ARTIFACT II from the Printmakers Circle is the next exhibition to open in Ryedale Folk Museum’s gallery on Saturday, July 13.

The Printmakers Circle are a group of professional artists based across North Yorkshire who embrace a wide variety of printmaking techniques. The exhibition will shed light on a breadth of printmaking techniques, both traditional and contemporary. The works on show are linked by the theme of ‘artifact’ representing the notion of a manmade cultural object, reflecting and inspired by the rich heritage of arts and culture, both at Ryedale Folk Museum and across the wider landscape of the North York Moors and beyond.

The exhibition will feature a suite of specially prepared prints, exploring the artifact theme through a range of relief and intaglio processes including etching, linocut, wood cut, wood engraving, collagraph, monotype, screen print, drypoint and polymer. Works will depict objects, landscapes, places and nature.

Jennifer Smith, the Museum’s Director said “The Printmakers Circle group exhibited here in 2016. I am delighted to welcome them back this year with the second phase of ‘artifact’. There will be a range of different artistic styles on show and this is sure to be a popular exhibition over the summer.”

The current members of the Printmakers Circle are Laney Birkhead, Hester Cox, Andrew Dalton, John Jones, Caroline Machray, Moira Mctague, Stef Mitchell, Helen Peyton, Ian Scott Massie and Bridget Tempest.

Andrew Dalton said “The Printmakers Circle was formed in 2013, when we came together to counter the perception that opportunities to meet other artists and collaborate is difficult in Britain’s most sparsely populated county. We meet regularly to talk, work together and plan exhibitions.”

The show has inspired some of the Museum’s activities for families over the summer. On Tuesdays through the school holidays, the Museum will be running drop-in sessions that explore different printing techniques. This includes lino printing, screen printing, relief printing and printing using gathered natural materials from around the Museum grounds.

For more information go to www.ryedalefolkmuseum.co.uk