This print was created in conjunction with the Glasgow Print Studio 50th Anniversary Here & Now Legacy Project. 'Wading Bird' is the latest in a series of water bird prints started ten years ago. Lee depicts the creepier side of birds. She reminds us that birds are the closest living relatives of the dinosaurs and that many are voracious hunters with extreme adaptations to their way of life.

This print is a reduction linocut printed with safe wash inks. This is a non toxic and environmentally sensitive way of working.

Jane Lee was born in England and has lived in Scotland since 1981. In 2001, while a science graduate at Glasgow University, she saw an exhibition of Philip Reeves etchings in the Hunterian Museum. Although Lee had no previous exposure to contemporary printmaking, she was so inspired by Reeves’ work that she at once enrolled on a beginners etching course at the Glasgow Print Studio. She has been a committed printmaker and member of the GPS ever since.

Printmaking is very process-heavy as an art form. The idea for the image is worked into a plan drawing on tracing paper. The image is then traced across onto a lino or wood block. The first layer is then carved into the block, this part of the image is printed and the block re-carved for the second layer and reprinted on top of the first layer. This process is repeated until each layer has been carved and printed. The slowness and complexity of the hands-on process allows for continual reassessment as the work progresses.