THE Churches Conservation Trust’s 40th birthday celebrations at Holy Trinity Church, in Goodramgate, York, will be launched on Saturday when printmaker Judith Pollock’s exhibition goes on show.

Judith’s series of original prints inspired by Holy Trinity and Christian spirituality will be introduced by BBC Radio York presenter Elly Fiorentini.

At 2pm, Elly will ring Holy Trinity’s bell four times – one for each decade of the Conservation Trust – and then announce the spring/summer programme of events at the church.

Judith’s exhibition will run for a fortnight until May 31, open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm. “Holy Trinity Church is a very special place for me as some of the classrooms of my school in York – once York College for Girls but now converted into flats and an Italian restaurant – overlooked the church,” says the Tadcaster-born artist.

“Watching the visitors to the churchyard was a welcome distraction from lessons, especially Latin. Visits to the church as part of history lessons were a real treat.”

Judith, who turns 49 on May 30, has continued to savour such visits. “As a working adult, the churchyard was a lunchtime haven of peace and quiet to escape from the stresses of a busy job when I worked in the city centre,” she says. “In preparing for Of This Place, I have enjoyed spending time in this beautiful church and its grounds, drawing inspiration from what I saw to create some of the work on show specifically for this exhibition.” Since 1984, upon graduating from Cambridge with a BA Hons in Natural Sciences and returning to Yorkshire, Judith has combined married life and parenting with a varied career in the voluntary sector. From 2006 onwards, she has developed art and printmaking skills through City of York Council adult education courses, art holidays and courses run by Peter Wray and Judy Collins at their Handprint Studio in Stockton-on-Forest. In the same village, she is now using the printing studio facilities of Catherine Sutcliffe-Fuller.

“I draw inspiration for my printmaking from the patterns, textures, shapes and colours I see in the world around me, and a lot of my work is also an expression of my Christian spirituality,” says Judith. “I usually avoid planning in detail before I embark on making a plate, preferring to start from a single idea, word or feeling and allow the plate to evolve in its own spontaneous and creative way.

“After making the plate, the choice of paper and the colours of the inks used all allow for further spontaneity which culminates in a unique work of art emerging from the rollers of the press.”

She is delighted that her exhibition forms part of the 40th anniversary celebrations of the Churches Conservation Trust, “so that places like Holy Trinity Church will be accessible and enjoyed for many generations to come”.