I visited the Isles of Scilly in Spring 2007, and whilst there wandered around the churchyard at Old Town. In a corner of this pretty graveyard, I found a broken slate headstone which caught my imagination; the words inscribed were powerful and bitter, coming down the centuries with a fresh directness. The stone dated from 1804. It told of a woman losing her life and that of her unborn child "for want of aid". I photographed the headstone, wrote the inscription in my sketch book in case the photo didn't show it clearly enough, and went on my way. I knew that I wanted to use this event in some way in my work, but it wasn't until the late summer that I decided to make an artists book based on this subject.

Artists books are diverse and possibilities as endless as imagination. They can be printed by hand or published using outside facilities. Editions can be large or very small, or one-offs. They can be solely pictorial or completely text, or a mix of the two. They can be in the traditional shape of a book or concertina or loose leaf or pop-up etc.

The Mackerel is a linocut, which is repeated on fine paper between each sheet of the thicker paper on which I will print the main images. The centrefold, is another lino depicting a bay of islands, beautiful and enclosing. The other images are a mixture of collagraphs, and mixed media, incorporating pencil, relief printing and calligraphy.