Folk Style Linocuts By MStraccia Art

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Edward Bawden & The Circus of Illustration

Edward Bawden and the Circus Of Illustration has finally opened at The Higgins in Bedford. It is a new exhibition that is on until October 2024.

The Circus of Illustration at The Higgins

This exhibition is a sister show to Edward Bawden and Me, which is a major exhibition, running concurrently with this show. However, our exhibition has a focus on local illustrators and artists.

Poster of Edward Bawden and The Circus of Illustration by Katie Allen

Who are the Circus Of Illustration?

The Circus Of Illustration is an informal group of professional Bedford-based artists, designers, and illustrators, who volunteer their free time to help promote Illustration here in the town.

The group is run by committee. At the moment. There are five of us. Daniel Churchill, Katie Allen, Kristina Bullen, Elly Loughlin and myself.

Since 2011, we have been promoting Illustration in Bedford. We do this through workshops, hosting exhibitions, running professional development talks, and we run our monthly social- Drink and Draw.

Like the artists in the main show, the Circus Of Illustration was approached by The Higgins to produce a brand-new piece of work which was inspired by the Edward Bawden archive. Bawden bequeathed his archive to The Higgins after he died. It is an amazing body of work which embodies 20th century, British design and Illustration.

Everyone at the circus thought it would be perfect to offer this opportunity to new talented illustrators, who live in Bedford.

We reached out to students, recent graduates, brilliant hobbyists, and people who are looking for a pivot in their career.

The work that our local illustrators and artists produced is amazing, and I thoroughly recommend that you visit The Higgins to see Edward Bawden and Me and go upstairs to the Bawden Gallery to see Edward Bawden and Circus Of Illustration. You will see that Bedford has some amazing creatives. Check out our special ‘behind the scenes’ website for sketches, animation and process videos of the work.

Bawden’s influence on us as Bedford based illustrators is really significant. We love his work and it’s privilege, knowing that it is being carefully looked after here on our doorstep at our local museum. During his career he produced watercolours, linoprints, commercial designs and took on a variety of commissions. This way of working chimes with me in my day-job as an illustrator and designer at Doodle Press.

My Bawden inspiration for the exhibition.

My piece for this exhibition is called ‘Meeting At The Chapel’

I have a postcard sized copy of Bawden’s linocut Road to Thaxted framed at home, so I was thrilled to see the real thing. I’m impressed with how Bawden simplifies subjects whilst retaining their identity. I had never noticed the person in the window before. What’s their relationship with the policeman? Could I create a similar mystery?

‘Meeting at the Chapel’ by Marisa Straccia

I do a lot of Illustration work for Foster Hill Road Cemetery, so I wanted to include the chapel in my work. You can watch a video of how I made this reduction linoprint. Each colour layer is printed by hand from the same piece of lino.

At this exhibition, our new piece of work hangs right next to the Bawden original that inspired us.

I’m so chuffed to be a part of this exhibition- it looks amazing! If you live near Bedford I recommend you visit The Higgins to see Edward Bawden and Me and Edward Bawden and the Circus of Illustration.

Please Help Me Shape My New Linocut Art Class

Recently people have mentioned that they are interested in learning more about my art process. I have hosted workshops in the past, and I am planning a class on how to create reduction linocut prints at home. Coming soon to 2026!

I’ve created a quick survey so I can find out more about potential students, and so I can craft a great linocut workshop. Please let me know your thoughts by completing this short Mailchimp survey if you have time! With many thanks, Marisa x

Click click to complete the survey

Applying for Open Calls and Exhibitions

At the start of 2025, an artist friend suggested I try to get my prints into some exhibitions.

I applied to four open calls this year and I was successful at three of them.

How Did I Find Out About Open Calls?

Galleries and art organisers promote their open calls on Instagram. It seemed to be their main form of communication. Once I started looking, the algorithm became aware of my activity. More suggested posts for open calls kept appearing.

I only applied to open calls that fitted my style of work and weren’t too expensive. Organisers who were looking for artists from the East of England, printmakers and nature lovers seemed to be my wheelhouse.

I’ve set a reminder on my calendar. Every month I now look for suitable artists opportunities on curator space, OESS and artopps . Check them out and see if anything there suits your style.

Why Apply to Open Calls?

For me this year, it was wondering if I would actually be accepted anywhere. Some open calls are competitions. If there’s a prize you like the look of, just do it! Pay the entry fee and try your luck! It’s also for the exposure, the prestige too. There’s nothing like seeing your work in an artist’s catalogue to give yourself a confidence boost. It also gave me an opportunity to travel around the new parts of the UK and meet new people. I’m very shy, my networking skills are rubbish. Hopefully I will do more of these next year and build up my confidence.

