I am looking forward to taking part in Dovetailing Responses from 4 – 7 November at Ilkley Manor House. More information on this collaborative project can be found here. I’ll be showing a small selection of Offcuts and objects: Dandelion stems, seeds & seedheads; sweetcorn fibre; runner bean stem; bindweed; nettle stem; flax, paper & acrylic.
Offcut: A piece of waste material that is left behind after cutting a larger piece.
Working with materials that might be considered as weeds (waste) but to the artist become precious (due to the time and effort put into their gathering and processing), even the tiniest snippet or offcut seems important. Scattered across the worktable the shapes and tones are like miniature versions of mobile forms, ever changing in their relationship with their neighbours. Seen from different angles as the viewer’s position is shifted (looking through, between and beyond), a collection of offcuts, objects, materials and process speaks of the development of ideas, shifting relationships between materials and forms; the beginnings of conversations.