From beginning to end I made the flower my focus. However, this was not originally my intention
I wanted to delve into the material fabric like satin and cotton and merge textiles and ceramics as these two practices I had been really getting to know.
I thought to weave these two worlds together could bring me something unexpected I ventured to Derbyshire to do a weaving workshop looked at African art and even went to the cultural evolution exhibition at Quad in derby within these experiences I found two artists of value that I was to eventual connected to my work.
I began my journey by taking the flowers and crushing them down in a jar to create a kind of ink I left for a few days once broken down it was interesting cause although looking at the flower you see pink once it is broken down it fades to a blue then to a brown and so the pigment of what we see is weak although I am drawn to its colour its transformation intrigues me I should film it as it kind of fit my brief traces fading from one colour to another.
I attempted one ink image of me and my mother I didn’t really explore it in the portraits. I was not getting excited this was the only one I did I was suddenly getting the idea to create so much from the flower and that I was to take so much from the flower being resourceful but seeing life take from itself in so many ways. I wanted to make paper from the flower I wanted to weave flower reflecting the human the breakdown the merging of new life forming new
Ideas flowing but still routed with a connection.
I missed the workshop for papermaking as I was not very well so the paper making ideas was abandoned
I then also sandwiched flowers within to a1 and left them under my rug walking over the rug for a week this left a subtle press I wanted to really leave a mark on the paper. At college, I was able to achieve a pressing with a large industrial presser leaving with the turning of the handles the sandwiching of two pieces of paper and flowers I began to explore pressing tightly drawing out moisture from the flower it was depending on the tension I was getting various kind of responses with the flower on the paper.
I then thought to place the flowers in plaster. I did this with no knowledge as to where this would take me
I began to cut it the flower was looking like the insides of a body or the cut of life I wasn’t quite sure at first, I knew I liked what I was seeing but I didn’t what this was how this was reflecting connecting to what I was doing how was I going to develop. I then began to take flowers and print them into the clay. My instincts were driving me with my thoughts on these continuous traces moving forward. In some strange way, my work was giving me thoughts of butchers and the resourcefulness of meat. The entire usage of it .
