Linocut Workshop

September 9, 2021March 23, 2025 Julie Gardner3 Comments

Whenever I look at art I’m always drawn to prints – mostly screen prints and lino prints, it’s something about the clean lines I think. So I still dream of one day being a proper artist who spends all day printing beautiful prints to sell. I kind of think I will one day, when life is a bit quieter and I have more time. Right now (and it’s partly my own fault) I seem to always be rushing from one thing to another. From lampshades to drawing to sewing and back again, plus I also do some admin and social media work for small companies on the side. It’s all good though as I’m someone who really struggles when I don’t have enough to do. I’m already a little nervous about the winter coming up as without the work in the garden to fill my time I’ll need to fill it with something else. I’m seriously thinking about making a quilt, never done it before and it might be a rewarding thing to do and will keep my hands busy.

Anyway, I was dreaming about being a lino print artist a while ago and decided to find myself a course to go on. I’ve done it before but sometimes a course is just what you need to feel inspired and to build your confidence. I soon came across a course in Oxford, run by Claire Florey-Hitchcox. Have a look here.

I found a few courses but immediately loved Claire’s own work and it was only 30 minutes from home so it kind of felt just right. The course I attended was for printing onto fabric so that one day I might be able to print my own designs to make into lampshades. Another dream of mine! I also thought I might be able to add some machine embroidery but that’s just me running before I can walk as usual…

The day was amazing, I loved it. Claire started by showing us all the different tools and linos available and we had a go at cutting different lines and patterns. I’d never thought of getting tools from the shed and hitting them with a hammer to make marks in the lino!

Then we started our own designs, tracing them onto the lino and cutting out, all under Claire’s guidance and with little extra tips shared along the way. Lunch was spent in the gorgeous garden, surrounded by wildlife and the odd chicken walking past. It was so nice to be away from home and chatting with other creative people in the countryside, I must do something like this again very soon.

Here is my lino cut design of a protea flower:

Great tip – using the side of a spoon to make the tracing lines go through!

This was five weeks ago and I have to admit I haven’t done any lino printing since. But I will! I just need to order some more equipment and fabric. It’ll be something else to do in the winter to keep busy. Watch this space, there may be printed gilhoolie lampshades coming soon!

Welcome to my studio!

July 1, 2020February 11, 2025 Julie GardnerLeave a comment

We were incredibly lucky to have our kitchen/dining room (which is also my lampshade workshop) decorated just before lock down and I have been meaning to share it on here since then so I’m sorry it’s taken so long. I adore this space. It’s so light and airy but also very cosy in the winter. I can step straight into the garden for a stroll and look at the flowers or make myself a cup of tea whenever I need a break. The only down side is that I have to tidy everything away at the end of a day and everyone obviously gravitates here when they get hungry (which is quite often when you have two teenage boys living in the house!) It’s been accentuated during lock down for sure with four of us living here. So I am seriously considering building a workshop in the garden where I can really get away from it all and absorb myself in making. But for now I’m very happy and grateful to have this space.

I have been busy working on my own machine embroidery designs which I will be adding to my Etsy shop. These are all botanical themed so far and I have used them to make cushions and lampshades. I’d like to come up with a collection that I can sell eventually but it’s early days as I’m trying things out and having fun experimenting. One good thing about lock down, I have plenty of time to do this and seem to be quite inspired! Yesterday I spent all afternoon coming up with a design and started cutting fabrics to stitch on.

Anyway, back to my kitchen/dining room/workshop… Here it is. The walls are painted in Little Greene china blue, with a slightly lighter tone in the kitchen area as it can be a bit dark in there at certain times of day. The wallpaper is also from Little Greene and is called Fern in sage blue. It wraps around two walls and makes a cosy seating area in one corner. I admired this wallpaper in one of Samantha Johnson’s designs in Taplow – see her gorgeously clever interior design work here.

We already had the two seater sofa which is from Made.com. And my favourite velvet Calvin armchair is from Atkin & Thyme. Glass pendant over the dining room table is quite old but I still love it (from Next). Lampshades by gilhoolie. Glass cabinet from Ikea. Anglepoise original 1227 dark blue ceiling lights from John Lewis. Dining room table and benches from Habitat.

