A bit about me
Paper is my medium & my inspiration…
For the last fifteen years I have practised as an artist, making books and works in cut paper, work that ranges from unique sculptural books to limited and unlimited editions, multiples and wall-hung pieces. My work combines all sorts of processes, including stitching, bookbinding, hand painting, printing and hand and machine cutting. I love working on commissions and can incorporate favourite text, snippets of poetry or songs in client work as well as my trademark plant and animal imagery.
What fascinates me is the magical transformation that happens when with a bit of folding and cutting, a flat piece of paper becomes something three-dimensional. I have always thought that books are bigger on the inside - they contain worlds, and I am trying to embody that feeling in the books that I make, which explode beyond the confines of their covers.
In the heart of the wild and beautiful Northumberland National Park
I live and work in a landscape which is a constant source of inspiration. I am grounded in this place, and much of my work and the imagery I use is linked to it, to my memories of it as well as my daily experience of it.
I have a varied background, having started off with a degree in Classics, I then spent nearly a decade working as a lawyer in London. But I missed the countryside and I missed being creative. I upped sticks and left it all behind to go back to university where I did a degree in Embroidery. I then moved back home to Northumberland and have been here ever since.
“Everything begins with a blank sheet of paper...”
My starting point is often text - the inspiration for many of my pieces comes from a 1945 film called 'I Know Where I'm Going' (Powell & Pressburger). The film script, characters, cinematography and film structure influence my work - bits of the script trickle into my pieces, snippets of dialogue, forming and reforming, taking on new meanings and telling different stories. There is more about this on-going inspiration and my solo show based around the film here. I also use half-remembered lines of songs and poems, so that text forms an integral part of many of my pieces, shaping their form in the process. In all my work I am seeking to find that perfect marriage of form and content.
“Cutting, sewing, sticking, printing, drawing, painting….”
In my practice I span Art and Craft, bringing in traditional craft processes such as bookbinding and stitch, which are underpinned with a conceptual approach. I undertake residencies and gallery work, making larger-scale pieces and installations. My work is held in collections including Manchester Metropolitan University’s Artist’s Book Collection, the Tate, UWE, University of Northampton, Baltic Gallery, the Yale Collection of British Art and private collections. It has appeared in a number of publications including ‘In Praise of Beautiful Books’, ‘Of Green Leaf, Bird and Flower’ and ‘Paperworks’.
I have exhibited widely and my work is available through the Biscuit Factory in Newcastle, as well as on this website and at the Number One Gallery, Kirkharle. For more on upcoming exhibitions and shows click here.
A week of work
The video below captures the making of a large papercut and condenses about a week’s work into 30 seconds!
