Wildlife and poetry come together twice over at the Scottish Ornithologists’ Club (SOC) in Aberlady. Carry Akroyd: Birds, Botany and John Clare, features a suite of hand-drawn lithographs incorporating extracts from poems by John Clare (1793-1864), with the full text displayed alongside the prints. Working with a bold palette, Akroyd is inspired by the farmed landscape around her home in Northamptonshire.

Also showing is Nature, Prints and Poetry, featuring twenty wood engravings displayed alongside the poems they illustrate. Traditionally associated with natural history subjects, wood engravings are one of the simplest yet most exquisite form of printmaking. The image is engraved in a block of end-grain wood – wood which is cut across the grain and is particularly tough. Thomas Bewick (1753-1828) used the technique to illustrate his famous A History of British Birds. 

The SOC promotes the study, conservation and enjoyment of wild birds and their habitats across Scotland.