As a process driven artist with a sustainable ethos, my compulsion to create art has its roots in the living world where the use of organic and natural materials has become central to my work. Initially my art was simply focused on environmental themes whilst still using products that contained toxins such as oil paints and acrylics. Now, having researched extensively, my main aim is to make art with products that are less harmful to the environment whilst utilising craft based and artistic methods that celebrate the natural world and encompass its innate patterns and textures.
With a background in theatre costume, set and prop design, I incorporate a variety of methods when creating my artwork drawing on over thirty years experience working in a creative industry. I make my own paper, pigments, dyes and natural inks, and use recycled or ethically sourced fibres, and other non-toxic products. The act of creating my own pigments lends another depth to my artwork. I also use eco printing techniques that draw the natural pigments from leaves, barks and flowers. The transference of plant imagery and mark making focuses attention on their organic nature. I find the resulting colours and impressions echo their origins and truly celebrate their complexities.
By exploring the organic and intricate nature of plant life it serves as a reminder of the infinite wonders that exist within our world. Through the time and labour of craft-based approaches, I use my work to examine and provoke reflection on the moral and ethical issues between human and more-than-human entities to deepen our relationship beyond a surface level. In doing so, I hope to provoke a need to examine humankind’s views on the morality and ethical issues that surround our relationship with our planet.