So you see, what a lovely space to be creative in. Next project, our master bedroom! I have ordered new furniture but we need to get on and decorate before it arrives, I’m off to get paint sample pots…

If you would like to order a lampshade for your own house please get in touch. I can help with sourcing fabrics to fit in with your scheme. Check out my instagram account for lots of images of previous makes.

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Covid-19 Lock Down – Week One – Anxiety

April 1, 2020February 11, 2025 Julie GardnerLeave a comment

It’s April fools day, 2020. A bit different from other years. I don’t think many people will be playing pranks. We’re doing okay though. My family have adapted really well, it just feels like a long stay-cation at the moment!

I’ve been keeping to a routine each morning at least. Exercise first thing (was Joe Wicks last week but decided to hunt around on YouTube for something else this week, there’s so much out there to choose from). Then I have breakfast, shower and take Arthur for a big long walk. I’m very lucky that I can do this and we have fields and woodland very close to our house that we can walk to. My husband on the other hand, is cooped up in his little office upstairs, working away all day. We live on a busy road which is currently hauntingly quiet most of the day. I’m not complaining about that, it’s bliss.

In the afternoon I’ve been working my way through my lists of jobs, very slowly! I have one for the house, garden and gilhoolie (I’m thinking we’re going to be stuck in for quite some time unfortunately!) Lots of gardening completed last week when the sun was shining 🌞 I’ve also had lots of virtual coffees with friends and feel very blessed that I have them to chat to. It’s definitely making me appreciate all the little things that’s for sure.

Yesterday I even hunted down my acrylic paints and plucked up the courage to have a go. It’s the first time I’ve done it since I finished a painting course at Henley School of Art and because I was feeling inspired by the Portrait Artist of the Year on Sky Arts. What a great programme! I really enjoy painting but always start with a worry that it will turn out really badly. I guess that’s what stops most people having a go?! I’m going to keep trying though, now that I have lots of time to fill. I’m not watching TV until the evening and trying to stay away from the news during the day too. It’s easy to get obsessed with all the stats on Covid-19 but not good for me mentally!

Pencil drawing the painting was based on

Last week I was crazy busy finishing off lampshade orders. It’s obviously going to be very quiet for a while but hopefully orders will pick up again once this is all over.

So that’s my first week in lock down. I really am getting used to this social distancing. Last week I cried every time I went out for a dog walk and felt quite anxious. I just felt so sad about it all too. You do adjust though, it just takes time. Isn’t it going to be amazing when this is all over and we can hug a friend or go out to dinner?! In the meantime I’m going to make the most of this time and maybe it will make me slow down in the future too.

gilhoolie gets out

Top Drawer 2020 – Art

January 22, 2020February 12, 2025 Julie GardnerLeave a comment

As promised last week, below are some of the artists that stood out for me at Top Drawer 2020. I obviously love drawing flowers and buildings myself so I was very drawn to these particular prints. You can take a look at the artists yourself, by following the links below. Enjoy!

From left to right:

30×40, Annie Dornan Smith, Catherine Ann Lewis, Laura Stoddart, Sam Wilson (lovely homewares too), Soodle Street

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Arthur puppy is one!

March 5, 2019February 12, 2025 Julie Gardner1 Comment

It’s Arthur puppy’s first birthday this week, I can’t believe how fast the last year has flown! Life has definitely changed and to anyone thinking about getting a dog, (well a miniature schnauzer at least as I don’t have experience of any others) I would definitely say go for it. I can’t think of any negatives so far. Not particularly liking the mud at the moment but hopefully it won’t last too long…

Actually, I have just looked back at my blog posts and I haven’t written on here since we collected him last May so apologies for that! Here are some pics of the cheeky chap. Along with a little drawing of Arthur by me (one of my husband’s Christmas presents).

