Jean Draper
Aftermath
Seven 3D elements representing the effects of fire on rocky hillsides; hand and machine stitching and mixed media. 24cm to 62cm
Desert Paintbrush
Wall piece; hand stitched text, shibori dyed with earth colour, wrapped cords, mixed media. 35cm x 45cm
Tall Forms
3D forms on armature; hand and machine stitched cotton with mixed media. Maximum height 92cm
Tall Forms detail
3D forms on armature; hand and machine stitched cotton with mixed media. Maximum height 92cm
Book Form
From "Books Can Be Dangerous" series, and making the connection between burnt trees and burnt books; hand stitching and mixed media. 20cm x 24cm
OzDots
Detail of an installation of 200 miniature baskets making reference to the colours seen in the Australian landscape, Aboriginal baskets and painting; hand coiling and mixed media
Artist statement
Although sometimes using the sewing machine, I mostly stitch by hand as it feels natural, but never commonplace, to have a needle and thread in my hand. The rhythm of the repetitive stitch - the gesture - is a very important aspect in the making of my work. My stitching is a form of drawing, an intensely physical activity; the actual process being as meaningful as the finished work.
My work always begins with research: looking, drawing, photographing and reading, followed by extensive sampling to investigate methods of expressing the subject in terms of textiles. In recent years the content of my work, both 2D and 3D, has been derived from studying extreme, rocky landscapes in both the UK and in other familiar places, especially the American SW and Western Australia. I am interested in how land is shaped by time and natural elements and is also affected by the generations of people who have lived, worked and left their marks upon it. Some work is totally covered with stitched words connected with particular places and have become a kind of meditation on the landscape as well as visually resembling the surface textures of land. Sometimes I colour fabrics with earth from inspirational places. After stitching, I often treat work with clay slip, paint and sandpaper, emulating wear and erosion, creating in the piece its own history.
Recent work is concerned, particularly, with my observations of the devastating after-effects of wildfires on the landscape in Arizona, where the red rocks are left blackened and trees are reduced to stark, black, twisted forms and stumps. Having revisited places long after fires, I have been interested to note the regeneration of plants and trees and have made work about the gradual return of colour and life to badly damaged areas.
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