Illustration by Molly McKenna. A woodcut print of a trio of cats outlined in black, with three swatches of colour behind, yellow, blue and green.

Throughout the degree, I have explored the uses of printmaking methods to create illustrations for publications. In the final year, this culminated in ‘An Ode to Cats!’ a book of collected cat poetry, using children’s classics such as ‘The Owl and the Pussycat’ by Edward Lear. In this twenty-eight-page book, I created a consistent series of illustrations using woodcut, linocut and chine-collé to add colour.

Linocut print for 'The Owl and the Pussycat' by Edward Lear. Created with bold lines to show the Owl and the Pussycat at sea on their row-boat, with hints of blue, green and yellow.

Alongside narratives and storytelling, I am interested in creating imagery for non-fiction publications. Some of my ideas have been formed by observations of the environment. A recent example is ‘A Journey through the Heart of Epping Forest’, a concertina booklet documenting an ancient woodland in my hometown. Illustrated with black and white lino prints, the purpose is to consider how people connect to the Forest.

Overall, I have developed a practical understanding of various printmaking methods (intaglio and relief) and effectively using Adobe software for publication design.

Black and white Linocut print of the Owl and the Pussycat on the shore, facing each other
Black and white linocut of an ancient tree on Amesbury Banks, remnants of an iron age hill fort in Epping Forest.
Black and white monotype print made using leaves collected in Epping Forest.