New work

Hello everyone. I hope you are all keeping well.

It has taken me a little bit of time to settle into this unusual time and to discover how I will be for what looks like to be the foreseeable future.  I had a period of anxiety and being scared in the first few days and found that I couldn’t think about, let alone focus on my work. But by not looking at the news (something I recommend) or social media I have relaxed into what is now my new normal. I am lucky to be a person who is never bored and I can always find something to do. So as well as cleaning things that haven’t been cleaned for years, I have been knitting, baking, taking a daily walk, and making some new work.

After the first few unsettling days I found that my mind was beginning to clear and ideas started to percolate. I began to make. There was no great concept, just some materials and my hands. I let things take their own course and allowed myself just to do what I like to do. I have finished these two small pieces of related work. Both sets are made up of 24 tiny little thumb-sized pots. One set is salted and the other set is waxed. One set is enclosed the other set isn’t. The pebbles at the bottom of each pot have been gathered on my daily walk down to the beach.

This is an extraordinary and exceptionally challenging time but I am trying to think of it as special period where I can quietly be and let my mind wander where it will. I have already started another piece of work and will show that to you when it is finished.