Wildflower Shower - The First Print in My Soft Animals Collection

A Linocut Print Inspired by Girlhood by Cecily Parks

The first print in my Soft Animals collection is inspired by the poem Girlhood by Cecily Parks. When I began searching for poetry that could capture experiences I have lived and shared with other women, I found myself drawn again and again to writing about childhood - especially a girlhood lived close to nature.

Growing up in the English Countryside

I grew up in the English countryside: first in the Lake District, in a cottage on Lake Windermere where walking the same paths as Beatrix Potter was just normal life. Later we moved to a tiny village whose name literally meant “tiny village,” and finally to a medieval longhouse surrounded by woods and fields. It was the kind of place that felt tucked away from the world - isolated from the normal goings on of even the closest small farming town. Thus, my childhood was spend roaming fields (and hiding from farmers!), following rivers up to our waists and making dens anywhere big trees grew. 

My childhood memories are full of hedgerows, tiny wildflowers, cornfields, climbing trees, swimming in rivers, plaiting grasses, building fires, and lying in sun-parched fields watching billowing clouds drift across the sky. It wasn’t all idyllic, there was definitely an element of escaping the indoors (which I still get these days!) but looking back, it feels like the hedgerows themselves raised me.

As a child, the natural world felt huge. Now, as a mother, I look back wishing it still felt as big and grand as it did then. I even had a hiding tree - a beautiful, big beech tree with perfectly spaced limbs to climb, like a ladder, and enough small branches that I felt completely safe and secure. Sadly, that tree isn't there anymore, but the memories of being protected by dappled sunlight and smooth, grey-brown bark are. 

Why Girlhood Resonated

Cecily Parks’ poem perfectly captures the sensory world of a childhood lived outdoors. It reminds me of the early smell of summer meadows, the taste of a grass stem between my teeth, and the dusty road home that left chalky powder on my school trousers. It speaks to fleeting moments, secret spaces, and a deep, instinctive connection to the land. 

When we moved to North Devon, I had a small blue bedroom with dolphins stencilled around the top. I’m not sure if I always disliked dolphins, but that cold little room didn’t help. I longed for lavender walls, and years later I got them. I was a contrary girl - I didn’t like dolphins and I didn’t like pink - but I adored my lavender room. Pale lilac became the colour of girlhood for me, and that feeling shows up in this poem too.

In the print, I chose to depict a woman reclining, dreamy and smiling, as if remembering her own childhood. When I first read the poem, I thought that I didn't recognise the wild carrot mentioned in the poem, but when I looked it up, it was as familiar as an old friend and I had to incorporate a spray of wild carrot behind her - delicate, star-like and echoing the imagery of the poem.

Finding the Courage to Print

I shared a reel of the carving in September, and friends kept asking when I’d start printing her. I was excited during the carving, but when it came to printing, I felt… dread. I didn’t get that usual “I can’t wait to print this!” feeling.

So I slept on it - something I do more often now with all things in life. While thinking about the theme of girlhood, I remembered pressing flowers between books as a child, and how my daughter and sons now bring me flowers I press and keep.

That was the missing spark! Finally - the print excitement arrived!

I checked the garden, unsurprisingly, in a rainy September, not much was blooming. So I ordered some pressed flowers online (modern life has its perks). I chose forget-me-nots for the symbolism and fit beautifully with the palette I chose.

After an unsuccessful foray into the world of Chine Collé, I capitulated to trusty and archival PVA glue to secure the flowers. 

I love how the print turned out. My one regret is not planning the names of the prints in my collection when I planned the images. Wildflower Shower, although a lovely and certainly appropriate name for this print, doesn't quite gel with the other prints in this collection. However, I believe the universe always has a way of working things out - and the innocence of the name feels appropriate given the inspiration behind the piece.