As a visual artist I am interested in exploring the mystery of our existence revealed through our connection with the world and embodying the relations between history, daily life, memory and the ever changing present. My work is concerned with a broad theme of time, layers of meaning and memories, and concern with what has been lost, discarded or overlooked. I focus on the transitory, fragile and fragmentary nature of existence, human identity and mortality, My work is in essence about memories, intuition, symbolism, narrative and mood - and trying to give shape to what words cannot. The marks and traces we leave behind that record time and human energy. I seek through my work to visually record some aspect of physical movement and gesture that with time and repetition evolve into richly activated surfaces. I am fascinated by fragments and believe they gain greater significance when ordered with similar pieces, their cumulative message becoming more interesting and complex, with traces that hold a narrative and a mapping of memory. My creative practice incorporates artist books, printmaking, drawing, photography, and collecting found objects.
As a visual artist I am interested in exploring the mystery of our existence revealed through our connection with the world and embodying the relations between history, daily life, memory and the ever changing present. My work is concerned with a broad theme of time, layers of meaning and memories, and concern with what has been lost, discarded or overlooked. I focus on the transitory, fragile and fragmentary nature of existence, human identity and mortality, My work is in essence about memories, intuition, symbolism, narrative and mood - and trying to give shape to what words cannot. The marks and traces we leave behind that record time and human energy. I seek through my work to visually record some aspect of physical movement and gesture that with time and repetition evolve into richly activated surfaces. I am fascinated by fragments and believe they gain greater significance when ordered with similar pieces, their cumulative message becoming more interesting and complex, with traces that hold a narrative and a mapping of memory. My creative practice incorporates artist books, printmaking, drawing, photography, and collecting found objects.
In 2015 I graduated from the MA Contemporary Art Practice course at Plymouth University My aim both during the MA and in the last 3 years has been to capture the experience of walks made on Dartmoor and along the South West Coastal path. Crucial factors are that of scale, immersion, texture, repetition, fragmentation and movement through the development of images that capture the ‘embodied’ fragmentary moments of my walking experience. Printmaking has become central to my practice.
‘As I walk I become aware of the shifting light, my eye catches patterns, small details, a knarled tree bark, small tufts of grass blowing across a field, a bluetit darting from a blossoming hawthorn bush. I observe the changing seasons in the hedgerows, bare brown in the winter and bursting with new growth in spring. I walk, pause, reflect, listen, touch, take notes, and make prints’.
Qualifications
2015 MA Contemporary Art Practice, Plymouth University
2012 B.A.(Hons) Fine Art Degree (First) University of Plymouth
2009 Diploma in Fine Art, Leeds College of Art and Design
1979 Adult Teaching Certificate in Embroidery, Loughborough College of Art and Design
Professional development
2016 Collagraphs with Katherine Jones, The Art Academy, London
2015 Printmaking – Dartmoor Arts Summer School
2013 Abstraction in the landscape – Newlyn Art School
2013 LIE Design School, Plymouth Arts Centre
2012 Experimental Drawing – Newlyn Art School
2010 Ephemeral Sculpture, Baldessin Press, Victoria, Australia
2010 Photography - Light painting, Baldessin Press, Victoria, Australia
2009 Land Art, Creative Arts Retreat, Anglesey
2008 DIY 5 'Keep your luggage with you at all times', Live Art Development Agency, Artadmin, Toynbee Studios, London
2007-8 Making it happen, Disability training course, Pyramid of Arts, Leeds
1981-91 Arts management short courses, Leicester City Council and East Midlands Arts
Solo and Group exhibitions
2019 Christmas exhibition Homeframe, Plymouth
2019 Artmill One Hundred, Artmill, Plymouth
2018 Christmas exhibition Homeframe, Plymouth
2018 Print exhibition Homeframe, Plymouth2018
2018 Prints and Drawings Artmill Gallery, Plymouth
2017 Impressions 6, Plymouth University, Plymouth
2017 Bath Society of Artists Summer Exhibition, Victoria Gallery, Bath
2017 11th International Miniprint Exhibition, Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Norwalk, USA
2017 Mining Legacy of the Tamar Valley, Tamar Centre, Gunnislake, Cornwall
2016 Counter, Artist Book event, Plymouth University, Plymouth
2016 Impressions 5, Plymouth University
2016 Fresh off the Press, Limekiln Gallery, Calstock
2015 Christmas Show, Artmill, Plymouth
2015 Process, Flameworks Exhibition, The Barbican, Plymouth
2015 International Print Exchange, Green Door Printmaking, Derby
2015 Plymouth Other Open, Devonport Live, Plymouth
2015 MA Graduation Show, Mills Bakery, Royal William Yard, Plymouth
2015 Artist Book Prints by PUPS, RLB, Plymouth University
2015 Impressions 4, Plymouth University
2015 A Circular Walk, Scott Foyer, Plymouth University
2015 Convergence, Artspace 101, Plymouth University
2014 20:14 Plymouth University Printmakers Touring exhibition
2014 Seacourts International Mini Prints, Bangor, Northern Ireland
2014 The Walking Encyclopedia, Airspace Gallery, Stoke on Trent
2014 Impressions 3, Plymouth University
2014 MA Group Exhibition, Plymouth University
2013 Impressions 2, Plymouth University
2013 Path, Harrington Studios, Long Eaton 2013
2013 Leeds International Artist’s Book Fair
2013 MA group exhibition Plymouth University
2012 First Impressions, Plymouth University
2012 Christmas exhibition, Flameworks, Barbican, Plymouth
2012 Speed, a drawing exhibition, Plymouth University
2012 Leeds International Artist’s Book Fair
2011 Flameworks Christmas Exhibition Melville Bldg, RWY, Plymouth
2011 Phases of Transition, RLB, University of Plymouth
2011 Home from Home, University of Leeds
2011 Fresh off the Press, Limekiln Gallery, Calstock, Cornwall.
2011 Prints, Derriford Hospital, Plymouth
2009 In my other life....., St John's Church, Leeds
2009 Sub (missive), Artist's Book Fair, Leeds University, Leeds
2008 Six by Ten, Leeds College of Art and Design, Leeds
2008 Failure, Leeds College of Art and Design, Blenheim Walk, Leeds
Competitions, prizes and awards
2017 11th International Mini Print Exhibition, USA - Honorable mentions for 3 prints and the Legion Purchase Award for Dartmoor Stone 2
2007 Artist collaboration and travel to Sweden, Arts Council grant
2006 Winner of 'Spirit of Women' Surgicare regional competition, Leeds College of Art and Design, Leeds