Maps, aerial photography and local history have been a long-standing interest, consistently featuring in my work. I am interested in the psychological associations of cloth and the role clothes play in identity. Previous projects have made use of fabric and details of clothing. Recent textile pieces have been inspired by an old apartment in Madrid, the Spanish Civil War, and the coastal erosion of East Anglia, making use of maps, both historical and current.

 

Techniques are varied and include fusing natural hand-dyed fabrics with an embellisher to create layers and texture, enhanced by hand stitching. Photo transfer, screen printing and mixed-media have all featured in previous work.

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My interest in local history has focused particularly on south-east London and in 2017 I wrote and self-published a novel, ‘The Screaming Alice’, based on real events that linked an old railway with paintings by Pissarro.

 

I have a degree in art and education from Goldsmith’s College, University of London, and an MA from the Royal College of Art.

As an art teacher I taught in comprehensive schools in south-east London and then as a head of art department at a 6th form college in Lewisham. All positive experiences in different ways.

Moving to Cambridge, I continued to teach at 6th form level where my own creative ideas were also stimulated by students who brought a range of subjects, such as science and geography, to their art. 

 

I have taken part in Cambridge Open studios and exhibited in local art exhibitions.

 

I have also been part of a women’s theatre group and have contributed to many multi-media productions. This has involved writing, making items for sets, mounting exhibitions, and occasionally performing.

 

In 2014 I set up a local community textile workshop based at my local library. I was commissioned by the library to make a banner to commemorate local men who died in WW1. This was a voluntary project providing an opportunity for local people, with or without an art background, to come together, learn, and collaboratively engage in creative textile-based techniques. This became the Rock Road Textile group which continues to this day to be involved in community projects.

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