By way of introduction...

I thought that as this blog is my idea that I better kick start it into action! I thought it makes sense to start with the introductions so here's mine. I hate those formal 'tell us about yourself' sections that are often required for exhibition catalogues, I can never think of anything sensible to write, but I'll make this my best attempt.

Lots of you know that I work on a daily basis with my mother Linda who's also in the group. We enjoy planning and working on projects like our online courses and DMTV together, but usually that just means that we spend hours sat side by side in front of our respective computer screens! When it comes to our own creative time, it's usually a much more solitary affair. Linda heads out to her workroom and I slope off home to mine. We once joked that we ought to have an exhibition and call it 'Between Sunset and Dawn' as that's when most of our work happens!

I thought I'd show you a quilt that I suppose represents my recent work. It's called Sisters and as you can see it's a double portrait of me and my sister. At the time I was making this piece I was really interested in the idea of combining figurative elements with pattern. That's something that I still find fascinating and I'm sure that the Oriental theme of this new exhibition will mean that I can pursue this a little further.

I'm also interested in making work that reflects the local landscape. Here's one that's inspired by the view from my back garden.

I think that because I usually work from inspiration that's very close to home, I'm finding it quite a struggle to find a 'hook' for the theme Orientation. It's quite strange for me to be thinking about sources of inspiration that I don't know very well or have first hand experience of. I've been thinking less about objects and more about ideas that are associated with Far East cultures. It's got a long way to go, but the first stage will be to start a new sketchbook to explore some of these thoughts. I've got a shelf full of lovely empty books so no excuse not to crack on. It's exciting to sit here without the first clue of what the work I'll make for this exhibition is going to look like. It's going to be a journey full of discovery and adventure!