NEW ‘TIME AND TIDE’ EXHIBITION WAITS FOR NO MAN, OR WOMAN

TIME AND TIDE will be shown in the Long Gallery, upstairs in the beautiful 250-year-old building of Black Swan Arts in the heart of the renowned creative market town of Frome in Somerset. The gallery is open daily 10am - 4pm and is free entry.

TIME AND TIDE explores seasons of change and transformation inspired by lunar folklore, and is my second major solo show, following on from my well-regarded 2021 show, ‘Moonlit’, at MAKE Southwest, in Devon. The exhibition includes The Museum of Nearly Lost and not Quite Found, a collaborative piece made by me using contributions from members of the public to create an intriguingly presented jam jar museum.

Another work, By The Light of the Moon, sees me stitching in time with the moon cycle every night for a year, to create a large-scale piece with an overview of the hand-stitched data that shows 13 moons over 384 nights in the form of a grid of ink-dyed pocket handkerchiefs. Here is what some visitors to my last show had to say about my work:

’Very touching and thought provoking, beautifully made and presented’

‘Stunning exhibition; gentle and kind, full of patience and thought’

My work captures things at the cusp of change – a moon, a moth, a girl, a woman, the tide. In this exhibition I try to show how the rituals of daily noticing, recording and making can foster appreciation of the quiet transformation happening around us. I’m inspired by traditional folk craft, and I embrace the prosaic nature of these techniques to create work that become love-letters to the passing of time.

My work is influenced by nature and the marks we leave behind and attempting to preserve both. I find myself trying to straddle the gap between human control and letting nature, the elements, life cycles and time take the lead – adapting my materials accordingly, and in response to – a situation or object as I find it. I seek to catch a transient moment and hold it forever

The exhibition opens on 2 March and runs until 14 April, 10am - 4pm each day

Black Swan Arts, in the heart of market town of Frome in Somerset. Their vibrant and varied programme features contemporary and innovative art and crafts. They are a popular arts venue for the creatives of Frome and beyond.

Long Gallery | Black Swan Arts, 2 Bridge Street, Frome, Somerset, BA11 1BB

Moon Stitch ritual

By the light of the moon | A 30 day moon phase stitch ritual

A work in progress; this was the beginning of a year-long project stitching by the metaphorical light of the moon. This series represents the first moon cycle in the project - THE CROW MOON 23rd February - 23rd March 2020 [made before and during the beginning of the UK Covid-19 lock-down].

I dyed pocket handkerchief squares and circles of cotton fabric with black ink. Each night I stitched an individual 'moon' within the circle of an embroidery hoop. I stitched in sync with that night's moon cycle I found the quiet night time ritual essential in keeping mental health in check; a repetitive, mindful and comforting activity, and the one constant during turbulent times.

The project is on-going, and I have now decided to continue to follow the moon for a whole year…watch this space!