Category: Artist Blog

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An artists life…

All around me textures, colours and forms vibrate in the spring sunlight. Everything sings with vibrant life. If you don’t count the stinky dead crab! There were many empty crab shells and so many tiny shells, empty ray and dog fish egg cases. Life on the shores is rich for those that see beyond the riches in money.

I hope you enjoy my photography, that the images evoke some pleasant memories, feelings or sense of being and belonging. We are all nature. Continue reading An artists life…

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Sewing: a skill for life.

Sewing is a fundamental skill for life. In almost every household, the girl learnt from the mother and grandmother how to stitch. In the more affluent homes, girls were taught by the governess the more decorative arts of embroidery, tapestry and lace making for example, as a way to occupy their time. In poorer homes, villages and amongst indigenous peoples, sewing was and still is, how they made their clothes, the very fabric being made from the fleece of their animals and the fibres from plants. Dressmakers and seamstresses were from the so called lower classes. It was their life’s blood, their income and therefore a skill for life. Continue reading Sewing: a skill for life.

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Wet Felting

As a textile artist, I am drawn to many types of fibres. Wool is perhaps the most ancient of fibres used to create something more usable. My grandmother was a potter and the idea of making pots intrigued me until I tried it and realised it was too rigid for me. Felting caught my eye many years ago when I was in County Galway but I didn’t get it together to try until the autumn of 2022. Oh my was I hooked, it feels like its deep rooted in my DNA. Such an ancient craft, so much a part of many cultures on a primal level for centuries. The ability to create a vessel out of wool using techniques also used for pottery just feels so good. So many gifted felters here and abroad gracefully giving their knowledge, what a gift. I am learning quickly and avidly, creating bowls, vessels and wearable pieces combining other fibres, silks and found objects. This is a love affair for sure. Continue reading Wet Felting

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A New Journey

Wet Felting
Wow October disappeared under clouds of wool! For many years I have wished to be able to felt and a friend gifted me some merino felting wool recently. I had no idea how to start but a few tutorials later and I dived in. I made my first wet felted neck warmer. Followed swiftly by a second pushing into new techniques and incorporating hand dyed wools of my own. Another tutorial later and I had to try making a bowl. I love bowls. I cracked it! I love affair is born. Continue reading A New Journey

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At summers end

Children are back to school, the sun is shining and that gorgeous autumnal light has returned. The berries are ripe for picking, butterflies are everywhere, the bees are busy and the land is showing signs of slowing down for the winter sleep. It is harvest time, foraging time and jam making time. I am holding … Continue reading At summers end