Studio Stories
Boxes of discarded gift wrap, old music manuscripts, Indian handmade paper pieces, sweet wrappers and tubs of old broken china... my studio would be seen by some as in need of a good tidy up! It's definitely not the place for those with a decluttering mindset.
I like to have as many materials to hand as possible as I never really know what direction a piece will take me in. I use acrylic paints and inks to transform the paper and foil pieces so they blend together in a patchwork of colour. Gold and metallic foils sparkle in dark corners of the studio, waiting to shine on the surface of my next project. Boxes of beads, buttons and painting mediums fill the overflowing shelves.
Many people ask how long it takes to produce a finished piece? To be honest I don't know! Every piece is different and every piece unique. My process uses multiple applications of layers of paper, paint and inks, and these take time to dry. I work - as many artists do - on several pieces at a time. Skipping from piece to piece when the mood takes me, creativity is spontaneous.
At the end of a day in the studio I often have a very different outcome than I expected, and for me that is the joy.