I have always had a great interest in stories and mythology, old and emerging and how they reflect and highlight our culture. I am interested in how we fit in to our environments, be they emotional, social and physical.

I have a BA Hons in fine art, printmaking (Cheltenham Art college 1993-1996), over 20 years experience and a passion for printmaking.

I run printmaking workshops from my studio for both beginners and experienced printmakers. I also teach art and printmaking for Cornwall Adult Education in the Bude and Liskeard area.

I am the founder of the North Devon & Cornwall printmakers group, Swanskin Printmakers.

Sophie - Houses in the Sky
'Houses in the Sky' - painting
Sophie - Bird Moon
'Bird Moon' - painting

During the Covid 19 lockdown, I have been taking part in the 'Artists Support Pledge' on instagram (sophiefordhamprintmaker). After a plan chest sort out in my studio, I cut up and reused old proofs and print scraps to create new prints. Each print is a unique, one-off and measures 15 x 22 cm. I still have few left for sale. As part of my Artist support pledge, I have reduced the prices on all my edition prints.

My two Liskeard courses continued during lockdown on Zoom, which at times has been hard. So towards the end of June I met each group (both smaller than 6!) for a socially distancing walk at the Hurlers. Back at home each learner made a plate or block or two representing their walk and posted them to me. I then created a collaborative print, which I gave one to each or them, that hopefully made up for our strange distance learning.... just a bit! I have just finished running a 6 week Drawing course on zoom, for 5 friends, which has been a fantastic success and has got them all into a regular drawing practice.

Sophie - Clay Example_1
Example of ceramic work
Sophie - Clay Example_2
Example of ceramic work

My ceramic pieces are an intuitive response to the clay, colour and stories. Some examples can be seen on the above.

My surroundings, the stories and mythology that are embedded within this beautiful environment, inspire and motivate my work.

I have a passion for printmaking which I use to make ceramics to celebrate and explore my day to day stories, which highlight the unseen and unsaid in our daily lives.

My paintings are mixed media, the embargo through a process of layering and scraping back of paint, collage and print.

Sophie - How High?
'How High?' - etching and screen print

I have a passion for printmaking that never stops surprising me. I experiment with combining different print mediums, layering different forms of printing within each image to produce 'one off' mono prints.

I have a small intaglio printing press and have run an extensive range of one day workshops, weekly art clubs and longer projects in both primary and secondary schools around Devon and Cornwall. Projects include 8 foot screen printed banners and 15 illustrated images for Mazed tales story project, an art work to hang in an onsite school health centre.

Sophie - Digital Print Example
Example of digital print
Sophie - Be Kind
Artists Pledge Print 'Be Kind'