The more people who see your work at exhibitions, the more likelihood there is of someone buying your work. Unfortunately, no sales for me through galleries this year, but there’s always 2026!

Or… Organise Your Own Exhibition!

If there are no opportunities in your area, why not create your own! In Bedford, I am a member of The Circus of Illustration and we organised two open calls on 2025. You just need a willing venue to host your show. Our local college was very helpful. Just ask! Most people love to support and encourage the arts.

Made By Humans

This is our current open call. So if you are looking to exhibit next year, why not apply and start your exhibition journey now! The details on how to apply are here. Good luck!

Dipper Print Inspired By A Walk In Monsal Dale, Derbyshire

This is my latest completed reduction linocut print of a dipper I saw at Monsal Dale in Derbyshire. Anyone who is familiar with the area should recognise the old railway viaduct in the background over the winding River Wye. Me and my partner, Jack, had a fantastic sunny Spring Day, walking the meadow and looking at the frogs and birds in the water. We love to explore nature in the Peak District (and we ate lots of delicious desserts in Bakewell).

Design Process

I’m always inspired by my walks in the Great Outdoors. As we’re walking, I take photos and use these references in my preliminary sketches. We saw so many dippers, I originally wanted to put two in my composition, but there was too much detail to squeeze onto the size of the lino I had chosen to use. I then finesse the sketch on my iPad.

With this block, I wanted to push myself and do more colour layers than usual. I’ve seen artists create reduction linocut prints using up to 11 layers of colour. This is too ambitious for me! I decided to aim for 6, so each colour layer gets made using the same block of lino. A beige to light blue gradient for the sky, then blue, grey, red, brown and black. I printed from the lightest colours to the darkest, destroying or reducing the lino as I go.

I am so happy I managed to print all the layers without any problems. I work from home, in the corner of my living room. The prints can get left on the drying line for weeks at a time before I find the time to add another layer. Fortunately the paper didn’t warp.

This is my living room which is also my studio and my dining table!

If I could reprint the dipper, I would add more contrast to the grey and blue layers. Unluckily for me the brickwork pattern on the viaduct isn’t obvious. I’ve done a bit of photoshop magic for the greeting card version of the print so you can see the texture of the bridge more clearly.

The Lost Portfolio

An Illustration Exhibition at Bedford College

The Circus of Illustration is a group of professional designers and illustrators who volunteer their time to help promote illustration locally in Bedford.

We were approached by Bedford College to organise an exhibition in their South Bank Gallery. Home of their art and design department.

Unfortunately we weren’t given very much time to organise an exhibition from scratch! Usually we like to set a theme and then post a call out. Artists get to create work to a brief this way, but we had so little time, we knew people wouldn’t be able to make something new. We wanted to do the exhibition to show the students a variety of styles and introduce them to professional working illustrators living in their area.

So what about something lost? Or something that had never seen the light of day before?

We received lots of entries from local professionals, hobbyists and recent graduates. We were keen that the work we exhibited was illustration and not fine art, so not everyone who replied to the open call was successful.

Above- Some examples of the work featured in the exhibition. We received paintings, models, pen and ink drawings, handmade prints and digital illustration.

What’s the Difference Between Fine Art and Illustration?

In my opinion, it’s about what you are communicating. Illustrators are story telling with images, and the story they tell doesn’t have to be their own. It can be a personal narrative in a comic strip or graphic novel. It is usually images to illustrate somebody’s story or history. It could be the story of a place or event. Illustration is usually found in books, magazines, posters and products. Fine art is exclusively found in galleries on canvas, not only just paper. Also, in my opinion, the story a fine artist tells is less about somebody else’s narrative and more about how they personally perceive the world themselves. Obviously there is a grey area! What do you think the differences are?

We discovered that there is a snobbery, even within our local creative community about illustration. People think it’s just for children, or that it requires less artistic skill to create. To me, illustration is helping others represent their words and thoughts in an effective way to appeal to adults and children. It is a very generous skill!

My submission was a reduction linocut print of a place near where I live called ‘Mill Meadows’ I wrote a simple little story about my favourite bird that I see there occasionally.

‘Peep peep! In the summer, when the yellow flags are in bloom and there is shade under willow trees, you might be lucky enough to see a flash of a kingfisher, darting along the river.’

Buy a limited edition print of ‘Mill Meadows’ here

The exhibition is on until 29th April 2025, but call ahead to the college to arrange a viewing because access is restricted.

