seeing you. #numberseven #dulverton #exmoor

And who hasn't, at some point in their lives, wished to walk away, from all the familiar? Would you walk to the meadow, the sea, the mountains, to seek a quiet sanctuary, a new beginning? Thank you to everyone that entered our creative writing competition. We received over fifty submissions, many by post, even ‘by hand’ through our letter box and others pinged in from across Europe, Canada and Australia. It was a delight to read your words and ‘escape’ with each of you in turn. Christopher and I read them aloud to one another, each one at least twice and then selected a dozen that shone out to forward on to Jackie. It was not an easy task, as each entry was naturally so individual. When we initially planned the competition, we had no idea that not just the UK but practically the entire world was adapting to the restrictions imposed by ‘lockdown’ and the pandemic - everyone was dreaming about where they longed to be or learning to wander within the confines of their home. We requested submissions by post, encouraging participants to step away from their computers, retreat with pen, paper and paint. Those that were unable to visit their local post office, sent words by e-mail but they were typed with consideration, fonts were experimented with and photographs were attached. I met Jackie virtually from my sofa at home and her at her studio desk in Pembrokeshire. We were able to share our thoughts, drink tea and select who to send the inked swallow to. You may watch and listen here… So, two swallows are heading to new homes... To Fiona Johnson and Michelle Werrett, I hope you enjoy reading their words and the landscape they visualise. Is it a familiar path? Where would you choose to walk? February I stare at the frozen earth, stark, depthless, hardened clods, seemingly lifeless March I survey the ground, softened, crumbling and toss the seed, dry tiny pieces of life. They teeter on the particles and then tumble into the abyss. Many tears follow their course and anchor them. May I observe small promises, hints, shoots and slender buds. Tentative hopes emerging, trembling but these to nurture. July I see a riot, a chaos of colour life is skittering around my feet, dancing before my eyes and I plunge right in. It’s good, next year will better. My meadow, My Restoration. Wildwoodwalk I would walk where the woods are wild, where the wind in the tops whispers wishes to me. I should not follow the tracks of man but wander where other hearts roam free. I would cross the bank by the badger-worn run, skip over the stream where otters slide, follow the slots of the stag trodden path - the paw-padded, hoof-cut ways; far from the human world, away from work and worry, to the company of trees. Where primroses light the gloom and birdsong promises of better days to come, echoing canopy holds woodnotes like precious treasure cupped in twiggy hands; a brightening of robin, elegance of blackbird, rapture of warblers and soft soothing pigeon. Finding peace in the sun-lanced green shade where I might linger the afternoon, threading the wildwood ways, to sit on moss cushioned log, lie in crunchy drifts or bounce on a branch in the breeze, here to pluck words from the wordless wild - they might be words like these. Both winners were rather thrilled when we let them know they had been chosen… ‘Thank you so much, I am so overwhelmed and excited that I danced a jig whilst uttering Cor! Having never entered a writing competition I am really surprised.’ ‘Oh, thank you, thank you, so much!!! How truly wonderful! Off for a celebratory walk!’ Thank you to Christopher Jelley for persevering and pushing the boundaries of our tech capabilities! And of course, to Jackie Morris for her time and generosity. Xx Copyright of the winning submissions remains with the respective author, please do not print or share without prior permission and quote source, Number Seven Dulverton.

