INK SKETCHES
Embroidered
Small , intimate, the resilience of paper that is punctured and sewn, both ruined and repaired, the fast magic of ink, the slow deliberate act of embroidery. I love to see how the flowing, fluid and chance effects of ink are held down- put into a kind of 2d scape, the red thread destroys the possible depth, brings everything to the surface, my small metaphor for a way to find some equanimity.
PRINTS
mono prints, lino, dry point etching
I work somewhere between an abstract and partially real though childlike depiction of nature and on ideas surrounding the forever changing and sometimes mythical presence it can have in our lives. The natural environment and the forces acting within it are things that arouse mystery, peace, fear, abundance, destruction, a sense of a very unknowable past, and ever transforming future. My work on paper is about the beauty of wear and tear, of ageing, of the patina brought about by time and weathering both on man made objects and natural elements found in rocks, trees, and the landscape as a whole
There is also a whimsical aspect created by the shifting and imprecise borders and highly textured layering of paint. Some of my mono prints contain embroidery, collage and work with conflicting mediums of oil and water to create certain effects, textures and tensions. I want to talk about the impact of humans on our environment, the destruction caused by our impact and the ability of nature to regenerate when left alone.
I am enthralled by using techniques based on chance, the I-ching, and always refer back to alchemy and the philosophers stone, as a way to ground the abstract and real together in a symbiotic visual language.
