Visit to the South West

I have come back from a few days down in Plymouth - I wasn't the only one out and about..................

AND

I spent a glorious day in St Ives visiting the Tate gallery and Barbara Hepworth's studio and garden (a haven of tranquillity in the middle of bustling tourist land!) I have been before and it never fails to inspire 'the artist' in me - here are a few photos taken in the studio (which you can't enter only see from the doorway)......................

and in the garden.............

and St Ives must have the best station in England - this is the view when you get out of the train (it was of course the perfect June day and may not be quite so lovely in December!)

The best of all this is that I am planning to move to the Plymouth area in the next few months and my house goes up for sale in about a week's time - I am so excited about living near the sea again and it's been a dream to live in this part of the world since I was a teenager (quite a long time ago!!! but as they say it's never too late to fulfill dreams! ) One of my daughters and 2 grandchildren live down here so I will be much nearer to them too!!!

More news about this adventure will follow meantime I just need to sell my house!

Rocks, stones and an exhibition

I am busy preparing work for a collaborative exhibition with 3 other artists, that opens on 1 July at St John's Church in Leeds UK. We are dedicating the exhibition to an orginal member of the group, Chris Lockwood, a lovely young man of 28 years who tragically died in an accident in the Alps in March this year, and is sadly missed by us all. We hope to include some of his last work in the show - a celebration of his artistic life!

This latest body of work, very different to my previous work, is my response to the space in the church and my religious upbringing as a Roman Catholic. The 'paper' stones/rocks that I am making symbolise the tensions between my stable foundation as a child and the fragility and vulnerability of growing older. They are markers of life's journey, stepping stones, hardships overcome and mountains climbed. Stones are an ancient pagan and religious symbol of stability, hardness and endurance. They often mark our way in the natural world, indicating the path ahead. We only have to think of standing stones, stone circles, cairns and boundary stones and their many meanings. Paper on the other hand hand is a symbol of literature, learning and law and for me is a magical material. The everyday ordinariness of paper makes its transformation into works of art all the more extraordinary. Paper can be both strong and fragile!

the space at the church is enormous and quite daunting - maybe that too is a metaphor for life's journey! The stones/rocks vary in size from 18 inches to about 3ft and are free standing objects which will be placed in the aisles of the church at stragetic points. Please come along between 6pm and 8.30pm on Wed 1 July if you are 'within a stone's throw away' - or even a bit further!!!