When did you start your creative practice and why?
I have always loved the art of writing ever since first learning to form letters in primary school. After trying Local Authority evening classes in Calligraphy in 1997, I was accepted on a three year part-time Advanced Training Scheme in Calligraphy run by the Society of Scribes and Illuminators in London, from 1998 - 2001. I have been making and exhibiting my lettering work since 2002. This course opened my eyes to the vast possibilities of using lettering in a creative way.
How would you describe your artistic style to someone unfamiliar with your work?
My lettering work is a unique, highly personal response to text from the various sources that inspire me. Sometimes words and quotations suggest their own visual imagery, while at other times, textures and colours influence my choice of words. I enjoy making my own textured paper, using recycled papers, and incorporating it in my work. I paint words with a fine brush, or if the surface allows, write them with an edged metal nib. I have explored putting text on surfaces and objects other than paper, including metal, leather, fabric and wood.
What themes or ideas do you find yourself returning to most often?
I find inspiration in the colours and textures of industrial landscapes and in the concept of the passing of time. I enjoy making my own heavily textured paper and painting it to resemble other surfaces, such as mould and lichen, slate or rusty metal. I have tried to find ways of successfully combining words with these "painterly" backgrounds that I imagine and create. I also find inspiration in the natural world - a snowy winter's day, an empty beach, a line of trees on the horizon, a bird's song.
Is there a particular piece of yours that feels especially meaningful? Why?
The piece that holds a lot of significance for me is the first piece I made using my own hand-made paper. On the calligraphy course I attended at Roehampton we had been asked to use a technique we hadn't tried before, to make work using a set quotation from Jeremiah 4, King James Bible. I made four heavily textured fragments of paper and painted the text with a fine brush, the first significant, tentative step in my calligraphic journey. I had in mind rusty metal sheets with the words as part of the surface texture. Little did I realise that I would still be inspired to work this way, more than twenty years later.
I am also proud of painting a five foot high fibre glass owl for "The Big Hoot",a public art trail run by Wild in Art, which featured large, uniquely designed owl sculptures. After public display in Sutton Coldfield, my owl went on to auction to raise £12,000 for the Children's Hospital in Birmingham.
Do you ever have creative blocks, how do you keep motivated?
I do have creative blocks. I'm sure all artists do. Sometimes it can feel as if I have said all that can be said about one particular theme and then it may be time to move on. If a piece isn't "working" then it's best to leave it for a day, a week, a month and then return to it with a fresh eye. It's helpful to tell myself that each piece doesn't have to be a precious masterpiece - it can simply be a work-out or a stepping stone to the next. If I don't feel inspired by any quote or image, I try not to panic but to keep my creative mind open and alert. It's good to remember that inspiration can come from anywhere. I once had an idea for a piece in a vivid dream and another idea prompted by an advert on the side of a bus!
Who are the artists (past or present) who have strongly influenced you?
The artist and calligrapher David Jones (d.1974), the Irish calligrapher Denis Brown and the German artist Anselm Kiefer who creates heavy, sculptural surfaces using materials like straw, clay and ash. I will also be grateful to Meic Morgan-Finch, who taught me calligraphy in local authority evening classes and who first encouraged me on my lettering journey.
What tools, materials, or techniques are essential to your practice? Is there a colour you just couldn't do without?
I need a good supply of scrap paper, usually discarded, standard copy paper which has been through a printer, to rip up and use to make my textured paper pieces. I need good quality very fine, size 10/0 brushes to paint my letters on this uneven surface. I also use good quality bought watercolour papers and write on these using William Mitchel metal nibs in a holder. I use Daler Rowney System 3 acrylic paint for my backgrounds and Winsor and Newton gouache paint for the text and any detailed imagery. Payne's Grey is one of my favourite colours and I have used it in a lot of my work.
If you could give the younger you advice what would it be?
Believe in yourself. Always create work that you love and comes from the heart rather than making work that you think will be commercially successful.
If your work could evoke one feeling or reaction in viewers, what would it be?
I am drawn to use words and quotations which hint at the transience and vulnerability of life. These are words which can, on their own, evoke strong emotional reactions. In my work I try to combine them with added visual imagery to deepen their impact and convey my own reaction to the text. Some people have said that they are moved to tears by my interpretation and treatment of a quotation, which is quite humbling.
What is your website and how do we find you on social media?
I am not on social media at present.
