artists and tutors sharing ideas imagination and skills
My recent practice is focused on the observation and 'reading' of the Norfolk coastline. Regular visits have identified visual references that are key elements of land-management; local industries; conservation of species; protection of habitats.
Studio work begins and ends with a collection: researching old and creating new. A background in science and a family history of domestic sewing, infuence my methods. Skills passed on and retained; experience and experimentation; method and order; repetition and re-use.
Cataloguing and ordering found objects are an important part of my process. In the studio the collected are isolated; displayed; observed; grouped by marks, colour, location, shape, size. Discarded remnants of cloth and papers are examined, manipulated, torn, folded and layered. Natural dyes and earth pigments stain their creases and incisions; handstitch with thread, wire or plant material accentuate detail and make repairs.
Reclaimed cloth and salvaged papers retain evidence of makers and owners, storage and use. Individual histories may be hidden or lost. I enjoy discovering work procesess of unknown hands and making-up new stories.
Layering, folding, wrapping with wire and thread; making bundles, rolls and stacks, whilst enclosing gathered plant material, builds the two-dimensional into the three-dimensional. These gatherings of process and knowledge may be displayed on walls, surfaces or in containers. My finished work holds the threads of a narrative from a new point-of-view.