Susan Leeson
Mackerel School
Linocut and chine-collé collage, my contribution to “The Critical Fish Trail” project. This little mackerel offered so much joy!
Eastgate Studio resident printmaker, Susan Leeson’s work investigates the environment and environmental issues, themes explored through a series of prints of the East Coast of Yorkshire and the theme of “water”.
Susan employs hand-drawn and digital images to create linocut, etching, collagraph, and screen prints. Her work varies from a detailed exploration of texture to a minimalist approach exploring colour and shape. “I enjoy the challenge of analogue printmaking and the distinct minimalist aesthetic produced due to a limited palette.”
“The printmaking process enables the same image to be printed in multiples which means that the prints can be affordable to a wider audience. However each print can be slightly different due to manual handling of machinery.”
Susan is currently working on her “Folklore, Myths & Legends” series of linocut and collagraph prints.
Sirens Linocut after Draper
Two plate linocut
This linocut reinterprets a section of Herbert James Draper’s Ulysses and the Sirens (1891), held in the Ferens Art Gallery, a Victorian imagining of the Greek myth.
Peggy Farrow
Two plate linocut
The Witch of Elloughton: Peggy Farrow, a 19th-century herbalist in the nearby village of Elloughton, was originally a respected figure known for her "gold ring cure for warts". As she aged, villagers blamed her for a diphtheria epidemic, believing she had turned to dark magic, leading to her alleged hanging by a mob.
Master’s House
Variable limited edition of ten block prints inspired by Kandinsky’s house at Dessau Bauhaus. A highlight of my recent tour of Germany was a visit to Dessau and the remarkable Bauhaus buildings.
Block Chords
Woodcut, block print with pouchoir, limited edition prints of 30 variations.
The sensory experience of the studio, inks, solvents, freshly brewed tea and jazzy sounds evoke childhood moments watching my dad, Lawrence Leeson, at work in his Market Weighton studio. It’s quite extraordinary how the scent of the studio recalls these formative experiences.
