09/08/2023
This month I’m exhibiting some of my work at cafe! Feel free to drop in to see them and have a cup of tea. No need to pay and go round the gardens if you’re just going to the cafe, but the are beautiful and definitely worth a visit!
Joanna Lisowiec
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Illustrator and Printmaker Joanna Lisowiec
29/07/2023
Birch Trees - reduction linocut print 2022.
I haven’t posted much on here because life has felt like one big plate spinning extravaganza and it never felt like the right time to share anything I’ve been working on. I love to speak to people about my work in person but I have a lot of doubts about social media. I think it has its place but I’m figuring out how I could use it more intentionally because most of the time it does not ‘spark joy’ for me. I have a lot to say about art and other things but instagram or whatever this new threads thing is doesn’t really seem like the right place. It’s noisy and we are encouraged to obsess over ourselves and our feelings. Is anyone else fed up? If you do follow me, what sort of things are you interested in seeing or reading about from me and why?
05/12/2022
❄️ Myself and several other talented folk will be selling cards, prints and more at the Frost Fair this Saturday! Find us at the StreetLife Hub, 29-31 Coney Street. Hope to see you there! ❄️
18/06/2022
Once again I’m so impressed by the work of my linocut workshop participants! Fantastic work and lovely people! I think we’re looking at getting more dates set over the summer so if you’re on the waiting list and missed out then we will let you know about when those will be.
12/06/2022
Some of the wonderful prints done by the attendees of my first ever workshop at ! So impressed by the designs everyone came up with! Next one is on Saturday the 18th of June. Go to https://streetlifeyork.uk/events to book. The event is free to attend and all materials are provided but there are limited spaces so don’t miss out!
28/05/2022
Another work in progress I haven’t shared yet. This is a reduction print I’m now carving in preparation for the 3rd layer. I haven’t been very diligent at documenting the process but I’m looking forward to seeing if it works out!
23/05/2022
🛠 work in progress 🕊 I’m working on some prints using the press at the Coney Street Life Project I’ll be sharing my progress in the coming weeks, or if you’re local I might see you there!
10/04/2022
I had the incredible opportunity to work on the illustrations for this amazing ad campaign by ! 🍷The animation turned out beautifully- I’m so pleased with it and they were fantastic to work with!
I also found out this is now being shown in Time’s Square!!! 🤯
05/03/2022
Hey followers! I’ve had my head down working hard so I’ve hardly been on Instagram lately! How is everyone? Are you ready for spring? I sure am! Here’s some pictures of one of the books I worked on last year; Britain’s Birds by I am so happy with the illustrations in this book, it would make a lovely gift for anyone who is as bird obsessed as me!!! 🕊🦅🦆🦜🐥🦢🐧🐓🦤🐦🪶🦩🦚🦃🦉🐤
02/12/2021
It was such a pleasure to work on the cover for the The Wordhord. One of my favourite projects to date!
30/09/2021
One of the books covers I’ve had the pleasures of illustrating this year is this; ‘The Book Lover’s Bucket List’ by Caroline Taggart, published by the British Library. I drew quite a lot of maps when I worked The Wolf Hall Companion last year and it was nice to create one in colour this time! The book is an excellent tour guide to British literature. Visiting some of these places helps to provide context and meaning to the lives of these authors and I loved reading through and learning about them. The little icons on the front represent some of the authors mentioned in the book! Would anyone like to guess all the writers represented by these icons?🧠 🙂
17/07/2021
Back again with more work at We’ve got 4 artists at Venue No. 90 so a worthwhile visit!
Thank you to everyone who came by last weekend, was lovely to chat about art and creativity with you.
10/07/2021
This weekend and the next I am exhibiting my prints and illustrations at York Open Studios! Escape the rainy blues and come find me and 3 other splendid artists at venue No. 90.
This piece is “Persephone” a hand painted linocut print.
28/06/2021
Busy day mounting and framing work for York Open Studios in a couple weeks!
20/06/2021
It’s been a while since I posted anything here as I’ve been extremely busy with freelance projects that aren’t ready to show yet. I will be sharing things about my work, new and old soon but for now I’m just reminiscing about camping in Scotland a couple weeks ago. To wake up to these views everyday was something else.
30/03/2021
Welcome back me! I’ve enjoyed having a nice long break from social media. I’ve been really busy working on new projects that I can’t wait to share, and just generally sorting my life out. It really do be like that sometimes.
Like many others I know, my routine for a while hasn’t really been ideal. I’m looking at you there, carrying around your pent up stress in your neck and shoulders, neglecting to eat your veggies and wondering whether you really should be drinking that second glass. Yep, nice hair by the way. That frizz looks really effortless. I’ve been feeling lethargic and negative often the last few months. Isolation is challenging and that’s what we’re dealing with but I’m learning to embrace failure and understanding that not every day is going to feel like a win.
Some days you don’t do your exercise, or you just go in circles overthinking work, not being ultra productive. It’s important to keep the big picture in mind. As long as you’re doing your genuine best every day, you’re still taking the steps forward to that end goal, that summit. Maybe you don’t even see it yet but it’s out there waiting for you 🖤
Sketches from one of my current projects 😉 it’s gonna be a great one!
