I have been a practising artist and maker for fifteen years, making artist's books and papercuts. My work includes large scale book sculptures, as well as small limited and unlimited editions and multiples. I use a mix of bookbinding and papercutting techniques, but bring in print and stitch and painting too. My papercuts often have text as their starting point, and incorporate stories, poems and imagery inspired by the countryside around me in rural Northumberland. I work to commission making unique papercuts and book sculptures, and also run workshops in book arts and papercutting in my studio in the heart of the national park.
For the last fifteen years I have practised as an artist, making books and works in cut paper, work that ranges from unique sculptural books to limited and unlimited editions, multiples and wall-hung pieces. My work combines all sorts of processes, including stitching, bookbinding, hand painting, printing and hand and machine cutting. I love working on commissions and can incorporate favourite text, snippets of poetry or songs in client work as well as my trademark plant and animal imagery. For more about commissioning my work please see my website.
What fascinates me is the magical transformation that happens when with a bit of folding and cutting, a flat piece of paper becomes something three-dimensional. I have always thought that books are bigger on the inside - they contain worlds, and I am trying to embody that feeling in the books that I make, which explode beyond the confines of their covers.
My starting point is often text - the inspiration for many of my pieces comes from a 1945 film called 'I Know Where I'm Going' (Powell & Pressburger). The film script, characters, cinematography and film structure influence my work - bits of the script trickle into my pieces, snippets of dialogue, forming and reforming, taking on new meanings and telling different stories. I also use half-remembered lines of songs and poems, so that text forms an integral part of many of my pieces, shaping their form in the process. In all my work I am seeking to find that perfect marriage of form and content.
In my practice I span Art and Craft, bringing in traditional craft processes such as bookbinding, stitch and papercutting, which are underpinned with a conceptual approach. I undertake residencies and gallery work, making larger-scale pieces and installations. My work is held in collections including Manchester Metropolitan University’s Artist’s Book Collection, the Tate, UWE, University of Northampton, Baltic Gallery, the Yale Collection of British Art and private collections. It has also appeared in a number of publications including ‘In Praise of Beautiful Books’, ‘Of Green Leaf, Bird and Flower’ and ‘Paperworks’.
