Anna Vartiainen: The Small Things

About

When the bigger picture is confusing and hard to see, what else can we do but appreciate the small things?

Perhaps you too found that the minutiae grew into an important part of your life during lockdown this spring. Appreciating the detail, noticing the flowers growing, finding a simple pleasure in the longer days.

Just the same as millions of others, Anna spent lockdown half-heartedly home-schooling the kids, overhearing zoom meetings, baking with weird types of flour and painting the fence, waiting until an acceptable time to have a glass of wine. To help her through the long afternoons she drew plants she found on her daily walks, and carved linocuts that would occupy her for hours.

When her dad became very ill, drawing helped even more, and she found that concentrating on the detail of some plant or other could occupy her mind for a while, especially when waiting to hear news from the doctors.

Bit by bit, these simple line drawings and carvings were growing into a collection, and became something good to come out of a difficult time. 

She has made some of her drawings into a series of botanical prints and mini cards, alongside some hand-printed linocuts and tea towels. These will be for sale in the small gallery, alongside 3 limited edition large scale screen prints, postcards and a collection of pen and ink pieces.

Although we hope you can come and view the work close-up, the work will all be available to purchase online and the window display shoppable with QR codes.

Open Tuesday – Sunday // 10.00 – 17.00