October has been a memorable month at Number Seven. It began at Dillington House where we supported Jackie Morris with her book sales at the Somerset Literacy Trust's annual conference. It was a busy day, enjoyed by all those who attended, delighted to watch Jackie reciting otter as one appeared from the ink and brush in her hand - I've seen Jackie paint many times but this was quite a revelation. That first weekend we managed to find space for a little time out and headed to Porlock Weir where a golden labyrinth stone was hidden by the harbour and I'd love to know if anyone found it. Smoothed Porlock pebbles were also collected for future treasures to be hidden elsewhere on Jackie's travels... While Jackie was with us we were also able to visit The Two Rivers Paper Mill which is located in the village of Roadwater, not too far from Dulverton. It is one of a handful of commercial hand-mills still operating in Europe and it was wonderful to see this skilled and ancient craft first hand. Jackie came away with a bundle of beautiful heavy quality papers alongside a bottle of water from the mill's well so that she could mix her ink with the same water source used in creating the paper. Afterwards we treated her to lunch, a local specialty, Christopher's home cooked road kill. Of course the main reason Jackie was in Exmoor with us was for The Lost Words Supper at Loyton Lodge and our book signing at Number Seven the following day. The supper was planned to coincide with the full moon and we were overjoyed that the Hunter's moon was clearly visible that night adding to the enchantment of the evening. We have had some lovely comments from guests who were able to join us, and between us we are already planning next year's event! 'I just wanted to say a huge thank you for the wonderful evening you arranged and hosted at Loyton Lodge, from the dramatically lit walk up the path to the beautifully laid tables, it was a wonderful evening, thank you for the magic of it all.' The book signing the following day was enjoyed by all ages. It also happened to be the publication day for the limited edition of the Lost Words which contains a print to frame of Robert Macfarlane's Goldfinch charm. Jackie spent the day talking with visitors and playing with her familiar Sumi ink. She also got to experiment with the Bideford Black that we had managed to source for her. This is a pure pigment found on the North Devon coast and was once mined in industrial quantities. Jackie took great delight in conjuring West Country otters with water from the River Barle... Before heading back home to Wales via Yeovil Literary Festival and one last road kill lunch Jackie found the time to sign copies of all her titles for future customers visiting Number Seven. I would just like to say thank you to Kerry Andrew, Nicola Davies and Jackie Morris for their support and energy in making The Lost Words supper an event to be remembered. Also to Isobel Barnes and her team at Loyton Lodge for creating a colourful, flavour filled feast in the most perfect setting. I think we celebrated The Lost Words first birthday with style and enchantment! I'll leave you with this wonderful tune from Kerry's band You Are Wolf, which I am still singing two weeks on! The energy and creativity of her set was just astounding - none of her sequences are pre recorded, all the layers are built up live and gradually looped and layered. If you get the chance to attend any of her forth coming concerts I would highly recommend it. She is also one of the musicians involved in the current Spell Songs project which is due to go on tour early 2019. #TheLostWords #JackieMorris #KerryAndrew #NicolaDavies #RobertMacfarlane #LoytonLodge #TwoRiversPaper #NumberSevenDulverton #Exmoor #BookSigning

And so our exhibition for this year's Somerset Art Works Festival has come to a close. For those of you who were unable to view in person here are some glimpses of the work on display and comments from our many visitors. 'fabulous, inspirational work. I love it!' 'Wonderful as always!' 'Absolutely beautiful, moving & amazing. Thank you' 'Like looking through a window into a magical world...' 'Absolutely awesome work - humbled by all of this!' 'I feel elevated after experiencing this exceptional work' 'How lovely to see such a high standard of work.' 'What a wonderful and compelling exhibition.' 'Jackie's paintings are as luminous and wonderful as ever, and Tamsin's glass and Eleanor's ceramics add to the beauty. And such a warm welcome.' 'Such beautiful detail and so expressive.' 'A feast for the eyes - just wonderful & a joy to see.' 'Stunning!' I would just like to say thank you to the artists, Tamsin Abbott, Eleanor Bartleman, Maria Mayle, Jackie Morris and Sophie Smith, for creating such beauty for us to display at Number Seven, you make our task of displaying a pleasure and it is worth all the preparation and hard work that putting an exhibition together involves. I would like to say an even bigger thank you to Jan for allowing us to use her beautiful blue sitting room which really did set the scene. x #SomersetArtWeeks #Venue116 #NumberSeven #JackieMorris #EleanorBartleman #TamsinAbbott #SophieSmith #MariaMayle

