The Parish Peregrine

Being a bit of a pattern person, and having created a few woodcuts with a strong pattern bias, it struck me, the architectural decoration on the Parish Church in Cirencester is kind of similar - I could make a new print. And, I liked the idea of doing something based on my lovely local town. #cirencester #cotswolds

For non Ciren folk, the Church of St.John the Baptist, dates back to the 12th Century with many alterations and additions over the years. It's an impressive building - one the largest Parish Churches in the country - some people regard it as the Cathedral of the Cotswolds.

The church is a real focal point, anyone local will agree. The colour on the stone in the evening sun can be quite amazing. Coloured lights have been shone on it and fireworks let off the top of it too.

If you live, or have walked, near the centre of town during the last year, you will have heard the cries of a hungry Peregrine falcon. I'm not joking - its seriously incongruous and seriously loud. On an evening walk a few nights ago chatting about releasing this print, the Peregrine appeared and flew up to the tower to roost. #peregrine #pereginefalcon

A lot of interest has been sparked by this rare visitor to the tower. The Cirencester Peregrine Project is a joint initiative between the Gloucestershire Raptor Monitoring Group, Cirencester Wildlife Group and St John the Baptist Church. To help provide the nest box and video monitoring Cirencester Peregrine Project are fundraising here: gofund.me/2d86bd20

My print took a while to come to fruition - I bought a new printing press - a 'Woodzilla', it took some time to come from the Netherlands, and it took a bit of trial and error to get the results I was after. The press makes a huge difference - my wrist had been getting sore burnishing the backs of my prints with a spoon - and this one would have been quite a big area to do using this method. #wood_zilla #linopress #woodcut #woodcutpress

I enjoyed working out how to capture the feel of the architecture - simplifying it down to make it possible to carve and print. I accentuated the orangey hue of the South porch - when renovation took place in 2010/11 it caused a bit of a stir in the town as it's quite bright - but it reflects the original lime wash, that's good enough for me. This part of the building was previously the town hall and administrative centre for Cirencester Market, and is Grade One Listed.

Why did I set the clock at 7.25? My husband Stuart as a member of Cirencester Male Voice Choir practises in the church on a Monday night (pre-lockdown) - if he gets there at 7.25pm, he's not late. #cirencestermalevoicechoir #cmvc

The finished print Parish Church and Peregrine, Cirencester is available on my website. I think it will make a great greetings card too - watch this space.