Su France.
Su France is a Lincolnshire-based artist whose work celebrates the beauty of rural life. She has lived on an arable farm and some of the marks she is inspired to print are some from crop marks, seed drills, furrows, animal tracks and the spaces between fields.
Working with foraged botanicals, earth pigments, and vintage threads, she creates prints and textile pieces that capture how she feels about her place in the natural world.
Her practice includes stitch work on linen, highlighted with muted, earthy colours or hand pierced silver and gold thread. She gains permission from land owners to collect and process through grinding and sieving the pigments which produce the colour and direct link on her textile pieces.
Site specific pieces give that extra level of meaning- the geology of the land having a real impact on what is created..
Collagraph prints also enable her to explore her love of ceramics and the idea of imperfection and the mend. She examines the form of tea bowls and is drawn to the weather surfaces and the narratives behind kintsugi repaired tea bowls.
Drawing inspiration from her surroundings, Su combines traditional techniques with playful experimentation. She’s passionate about sharing her methods through workshops, helping others discover their own creativity through accessible approaches to printmaking and natural materials.
Her work emphasises the connection between art and the wild, finding beauty in the simple patterns and textures of the natural world.
Su uses a Gunning etching press to produce her prints and has demonstrated this craft in London at Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair. She has exhibited nationally and her prints and earth pigment have found their way into homes both in the UK and abroad.
You can follow Su’s printmaking journey on Instagram (@su_france_designs) and her earth pigment textile work (@su_france_).
Work is available to buy from exhibitions, from her website www.sufrancedesigns.com and Su also welcomes commissions.