Ink, Paper, Print

I haven't been able to post for a while because of caring duties but I don't want to skip talking about things I did a while ago. So, if you could just imagine yourself back to late October, I'll pick up where I left off ...


At the end of October my daughter and I had a very exciting trip to the seaside. Obviously, a day by the sea is always good and I especially like the seaside in winter but we had an extra reason for this particular day out.

It was the Ink, Paper & Print art fair in Margate, a wonderful collection of artists and printmakers selling their wares. The fair was split over two venues, the Turner Contemporary and The Winter Gardens (yes, the one where The Beatles played in 1963). While I think of it, if you ever get the chance to visit The Cavern Club in Liverpool, do go - it's wonderful.

Anyway, I'd never been to an art fair before so I didn't know what to expect but it was really good. Each venue was full of artists selling their work and chatting about it. I had thought the prices might be too high for me to actually buy anything but many artists were selling greetings cards cheaply and even the prints weren't too much. Here's a glimpse inside the Winter Gardens ...

There were so many talented artists whose work I'd never seen before so I collected quite a few business cards so that I could track them down online. And the good thing about artists' business cards is that they're mini works of art in themselves.

Do you want to see some of the cards I bought? Of course you do. These two are by Michael Goodson, a Margate artist who produces his work digitally.

'Two Seagulls' and 'Rain-bow-bow' by Michael Godson

He also has a print of two seagulls leaning into the wind which is great. My favourite print on his stall wasn't available as a card; it's a print called 'Bird & Bear' and I think it's just crying out to be made into a children's book.

'Bird & Bear' by Michael Goodson

These next two are by Clare Youngs who works with fabric and paper to create animals full of patterns.

'Black Hen' & 'Flying South' by Clare Youngs

Clare has also written lots of craft books which look good and her new book, Animal Parade features lots of her collage animals.

We spent a long time at the stall shared by Kate and Ruth Sampson, Red Gate Arts. These two artists are inspired by classic art from the Art Deco period and produce prints, posters, book covers and much more. Do explore their website and shop to see what I mean. We bought lots of cards from this stall ...

'Happy Birthday' & 'Dawn Chorus' by Kate Sampson

I think that dancer is reminiscent of the work of Ravilious. Two more works by Kate ...

'Cat at Night' & 'Goodnestone Lemons' by Kate Sampson

The next two are by Ruth ...

'Kitchen Cat' & 'After Dark'

Just look at all the individual stories unfolding in 'After Dark'. My daughter particularly liked the two London scenes and it turned out that these were both entries for the same competition which had the theme 'Sounds of the City'.

I'm going to buy her a print of one of these ... when she makes up her mind which one to have.

I dithered for a long time about which print to buy at the fair and eventually settled on this one ...

'Lakeside' by Amy Grimes

Isn't it beautiful? It's one of the many wonderful prints by Amy Grimes  - I'm so pleased with my print and I don't think it's the only thing I'll be buying from her exciting online shop.

One more exciting find at the fair was a roll of sixteen papers, printed from original woodblocks by artists including Ravilious and Enid Marx.

These will be great to use to make cards, books, badges ... when I can bring myself to cut into them.

After all that, we obviously need chips and a cup of tea by the sea - and it didn't disappoint us. Just look at these waves ...

You'd have needed to time it just right to get back to one of those cars without being soaked.

After lunch, we wandered around Margate for a while, coming across this lovely Tudor House, now a museum.

Then we decided to explore a strange little place we'd read about, hidden away in one of the back streets. The Shell Grotto consists of winding underground passages leading to an underground chamber - all covered with shells laid out in detailed patterns.

Not a very good picture, have a look here to see lots more. The grotto was discovered in 1835 but its origins and purpose still remain a mystery. Was it a religious meeting place or just a folly and just how old is it? Sadly, the carbon dating that might help answer these questions is too expensive to be done.

All in all, it was an inspiring and thought-provoking day by the sea. Oh, how I love the sea; it was a wrench to leave it.