ARBORETUM - small work

Observation and photographs of the detail in bark formation, colour, pattern, and texture led me into these small pieces of work. The colours are taken directly from close up photos which reveal many varied and unexpected combinations.

I chose to include text into these which provided additional ideas for imagery and interpretation.

OLD STONE WALLS

The rich textural surfaces seen on old stone walls was my source of inspiration for these pieces. York City walls, Warwick Castle walls, Warkworth Castle walls all offered ideas and information for colour and detail.
Deposits, sediment, lichen, and erosion provided a wealth of material to develop into collage.

STAND AND GAZE

This piece of work was commissioned for a beauty salon. It was to be a calming aid to relaxation.
The colours were dictated by the interior decor.


This shows the beginning stages of the 'beach' section.

RUST

The inspiration for this piece started with close observation of an old rusty buoy on the beach at Warkworth. In searching a scrap yard for an appropriate base, I came across the rusty hinges which moved the work in a slightly different direction. This is a favourite piece of mine and one that I would say describes what I am.

AFTERNOON TEA

In answer to the design brief 'A Domestic Scene' I chose to look at traditional afternoon tea in a less traditional way.

SEASONAL WASTE

FOR WHAT WE ARE ABOUT TO DISCARD, MAY THE LORD MAKE US TRULY RESOURCEFUL!

Collage made completely from materials collected from the bins over the Christmas period.Papers, decorations, light bulbs, bottle tops, envelopes, cards, ribbons, boxes, packaging.......

The design and ideas for colour are strongly influenced by those seen in Persian rugs and kilims.

The pictures show top and bottom sections of the 40" panel.

TREE

The information for this painted plaster cast came from personal close up photographs of tree trunks and bark. I looked at elements of pattern and textural markings and used the ideas to create textural panels in clay for the casts.

IN THE NEWS - Obesity

This piece of mixed media work was informed by media coverage and the work of Jenny Saville. I experimented with and incorporated some of the 'raw materials' of obesity - refined flour, sugar and fats. The finished piece is A1.

Obesity - section

WEDDING

Mixed media collage with pressed flowers.

ANNIVERSARY COLLAGE

Section showing detail.




15" x 15" assemblage on deep canvas of pressed flowers, lace, ribbons, wrappings, papers & beads from wedding day with tissue & paint. Incorporates poem from Order of Service.

DELIGHT IN DISORDER

This work was produced for a National Needlework Archive competition inspired by the poem Delight in Disorder by Robert Herrick. It is an assemblage of lace, fabrics and haberdashery, some of which are from my Grandma's family collections and quite old. Some have been dyed to fit with the emotive colour scheme. The colours on the photo of the whole work are rather distorted by the light conditions.

ICE AND SNOW COLLAGE

Papers, paints, threads and print.

AUTUMN and WINTER

Textile pieces interpreting the 2 seasons.







Autumn uses layering and cutting back of fabrics with hand and machine stitch.



Winter uses nets and transparent fabrics with threads and machine embroidery.

MISSENDEN ABBEY

An opportunity to work for a week at Missenden Abbey Summer School with textile artist Sandra Meech was a great opportunity.
The work, started that week and completed later, was inspired by woodland images and drawings and includes poetry, prose, photographs and found images. The final piece is on reinforced painted & burned calico incorporating collage with paper, dyed and printed fabrics,photographs transferred onto fabrics and quilted, painted and dyed papers, hand stitch,free machine embroidery and bead embellishment.
The work measures 45" x 13"