Textile Statement
My work represents an abiding fascination with stress, as both an element of the artistic process, and as an intrinsic part of our lives. The tensions in my work are established by the use of colour, pattern and optical illusion, to create a compelling sense of force and movement.
I studied Horticulture, Art and Design and Creative Computing at Stourbridge College, and have a first class BA (Hons) degree in Art and Design from Birmingham City University. I use a variety of techniques and materials such as fabric, found objects, paint, photography and computer generated imagery.
My exploration of stress and tension began with the loss of my husband and a determination to cope against the odds. It was the constant battle against stress, time and the domestic environment that fuelled my work. I ploughed through many different materials and methods of working till I discovered the wrapping and stretching of striped fabric. I was particularly inspired by the optical effects and the ability to completely change a subject. I wrapped domestic objects and interiors so they could no longer serve their purpose as they became redundant beneath a dazzling deterrent of op art pattern. Thus the domestic environment was transformed.
To create the textile panels I uses appropriately patterned fabric which is stretched and manipulated over wooden boarding. This distorts the pattern creating a deliberate op art appearance. The wood is sometimes worked before hand with holes or cuts for certain affects, or structural shapes are added to create bas - relief. Some pieces have many layers of fabric which are individually slit to reveal the underlying layers.
Botanical Statement
‘The Intensity of Nature’
Our lives are often ruled by colour which is pleasing to the eye, coordinating, matching, blending, harmonious, restful, subdued, the list goes on. The fascinating thing about nature’s colour scheme is that anything goes, from vivid to supple and everything else in between. My attraction to colour led me to explore this area. The plot of land we call ‘our garden’ seemed like a fairly good place to start. The gems of colour I found took me to nurseries, florists and finally the countryside. Studying the colours in nature was becoming an obsession. I began to magnify the floral subjects, the higher the magnification the more intense the colour became. Surface texture became so apparent it glistened, taking on sumptuous velvet like properties. Striking patterns and illusions were forming from their bands and pools of pure colour. Although there is nothing unusual about using aspects of nature, artists and designers have been doing this for centuries, but for me there is more to it than an aesthetically pleasing and colourful design, it is almost a sense of being drawn in, or being intoxicated by the intensity of this visual feast.