A close-up of a saw blade with some rust and corrosion, placed on a white surface.
A row of six animal-shaped sculptures made of white material, with some having dark painted areas, lying on a light surface.
A person holding a large, polished, multicolored mineral or rock with shades of blue, green, and brown, set on a white artificial animal skull, possibly a cow skull. The background is a plain, light-colored surface.
Close-up of six polished stones with different patterns and colors, arranged on a white surface, with two pieces of rope in the center.
A person holding a small plastic container filled with tiny seashells over a surface scattered with broken and intact blue and white porcelain shards.
The image shows a white wall with various objects attached, including a mustard yellow fabric piece with a decorative butterfly patch, pieces of torn brown paper, a white cloth with red embroidery, a teardrop-shaped object with a dark spot, a small round metallic object, and a piece of regulation document.
Close-up of a person holding an ammonite fossil with reddish-brown and cream-colored stripes.
A close-up of a collection of objects including black beads, bone or ivory pieces, and small tools or parts arranged against a white background.
White plaster cast of a baby whale signature, placed on a concrete surface.

About

I am an artist based in Bridport, Dorset.

My 1970’s childhood was split between my home in the town of Bournemouth and the very different houses and lives of my four grandparents who all lived in the village of Briantspuddle. 

My grandparents were wildly different. On one side from a line of farmers, dairymen, gamekeepers and women in service at the ‘big’ houses.  On the other side scientists, graduates, debutantes and world travellers.  Their houses were on opposite sides of the village green and yes there was a little bit of competition and a little bit of to-ing and fro-ing across the circle, past the mulberry tree, from house to house. I was constantly fascinated by the rooms and especially the objects in both houses, most of which I wasn’t allowed to touch!

From Ceylon, Glasgow, Oxford and Cambridge, Egypt and a glamorous life in the 20’s:  wardrobes with feather boas and silk shoes; butterflies in cases; jewellery from Egypt; tea chests in the attic; baffling scientific instruments; big paintings of dragons; Siamese cats.

From family that had only ever moved within a small geographic radius in the heart of Dorset: jam jars; horse brasses; little china ornaments; patchwork quilts; primroses; sweet peas; a chart for planting the garden by the cycles of the moon; the rosebud tea set; the slow, deep ticking of the grandfather clock.

I left Dorset in my late teens to seek adventure and big city life of course. After some years at art school and more as a mother, living in London then Brighton; making my own work, supporting other artists and bringing up my kids, I returned to Dorset in 2017. Living in Bridport I’ve been getting to know the childhood parts of myself again, the parts that know this place in the way children do – closer to the ground, more in touch with the physicality of being alive, the insects and the bird song, the streams and the fields, the sky and the weather. With older eyes and a broader heart I’ve felt the pull to make objects that express my wonder about this place, and about how my childhood felt here, with the family I loved and admired, and with a strong sense of the passing of people, of time and of the enduring land.