In 2009 Harley completed a Masters Degree in Printmaking at UWE, specialising in Screenprint, and is now an active member of Spike print Studio, Bristol. While the work she makes is rooted within the Landscape tradition, the fabric textures in her prints are an echo of her Arts and Crafts background and nomadic childhood. Harley now lives in South Bristol, but her printmaking is often inspired by walks in the countryside nearby. In particular, the Mendip Hills just South of Bristol, an area of outstanding natural beauty. She has recently started trekking further afield. In 2019 She was part of a trekking expedition in the Annapurna Mountain range of Nepal, 2020 has been an adventure for walking large parts of the Cornish Coastal route.

Harley’s technique is a combination of drawing, digital photography and objects directly exposed on the screen, to create the individual layers in my prints. “I enjoy the tension these different sources create in my finished work. When making a new print, I try to stay open minded about how the finished work will look, to allow the print to make itself – print is an extremely process led way of making art and allowing the unexpected to happen and taking advantage of these happy accidents allows the work to stay fresh and exciting. I love the drama of proofing a print; when suddenly everything comes together with the final layer of ink – and the print starts to sing.”

In light of the worldwide circumstances, 2020 shall still be a busy year as Harley shall be in two major London open exhibitions this Autumn showing work inspired by last year’s trek in the Annapurna region of Nepal. These two prints are the ones Harley shall be donating to the My huge Nepalese Machapuchare print will be in the (delayed) Royal Academy Summer Exhibition this Autumn/Winter and the other enormous Nepalese print, Kali Ghandaki, will be shown at the Woolwich Contemporary Print Exhibition at the Royal Arsenal in London this November.