The 2022 calendar is now available to buy.
- Laura Blackwood Calendars -
Since 2019 Laura has produced calendars centred around the themes of nature and the seasons. Her aim with each one was to capture the essence of the month by depicting the plants, insects, animals and weather, that you might find at that time.
People around the world have shown their appreciation for Laura’s work, buying the calendar year after year. Many people have been kind enough to say that Laura’s art has helped them feel closer to nature as well as bringing bright positivity in the midst of the dark times we have all experienced since 2020.
The Design
The pages of each calendar are structured around the same design. The upper banner includes an intimate view held within an arc, surrounded by details of seasonal flowers, plants and insects. The lower banner presents a panorama, with signs of the season progressing gradually from left to right.
The most extraordinary thing about all of Laura’s calendars is that both upper and lower images are part of a long circular painting. If you place each page side by side, you will see that the images join seamlessly to create one long whole. One of these circular paintings has been animated to evoke a walk through the countryside, and can be seen here.
The Themes
The calendars focus on capturing the seasonal transitions evident in nature, but Laura has also introduced themes inspired by what is happening in the world at the time.
The 2020 Kitchen Calendar
The artwork in this calendar captured how our culinary and domestic traditions can transform nature into seasonal dishes and flavours. Domestic scenes showed kitchens, homes and gardens Laura has known through her life, and details included their old dog and cat, and many items from her own home. The panorama at the bottom of the page formed a walk through the countryside as the seasons change.
The 2021 Nature Calendar: Above and Below
The pandemic of 2020 brought Laura to reflect on the ways that nature itself can offer comfort, guidance and a sense of place. For many stuck at home, the ability to get out and see nature was limited, and so Laura felt it was even more important to provide a close-up experience with nature in her art.
The 2021 Nature Calendar depicts seasonal scenes of the countryside from unusual angles: the bird’s-eye view, and the worm’s-eye view! Even on a walk through the countryside, it’s easy to miss how much wonder, fragility and complexity is around us, and Laura hoped these novel perspectives might encourage a fresh insight into nature.
The 2022 Calendar: Celebrating the Seasons
After two difficult years, Laura wanted to create a truly celebratory depiction of all the natural world has to offer and also wanted to give us all the chance to travel a bit. Each month of this most recent calendar illustrates the beautiful, delicious and nurturing abundance available in nature, and in the summer months we’re taken to exotic places to soak up the sunshine.
As with her previous calendars, the illustrations at the top and bottom of each page are part of two circular paintings, underlining the continuity and flow of the seasons.
The 2023 Home Calendar: Inside Out
The 2023 Home Calendar celebrates past and present seasonal traditions which make us feel at home. This year’s calendar focusses on the practices and rituals which connect natural cycles to our domestic lives, such as making fruit preserves in the autumn, planting the garden in the spring, painting Easter eggs and decorating with evergreen in the winter.
Illustrations provide multiple perspectives on the home; an interior featuring traditional crafts, food and decorations for that time of year, and a panorama of the garden and landscape surrounding a home. The two are linked by intriguing views through windows and open doors. We might see celebrations such as Valentines and Christmas, crafts like needlework and weaving corn-dollies, and seasonal tasks in the garden that remind how natural cycles of growth and regeneration still shape our lives.
This is likely to be Laura’s last calendar, and is perhaps one of her most heartfelt calendar artworks, featuring many personal items and images from her own home life, both past and present.
Celebrating Christmas
These calendars make a wonderful Christmas or New Year gift for anyone who appreciates nature and country life.
Laura doesn’t print many of each calendar, preferring to keep the operation small, and so the calendars have previously sold out in December. You can always pre-order your calendar by getting in touch, otherwise ordering early is recommended.
Calendars can be shipped anywhere in the world, but please refer to our order page for more details on how to do this in a cost-effective manner, or get in touch if you have questions. If you live locally in the Scottish Borders, you can also save on postage by selecting the ‘pick-up’ option at checkout.
Follow Laura throughout the year
To see what Laura is working on and explore the beautiful Scottish countryside that inspires her, visit Laura’s Instagram.