I was born in Birmingham, England and emigrated to Canada, as a small child. I have made the rolling hills of Fonthill, Ontario, my home for the past 30 years. I studied Microbiology at the University of Guelph, and Oenology and Viticulture, Education, and Studio Art (with distinction) at Brock University in St. Catharines, ON. Retirement allowed me to trade in my microscope and winemaking books for paint and palette and to pursue my passion in art more fully. I opened my creative workspace, Studio 1795, in 2020. When I’m not painting, I can be found weeding my dye plant garden, dyeing fabrics with plants, exploring cyanotype photography, creating with needle and thread, or working on my speculative fiction novel.
About My Work
I create multifaceted art forms that revolve around a sense of place. My work captures an emotional connection between myself and my visible or imaginary location. I am intrigued by forgotten places, where a sense of place is created by merging echoes of past with the contemporary natural world. My home, surrounding landscape, and imagination are all places that help me to understand my place in this world. The natural world is my primary source of inspiration. Within this world I find myself exploring and investigating the minute details one generally misses in nature: texture, line, form, colour, and pattern. These become the elements that I paint and layer in my work.
My whole making process is driven by a passion to make connections between apparently unrelated moments, images, feeling, and concepts. Through the manipulation of photography, paint, colour, texture, fibers, shapes, and patterns, elements meld together creating interdisciplinary responsive work. Previously unseen relationships and connections are made visible, as fragmented elements are drawn together into a unified whole.
The work invites the viewer to re-establish or restore a faded connection with nature. The interconnectedness of the human and natural worlds surfaces in the work through suggestions of enchantment, awe, and mystery.