Influences & Inspiration
Wonder Tales
My work is inspired by the generations of artists and storytellers who have kept our folklore, fairytales and urban legends alive and relevant to us to this day. I have always been drawn to fantastical, magical worlds where the ordinary and mundane interweave with the extraordinary and supernatural. We all need a safe familiar space where we can explore our feelings of doubt and fear within the safety and confines of these ancient narratives. In the wise words of our ancestors, "if there is a way into the wood, there is also a way out"...
Grandma's House
The seeds were sown at an early age by my maternal grandmother, who loved nothing more than to give us a polo mint (before bed time and after cleaning teeth) and regale us with stories of her youth. She was incredibly superstitious and prone to resort to her store of old wives tales. We were told to "never do your laundry on New Years Day or you will wash someone out of the family", or to "never give gloves as a gift or you will fall out". I still dare not do either of these things for fear of the consequences.
However, she really did instill a love of stories and myths in me, which I continue to explore. My work sometimes strays from these themes, but I usually find myself drawn back to the forest.
Past Life & Other Influences
I have a BA in painting and printmaking and also gained an MA in illustration in 2008. I have worked as a scenic painter, pavement artist, mural painter and for one surreal week, a dresser for Rugrats - The Musical at Wembley Arena ( an interesting aside ).
Many of my ideas and themes are based around folklore, fairy tales, old wives tales and urban legends. I also take a lot of inspiration from the art of the theatre, fairgrounds and historical costume, especially from the Georgian period up to the 1970's. Some of my favourite Artists, who have also been a massive influence, are Goya, Hogarth, Lotte Reiniger, Edward Gorey, Ronald Searle and Paula Rego. I also want to acknowledge one of my favourite authors when I was growing up... Joan Aiken, who inspired me beyond words.