Much of my work is inspired by specific places, which I return to again and again. Walking and drawing allow me time to get to know a place and to absorb a sense of it. This is what I am aiming to portray in these pieces – not a photographic reproduction, but the feelings that being in these places evokes.
Many of these places are also practically included in these works as I’ve used leaves and found objects from them to colour the fabrics.
2512
A walk in the magic woods
Blue woods
A walk in the woods
Brambles
Marking the Months
Marking the Year I
One small step
Tree Squared
A walk in the Magic Woods
During lockdown, unable to cast more widely, I delved deeper into my own locality, taking pleasure and inspiration from here. I am very fortunate to live in a wonderful area; a rich tapestry of trees, hills and lochs, woven together with history going back to the Neolithic. I’ve slowed down, taking time to explore and examine the local environment, watching the seasons change and impact on the landscape, appreciating the complex nature of our interactions with the land.
For this exhibition, which hung outside in the grounds of Tir na nOg near Drymen, I collected leaves from their woods and used them to colour fabric, by steaming and by cyanotype (blueprint). The imagery on these quilted pieces was all directly from the woods where they hung them for several months in 2021. By the end, nature was beginning to claim them as its own, as it added extra colour, with mildew and green and the sun bleached out much of the colour I’d added - an interactive exhibition with the woods which had inspired the work.
A walk in the woods - Beech
A walk in the woods - calm
A walk in the woods - chestnut
A walk in the woods - Elder
A walk in the woods - falling oak leaves
A walk in the woods - Fern
A walk in the woods - Hawthorn
A walk in the woods - horse chestnut
A walk in the woods - oak
A walk in the woods - Rejuvenation
A walk in the woods - Revival
A walk in the woods - solitude
A walk in the woods - sycamore
A walk in the woods - Tree Bathing
walk in the woods 1
walk in the woods 4
What lies beneath 2
What Lies Beneath 3
