Solo Exhibition opening Tuesday 24th, at 6.30pm, with special guest, artist
Sam Fleming.
I've been busy working on all the content for this show for the last month or so - it's about 3/5s paintings to 2/5s textile work, all with my 'signature' vibrant colours...
"Between the Woods and the Water" is the title of a book by Patrick Leigh Fermor, and an apt description of not only where I grew up but also the mindset in which I was brought up. The book itself is the second part of a trilogy, as yet unfinished, which describes the authors journey, on foot, across Europe from the Hook of Holland to Constantinople. He was 18 when he started... (he is currently in his late 90s)
From the small locale that I adventured in as a child, to the county it is within, both woods and water are predominant; along with bogs, and low 'mountains'. The colours of these landscapes, the peace to be found in them, the whispers of wind through leaves or over waves have informed the way I view the world over the last 25 years, and I hope will continue to do so over the next 25. Needless to say, the subjects within the exhibition pieces vary greatly - from sailing to morris dancing; but each piece has been informed by that mindset, and each relates somehow to the theme.
Meanwhile, an example of the textile work I'm completing at the moment - this piece is being submitted to a show in North West Ireland later this month...
The Wanting of You is based on the song of the same name by Melissa Etheridge, which looks at the rules we impose upon ourselves, restricting our own freedom to love.
Linen dyed with cold water craft dye, embellished with machine embroidery (rayon threads) and hand embroidery (silk floss)..
With best wishes, (and multicoloured hands from dying!)
