RUST has struck already at a new Fossgate café bar in York, but in a good way.

Jo Walton's exhibition of Rust prints on paper and silk is on show at the Fossgate Social, where it has been welcomed with open arms by co-owner Sarah Lakin to complement the raw brick walls, fairy lights, craft beers and artisanal coffee.

"From our point of view, we're really excited about a collaboration with Jo," she says.

"The idea of saving lost and found objects and re-using them exactly fits with the aesthetic and vibe of the Fossgate Social. Our bar is made out of old scaffolding board and our storage crates are made by a local craftsman at Homeward Creative from reclaimed wood. We're delighted to have Jo's work on the walls and we're hanging some in the garden too."

Jo runs the Rogue Atelier art studios close by in Fossgate, where she made her Rust works.

"I've always been fascinated by rust, the colours from burnt orange to amber, and its weathered, changing surface and slow development," she says. "The colours resonate with my childhood; memories of Australia with its red earth, running around farms which had rusted corrugated roofs, metal shacks, broken machinery."

Jo has collected pieces over the years, not knowing what to do with them but unwilling to let these "beautiful lumps of junk" go.

"Eventually I discovered the method of persuading the surface rust to leave its metal and imprint on to paper and fabric, which has now rendered my objects useful, as well as beautiful," she says.

"The process is slow and always experimental with only a relatively small amount of control over the end result, which can never be repeated exactly. The rust is forever changing, as are the solutions of chemicals on its surface. No two prints are ever the same. It feels like alchemy."

Rust never sleeps until August 31.