About the artist…
Following a one year foundation course at Winchester School of Art, I gained an honours degree in Printed Textiles at Loughborough College of Art and Design. Over the next 4 years I worked as a printed textiles artist, knitwear designer and graphic artist, where I designed fabrics for children’s wear, ladies wear and lingerie. I also did some freelance design work during this time.
In 1992, in need of a fresh challenge, I decided to retrain as a secondary teacher, completing a one year PGCE course in Art & Design at the University of Central England in Birmingham. In 1993 I came down to the Sussex Coast, to work in a mixed comprehensive school with SEN provision, where I taught Art, Textiles and Technology to KS3, GCSE and A level students. In 2019, after 26 years of teaching, I decided to take voluntary redundancy to focus on my own personal creativity. I felt it was the right time to hang up my lanyard and venture into new territory…and have a bit of an adventure…with myself!
My work encompasses a love of vibrant colours, bold linear mark-making and strong decorative pattern, where I take my inspiration from still life, natural forms, architecture and cultural artefacts. My textiles work focuses primarily on batik and gutta resist, as this has always been a real passion of mine, where I apply silk dyes and fabric paint onto silk and cotton fabrics, to create scarves, wall-hangings, cushions, wall art and lampshades. However, I also enjoy drawing, creating art using mixed-media, and working with other 3D mediums such as clay and papier mache’.
I have been on a number of solo trips over the years…America, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and many cities across Europe. I love to immerse myself in culture, through visiting museums, exhibitions and galleries. The V&A has always been a particular favourite of mine, as it is a feast for the eyes…and a wealth for the soul! I am inspired by the work of contemporary artists, such as Georgia O’Keefe, David Hockney, Wassily Kandinsky, Victor Vasarely, Grayson Perry, Niki de Saint Phalle, Barbara Hepworth, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Henri Matisse, Yayoi Kusama…and far too many textiles artists to mention!
Other interests include writing ( I have written my first children’s book for 7-9 year olds…which is waiting to be published ), photography, collecting fossils, gardening, reading non-fiction, learning to play the keyboard and rummaging around charity shops looking for interesting and unusual artefacts. I am also currently learning how to throw clay pots on the wheel, which I am thoroughly enjoying!
I absolutely love the fact that I am a ‘creative human’, and it forms a fundamental part of my life. I am never bored…there is never a ‘desert of the day’ to endure I have always a creative project in mind. My studio is my home in Hove (East Sussex).