Savouring The Seasons – mezzotints and wrens – Stefanie Smith
I think that to actually catch a glimpse of a tiny wren, is magical. One of the smallest of our UK birds, it certainly makes sure that it is one of the loudest, as its trill fills the air with an impatience to be heard. But to see one hop merrily through the trees always feels like a real treat.
As I wander through my favourite woodland, the chorus of bird song is almost overwhelming and as always, this time of year seems to completely overload the senses….in a good way. I always come back to my studio filled with anticipation of where my work will go next and I cannot help but to be led by the need to savour the seasons. And so, when I sit, with my studio door open, my sketchbook fills with sketches of wrens and before long I am working at my next mezzotint plate.
I must admit, I’ve got used to the speed of inking up my recent solar plates and then whizzing them through the Little Thumper. Trying to get the variety of tones and details in the feathers that I really want is testing me now, as it’s been a while since I sat and gently scraped at a copper mezzotint plate. The process was really tricky without a decent press, as I need to test the plate regularly to see if I have scraped back enough to get the tones that I need. Now, I have the utter luxury of being able to do this. Each time I’m sure that I’ve got it though, as I run it through the press, I realise that I’m being far too gentle. This is what I love though- scraping and burnishing becomes a form of meditating. Test prints litter every surface and although I’m not there yet, a wren is starting to appear.
Stefanie Smith
Stefanie Smith
Painter & Printmaker
You will find me in the woods, listening for birds and looking for the tiny details that each season has to offer, often with a sketchbook in hand.
Born in London and raised in Hertfordshire, I graduated from the University of Hertfordshire in 2000 with a degree in Applied & Media Art and the following year trained to be an Art and Design teacher, specialising in printmaking.
Now settled in Surrey, my work, inspired by beautiful local surroundings, often starts in paint but finishes in various printmaking techniques – particularly mezzotint and collagraph.
I exhibit with Surrey Artists and have been included in the V&A, London ‘Inspired By’ exhibition and New Designers in Islington, London. More recently, I have exhibited with Ironbridge Fine Arts as part of their Printmakers exhibition 2023.
