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I am a textile artist - a 'thread draw-er'. Born in Melbourne, Australia I emigrated to the UK in 2010 to undertake a PhD in ancient history. I have been creating art for as long as I can remember, but more recently my work has shifted from painting and drawing to textile-based arts. It is in this space that I have really started feeling like my voice as an artist can be articulated visually. I have found a way to express that voice though a mixed art-craft approach, including creating the ‘ground’ on which I work through various techniques of handweaving, making and patching bias tape and other strips of fabric together. Onto this ground I embroider and draw to create abstract pieces of art that encapsulate emotive moments. While my paintings were usually very large, my textile art tends to be smaller, more intricate and detailed – although I hope to make some much larger pieces in the future. I am inspired by abstract mixed-media work, ancient (Greek) history (which my first three degrees is in!). My favourite artists are Cy Twombly, Robert Rauchenberg, Tracy Emin. I am inspired by the patterns in the world around me, by the effervesce of my daughter. My work often explores the darker aspects of living with chronic mental illness.
The core of my work is on the marks and lines made on cloth and paper by stitching though a process of free motion (machine) embroidery. I made the backgrounds to the work by a variety of processes including hand weaving, stitching and sewing with a variety of cloths and fabrics, as well as reclaimed paper (particularly book pages). My work explores emotion and the narratives of emotion. As a trained ancient historian, having written several books on ancient Greek religion and mythology, these themes are ever present in my work and though these ancient myths and ideas I explore ideas of my own emotional turmoil as a woman diagnosed with Bipolar and Borderline Personality Disorder. Although sometimes my work responds directly to ancient works, sometimes these are just points of inspiration in a longer development. I tend to work in series rather than one-off pieces, although each of these is a stand-alone work. Much of my work is monochrome, presented in tonal colour schemes. See and purchase my work on Saatchi Art and my Ko-Fi shop, or small (wearable) work on Etsy. |