Kestrels Near Harboro Rocks

A New Reduction Linocut Print Inspired by the Nature in the Derbyshire Dales

Way back in November I was lucky enough to go to the Derbyshire Dales and Peak District for a little birthday trip with Jack. I love this part of the English countryside. It is the nearest British National Park to Sheffield University (where I was studying for my degree) and I went on my first camping trip . Sleeping under the stars, I felt free and connected with nature. Growing up, my family were not ones for hiking or adventuring into the wilds. The outdoors was a revelation.

The limestone rocks are so atmospheric on a misty Autumn day. Fortunately, I always go walking with my binoculars. Just past the rocks, I was rewarded with some gorgeous views of the kestrels posing near the wooden pylons. I really wanted to make a linocut of these beautiful birds.

I started this print in November and it’s finally available. Visit my shop now. They are limited edition to only 11. Reduction printing is an extremely time consuming process, and when you have a full time job, tasks seem to take even longer!

I used the same piece of lino to make this multicoloured print by carving away bits of the lino and printing a layer of colour on top of the previous one. I burnish with a wooden spoon by hand. I don’t own a printing press. If you make a mistake, you can’t re-carve the layer, or create reprints. The block is gradually destroyed as I build up the layers.

Each piece is unique, and there are little discrepancies, but this is the charm of a handmade print. It’s made by me, a human! Not a machine.

My 2024 Art Journey: Achievements and Reflections

I’ve noticed some artists on social media are sharing their work and accomplishments of 2024. I was reading these posts thinking, “Oh no, they’ve done so much this year and I haven’t achieved anything. Why am I so lazy?”

I decided to try and write it down. Here is my retrospective of 2024.

I exhibited at the Higgins at the Edward Bawden and The Circus of Illustration show. I made a speech on the opening night. Together with the Circus of Illustration we’ve hosted 11 drink and draw events, a ‘Props’ life drawing event and we exhibited our ‘Drawing Bedford Together’ project at POP Bedford.

I sold artwork at 3 makers markets.

I hosted art workshops at The Higgins, The Bedford River Festival and at The Panacea Museum.

I created an A0 size illustrated visitor’s map for the Friends at Foster Hill Road Cemetery, some artist’s impressions of their new visitor’s centre and a pop up banner.

I binned Etsy and started a new online shop.

I made 5 new reduction prints in 2024. (I must make more in 2025).

At my day job as an illustrator for Doodle Press (the work that actually pays all of my bills). I worked on 10 books, 35 greeting cards (approximately), a football calendar, a cocktail menu for a posh bar in London, illustrations for a dance wear company, artwork for a pharmacy company, AND a nature display board at a Scottish wildlife reserve- Phew!

There was wedding in Wales, a road trip around Ireland, walks in The Peak District, a birthday in the Derbyshire Dales and bird watching Bedfordshire with Jack. Not to mention countless fun times with friends and family.

Writing down last year in review has been quite revealing. No wonder my house is always messy, I never seem to have any free time to clean it.

Reflecting on 2024

I believe I should create new work and approach galleries and enter competitions, rather than just sell in person at market. Shoppers at these makers fairs aren’t necessarily my target audience. I really would like more people to see my linocut art outside of my local area, so I’ll have to get more confident at driving! Writing these ambitions down will hopefully drive me towards these goals.

Do you have any aspirations for 2025? What are your plans for this year?

Why I Switched from Etsy to Sum Up for Selling Prints

Bye Etsy. Hello Sum-Up

Why have I decided to sell on a new platform?

Etsy Shops Aren’t What They Used to Be.

I’ve been disappointed with how I’ve seen Etsy evolve over the years. I started selling on the platform back in 2008. In those days Etsy was a champion of independent artists and makers. It was the world’s indie craft market. Each artisan seller on the site seemed to be making their products by hand and with love. I have moved to a new online shop

Skip to today and the site is flooded with cheap, mass produced items. To my alarm, there are a lot of A.I. generated images for digital download too. The human side of Etsy’s original mission has fallen away in my opinion.

The Cormorant. Available to buy from my new Online Shop.

Customer Service

Customer service for me personally hasn’t been great either. They use algorithms to check for unusual sales activity, which they claim could be evidence of money laundering and other criminal activity. My account got frozen by this algorithm . I listed some prints that, to my delight, were so popular I sold 4 in a week (I usual sell 1 print per month).

This surprise spike in sales tripped their alarm, but with no human to appeal to, I had to wait for 3 months before I was able unfreeze my account and access any funds from my seller’s account. I felt so deflated, like I was being punished for a success.

The Price of Selling On Etsy

The other complaint about the platform are the seller’s fees and the listing fees. They have crept up over the years and today are quite high. A 6.5% transaction fee for sales, posting and packaging. UK sellers also pay 4% plus 20p per transaction in payment processing fees.

