Alicia Breakspear is a botanical printmaker based in Cornwall, U.K. Her practice is centred around the plant kingdom and capturing the intricacy and details found within individual plant species. She uses the process of monoprinting to create one-off original prints directly with the plants.
Her process begins with walking out in nature, something that Alicia finds very calming. Whilst walking, she observes and collects plants that she will later press and then print with. She tells us; “Walking with intention of observation allows me to really embrace the abundant plant life in a variety of Cornish habitats. My favourite at the moment is the hedgerows, so full of life and colour as the weather is getting warmer.”
Once she has picked some plants, Alicia then takes them back to her print studio at Krowji, Redruth. Here, the plants will press until they are fully dry. Once dry, she gets to work on inking the plants, then experiments with composition. “The whole process is very therapeutic and allows me to connect with nature, slowing down through this meditative act,” says the printmaker.
Alicia has had no formal training as a printmaker. She studied Photography at degree level at Falmouth University, and then a few years later became experimental with printmaking. Her love for printmaking, particularly botanical monoprinting, flourished from there. She states; “I became fixated on trying to a capture as much detail from the plants as possible, my technique for doing so has been refined dramatically over the previous year and a half. I feel very excited by the potential this process has.”
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