Do join us in celebrating the work of Sophie Smith and Ian Roberts. Ian has made some even more fantastical imposing clocks in his signature style and Sophie has been producing a range of delicate pieces in jewel like colours especially for us! The exhibition opens on the 9th July, when Sophie Smith will also be in residence between 10am - 1pm, so do come and meet the maker. It also happens to be our Walking Book Club that day so you could really make a day of it. If you would like to join the walk we are reading All Passion Spent by Vita Sackville West and copies are available from Number Seven priced at £6.00. It promises to be quite a creative and inspiring time that we hope you will enjoy any enquiries please do call the shop 01398 324457

The much-anticipated sibling to The Lost Words has been released into the wild! This pocket-sized talisman holds twenty-one spells destined to be spoken aloud in company or alone, in city, suburb or rural hamlet it will call forth nature and may even entice moths to take flight... Number Seven was delighted to be commissioned by Penguin Random House UK to create three films to celebrate the publication of this beautiful book. We have of course been working closely with Jackie Morris for a number of years, often making short films when she visits Exmoor. The restrictions of lockdown and cancellation of events have meant that many of us have turned to virtual gatherings, and so Penguin commissioned us on the strength of the two films we recently made for The Unwinding and The Space Between. Eased restrictions enabled visits to Robert and Jackie in their respective studios, capturing footage to then sequence once back home. The moth footage was filmed on a wet night in our garden, with Christopher rigging up a luminescent lure which worked wonders! Do enjoy our gallery of images from behind the scenes and the finished films. It was a privilege and absolute delight to be so involved with The Lost Spells and certainly drew on all our creative skills. Thank you to Robert and Jackie for being so welcoming, and to Anna at Penguin for commissioning us. 'I am Red Fox - how do you see me?' Moth... The Lost Spells is published by Hamish Hamilton, an imprint of Penguin UK. Moth narrated by Julie Fowlis Music by The Bookshop Band Soundscapes by Chris Watson The Lost Spells is available to purchase from Number Seven and as you have come to expect our editions are a little extra special as Jackie has inked a vixen to stamp in each one. To place your order call 01398 324457 The striking Red Fox that was created by Jackie and Robert for filming is available to purchase, please do enquire. Original artwork featured in The Lost Spells is not for sale at present and not likely to be for some time, however we do have a selection of 'out takes' available. These were painted while Jackie was working towards The Lost Spells but not included in the final edit. Notification of when these are published on our website will be in a future newsletter, so do subscribe if you haven't already done so, the submission form can be found on the home page. ​ Currently there are no plans to produce limited edition prints from The Lost Spells, but we do of course have prints from The Lost Words currently available for sale.

In March Christopher and I were able to return to Compton Verney. Our previous visit last Autumn was to view The Lost Words exhibition and hear Jackie Morris and Robert Macfarlane in conversation. It was a charming evening and a great insight to hear Robert's side of the story behind his collaboration with Jackie having followed closely the book's journey into being via our friendship with Jackie. Christopher had also played a role in contributing to the exhibition as he was commissioned to install a Lost Words Storywalk within the gallery grounds, essentially re-wilding the words from the pages of the book and gallery walls. This time we were delighted to be able to attend the opening night for not only the rehang of the British Folk Art Collection but also Ravilious & Co. This in-depth touring exhibition includes over 500 exhibits and has been considerately curated by Andy Friend, author of Ravilious & Co: The Pattern of Friendship, which was published following a decade of intensive research and planning. Copies of the book are of course available from our selection at Number Seven. Resident curator Annelise Howne invited artist Mark Hearld to 're-imagine' and re-display Compton Verney's extensive Folk Art collection. This must have been a complete joy for he too is an avid collector and his distinctive work echoes and honours this strong artistic tradition. Hearld has also created contemporary works to sit alongside the acquisitions and his dramatic wallpaper, printed by St Jude's, is based on one of my personal favourite pieces, the wooden pub sign adorned with a larger than life gilded swan. The image above depicts the original illustrated first page of the hand-crafted leather-bound book that Mark commissioned to collect visitor feedback; beautifully conceived one hopes that it can only inspire the most positive and imaginative comments. Annelise brought Christopher on board to utilise his unique Storywalks tech once more, this time within the gallery. Once installed the 'hidden' trail of key words will reveal behind the scenes snippets regarding Mark Hearld's inspiration and decision making process when re-collating the collection. Christopher also interviewed Sally Kalman, daughter of Andreas Kalman, the collection's original maverick. She has childhood memories of paintings and artifacts being displayed in the family home and the trail will reveal her personal anecdotes connected with the curiosities on display. It was an absolute delight to view the exhibitions and attend the private view, I would highly recommend a visit. The Ravilious