Cornish roadsides are wild and abundant, fashioned by the mild wet winters and it is these lush lanes that form the inspiration for most of my art work. Whilst I make no attempt to reproduce the actual plants on my wanderings, I do try to capture the soul of the Cornish lanes, woods and gardens.
I work mainly with wallpaper but sometimes incorporate magazine pictures, maps, tissue paper and book pages, sewing them onto a backing of wallpaper. I use a basic sewing machine with one or two embroidery sttitches for variety. This is because I can dismantle a basic sewing machine and service it myself if it gets jammed with paper dust.
Usually I make a rough sketch first and then set about selecting colours and patterns to see how they 'feel' together. Sometimes I have no sketch and work directly onto a backing, selecting pieces of paper at random until the result is a pleasing mix of shapes and colours. whichever way I start, getting the composition right is crucial, sometimes it happens before I sew and other times I build up the picture as I go along.
