Leeds Print Festival 2015

Visiting the Leeds Print Festival was a really inspiring experience, I found looking at all the prints and talking to the makers very motivational. I have taken some pictures of a few prints that stood out to me.

Nathan Bolton Design

These screen prints by Nathan Bolton were one of my favourites. I find the use of geometric shapes along with bright complimentary colours very aesthetically pleasing. I have looked further in to Nathan Bolton Designs and found a short description he has written about these prints which I found very interesting.

"Steve Reich is an American composer who pioneered minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. His innovations include using tape loops to create phasing patterns and the use of simple, audible processes to explore musical concepts. These compositions marked the use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm and canons.

Taking Reich's music as inspiration a series of hand pulled screen prints were created. The musical composition 'Clapping Music' was translated into shapes and patterns to reflect the rhythms of the piece 'Clapping Music'."

Nick Deakin

I really liked Nick Deakin's work at the Print Festival, and after researching him and looking at more of his designs I like his work even more. He manages to capture a fun aesthetic while still keeping it really simplistic and clean.

Kate Gibb

I found this design by Kate Gibb really interesting, it is so complex yet I don't find it too look too chaotic or messy, I like the vibrant colours paired with the calmer, cooler colours, it creates a point of focus. I have looked more in to Kate Gibb's work and I really like her style, she describes her work process as 'hiccups and happy accidents' and this is definitely evident throughout her work.

The Printing Project

The simple overlaying shapes and block colours of these designs really appeal to me. The are very simple and precise, however as they are wood block there are areas where the print hasn't printed as effectively and it is faded. Although I don't see this as a fault, I think it brings a natural, unique feel to the prints.

Amy Rodchester

These illustrated typeface prints were really nice, they were being sold individually with different coloured stock and colour combinations. This is a really nice idea and every letter was equally as interesting.

 Esther McManus

Esther McManus's style is very child like and fun. This book was my favourite out of what was on display, the use of only 2 colours, a light yellow stock and vibrant red made the illustrations really stand out and made the appearance of the pages in general look a lot more interesting. When researching her online I have found a short description of the book by her. 

"In August 2012 I finished a new hand-printed comic with Adam Ferner, which is the first issue in a new saga we will be working on together called Mevlana of the Golden Age.

It follows the life of a female prison inmate, and the ever-growing awareness and understanding that she harnesses whilst in her restrictive, isolated cell. As her time within the prison passes, she begins to sense that there is more to her captivity than she initially realised, and that the guards hold an unnerving secret that will affect her future and her freedom.

We printed and stitched an edition of 100 over the course of a weekend. They can be purchased in my online shop, as well as awesome places across the UK including Orbital (London), Good Press Gallery (Glasgow) and Village Bookstore (Leeds)."

I found this interesting as the illustrations are quite playful, however the content is quite mature.