exhibition is on until the 10th June and the forthcoming summer exhibition, The Marvellous Mechanical Museum, sounds like a must see. On the drive home we took a detour via Hereford and called into see The Garden of Earthly Delights, curated by Tamsin Abbott at Blue-Ginger. Tamsin had invited artists to create works in response to the Hieronymus Bosch painting of the same name or simply by the title itself. The exhibition showcased a diverse range of crafts and highlighted the skills of contemporary makers. It was a pleasure to catch up with Tamsin and finally meet Sue Lim, owner of the gallery, as both of us have hosted regular events with Jackie Morris. It was an inspiring trip and we only just got home in time before the snow sculpted deep drifts across the moor for a second time this spring. Image Credits: Christopher Jelley Tamsin Abbott #ComptonVerney #FolkArt #TamsinAbbott #MarkHearld #RaviliousCo #Storywalks #TheLostWords #JackieMorris #RobertMacfarlane #ChristopherJelley

Number Seven was honoured to recently host the launch party for The House Without Windows, the first book to be illustrated by Jackie Morris since the publication of The Lost Words. Originally published in 1927 and written by Barbara Newhall Follett, at the age of twelve, The House Without Windows is an extraordinary paean to the transcendent beauty of the natural world, and the human capacity to connect with it. 'Little Eepersip doesn't want to live in a house with doors and windows and a roof, so she runs away to live in the wild - first in the Meadow, then by the Sea, and finally in the Mountain. Her heartbroken parents follow her, bringing her back home to 'safety' and locking her up in the stifling square of the house. But she slips away once more, following her heart into the richness of untrammelled nature and disappearing forever.' When planning the event, it felt natural to hold it in a 'venue without windows' and the tent, set in the meadow at Loyton was the perfect location, we could release Barbara's words, the character of Eepersip and Jackie's swallows and butterflies into the landscape they yearned to be free in - our guests also! Christopher mowed a labyrinth into the long grass for guests to walk and contemplate a fitting question posed by Jackie on her vintage typewriter. There was musical accompaniment from cellist Julia Vohralik and principal violinist Katherine Shave, who after my 'in conversation' with Jackie played Lark Ascending which seemed so fitting after Jackie read from the final pages of the book - it was also a gentle nod to the recent Lost Words Prom at the Royal Albert Hall, where Jackie had painted live on stage in front of an audience of 5,000. The resident chef at Loyton, Adam Fanson, prepared the most colourful picnic tea, the cakes were simply delicious and looked like they had been found among the wild flowers. When Eepersip runs away to the meadow, she packs a little picnic of crackers but once home in the landscape untethered from routine she lives on berries and foraged delights. The question we asked our guests to consider when walking the labyrinth was... And who hasn't, at some point in their lives, wished to walk away, from all the familiar? Would you walk to the meadow, the sea, the mountains, to seek a quiet sanctuary, a new beginning? In a quiet moment the next day, Jackie read through the answers and chose the most compelling reply to win the butterflies inked at Two Rivers Paper. Thank you to everyone who was able to join us and enter into the spirit of the afternoon - some wonderful memories were made, including a little mouse that greeted one of our guests at the centre of the labyrinth! Earlier in the week we visited Two Rivers Paper at Pitt Mill in Roadwater, where Christopher captured this footage of Jackie painting. The musical accompaniment is provided by The Bookshop Band. The Saturday following our picnic at Loyton, Jackie was resident 'in the kitchen' at Number Seven, signing books and reciting Red Fox, which was written by Robert Macfarlane and commissioned by the BBC for the summer promenade concerts. We are already making plans for 2020, which will see the publication of The Unwinding. In the meantime, enjoy listening to Jackie recite Red Fox. . . The house Without Windows is published by Hamish Hamilton. If you would like a signed copy for your library do contact us directly, copies purchased from Number Seven are also stamped with a silver snow hare, which makes them quite unique. #JackieMorris #TheLostWords #RobertMacfarlane #RedFox #TheHouseWithoutWindows #BarbaraNewhallFollett #HamishHamilton #booksigning #booklaunch

I thought I would share my recent post that I wrote for Somerset Art Works with you, to give you a taste of what we get up to during hibernation time at Number Seven... ... I’m currently operating very much in low gear. January and February are the ‘quiet’ months after the roller-coaster build up to Christmas at Number Seven, and I can now relish in hibernating by reading, walking, planning and laying foundations for the year ahead. Last weekend was particularly special as I was able to visit the home and studio of willow maker Annemarie O’Sullivan. We had met on a number of occasions previously as she was one of the key artists commissioned to create work for Herbarium and A Landscape of Objects, which had both been curated by Yvonna Demczynska, owner and founder of London’s Flow gallery. As we all bid our farewells last summer at Lytes Cary, loose plans were made to join one of Annemarie’s