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Embroidery has been part of my life for many years and I have a passion for colour, textural
surfaces and embellishment. These interests lead to the study of art at the Otago Polytechnic Art
School in Dunedin, where I graduated BFA in 2004. I have exhibited in Dunedin, Wanaka, Richmond
and Nelson.
Inspirations for my work include photographs, found objects, domestic items, and
recycled materials. Research into the social conditions of families including the study of maps
where ancestors lived in the past has led to landscape themes in my work. Fragments and layers of
memory are combined to create an essence of the past.
Artist's statement
Memories of my grandmother measuring a freshly baked jelly sponge before cutting it, and
my grandfather's skill at tying a brown paper parcel influence my work.
Surfaces are embellished with thread, acrylic paint, paper, domestic items, found objects which
to me depict history and memory. My own photographs are incorporated with fragments and layers of
memory to capture an essence of the past. I have used my own family history as a base for exploring
history, building up interwoven layers of stitch and memory.
Techniques
- Tapestry weaving
- Inkle Loom weaving
- Coiling using recycled fabrics, string, video tape
- Twining using string and recycled fabrics
- Mixed media - paper, photographs, stitch, folded parcels
- Embroidery- textural surfaces
- Layering with Stitches
- Embellishment with found objects
- Acrylic paint
- Collage of paper, found objects, domestic items
- Recycled objects which carry a 'memory' of their earlier life and
use.
- Paper: ripped, folded, wrapped
- Papier maché
Collage
Collage allows me to explore ideas in a visual and textural manner. I have experimented with a
layering of thoughts and abstract images [both photographic and written] to create an essence of
the past. A collection of found objects, recycled treasures, scraps of paper and documents of
family history are combined. Cutting or tearing fragments of print, painted canvas and photographs
are added to found treasures which are assembled to complete a work.
Elements can be combined; building-up layers, recycling drawings and paintings, photographic
images, cutting, ripping, over-painting to create an exciting mixed media work.
Works in progress will change as items and marks are added, and surfaces are altered.
Influences
Working in the library system has also influenced my work involving the grid as structure and
form. The classifications have a particular structure within a library system and these appear to
me as a grid system. From this I have developed a range of art work based on the grid.
- Fragments of memory
- Layers of memory
- Personal photographs
- Fragments of document images from family history
- The essence of history and the past
- Classification and the grid as a system of organisation
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