About the Element
Discovered in by the Austrian chemist Baron Carl Auer von Welsbach in Vienna in 1885, Neodymium is classed as a rare earth metal, despite not being rare at all! It has a variety of uses, including the manufacture of light-bulbs and rear-view mirrors, as well as being used to colour glass and enamels. It was this aspect of the element that inspired my design - taking my cue from Art Nouveau enamel and glass designs for jewellery and tiles etc.

About the Print
A four colour reduction woodcut using water based inks on 220gsm paper. The first stage was the light green background colour, followed by the dark green layer, then the purple flowers and finally the gold stamens of the flowers. Each layer was hand printed, and burnished with an old mint tin and a teaspoon.

About the Printmaker
I took up printmaking in Summer 2005, and am almost entirely self-taught, mainly through trial and error and dim memories of Art lessons at school. I use either lino or wood for my prints, which are all hand-printed and burnished with my favourite mint tin.

SpoonerGregory
For what is Chatteris

Neodymium
by Sarah Spooner

 Symbol: Nd
Atomic number: 60
Atomic weight: 144.242