workshops and take advantage of the wild swimming spots in Sussex, not realising that in reality we would find ourselves there in January! Five of us were enrolled on the two-day workshop, including myself, Yvonna and SAW’s Creative Director, Carol Carey. I had no previous experience of willow weaving and felt no great pressure that I had to leave a fully-fledged maker. My main expectations were to simply enjoy the company and surroundings, and it was quite liberating to be joining a workshop where I felt I could just go with the flow and not be too precious about the outcome. Day one was surprisingly quite intense, although Annemarie was very good at explaining that there was no rush, that we should fall in with the pace particularly with our first task which was to select eight matching rods from the bundle of willow. This task was repeated on a number of occasions throughout the making process and it was surprising once you had gained familiarity handling the material how quickly your eye knew what to look for. I loved handling the willow when it was rain damp and selecting by not just width and length but colour also. By the end of Saturday, we all had a base formed and willow uprights in place ready for the sides to take shape the following day. That evening we headed to the local pub and every basket we encountered fell under a more informed gaze; we all looked rather longingly at the huge log basket by the inglenook, knowing that our skills were a long way off. Sunday was more relaxing, which Annemarie had promised, as we were at the stage where we were simply building height, the task became more intuitive with the repetition, although I didn’t quite reach a natural meditative flow, which must surely come with time and experience. Also I admit that I was so focused on getting the weave correct, that paying attention to keeping a curve to my basket became secondary, and as a result it became a little flat on one side – perfect for a bicycle basket! Spending time making with Annemarie in her studio certainly made us all appreciate more fully the true amount of time and skill invested in making a functional ‘everyday’ object, and has made me view a well-conceived basket as I would contemporary handcrafted furniture. Annemarie has been making for fifteen years and initially studied at London’s City Lit, since then she has become highly regarded within her specialism and her work sells internationally. She has a deep respect for this ancient craft and is continually researching localised techniques and indigenous shapes, style and function. There was a wonderful collection of baskets on display in her home and studio including a beautiful bag for collecting snails. This fascination with learning traditional techniques is akin to learning to draw and is what informs her larger scale site specific installations. To break the rules, you need to master them, take them apart and have confidence in making your own. Passionate about using high quality willow Annemarie grows around twenty varieties on a plot of land near her home, she also buys in Somerset willow which appropriately is what we constructed our baskets with. Since returning to its county of origin my basket has received cat approval, although I think my family expected something a little larger. I’m still unsure what to keep in it, naturally it has to be something worthy, although I am considering my swimming costumes as a nod to Annemarie’s swimming days and the rhythmic repetitive body movements comparable to that of her weaving moves and our shared love of wild swimming. I’d thoroughly recommend taking time out to attend a specialist craft course, if you fancy a true break Annemarie is offering a week in France this summer and it sounds positively idyllic. WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHY: DAVINA JELLEY #SomersetArtWorks #willow #Flow #craft #AnneMarieOSullivan #basketweaving

Last New Year's Day we headed into the woods near our home in Dunster to hide one of Jackie Morris' labyrinth stones. This year we had a little further to travel, as the stone that Jackie left with us in the autumn was to be part of an exchange with the earth and its truly ancient treasures. For the past few years there have been rumours among West Country artists regarding Bideford Black. At first, I thought it may be a locally produced charcoal commercially available and then I learned of an exhibition that was hosted in 2015 at The Burton Art Gallery which set out to discover the potential of Bideford Black as a medium for contemporary artists. 'Mineral Black' or 'Biddiblack' was mined for nearly 200 years in industrial quantities right up until 1968 within the region and was used by the boat building industry, for colouring rubber tyres and even for beauty products, namely mascara produced by Max Factor. Jackie has been working extensively with Sumi ink during the past year, painting the most wonderful fluid black otters, mixing the ink with local river water which got me thinking. Bideford is home to Tarka the Otter and so it seemed a natural progression for Jackie to create an otter from 'Biddiblack.' I gently asked around among the artists I know and had heard talk about this wonderful mystery material and my trail ended successfully thanks to The White Moose Gallery in Barnstaple. Jackie managed to experiment a little with the new pigment when she visited in October and has gone on to find it incredibly satisfying to use and so we needed to source more, and of course we were up for