On Going Processes




Clay, Embroidery Thread

I have challenged the traditional workings of the sewing machine and instead of using the machine to sew I utilized it to generate a weaving action. Using embroidery thread I produced organic free flowing forms of rotated thread that generate a 'boring down' aspect along with connotations of fossils and the imprints left within rocks. The earth around Horticap has a high content of clay and I have been exploring its capabilities. When rolled out it presents a perfect surface for creating textured markings and by pressing the embroidery thread forms into the clay a beautiful imprinted pattern is produced. Left to dry the clay cracks naturally and is reminiscent of the topography of maps; the fields and boundaries of the rural countryside.

 

Insight into the Excavation of the Land

The mark society makes on the landscape and the sense of belonging this process generates are key aspects that is driving my work. The forming of dwellings and structures and the physical penetration of the earth that this creates generates the basis of our place within the world.
Above are images taken from the first points of excavation in the construction of a new Recycling building at Horticap. These incisions represent the first physical stages of construction; a grounding to place and space. The building of the new recycling building is an addition to Horticaps existing presence on the land which has developed over the past 26 years.

A3 Poster

Hand made paper, compost, stitch, tracing paper,pins 420mm x 297mm

The A3 exhibition gave me chance to do some more making! My main objective was to make an A3 piece that would prompt the viewer to reflect on the physicality of the land generating questions about how they place themselves as individuals within the world itself. Process and development were one of the main aspects of the work. Handmade paper made from well-rotted compost and paper pulp was texturized by using the process of heat. As well as creating a more textured surface scorching and burning was also achieved creating more aesthetic depth. Blanket stitch was used to attach the roughly torn pieces of the paper together. The result was a textured topographical map like piece which visualizes the rural landscape. The appropriation of the Yorkshire landscape and its patchwork of cultivated fields separated by dry stone wall boundaries are evident in the work. The piece portrays the main theme and concern of my current work; the physicality of the world around us and societies lack of connection with the real world within the 21st century.

Organic canvas, beetroot pigment, thread, paper

Back into the swing of things i am now  attempting to harness the physicality and intervention of the elements as mediums and processes. Fire, Earth, Air and Water are the key to life itself and without each of these elements we would not exist. The work above is explorative using organic canvas from a previous project and the element of fire/heat. The embossed hexagonal patterns represent nature and its way of simplification and perfection. The burning process is immediate and destructive and a challenge to control; appropriating the loss of control experienced within the world today!!

 "Detail from organic matter Collagraph"  2011 20 x 20cm           Selected to be shown at the live exhibition of earth:NOW:being

                       http://www.earthnowbeing.org/welcome/earth_NOW_being.html

Himalayan Balsam Eradication!

 Steering and tagging Cattle!

Arboriculture!

Hay Making!  

Fewston Church Yard



Summer has been filled with my connection with the rural landscape on a physical level!

I have been involved with the AONB Conservation volunteers in the management of the landscape in and around Pateley Bridge. As well as educational it has been great fun and is informing my practice as I move on to the final year of my degree. I will be drawing from the processes experienced through the conservation and manipulation of the landscape and its organic materials, this will inform the further development of my work. My thanks to everyone involved for making me so welcome especially Colin Slater, his humour and knowledge is a real inspiration; I will be back and hope to incorporate the important work the group does into my on-going practice.

Dry Stone Walling

Dry Stone walling at Banks Farm, West End.

Although a wild day, a really enjoyable one! The deteriorated wall was dismantled and we rebuilt the new. This process engages with every aspect of the physicality of the land and its materials. Being in contact with the material (stone) the earth and the elements directly engages you to place. This for me combines a sense of fulfilment and belonging within the creative process.