Art and Textiles: July 2013

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Art In Action

I have been working so hard on my ideas for Art In Action and whilst I don't have much time to write, as I still need to pack, I will just enter some images and then add my comments as soon as I can.

Memories, 2013 Silk painting and free machine embroidery

Hand painted silk scarf

Artist Statement

I am a mixed media artist living and working in Bristol. Always interested in art for pleasure, I embarked on creative courses as my second son started school. I was secure in a happy family life, but when tragedy struck art became my way of making sense of the world that I had unconsciously become part of. Emotions that made no sense could be explored and played with: loss, anger, control and hope worked through until a sense of calm could be achieved.

The work can be textile or paper based and often involves photography, but the direction always varies as it responds to my emotional state: sometimes process driven, sometimes a reaction to feeling or a thought. It may be in the form of obsessive and repetitive mark making or the abstract use of colours and symbols that explore psychological states of wellbeing. Sometimes it just records a moment which may become a memory, or may just become lost. But the aim is always the same: to live through the conflicts of life and appreciate that sometimes it can be the things that go wrong and show our vulnerability that can actually strengthen and add the most value.