Margaret Woods Moore is a multidisciplinary artist living in Belfast. After a long career as an Art teacher, she now works as full time artist and is based in Vault Artists Studios, Belfast.

Her work process generally begins with observational drawings which she develops into prints and paintings or reworks into finely detailed and often intricate finished drawings. She is inspired by the natural world and people, especially children in everyday situations.

”I am interested in nature and people. I particularly love birds, big birds and small birds alike and have produced a number of prints of Crows and the corvid family in general, as well as some small garden birds.”

Margaret also does illustrations which have been included in various publications. She is currently involved in two collaborations with Dublin based author Lindsay Sedgewick, one which is about a collection of quirky bird babies who live in a birch tree. The other is a lockdown exchange of pictures and words.

Margaret loves to explore new materials and will often incorporate these within her drawings and prints to produce multimedia pieces.

She loves intaglio based printmaking methods which she uses as an extension of her drawing based practice. Her work has been exhibited at home and abroad including Japan and America and has been purchased for private and public “Etching and drypoint are my preferred processes. My work is generally drawing based and etching and drypoint work so well for me. I love the immediacy, and the simplicity of a drypoint image. I enjoy scratching away at a little bit of perspex recreating and developing my original drawing ready for printing.

Etching for me is a much more thoughtful process requiring some forethought and planning, but I love the range of tonal values and the incredible diversity of marks that can be made on an etching plate. When I first starting etching I never fully realised the potential and versatility of the process and there is always something new to discover.

I also love stone lithography; I love that I can draw directly onto the stone to create an original drawing with endless mark making opportunities.”

The following includes extracts from an interview by Lisa Murray at Belfast Print Workshop

Margaret is a member of Belfast Print Workshop, Waring Street, Belfast.

Printmaking really excites me especially the potential that printmaking offers. One idea can be reworked in so many ways and even though you have a vision for what you want to produce there is always an element of serendipity, you’re never quite sure what your print will turn out like. The fact that you can also mix print processes opens up endless opportunities to develop your work. Interpreting my drawings into print allows me endless variations on a theme.

Margaret has recently produced two new series of pastel drawings. The first is of children and these are now available as Giclee prints, the second a series of dogs is almost complete and will soon be available as Giclee prints.

During these past few years Margaret cared for her mother who suffered from vascular dementia at home. She is currently working towards a solo exhibition at Vault Artists Studios in East Belfast, which will showcase drawings and prints done by Margaret throughout her mother’s illness and in the reflective time since.

You can see Margaret’s work on
http://Instagram.com/margaretwoodsmoore
http://Instagram.com/margaretjwoods
http://Facebook.com/margaretwoodsmoore
http://2bhb.wordpress.com
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/ p08c91t0