Portia Knight hand presses drift seaweed, creating unique and surprising artwork with her chosen finds.

Hunting for seaweed is a mindful activity, and over time Portia has developed an intimate knowledge of her foraging ground, and a respectful relationship to its offerings. The seaweed is pressed largely as found, adhering to paper without the use of fixatives, in a process that can take up to eight weeks.

Drift seaweed is plentiful in Scotland, and the sun bleaching, and scars left by a rough ride along the North Sea, are key to the story of Portia's work. She describes her pressings as a living art. Pressed onto paper the seaweed continues its evolution from growing algae, and tideline drift, gradually shifting in colour and texture as it ages. She believes this should be celebrated as part of nature's ephemeral beauty.

Some of Portia's favourite pressings are available as archive quality, limited edition giclee prints. The pressings are captured with pin sharp resolution onto UK made, 100% cotton rag. Images are printed at the same scale as the original pressings, and great care has been taken to ensure that they are as accurate as possible.

If you think you might like to try seaweed pressing yourself, Portia is also the creator of Ebb and Upwell, the Artist’s Seaweed Press. A handmade press, designed specially for seaweed.