Equinox/Equlibrium

The word equinox comes from the Latin aequinoctium, meaning “the time of equal days and nights,” from equi-, meaning “equal,” and nocti-, meaning “night.”
Equilibrium : a state of balance between opposing forces or actions that is either static (as in a body acted on by forces whose resultant is zero) or dynamic (as in a reversible chemical reaction when the rates of reaction in both directions are equal

Care-Clean-Create
Since my partner's Derek's Stroke 18 months ago my life as an artist-traveller has become that of an artist-carer. As such, in addition to care, all of the household tasks inside and outside, largely fall onto me and I now fold my work around the chores that take up a lot of my day. 

I was fortunate. Throughout our lives, we shared the daily tasks, in truth, in the last few years,  and during the pandemic, Derek did more than me. I now find I am needing to find the balance between the domestic tasks of caring, cooking and cleaning with my work as an artist. I do what I do because it needs to be done and I care, yet at times, I just want to escape from the uninvited repetition that this new role of 'care-clean-cook' has imposed on my creative life; where working away from home, and 'being out in the world', has become severely constricted.

I have needed to accept a new way of 'being' where the 'domestic' has seeped, (or at times flooded) into my life. I have a few 'in place' workshops booked in the next few months, and am working on exhibition and commission projects. This has been a positive step for me. 

As we mark the forwarding of the clock for British Summer TIme, when day meets night in equal part. I seek to fulfil my role as Artist-Carer in equal measure.

Walking outside in my garden, to Mote Park or the local footpaths close to home i have become aware of the winter dried stems and grasses gradually becoming brightened by early Spring flowers.

I am currently stitching onto fragmented cloth, (maybe a metaphor for my partner's fragmented brain) and the changes to our lives. The patterns and forms of the veins and nerves of his brain and body scans, eerily echo the tree branches and flora forms we see in the park and our garden through our windows. 

Workshops and Events

”Nice Bit of Stuff”, Fibre and Form from 13th-22 April at the Halpern Gallery. Chatham/ Meet the artists on Saturday 22nd April 12.00-2.00pm

One woman’s vanity case full of her unfinished patchwork pieces becomes the inspiration for 12 artists using textiles to create exciting new work

Working with Words. Embroiderer’s Guild Workshop Tue, 18 April 2023, 19:00 – 20:30 BST. Book via Evenbrite here.  

Workshops coming up in April and including a project an in place workshop in September at West Dean College can also be found on my workshops page on my blog.