Natalie Hardy
A little bit about me
About me
Hi! I’m Natalie a woodblock printmaker inspired by the sea, my garden, the weather, trees, beauty, and the change of seasons.
I live in Leeds, West Yorkshire with my husband and 2 children. I’m blessed to have a small studio at the end of my garden that we built together.
Often I feel like I’m playing catchup, currently I’m working on a print that I started in the summer (it’s now January). I find it encouraging looking out of my studio window that my garden will look like this again in May when the summer comes. The seasons are always changing, as an artist I capture a snapshot of a particular moment. As I see that image (moment) through to a completed print, the world has had many more beautiful moments that I want to capture. I’m learning to be content to finish one idea before starting the next, and be ok with the many other moments I haven’t captured yet, and the many more that I’ll never have the time to capture.
I am fascinated with the natural world, and so the inspiration for my art changes with the seasons: the budding green of spring as it brings forth new life; the sun’s sparkles on the summer sea; the drama of the fiery colours of autumn; and not forgetting the beauty of winter tree silhouettes against a cold blue sky. Woodblock printing is an extension of that inspiration, working with wood in order to create an image keeps that connection to the natural world in the process itself, so it is ever-present.
We built a studio at the bottom of our garden so I have the privilege of my creative process being an integral part of everyday life. I enjoy a wander down to the studio with a cup of tea in hand to look over the latest stage of printing with fresh eyes. The processes involved in printmaking, help to give me a structure and momentum to creating an image. I enjoy the rhythm between making technical decisions, about proper registration for example, and creative decisions about colour and the overall impact of the work. Then there is the wooden block itself which brings its own unpredictable beauty, meaning I can’t be too rigid but have to respond and work with the unpredictable nature of wood and the effect it has on the print: nature depicting nature.