24/02/2021
Another day, another miscellaneous clay board experiment. This time I tried using layers of alcohol ink and water soluble ink on the surface before painting over it to see if I could have a sort of under painting to achieve more depth. I’m really liking some of the effects and can’t wait to try some more techniques 😬
23/02/2021
I have been really busy with commissions with the start of the year so I haven’t had much time for printmaking, never mind anything else. Illustration commissions take up most of my time but also make up most of my income and I really enjoy it! The only thing is most of the projects are long term and I can’t really share what I’m doing until the project is released several months or even years later. I do sometime feel like doing something quick and dirty though and linocuts are rather time consuming for me when you factor in all the setup and clean up involved. I had some clayboard lying around so I decided to do a bit of experimenting and painted on it with Acryla-Gouache before working into the clay. All together this took about an hour. I came up with this little Scottish landscape inspired by all of the hill-walking I did when I was at art college. I so miss Scotland and can’t wait to go there with when lockdown is over! The bog-tan and permanently wet socks await 😈
12/02/2021
I forgot to post that I have prints available of some of this series I made called . This is an ongoing series I am working on to create bookplates for people who have inspired me or just general characters who spark curiosity. I’ve only printed a selection of 5 of my favourites but if it proves to be popular I will be making more. I hope I get the time this year to make another batch of these. I always learn so much when researching these fascinating people. Prints available from my Etsy, the link is in my bio.
11/02/2021
Very late to the party in posting about this but here’s all the postcards I received in December as part of . Thanks to everyone who participated, it was great to get to know some new printmakers from around the world!
12/01/2021
Sorry for the hiatus but also I’m sure nobody missed virtual me that much 🙂 I wasn’t planning on it but I needed to take a break from everything as things got pretty hectic towards the end of the year and on top of everything else that 2020 gave us it became a bit much to handle. I was waking up with tension headaches practically every single day and trying desperately to keep busy so as to avoid the general feeling of dread crushing it’s heavy hand into my chest in the quiet moments. Who can relate?
Now that the dust has settled I’ve had some time to reflect and breathe and allow myself some space to confront the feelings I was avoiding. I let myself be crushed by the dread and have accepted my fate as an eternally suffering human being. It’s alright now, I’m doing the best I can. We all are.
Last year I really struggled to find stability. I was either really busy with projects and left no time for myself leading me to burn out, or had a long period of time where no work came and the financial woes and feelings of purposelessness left me spiralling into a pit of negativity. I did my best to get through it and made some personal work, picked up knitting again and found some kind rhythm, but when I look back on it I spent so much time worrying and stressing that literally got me nowhere.
When you finally see things from a distance, when the emotions subside and the dangers have passed you can get a more accurate perspective on things. It can all look so silly, so simple, so obvious. The eagle sees the world from above and narrows its focus on one thing at a time. It doesn’t struggle with the buffeting winds but rides them with grace, poise and stability. I don’t ever make a big deal out of New Year’s resolutions and the second week of January is pretty late to the party but I always take a long time to ponder things. This year I try to embody this eagle-like spirit and find perspective.
Since eagles are the National bird for both countries of which I hold citizenship they have a special place in my heart. Doing the eagle pose (Garudasana) in yoga is a good place to start on this new year’s meditation! 🦅
14/12/2020
A friendly reminder that I am closing my Etsy shop on Wednesday the 16th but today is the last day to place an order for U.K. Christmas delivery. The Royal Mail are experiencing huge delays so while I can’t guarantee delivery with standard post, I do offer upgrades to an express service.
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Thanks for the enthusiastic response to me northern lights print! I will open again in the new year and have many exciting ideas in store - can’t wait to share them all with you. 🙂
10/12/2020
‘Winter Lights’ is now available in my Etsy shop! ✨The reduction print that took me over a year to complete. It has 8 block printed layers and I’ve hand embellished the night sky with stars made of real silver leaf.
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It’s a very special print and the first of many more like it (I hope). Out of an original run of 30 I’ve ended up with an edition of only 12. I’m taking orders in my online shop up until the 16th!
10/12/2020
postcards are on their way out into the world today. I never did get perfect prints in the end and they’re still a bit sticky but they’re good enough. That’s just the way it is sometimes, this mermaid is a fickle creature. She’s looking all pouty this morning and demanding I put her in first class post 😐 Good riddance
09/12/2020
I have a limited supply of robin Christmas / Greeting cards available in my shop. Free delivery in the U.K.
Robins became a popular Christmas card design in Victorian Britain when the postmen who delivered your Christmas cards had red-breasted uniforms and were referred to as robins. They’re also one of the few birds that hang around during the winter!
08/12/2020
You asked and I’ve restocked and added 3 new prints to this series 😊 Link in bio! Free delivery available 🕊
08/12/2020
Just a quick announcement here! I’ll be closing my Etsy shop for Christmas on the 17th. The deadline for U.K. orders in time for Christmas is the 15th. For everywhere else I’m sorry the deadline has passed but you can still get yourself something for a January pick-me-up 🌝
I have restocked some sold out prints though they are quickly diminishing and I’ll be updating you here later today with some *NEW ADDITIONS!*
Thanks to everyone who has supported my small business this year. I honestly cannot tell you how much it means to me! 🌹
03/12/2020
I know this looks like a lot but it represents a very fail day.
