The AA2A scheme has been a fantastic way for me to become immersed in the art making process again after time out caring for my children. The use of the printmaking workshop with really good technical support has enabled my work to develop and given me a clear view of my way forward as an artist. I found the experience of working alongside students and the other AA2A artist in the printmaking workshop positive and supportive.

My current work began as an exploration of images of housework. I became particularly interested in washing lines, the shapes of the clothes and the negative shapes created between them. I like the way the clothes can seem to take on a ‘life of their own’ sometimes animated by the wind or still; quietly suggesting the shapes of people who may have worn them. Some of the images were made with the idea of ‘forgotten washing’ left out over night or totally abandoned.

I started to use fabric and embroidery to make mono prints which brought a sense of texture and volume and fragility. By using fabric in an etching technique I was able to achieve more delicate detail.

As my work has evolved I have become interested in the power of clothes to symbolize the person, or body that has worn them. The body though suggested is never apparent and because of this the clothes can seem to evoke a sense of absence and loss. The fragility of the clothes seemed to echo the temporary nature of our bodies; at the same time the nightgown images have a ghostly, ethereal feel.

'Ragged Nightgown 2'
mono print - 48 x 27cm