Frances Rothwell Hughes
Blockhead Prints
Since 2018, I've been making linocut prints (mostly textile repeat patterns) inspired by the farcical wit of Renaissance mannerist ornament designs. The name 'Blockhead Prints' refers to the 'blocks' used to make relief prints and the fact that I find printmaking an excellent, repetitive and meditative practice for unblocking my brain on slow days! All makers need a lighthearted sideline. I'll use this page to post new printmaking designs.
Christ on a Bike
Inhabited Foliage
Seadog
As the title says! Renaissance artists from northern Europe, such as Pieter Bruegel the Elder, loved to incorporate visual renderings of proverbs and sayings in their artworks. The hills in the background are the Black Mountains; as a child I spent many days cycling with their distinctive silhouette on the horizon.
Foliage filled with flowering buds and little critters is perhaps one of the oldest types of figurative pattern. Here's a fun repeating design with a snail and a tiny boy.
'Seadog' repeat pattern printed on a fabric lampshade. This design was inspired by a type of mannerist ornament popular in jewellery design featuring nude men sailing pearl-adorned water monsters into the unknown.
Fortuna
Sleeping Grotesque
Dancing Pomegranate
Another repeating fabric design featuring a personification of Fortuna, goddess of fortune, tossed about on the winds of chance. The bellows (Renaissance symbol of fantasy, goldsmithing, and therefore intaglio printmaking) are blowing the wind into her sails and guiding her around the world to create mischief.
A simple tiled design with a sleeping grotesque face at the centre. This design was created to unblock my tired PhD head on a sluggish day. The pink fabric was naturally dyed using avocado stones.
The pomegranate has long attracted interest as a subject for artists. Those fruity, fleshy textures can evoke all kinds of desires. Sometimes linked to Christ's Passion, sometimes passions more illicit, the pomegranate always carries a touch of intrigue.