artists and tutors sharing ideas imagination and skills
Pebbled markings
Sketchbook and stitch trial
More lines and marks on stones
Naturally made marks and lines
Using rusty items wrapped in wet cloth
Detail of added stitching
Excerpts from A Visual Diary, early March 2011
Crab claw, Spoon handle and Soldier
Excerpts from A Visual Diary, early March 2011
Cap button on fragment, Crab shell and Small square tile
My creative impetus is fed by frequent, regular walk along the shore and coastal pathways, where, devoid of clamour and noise, the natural sounds of sea and woodland clear mental clutter, sharpen the senses and bring a clarity to thinking and seeing.
There are currently two separate but related strands to my work. One is an interest in the marks and lines upon pebbles and rocks – bold continuous raised ridged bands, delicate traceries and networks, scatterings of dots and dashes............and so many more. I like to explore these by drawing, painting and stitching. Stitch is mark, and my thread marks are made by hand. I enjoy the rhythmic processes of handstitching, the varieties of line that basic stitches can give and the way in which the stitch can affect the surface quality of a fabric.
The other focus is upon reclaiming small lost, discarded or washed up items. Surfaces on these found materials – wood, metal, fabrics, bones, etc. - frequently bear the marks of disintegration and elemental change whilst carrying an unknown history. Such erosion and transformations, having a certain beauty of their own, and I can still find no better expression of this than the very early philosopher who said:
"Nature, which governs the whole, will soon change all things you see: and out of their substance will make other things, in order that the world may be ever new"
Marcus Aurelius 121 – 180AD
Seemingly mundane objects and fragments can be elevated to the meaningful, by virtue of their treatment and the setting in which they are placed. I am seeking to do this by working on a 'visual dairy' of my walks, selecting and editing from my random collections, finding and binding into bundles that are dated according to find and identified.