Now, the next blog post will be about lampshades, I promise! Things have been pretty busy at gilhoolie lately so lots to write about. And I’m trying hard to get back into drawing so I think posting on here will help motivate me 🙂

Artwork · Creative Courses

Henley-on-Thames School of Art…

March 29, 2018February 16, 2025 Julie GardnerLeave a comment

I discovered The Henley on Thames School of Art last year – when I was looking for something creative to do that fits around working and making lampshades.

Thank goodness I discovered it! What a lovely place it is! It’s a warm, welcoming, sunlit studio at the back of Hart Street, with a little courtyard. You’d never know it was there, unless you spot the little sign at the entrance to the alleyway…

Last year I attended a ‘Drawing and Painting from Scratch’ course with Max Hale. I know it’s ridiculous, considering I have drawn quite a few commissions for people, but I’ve never been taught how to draw and I found the tips Max shared with us incredibly eye opening and oh so helpful. “Ah, that’s why artists hold out their brushes to measure!” I said to myself… And simple things like drawing a line of symmetry first. Bit of a light bulb moment! (or 2 ha ha!) You can see the lines of symmetry in my drawing below.

Drawing I like. But I have to say, I found the acrylic painting really hard and don’t have a lot of pieces to share on here. This one was all about shade and I found it easiest as you didn’t have to think about mixing different colours yet.

The next one was a bit more tricky although it looks fine from a distance, but then all the great paintings are like that too aren’t they?!

So that was my adventures with drawing and painting from scratch. Max was a brilliant teacher, very patient and knowledgeable, an amazing painter too.

For the last ten weeks I have been attending a life drawing class. Such fun! I have always wanted to have a go but always been too scared, which is crazy, I’m not the one naked after all.

We were thrown in at the deep end on week one, but that’s the best way to learn isn’t it? Have a go, draw big, free and loose – so different from my usual drawing style which is very intricate and detailed and precise. Over the weeks we have had a go at using charcoals, various pencils, conte crayons, ripping bits of coloured paper and ink (my least favourite!)

Jo Harris took the class, along with her adorable dog Lulu, who likes to sit with the model, especially when there’s a lamp giving out heat! Jo is a very talented illustrator who is also really lovely and friendly and a really good teacher (with a great taste in music too, very important when you’re drawing!) I have learnt an awful lot, but still lots of practicing to do which is why I have signed up to another term.

We destroyed most of our work in this class as it was all about having a go and not worrying about the outcome. I loved that idea! I did keep a couple though. Hopefully my drawings next term will be an improvement and I’ll want to share more…

If you’re looking for art classes in the area look no further, you won’t be disappointed. And if you’re a bit wary about life drawing, don’t be, it’s all just shapes after all!!

Drawing by tearing pieces of flesh coloured paper – very very difficult, and he didn’t even have a moustache!

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Greys Court, Henley…

June 8, 2017February 16, 2025 Julie GardnerLeave a comment

We discovered this National Trust property quite a few years ago and have been going back regularly ever since. It is definitely one of my favourites – the house is quite small and incredibly homely; you can imagine the Brunner family living there. And the gardens (with it’s ancient wisteria) are very English and beautiful, surrounded by lush rolling hills. Perfect for an escape from the hustle and bustle, with lunch or a cream tea in the lovely cowshed tearoom.

It’s one of the places I never get bored of visiting, so I knew it had to be on my list of local buildings to draw.

Here it is:

Greys Court, National Trust Property, near Henley-on-Thames

This one was quite tricky, with lots of detail in the brickwork. I particularly like the green benches! 🙂

I’ll be displaying this one on my stand at Art on the Street on Saturday, 17th June – come and see it / me! You’ll be able to buy a gilhoolie print or order a personalised drawing of your own favourite building.

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On a mission…

May 12, 2017February 16, 2025 Julie GardnerLeave a comment

What a busy week. My mind has been buzzing with ideas for next month’s Art on the Street so I spent the day yesterday working on that. Mostly looking at old house pictures I’ve drawn and playing around with Photoshop, great fun. I’ve realised I need to be structured with my time, so Thursdays are my day for art stuff and nothing else. It really works. I also feel like I achieved a lot this week – I managed to book a summer holiday (what a relief!), squeezed in lots of exercise and even did a bit of gardening.

