OUR STORY
We have lived in the Chew Valley, on the edge of the Mendip Hills with our family since 2001. Our work is inspired by the nature, wildlife and community that we find here.
Chris's recent discovery of his old school reports made him wonder why he hadn't studied art long ago and paid less attention to the sciences. In 2019 he attended an evening class in printmaking at The Cato Press with Rosanna Morris and caught the bug. During 2020, in Lockdown, he went for daily walks to clear his head and took his camera with him.
Chris recently completed the part-time Contemporary Relief Printmaking course at Spike Island Studios with an end of year exhibition at Spike Island in July 2024 and in September will be exhibiting his photographs of the local area as part of the Chew Valley Nature Photography Festival and his lino print Molly Brook II has been selected to be part of the Ironbridge Printmaking Exhibition. He often transitions from viewing a scene, to photographing it and then, in some cases, capturing its essence in original lino prints. Chris's photography can be seen in the card collection on this website and also at https://chrisheadphotography.myportfolio.com/welcome
Jackie also gave up her much more successful art and needlework lessons for german and chemistry at school, went into the caring professions and spent far too long at the office. When life was paused by a Lupus diagnosis, she found a sense of purpose in connection with nature, community, and the creative arts. During Lockdown she joined online art classes to develop skills in portraiture and has recently completed a 4 day in person portraiture course at Newlyn School of Art. Jackie enjoys creating commissioned portraits in either oil or linoprint, and quilts which hold memories of special occasions. Where she can she repurposes clothing and material items provided by the client. She enjoys repairing well loved clothing to bring it back to life again. During 2024 she has been collaborating with local artist Ali Brown to run "A Stitch in Time' a community banner making project to tie in with Project Newton. She regularly runs 'Flower Show Fridays' in collaboration with East Harptree Flower & Craft Show.
When we chose to exhibit as part of the 2022 Chew Valley Arts Trail we discovered others liked our work, so we set up
Potts Cottage Collective.
Chris & Jackie Head