Selling ‘in real life’ requires a card reader

Switching To Sum Up

When I started selling artwork ‘in real life’ I needed a card reader that I could take to markets. I went with Sum Up because there was a sale on at my local stationery shop.

Turns out, when you open an account with Sum Up you have all these amazing options to set up your own online shop. The way you design the shop is very similar to WordPress. I didn’t need to know any fancy code.

I opened my shop yesterday and I have already made a sale! Buyers don’t even need to sign up and log in with an account to make a purchase.

Fees

When I make a sale via my card reader at a craft fair, Sum Up (UK) take 1.69% per transaction. With purchases from my new online Sum Up shop, they take 2.5% per transaction. It’s so much cheaper than Etsy! I get to keep more of my profits.

I like how the Sum Up inventory is linked to my online shop too. I can keep track of the number of all my items in a clear way.

Getting Noticed

So far so promising! Obviously my prints won’t show up the top of search engines like a listing could if it was on Etsy, but buyers weren’t finding me that way anyway. I have never paid for a sponsored ad. I tend to get new customers from getting my face out into the world ‘in real life’ and speaking to people. I go to markets and events. I host art workshops and creative activities in my local community. I talk to people face to face! A human interaction is worth more than a social media ‘like’.

Get out there and make real connections with actual people!

Having said that- I do enjoy posting on Instagram and Facebook too and I think keeping the content professional and engaging does encourage people to find out more about you. If people like what they see, hopefully they will visit (and buy from) my shop too!

If you have any stories, tips or wisdom about selling your artwork online- Do let us know in the comments.

Split pin puppets inspired by Edward Bawden

A super easy creative activity you can do at home with the kids

On Sunday, I ran a kids workshop for crafternoon at The Higgins in Bedford. It is home to the Bawden archive, and the popular ‘Edward Bawden and Me’ exhibition is still on until January 2025 so I always try to theme our activities around his style and characters.

Bawden really loved cats and he made a lot of illustrations of these furry critters. I saw a character from a design he did for Fortnum and Mason which inspired me to create a split pin puppet template for our session.

We had an amazing couple of hours and made some gorgeous cats. We added our own fashion accessories ready for a posh party!

It was such a fun activity and it’s so easy to do. You can make these at home. I have uploaded the template we used so you can print your own and make your own cat gang.

If you’re ‘feline’ creative give it a go!
download the template here .

Crafternoon sept 2024 Download

Boxing

‘Boxing’ is my latest reduction print. I was inspired by Watership Down. Like a lot of kids who grew up in the 80s my parents thought Watership Down was a cute and cuddly cartoon about bunnies that would be suitable for little girls. How wrong they were.

This summer, I finally read the novel by Richard Adams. I wish I was brave enough to read it sooner. The rabbits have their own folk stories featuring their own prophets and legends. A bit like we do with King Arthur. Like the cartoon, it can be quite violent. It’s about as perilous and adventurous as a book like The Hobbit, or Lord of the Rings… but with bunnies.

This is a reduction linocut of two boxing hares. It’s something I have seen on a summers evening in the Bedfordshire countryside. Hares are magical!

We were lucky enough to visit West Cork in Ireland this summer and we saw a hare! We couldn’t tell at first if it was a rabbit or a hare until it started running. It turns out that Ireland have their own endemic sub species of a mountain hare (Lepus timidus hibernicus). They are special because their fur does not turn white in the winter.

Here in England, we have larger brown hares which were introduced by the Romans.

Unfortunately, hares have been in declined since the 70s because of intensive farming and increase in livestock densities. Their grassland habitat is shrinking.

These animals are Britain’s fastest land mammal. They are so beautiful and it is always a special moment when you see them in the wild.

Easy Crafty Loo Roll Lion Workshop at The Higgins: A Fun Activity for Families

I want to share with you these super fun and easy crafty loo roll lions. We made them at The Higgins, the home of the Edward Bawden archive in Bedford.

The lions are inspired by Bawden’s Aesop Fable artwork for ‘The Lion and The Gnat’. You can see the piece in the main (or mane) exhibition called ‘Edward Bawden and Me’.

So many creative families attended the workshop today and made some beautiful lions. This was my third crafternoon at the Higgins and we had so much fun! If you missed out and want to make a lion at home with your family, you can download and print a template (the file is called crafternoon-3-lion). You just need an empty loo roll, some glue and something to colour in your lion elements. We used pens and collage material, but you can use whatever art materials you have at home.

crafternoon-3-lion Download

My next art workshop will be at the Bedford River festival in July at the Higgins tent. 🦆