New Food & Drink Collages......

I'm working on a series of new food collages at the moment for a publisher. They are going to be square format cafe cards. Its a really nice job to do and I'm enjoying the challenges. They are taking quite a long time to do as there is a lot of detail involved and a lot of balancing to make them fit the rest of the range.

My favourite time of year....

I love this time of year as colour starts to emerge once more after a long, cold winter. Much as I love the bleakness and the bare beauty of winter and the effect it has on the landscape, I like it more as the first flowers emerge in the garden and the flower stalls fill up with candy coloured treats. I have felt much more inspired with my camera lately than I have done for ages. On my table in my studio I have a cream coloured jug full of the palest pink tulips and gerberas, they are so delicate they look like they are made from paper. All week I have watched them through my camera and recorded them in changing light at different times of the day. I feel like I am dissecting them with my eyes but constantly finding more to see and record as they change. The garden is an even greater distraction, Snowdrops this year are just everywhere and must be one of my favourite flowers to take picture of, they have such a beautiful and delicate shape.

Love Trees....

Here is one of the new designs I have been working on for my agent's next set of meetings in New York at the end of March. I wanted the designs to be really fresh and clean.

Art in schools.....

I've been working in schools quite a lot lately as an 'artist for learning'. I really enjoy working with children and I love the uninhibited flow of their creativity, its really inspiring to challenge their ideas and imaginations and see what they can produce.Over the past two weeks I've been working on a project looking at Indian elephants in a very decorative way and helping children make 'paper batiks' - oil pastels and dyes on paper.
Our main influence has been looking at Indian embroideries and we've added collage elements using wallpapers and fabrics and foils to mimic 'shisha mirrors' etc. The artwork they have produced is so individual and unique with lovely colours from the dyes. I have a separate blog for my Art workshops with children but I wanted to post some of the work here because its so beautiful. the children who made the work are aged 5 - 10 years.

See more at The Art Club website!