A mixed media artist and Integrative Arts Psychotherapist, working in multi dimensions through digital photography, collage, clay, sculpture, video and ritual, whose art explores environmental themes
I am an artist working in mixed media and multi dimensions. My most prolific output is currently in the form of digital photography. I also work in collage, clay, sculpture, digital video and ritual. I allow the creative impulse to guide my choices of the expressive medium for a particular idea or project and I am open to trying new things as ideas inspire.
I am inspired by a deep love of and respect for the Earth and my work has often drawn upon the symbolism and traditions of ancient cultures because their Earth-based spirituality appeals to my sense of connection with nature and I regularly return to the female form in my sculptural work. My work is also informed by my practices of yoga, meditation and dance. My creative practice is complemented by working as a UKCP accredited Integrative Arts Psychotherapist. Both practices influence and nourish each other.
My art work in recent years has taken on overt environmental themes, reflecting on the impact of human disconnection from Nature on our planet and ourselves in the form of pollution and climate change, and decreased mental health and well being respectively. I have a sense of collective responsibility with regard to addressing the environmental challenges we all currently face, which I am sometimes inviting others to reflect on through my work. I believe that we need to recognise and feel the full impact of our destructive choices before we can make lasting positive changes to address what we have collectively done through our belief that we are separate from nature.
Art making is a way for me to engage with the multitude of conflicting feelings that arise in response to witnessing the Earth’s changes and recognising that I participate in destructive behaviours. Experiencing and sharing the beauty to be found in everyday life through creating and sharing images balances the heaviness that can accompany awareness of our environmental challenges. I also think art-making plays an essential role in reconnecting ourselves with our deepest selves, each other and nature, which I believe will facilitate our capacity to find creative solutions to our worldwide environmental challenges.