Artist Statement:
My primary medium is tapestry weaving, supplemented by other textiles and paperworks. I aim to use the possibilities of colour and texture to the maximum,
by juxtaposing shiny and matte materials, for example, or watery to solid colour. Some of the work is based on paper collages and is built up in layers. Another preoccupation is patterns that almost repeat, similar to those in nature such as ripples on water. Besides the usual materials of the weaver, I sometimes include foraged ones such as ash keys.
Much of my work has also been about my ordinary
but ethnically diverse ancestors. I weave together
the meanings of their lives with varied forms of
tapestry, combining it with other techniques, to
create innovative surfaces. I ally emotion and abstraction, creating a personal iconography.
Through memory and place, I tell a universal story,
the theme being that we are all related. In infusing
this important idea with beauty, I feel I can enhance communication on many levels and can move viewers.
Education:
BA, McGill University
Diploma, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design
Post-graduate diploma (with distinction), Edinburgh College of Art
Awards & Distinctions:
Index of Selected Makers, Crafts Council, 1992.
Wingate Scholarship, 1997.
Theo Moorman Trust for Weavers grant, 2000.
Hope Scott Trust grant, 2000.
Edinburgh College of Art Research Awards, 2000, 2001, 2003.
Scottish Arts Council Major Award for Individual Development, 2001.
Prize, Tallinn Print Triennial, Tallinn, Estonia, 2004.
Professional/Teaching Experience:
1992-2010 Lecturer, part-time, Edinburgh College of Art, Edinburgh
2010-date Lecturer, part-time, Office of Lifelong Learning, University of Edinburgh
Exhibitions:
Autumn 00 - Spring 03 Solo, "Unmarked Lives", Multicultural Art Gallery, Halifax, Nova Scotia; Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec, Montreal; Cornwall Regional Art Gallery, Cornwall, Ontario; New Jersey Center for Visual Arts, Summit, NJ; Hart House, University of Toronto; Inverness Art Gallery; St Fergus Gallery, Wick; Aberdeen Art Gallery; An Lanntair, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis; Museum of Edinburgh
Spring 2011 Vive la Tapisserie! 2, French Institute, Edinburgh, and La Tour Montsalès, Aveyron, France
Autumn 2011 7th International Biennial of Textile Miniatures, ‘Vanish/Survive’, Arka Gallery, Vilnius, Lithuania and touring
Spring 2012 Artapestry3, Denmark and touring to Finland, Sweden, France, Latvia
Artist Tags:
tapestry , weaving, textiles, paper, hanging
