<p dir="ltr">Artist, printmaker and illustrator Josephine Birch has always been drawn to narrative and is passionate about drawing. Working primarily on location, she responds to the world directly around her. These works inform her print and picture books, placing the work firmly in the natural world and allowing memory and a ‘sense of place’ to influence the direction of the work.</p> <p dir="ltr">Josephine graduated with a First Class BA (Hons) in Illustration and a Postgraduate Scholarship from The Royal Drawing School, after which she achieved a First Class MA in Children’s Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art. Jo has been teaching for over 10 years at various institutions, including Coombe Farm Studios, Cambridge School of Art and The Fitzwilliam Museum. </p> <p dir="ltr">Josephine is the recipient of multiple residencies, including from the Royal Drawing School, and is recipient of Jerwood and Make South West funding for printmaking. Her picture books have won multiple awards including The Image of The Book Children's Laureate Award and Association of Illustrators Finalist in New York, and have been shortlisted for the World Illustration Awards and Bologna Children's Book Fair. She has exhibited around the world, most notably RA, RWA, Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair and AOI New York.<br /></p>