This week I thought I’d share with you some drawing commissions from last month. They were in the same order but very different – one of an old land rover and one of a very nice big house in the countryside in Herefordshire.

The land rover was drawn in ink, then coloured in Photoshop and giclee printed on lovely textured paper. I found a lady in Maidenhead who does art prints from her house very near me which is great and saves lots on postage. So I hope to do more of this in the future. That’s the plan. Drawing the car was a bit of a challenge as the real one is in pieces at the moment, thank goodness for Google!!

I drew an old Volkswagen car a while ago with the same kind of effect – see it below.

The house was just drawn in ink, then cut out and stuck to a patterned sky background. Not such a clean finish but I think people like them for that reason.

Here they are together, in their mounts, ready to be wrapped in tissue paper.

Get in touch if you’d like to order a house (or car!) drawing commission, or come and see me on Saturday 17th June at Art on the Street in Maidenhead, not long now…

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Happy new year!

January 8, 2016February 16, 2025 Julie GardnerLeave a comment

Well, it’s a new year and I’m feeling good, I hope you are too!

Why am I in a good mood? I’ve been thinking and I put it down to:

A break in the rainy weather (the sun is shining even if it’s cold out there!)
I’m a big fan of starting something new and I love the fresh feeling that a new year brings
I’ve discovered yoga! Well, I’ve been going to yogalates for 6 months or so but I recently signed up to a 30 day yoga bootcamp and am on day 5 now. It’s with ‘Yoga with Adriene’ – who was recommended in an Instagram feed of a Swedish fabric designer I follow. Watch the introduction video on YouTube here. She’s great – young, pretty, relaxed and fun too. Luckily, I have a part of the day when I’m kind of ‘in limbo’ – kids home from school, too early to cook dinner – so it’s the perfect time to ‘get on the mat’ (if I had one!) for some yoga. I fully intend to make it to the 30 days and am going to treat myself to a mat and a nice yoga outfit at the end – something to look forward to! (It’s the small things you know!) 😉
Finally, I adore my boys but it’s good to get back to some balance in my life after the school holidays – I have totally made the most of my freedom this week (including wandering round the shops yesterday and some serious clothes shopping today, as well as some much needed exercise, cycling to work, oh and the yoga every day of course!)

I don’t really have any new year’s resolutions but there are definitely some things I want to do more of (drawing, having fun, traveling, relaxing and generally doing things that make me happy, including buying new clothes, made a good start on that today, watch out credit card!) Plus some things I want to do a lot less of (stressing about silly things mostly).

So, that’s my start to the year – the kids have been back at school for a week, I’ve been back into work and everything is back to the usual routine which is refreshing for me after 3 weeks of lazing around (which was great too, feeling very chilled now!)

I thought I’d share this drawing I was asked to do last year as a commission for a couple who got married somewhere a bit different – a big teepee! Drawing commissions are my absolute favourite – it’s so nice to be asked to draw something by someone who likes your style (I had previously drawn the client’s house for her). We’ve never met but she found me on the web and trusted me to draw the wedding venue for her friend as a present, no pressure! Anyway, here it is, with my signature patterned sky print. Happy New Year everyone! 🙂

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Christmas, what Christmas?!…

January 10, 2014February 16, 2025 Julie GardnerLeave a comment

I don’t know about you but I feel as though Christmas was a life time ago, or was it all just a dream?! Not a bad thing I guess; good to get on with a new year and all that. I don’t have any new year resolutions as such but I do have plenty of things I want to get on with as soon as possible. One of them is writing on here regularly again as I know I neglected it in the second half of 2013. So here’s my first post of 2014, hopefully the first of many!

I have a list of the other things I want to achieve and I was about to put them on here but then decided not to, all will be revealed as the year goes on (as long as I get on and stop procrastinating!)

Anyway, back to Christmas – below are some of the house picture commissions I received at the end of last year. I still get asked to do these occasionally and of course it’s always a pleasure. I still love looking at and drawing houses…