
ALL ABOUT ME!
I am a Mixed Media Book Artist creating unique and exquisite one of a kind miniature hand crafted books and folios using centuries old antique ephemera fragments sourced from around the globe, mixed media, rust and copper elements, vintage dyed textiles and an array of vintage papers and original photographs. I am lucky enough to call the UNESCO World Heritage Georgian City of Bath, UK home, where I work from my studio.
My inspiration finds its origin first and foremost from the papers themselves. They are my guides and muses and offer themselves freely to be reinvented, repurposed and given a new historical context. Never forcing my ideas onto them, I just softly add my own layer of history. Working in dimensions often less than 5” x 3” my books are made from scratch, working in traditional binding format, reversed binding techniques or my own Rebellious Stitching technique.
I work with both vintage, sepia and B&W original photographs, antique paper ephemera fragments, stitched eco dyed textiles using inventive printing techniques, mark making, line work, stencilling and stamping where ideas take root and grow not within a linear narrative context but with a gentle intuitive and holistic approach.
These precious ancient fragments seduce me with their potential. Their texture, odour and fragility feed my imagination and act as a compass. They are the impetus and genesis for the birth of a new handmade book to take shape. Worn and torn patinas, often heavily distressed and handled over centuries of page turning lay between my fingers readily charged and responsive. I lean into the idea of repurposing and reinventing.
I owe my entire creative practice to these talismanic muses who keep me company during long days in my studio.
Often working with a muted, moody, grungy and dark colour palette I explore ideas of disintegration, deterioration and imperfection. Just call me “A Wabi Sabi Maker of Books”.