Turning Coffee into a Gallery – My Prints Now Showing at The Forge, Ringmer ☕🖼️
This afternoon I visited The Forge in Ringmer, a rustic gem of a coffee shop tucked away in the Sussex countryside. I wasn’t just there for the coffee and cake (though both are excellent!)—I was there to hang a show. With the generous support of the team at The Forge, I’ve turned a wall of their café into a small but characterful gallery space for a selection of my framed lino prints.
The atmosphere is relaxed and intimate: exposed brickwork, vintage lighting, and a welcoming mix of seating. It’s exactly the kind of setting I love—where art feels like part of the everyday, not something set apart.
Featured on the wall:
Sycamore Gap – my tribute to the iconic tree lost in 2023, printed using the chine collée technique.
Lewes Castle – a dynamic print based on years of sketching, walking, and quietly studying this ancient landmark.
Plus a few other favourites.
Each print is hand-cut and hand-printed, framed and tagged—ready to view, enjoy, or take home.
If you’re local (or fancy an outing), do drop by. Grab a coffee (the best is Sussex), find a quiet corner, and spend a few minutes with the work. I’d love to hear what you think.
🗓️ On show throughout the summer
Sycamore Gap Print: Iconic Tree Art Inspired by Hadrian’s Wall
After seven years of life drawing, I have turned my attention to trees, starting with sketches of veteran trees in Markstakes Common. This project, which began as an effort to identify trees recognised in a 2010/11 survey, evolved into large pen-and-ink illustrations and prints.
When the iconic Sycamore Gap tree on Hadrian’s Wall was cut down in 2023, it became an inevitable subject for my art. Northumberland, the county of my birth, has always been a significant inspiration. Growing up, I frequently visited Hadrian’s Wall, attending Mowden Hall, a boarding school near Corbridge. We spent our lives in the countryside and then later, often driving between Northumberland and Cumbria, taking the scenic military road which runs parallel to the Wall.
In my quest for reference photos, I turned to my sister, who lives in Northumberland. She took pictures during a family gathering in July 2019. These images have inspired a new series of hand-printed A3 chine collée lino prints, capturing the essence of the Sycamore Gap tree.
Explore the Sycamore Gap Print collection to own a piece of this iconic landscape, intricately detailed and rooted in personal history and regional heritage.
JV Art 