First I spent 2 hours trying to cut a mount for something. First I measured wrong and cut it wrong, then I cut it uneven, then I tried to even it out and cut it crooked so I started over. Then I cut it on the wrong side and had to start over again.
Following that I cut some card for my mermaid print which took an hour and then I failed to get a print even after 15 attempts so I wasted loads of my pre-cut paper. I tried everything, more ink, less ink, warmer ink, hand burnishing, used ink additives to change the consistency... and then 10 mins ago I decided to call it a day and give up. 😑 just one of those days I guess.
I am using my floor space to dry prints because I haven’t set up a better solution yet. One small accomplishment of today is adding the last printed layer on my northern lights prints. It looks like a lot here but most of those are not going to make the cut for the edition. ☠️ I’m gonna go and do some mindless tv & knitting now...
01/12/2020
I’m finally making progress on my postcard. I’m quite busy at the moment so originally I intended to do something simple but one thing led to another and I did the usual Joanna thing of adding a million details and getting very complex. 🙈 I can’t help myself.
Unfortunately that means I now have hours worth of intricate carving to do but it’ll all be worth it in the end. I hope🤞
I decided to start with the face of my mermaid because I remembered writing that she usually starts with a face because it’s the part everyone looks at first and if you mess it up you may as well start again. So before I do all the rest I’ve carved her teeny-tiny face. Getting round all those corners was kind of nerve wracking but I think I managed it without losing any face-chunks. I’m not really looking forward to the scales as I think they might be quite tedious but we’ll see! This design would really work better at a larger size or maybe as a wood engraving so I just hope I manage to preserve these details when I print it 😰 stay tuned...
29/11/2020
I did a big tidy of my work room yesterday (it was really messy following 2 weeks of intense work) and found this little scratchboard image I think I made over 2 years ago. When I first finished it I hated it and thought it was awful but now I think maybe it’s kind of sweet? I dunno... maybe it’s a felt cute might delete later moment. 🤷♀️
27/11/2020
Hetty Green was known as the Witch of Wall Street. She was once known as the richest woman in America, but she was so tight fi**ed that she only had one pair of undergarments and would only use cold water to bathe. Her intent was on keeping her money HER MONEY.
Anyways, today is the notorious Black Friday and although we do need to be mindful of our over consumptive culture, don’t be like Hetty either. If you have money to spend on your loved ones then being generous is a wonderful thing! Especially if your gifts are thoughtful and you buy gifts that aren’t mass manufactured, cheaply made and disposable.
Times are tough but there are so many wonderful artists, makers and small businesses that you can support this season.
I don’t have any Black Friday deals or discounts because to be honest I can’t afford to do that. Nevertheless I am eternally grateful for all of the orders I have received thus far! I am investing a portion of my sales into restocking my shop with sold out prints as well as adding new designs. I’m so happy to keep making my artwork available to you all!
26/11/2020
Layers 3, 2 and 1. I don’t have much of a plan for this print so I’m kind of seeing how it goes and adapting each layer as I get to it. Not knowing what to expect is so exciting!
Swipe all the way to the end to see the colour gradients I printed with. The one on the very left reminds me of a wallpaper from the Sims 1 that I think was called ‘Tomato Coulis’ 😂 who else remembers?! .sola
26/11/2020
Little ones on the drying rack 🌻
This is a two block print, one for each colour. These initial proofs allow me to see how the blocks are working together and lining up. As you can see I have a bit of unwanted overlap and a few edges to straighten up. That said, I like some of the texture and noise so I want to make sure that I don’t get rid of it completely.
Illustration is for a book of poetry I’ll be sharing a bit more about in the future 🙂
24/11/2020
The Silver-Green edition of my Green Man print is also newly uploaded in my shop! Free shipping worldwide 😉
24/11/2020
I’ve uploaded this new linocut print, Thief of Sheinton to my Etsy shop! This edition is printed in Cranfield gold on beautiful Stonehenge Black Vellum paper. 🖤
23/11/2020
New prints available in my shop! (Link in bio)
This print is inspired by the greek goddess of flora, Persephone (also called Kore or Prosperine) who became queen of the underworld when she was abducted by Hades, the god of the underworld. When Persephone was lost to the rest of the world, winter came and all the flowers withered away and the trees became bare. The world became a dark, cold place and she was mourned especially be her mother Demeter. Eventually Persephone was able to reach an agreement with Hades where he allowed her to return to the world above each year for half the year. Whenever she did, spring burst forth into life and flowers sprung up from the earth wherever her feet touched. This linocut celebrates Persephone's yearly return to the world above, and the beauty and joy that fills one's heart with the arrival of spring.
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I had the incredible opportunity to work on the illustrations for this amazing ad campaign by @stagsleapwinery ! 🍷The animation turned out beautifully- I’m so pleased with it and they were fantastic to work with! I also found out this is now being shown in Time’s Square!!! 🤯
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