I have just finished my first week at Nexus Art Cafe in Manchester where I am currently artist in residence. I have been settling into the space and letting my sculptures and drawings 'live' in their new home. I always love the beginning of a project when there are ideas buzzing around my head and I feel really fortunate to have a studio space (outside my home) to work in again. For me, ideas flow when I experiment with juxtaposing my drawings and sculptures with the space, with different textures, varieties of materials, and found objects or belongings that have a particular resonence to me. Basically when I play.Recently I have become really submerged in research around illustrating, storytelling and the psychology of fairy tales and the symbiotic, fearful, transformative relationships between the female and animal characters in these tales .
I studied for an MA in Drawing from Wimbledon College of Art and my degree show left me at a point where I was investigating how I could transform my body through sculpture and sewn costumes/adornments. Since my degree ended I have become a mother and my relationship with my body has altered, I have begun to look more into the symbology of certain animals, and it has ignited memories of fairy tales and being read to which will be a rich resource to draw from. The cautionary, frightening and brutal nature of these tales is more vivid now that I am revisiting these stories as an adult.
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