COLLECTION: the continuous thread of revelation
 

'The events in our lives happen in a sequence in time, but in their significance to ourselves, they find their own order … the continuous thread of revelation'.
(Eudora Welty)

 

I found myself fully immersed using metal in place of fabric, altering the original metal by burnishing, texturing and patterning. Combining metal and stitch creates subtle combinations of repeating and interlocking pattern based designs.

Drawing on forms and themes tracing back through previous works, this has resulted in panels, hangings, framed pieces and vessels using textile based techniques with challenging materials.

 

The muted colours of heavily burnished metals and the textured surfaces of the copper and bronze are perhaps reminiscent of traditional art in Africa, especially the textiles. A thread of influence is felt through the linear, abstract aesthetic in both my designs and those from these textiles and sculptures, from the weaving weights of Mali, serene, statically majestic Dogon sculptures, the strip-woven and resist dyed cloths of the Hausa or the prized embroidered raffia cloths from the Shoowa tribes near to Kuba (which were always made by pregnant women). Another link to the embroideress’ of Africa is the gradual, instinctive development of pattern and form that is my method of working. Allowing a line or pattern to develop, the textures, colours and overall form to be dictated by intuitive feel rather than being fully planned in advance.

These works draw on simple patterns and shapes that have been used by people throughout the history of mankind and include squares, triangles, zigzags, spirals and radials.

 

The continuous balancing of the ordinary and mundane patterns of life with the ‘spirit within the breeze’ creates a complex ensemble which regulates each of our lives. These are interpreted in this series by phrases and sayings, text and narrative explicitly linked to each of the pieces. The whole of which when seen together begin to hint at the connections and flows of energy around one particular life.