Artist’s Book “Connections”

Following on from Linescape and considering some of the same themes, “Connections” is an artists book with a sense of discovery and playfulness. Each disc or ‘page’ is 15cm across making this book very large and weighty. This brings an earthy, grounding element to the work, which compliments the subtle links to landscapes and the natural environment.

Artist Book ‘Connections’ – 2017

An Island in a City Sea

Pulled out of personal experience of Environment, “An Island in a City Sea” combines natural and synthetic materials that form a changing liminal space dictated by light and the combination of poetry along side sculpture. Man and nature, two sides of the same coin and yet so looked upon as enemies, a contrast, if you will, of interests.

An island in a city sea,

No mountain but to us could be,

The mound of rock, of earth, of stone,

A place we seem to be alone.

Yet all around the light of day,

At night seeps in and comes to stay.

‘An island in a city sea’ – 2017

City Worm

Drawing from the space between wilderness and city, these sculptures explore light as a parasite in a natural environment. The piece of gorse bush wood was stripped and carved into, creating holes which the glow sticks worm their way through. This is a work in progress.

Untitled – 2017

Untitled Light Stick – 2017

Untitled Light Stick – 2017

Linescape

When given the challenge of making a booklet out of one piece of paper, I thought a lot about the folds that were needed. I also didn’t want to make all the pages the same, so I spent a day just folding and refolding paper to find a template that would work. However, the contence is pretty important and I wanted it to reflect some of my previous work. At the moment I’ve been thinking a lot about landscapes and travel between city and wilderness. The line came from Environment which I worked on last year, where I played with shadows and wire to create an animated image. Here I took the line and made it 3D through the manipulation of material. The title ‘Linescape’ incorporates the two elements that make this simple booklet work.

Artist Book ‘Linescape’ – 2017

Paths

I find it funny how our paths often lead us back to places we visited in our childhood. For me Iona is that place, which every time I visit I get that feeling of freedom and careless happiness associated with childhood memories. But it always seems unreal or false in someway because it is in my past. This summer I visited Iona with my parents who met, married and lived on the island before I came along. It felt like such a special moment to be back on the island and yet when I think of all the people who visit for a few hours everyday, it reminds me that each of them probably have somewhere that is equally special. Somewhere that enchants, inspires and drives them to return. The rough and winding paths created in these images caught my eye whether made of stone, sand or water they represented a path forwards.

Me, Just Me

Four months on the beautiful Isle of Mull, working essentially on my own, has been an amazing experience. It tested how comfortable I was with myself and has been surprisingly relaxing. As an artist it gave me lots to think about and plenty to develop. Along with song writing, sculpting, carving, writing and sketching I also took a fair amount of photographs. Photography has become a tool for every type of artist, from fashion designers to painters and has been used in so many ways. For me it is both development and product of my work. Turning the camera on the artist, I have used it as a way of accepting the me I see in everyday. I have never really been one for taking selfies, maybe because I was never that comfortable with how I looked, but the less I have thought about looks the better I have felt and the healthier I’ve been. Too many young people are caught up with looks and don’t see the natural beauty of every body and every person including themselves. So, this is how I am on my own, this is me, just me.