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My background is as an Art Teacher, and I enjoy applying the wide range of skills I have acquired in schools, towards running creative workshops. I have a BA in Fine Art and a PGCE in Art, Craft and Design.
I strongly believe that Art is a core part of the curriculum, not only as a tool for communication and expression, but also for teaching students to be critical of the world around them and provide them with an expressive outlet to open this discussion. The process of creating an artwork teaches problem solving, self-expression, patience, and perseverance, essential skills in an increasingly fast paced and digital world.
Can you tell us about your creative practice?
My Art practice explores material matter, forms and processes that express the physicality of existence, underpinned by the language of sculpture and installation. I enjoy creating a sense of tension between the recognizable and the transformed, drawing from everyday life as a process of talking about collective experience.
My artwork is predominantly sculpture based, however, over the years I have explored a range of different media, working across 2 and 3 dimensions. Recently, I have been exploring the sculptural properties and possibilities of clay and enjoy making ceramic pieces.
What are your creative influences?
In my work I am drawn to materials and play, inspired by a broad range of everyday objects and activities, from the foam on a pair or trainers to left over coffee grounds. Sculptors that inspire my practice include Phyllida Barlow, Karla Black and Franz West.
One of my favourite artworks is Rachel Whiteread's 'House', the inside of an entire London home cast in concrete. Although I was not able to view this sculpture in person, discovering this monumental piece of public art at universities left a strong impression on me. I was inspired by the scale and power that experiencing a sculpture can impose on the viewer and began to focus on sculptural and installation processes in my artwork.
If I could take the credit for one artwork it would have to be Judy Chicago's installation piece 'The Dinner Party'. Exhibited in a large, darkened room, a giant three-sided table is set with place names for prominent female artists, pioneers and creatives across history. The combination of embroidery, ceramics, lighting and construction is inspirational and dramatic, acting as a monument to women's history and accomplishments.
Where is your favourite place to feel inspired at Watts Gallery?
I am always inspired when I visit the Watts Chapel. It is a space that I think reveals Mary’s pioneering nature and community engagement, as well as her artistic range and vision. She is a truly inspirational Artist. In the same spirit, I enjoy the challenge of engaging through making and seeing the positive effects of a creative outlet. I particularly enjoy leading school students on tours of Limnerslease House. I find Mary’s and George’s studios, as well as their living rooms, inspiring spaces which reveal that Arts and Crafts were a part of their everyday lives.
Built to the scale of my height and body proportions, this metal house shaped structure was then split in half and welded back together with missing sections so that it became unstable and warped.