When artist Bridget Jones moved house, after 14 years working as an artist from her home-based studio in rural Northumberland, little did she know that the upheaval would lead to her largest solo exhibition ‘Pieced: Assembled Fragments’. An established glass and print maker, this new collection of work is made up entirely of unique artworks and reflects a more playful way of working for the Tyne Valley-based artist. ‘Pieced’ runs at Northern Print, Newcastle from until Thursday, December 21 and is part of Ouseburn Open Studios.

“I didn’t realise before I started the laborious process of moving, which included the loss of my home studio and living a two-year peripatetic life, that it would result in a new collection that completely challenged my way of working," says Bridget. "In the move, I uncovered boxes of fabric fragments and scraps of paper which inspired me to create something entirely new. Without my studio I was restricted to making things that could be easily picked up, put down and tidied away which gave me a new kind of discipline.”

Bridget frequently incorporated printmaking into her glass designs and felt it was a natural progression to use the techniques and skills she had developed to create prints on paper and fabric.

Woodblock and screen-printed textile and paper fragments have been pieced together, using stitch and collage, to create one-off compositions. The imagery is drawn from objects collected on beach combing trips, old Northumbrian barns, Amish quilts and Kinsugi - the Japanese technique of mending ceramics with gold. This way of working is unplanned and creates the unexpected, but starts with a set of researched, found, recycled and made elements. The images combine traditional hand-cut with lasercut woodblocks.

Bridget studied Zoology at Edinburgh followed by a degree in Museum Studies at Leicester, which led to a career in zoology, teaching and museum education. In the mid-1980s, with two small children in tow, she started a part time architectural glass degree at what was then Sunderland Polytechnic. After graduating, she set up her first studio and began a new creative career as a practising artist which continues to this day, working mostly to commission.

“After years of working to other people’s design briefs it has been wonderfully liberating to be given the chance to show my own work in the lovely gallery at Northern Print," she says. "I hope those who come to see the exhibition, and maybe even take home a piece of my work, get as much pleasure out of it as it hangs on their wall as I took in creating it.”

Bridget's work – from £200-£400 – as well as that of other local artists, can be bought at Northern Print or online at https://northern-print-studio.myshopify.com/.

Northern Print is a gallery and printmaking studio located in the heart of Newcastle's Ouseburn Valley, just a few minutes from the city centre and close to other attractions such as Seven Stories; Biscuit Factory and Victoria Tunnel.

At the heart of Northern Print is a printmaking studio that anyone can register to use. For those who want to learn printmaking or develop their skills, there is a programme of printmaking classes and courses. The on-site gallery showcases the very best in contemporary printmaking with a huge selection of prints to see and buy.

Northern Print, Stepney Bank, Newcastle NE1 2NP. T: 0191-261-7000

Seasonal opening hours (for both the shop and the exhibition) are 10am-5pm, Tuesday to Saturday. Late night shopping event: Wednesday, December 6, 6-8pm