Casco Vello - villages of northen Spain
Casco Vello, or "old villages" in Galego, the language of northwestern Spain, is the subject of my new series of collages in fabric and paint. In April and May of 2023, I spent several weeks as a host in a small hostel, where I had the opportunity to meet and welcome pilgrims on the Camino Frances. During this time, I was able to dedicate time to sketching and painting various reference pieces, which I later incorporated into my collages.
Using monoprinting on fabric and paper, I capture the rich patina of rust, weathered paint, and aged timbers in the old towns and villages of northern Spain. This technique conveys the textures and marks that evoke the character of these ancient structures. I prefer working with vintage fabrics and repurposed papers, which carry traces of their past, adding layers of history to my art. Additionally, I incorporate stitching to depict the windows of tall buildings, providing a tactile dimension to my pieces.
The individual pieces in each collage have been carefully hand cut, and laid out in a planned design before adhering to the painted surface of watercolour paper. I aim for an abstract appearance with elongated squares and rectangles as well as relaxed arch shapes which convey a casual layering of time-worn architecture.
Cloth to Codex
I see my books as crossing artistic mediums, sometimes as book form, dimensional art or mixed media of paint, dye, glue, and stitch, all moving into new areas of narrative where I am creating new structures from old ideas. Traditionally books are rarely constructed of fabric, they are most often printed with script or forms that are understood by the reader and once read, passed on or shelved. The contemporary book art that I create has flow, shape and dimension, can be folded or draped, suspended in long lengths and can incorporate objects relating to the text or subject matter. Threads can be used for stitching, bindings or additional marks onto the surface.
Cloth to Codex is not created quickly by computer, or technology, most of my actions are done slowly with contemplation and consideration. Whether it is printing or dyeing the fabric and threads, cutting and sewing is most often by hand as is the construction and assembling of the different elements of my book forms.
Industrial Shoreline
The Industrial Shoreline - examines the working harbour, where the industry of shipping goods and products from our factories and fields intersects with beaches and pristine clear waters. The port occupies a special and limited space at the edge of our cities; the freighters and docks piled high with shipping containers are an essential part of a modern economy. Any harbour is constantly changing: the tide rises, and falls, materials and shipping containers come and go, the structures acquire patina and layers of complex shapes over the years. We see it as the gritty edge of our city, but close by life continues on with marine life, a complex ecosystem that may or may not flourish along the shoreline.
The industrial warehouses and buildings along the intertidal zones of urban harbours presents a dichotomy in my textile art between the hard and soft; the rigidity of steel and the fluidity of cloth. There is beauty in the metal structures and their patina, the angles, shadows, bursts of color, and swoops of lines create rich visual interest for the viewer. My drawn, painted, and stitched lines and the challenge of interpreting these means that I rely on a variety of mark making, inks and paints on the fabrics to give me the rich patinas of rust, rafters and steel and sea.
I have always lived near the ocean, sometimes close to a working harbour, oil refinery or a military base. I have seen and experienced the challenges faced by both industry and the need to have a sustainable natural environment. I have also witnessed the ongoing efforts of all invested groups working towards finding the best and most lasting solutions. I do not see these issues in an “either/or” scenario but as a challenge of finding balance and commonality. I am not anti-development, the premise I work from is that commercial growth together with vibrant, sustainable ecosystems can be created and I want my Industrial Shoreline series to reflect that essential premise.
Notations
A series that explores mark making and textile collage - these were created as a response to using a limited palette of white, black, buff and red. I wanted to try different configurations of stitch, fabric, paint and collage. Each piece and the ideas it generated then led to further ideas and ways of working.
Perceiving Place
These pieces were created as improvisational piecing with an exploration of colour and pattern. Many of the pieces are built in small segments separated with very thin strips and each one is heavily quilted.
Some of the work are views as seen "from a distance" as though they were landscapes photographed from space, the surfaces are fresh and without blemish - hiding the tumult and conflict below.
Timeless Moments
The discovery of some vintage papers in a scrapbook was the starting point of creating these works. The paper has a suede-like feel and the edges are slightly discoloured with age. Each of the pieces seemed to suggest different ways of working, the approach I used was to begin by applying white acrylic paint and then coloured inks after wetting the paper slightly. It took time to add each layer, patiently waiting for drying time...I have a reverence and keen interest in using asemic writing in my work - script-like marks which are unreadable but seem like ideas of text. Some of the pieces use collage elements which I have painted and cut.
These Timeless Moments pieces are titled after favourite phrases in poems of TS Eliot.