the adventure, knowing full well that this time we had to go to the true source. After a little research Christopher discovered where the seam may show itself and had been itching to head out and investigate if his hunch was correct all Christmas. Yesterday we finally got the opportunity. It was a beautiful frosty morning, trees and fields dusted white which made for a stunning drive across the moor. We stopped at The Burton Gallery for an amazing lunch - I'm so pleased we did as our walk took us far further than expected and turned into quite an adventure following a wrong turn, but I'm so glad it did for we discovered the most amazing shack built on the remote beach, complete with fire pit, hammock and otter! It was late afternoon and the light was beginning to fade when we finally found the seam of black. Christopher scrabbled up to collect a few different samples and as the sea turned the heavy pebbles on the beach and a blackbird sung, I collected water dripping through the nearby rocks for Jackie to mix with her own Biddiblack. We carefully placed the labyrinth stone, our thank you, just near the seam and collected another smooth pebble to take home. The car wasn't too far away after our coast path loop madness where we enjoyed a much-needed flask of hot tea feeling inspired and elated by our day. #JackieMorris #Otter #SumiInk #BidefordBlack #pigment #NumberSevenDulverton #Labyrinth

I was recently invited back into the print room at Bridgwater and Taunton College - University Campus Somerset. I say back, as this is where I studied for my degree in Textile Design and also worked before opening Number Seven in Dulverton. Number Seven was to be the 'outside' client for the BA(Hons)Textiles & Surface Design students, their brief was to choose a book which was to inspire a repeating design and a possible product suitable for our customers. It was the kind of project I would have just loved as a student and was intrigued to see what titles they would select and where the design process would take them. It was interesting to note that Alice in wonderland had been banned by the lecturers (I remember hearts being a no go when I was studying!). No doubt a popular title that if undertaken would need an innovative and creative student to push its boundaries to impress those assessing the final outcome. Among the titles selected were The Butterfly Ball, The Miniaturist and The Bees - which has been added to my 'to be read' list! The students had five weeks to complete the project, which is quite a tall order when being asked to create a design which was then to be transferred onto screens to be printed as a fabric length. The preparation of screens, selecting suitable material, dyes, inks and printing process all need careful consideration with time for experimentation, testing and room for inevitable error. Butterfly Ball inspiration boards transferring design on to 'Seri Trace' to create a positive I visited the college on three occasions, the first was very much like a book club, quite relaxed, with the students sharing the books that they had read and visualising how the narrative could kick start their design development. The second was a mid 'crit' to see how their work was evolving and guide their progress. Then finally, a more business like session where they were to make their final presentation. playing with layout detail from final print hand finished with gold pigment a combination of processes to evoke ice The students produced some interesting designs, some struggled with creating a product suitable for Number seven, focusing on a more corporate look than the unique craft aspect of what we sell. Others devised great motifs with multiple applications from cards to gift wrap, notebooks and book marks as well as furnishing fabric. multiple applications Technology has greatly changed design practice in many ways since I graduated and I felt there was an over reliance on computers to produce images and colour palettes that could end up looking flat if not handled with sensitivity. I hope the students time in the print room has inspired them to experiment more with the array of processes available, and to combine the beauty and signature marks associated with traditional methods with the newer ever advancing tech. If they do, then in my mind, they will achieve some incredible, eye catching designs. In recent years the appreciation of print is enjoying quite a renaissance with contemporary artists being inspired by the likes of Eric Ravilious. Angela Harding, Angie Lewin and Mark Hearld are probably the most widely recognised as their work features on many of the cards that we stock at Number Seven. St Jude's have successfully transferred Lewin and Hearld's designs into fabric and wallpaper collections, and Angela Harding's signature birds now appear in repeat on a stunning new wrapping paper printed by Art Angels. The print room in The Arts House at Bridgwater and Taunton College is one of the best equipped in the country and I would just like to say thank you to the current lecturers, Merry Roberts and Gary Mills, for inviting me to be back in such a creative workshop. Thank you also to the students for making me so welcome and for also visiting Number Seven as part of their research. Being back in the print room has inspired me to learn a new print process and so I have enrolled on a woodcut workshop this coming May - I am really looking forward to getting inky! #BridgwaterTauntonCollege #Textile #surfacepattern #repeat #print #book #inspiration