Artist Statement
I live and work on the Northumberland coast. My mixed-media pieces can be seen as portraits, usually witty, often tinged with sandness, always relating to ordinary lives or memories. I love unloved material, rubbish especially. Magpie-like, I collect whatever catches my eye when I am out walking: cartridge shells, lone gloves, seaweed, seed casings, rose thorns, seashells. Although my pieces resemble useful objects - clothing, baggage, deckchairs - the bags can't be carried, the clothes can't be worn, and the chairs can't be sat in. Their function is in their beauty and the stories they tell. Since lock down I have been making wire sculptures and machine textile pieces
CV & Education
Qualifications and training
1995 - BA Fine Art, Surrey Institute of Art and Design, Farnham, Surrey
1993 - Foundation Studies in Art and Design, Croydon School of Art and Design, Croydon, Surrey
Solo exhibitions
2012 - Baggage, Alnmouth Art Festival, Alnmouth, Northumberland
2007 - Another Shore, Arts Centre, Havant, Hampshire
2007 - Rights of Passage, The ArtWorks Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne
2006 - Fair Trade, Oxford Brooks University, Oxford
2005 - Another Shore, National Maritime Museum, Falmouth, Cornwall
2005 - Sustainable Oxfordshire, Oxford Brooks University, Oxford
Group exhibitions
2011 - 5th Open Exhibition, Gymnasium Gallery, Berwick Northumberland
2011 - Material Memories, Alnmouth Art Festival, Alnmouth, Northumberland
2007 - Drawing on Oxford, Town Hall, Oxford
2006 - Human Zoo, University of Northumbria Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne
2006 - Many Hands, Arts Centre, Havant, Hampshire
2006 - Reworked, Washington Gallery, Penarth, S Wales
2006 - Visual Voices, Osterley Park House, London
2005 - Many Hands, Windsor Street Gallery, Chertsey, Surrey
2005 - People’s Show, University of Northumbria, Newcastle upon Tyne
2004 - Gallery, Biscuit Factory, Newcastle upon Tyne
2003 - Natural Places, Bondgate Theatre, Alnwick, Northumberland
2003 - Open, Artsway Gallery, Sway, Hampshire
2003 - Visual Voices, The Maltings, Farnham, Surrey
2003 - What a Waste, Littlehampton Museum, Littlehampton, Sussex
2002 - Gallery, Hindmarsh Hall, Alnmouth, Northumberland
2000 - Gallery, James Hockey Gallery, Farnham, Surrey
2000 - Pre-Degree Show, Whiteleys Gallery, Bayswater, London
1995 - Foundation Show, Croydon School of Art and Design, Croydon, Surrey
Degree shows
2000 - Degree Show, Surrey Institute of Art and Design, Farnham, Surrey
Competitions, prizes and awards
2004 - Homage, Barker & Stonehouse, Newcastle upon Tyne
Publications
2011 - A Force of Nature,The Journal, Culture magazine, Newcastle
2011 - Metro, Discover the True Force of Nature in Art
2006 - The Sea Inside, Newcastle Journal, Culture Magazine
2005 - Itsy Bitsy Seaweed Bikini, Cornwall 24