Stop Press check out my other website : www.thefrenchweaver.com
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I have been creative ever since I was a young child. It was not until my youngest daughter was born I decided this was something I wanted to do professionally.
That was thirty years ago and I have made creativity and the arts my number one activity. With this enthusiasm and great desire to learn, I have been fortunate to share my skills. For many years I have run workshops and taught in schools, colleges and run summer programs working with Schools and Museums in Dorset, Wiltshire Somerset Bath and in France. My main focus is making Luxury Greetings Cards. This site is for anyone who wishes to purchase Greetings Cards individually made and a gift to be cherished for ever. If you like a design contact me through this site and your choice can be made into practically any size probably no bigger than A3. I can provide cards in packs of 5 or 10 at a special price. All my cards are recyclable, so they can be passed on and on to several receivers until someone decides they like it enough to frame it. They are all made individually so there may be slight variations but essentially all the same design. A 'Maker' is better suited to me as my Creativity and Art Evolves, Diversity is essential to keep it vibrant, interesting and alive. There are so many wonderful materials and techniques to try out. I have an 'A' Level in Art and 'A' Level in Printmaking and studied Art Foundation at Chester College of Further Education. Exploration of mediums has allowed me to experience something completely different, and I love the experimentation of being creative with that. It is so exciting for me to work with diverse processes, I am currently working with Egg Tempera which has a wonderful silky feel under the paintbrush and the results can vary as with glazes or layering for optimum opacity.
Its incredible to think Egg Tempera was used thousands of years ago and still used today. I love the ecological nature of this material and the fact that I can work it with the Encaustic process, embellish it with gilding and best of all can work with very fine brushes. |
My Story |
The slide show depicts a new series of works, the paintings in egg tempera from the drawing stages through to the end. They still need to be varnished so very much a work in progress. The tapestry is taken from the paintings “The Tree of Life - Winter, and the “Tree of Life Summer” these come from being inspired by my environment I am currently working on “Autumn” and “Spring”. The random photograph of a bowl of flowers is just that random but beautiful it’s a contrast from the colourful paintings to the stark black and whites of the photo-painting
'I was born in Orleans, France, and moved to the United Kingdom in the late 1960s due to France pulling out of NATO. My father was stationed at Burtonwood Army Depot, Warrington, Cheshire. It was hard adapting as a young girl living in France to quite a sudden change in lifestyle, climate, and culture. No more ballet lessons, my freedom of wandering around the small French village in relative safety. What I missed the most was the elderly lady who lived with her goats and chickens, whom I used to visit regularly. Our house was a rather large, sprawling house, with a huge loft where my mother kept white doves; they were let out in the morning and by sundown were roosting. Moving to a rather wet and miserable United Kingdom, particularly during the winter in 1967, was tough. Living on base was far cry from France; wire fencing and barbed wire were my new existence.
My father could see how this was affecting me and sent me to Loreto Convent in Llandudno, North Wales. Sadly, it closed after two years, and this was the bringing of the end of my education! By the time I had finished my 'A' levels, I had gone through the French, American, and British school system; I counted 13 different schools. For one reason or another, I lacked academic stability. By this time, my family had moved off base, and we were living near Tarporley, Cheshire. A Victorian country residence, built between 1844 and 1850 in the style of a medieval castle, designed by architect Anthony Salvin, was built for John Tollemache, a wealthy landowner and MP. I'm not going to go into too much detail as I am not writing 'The Great American Novel' just yet!’ This environment was better suited to my introverted personality. I was 13 when we moved to Peckforton, a magical, romantic but downright isolated environment. After-school activities like sports were limited. I was never encouraged to be independent and for years felt lost and unfocused. The only activity which kept me sane during all these years was my art. I took a year out of school at 16 and worked with Dad. This enabled me to think about what I wanted to do with my future. Back in 1976, career guidance was not what it is now. It was like bumbling along. Well, that is my experience of how things were. I had a couple of emotional setbacks. My dog Chuck passed away, and my pony, with my two brothers away at boarding school by now, were my main distraction and companions. There's such a lot of soul searching and angst as a teenager. It is such a huge transition, and so often I felt as if I had no voice, was invisible. I realised no one was going to help me, and I needed to be responsible for any choices I made. I'm not sure how I chose to go to art school. I think by this time I was too old to go back to school, so college became the obvious choice. I applied to complete an Art Foundation at Chester School of Art, under the guidance of Jack Shore, notorious for being hard with students. As there were too many students wanting to do pottery and ceramics, I picked Printmaking as my primary subject. In fact, it turned out to be a good choice for me. I loved college life. I really started coming out of my shell; it was exciting and fun. By the following year, I met my future husband, but he did not want me to further my education into the arts and was encouraged to complete a Post 'A' level crash course in Secretarial Studies, which encompassed typing, audio-typing, accounts, secretarial duties, and Pitman shorthand. This was really out of my comfort zone! I finished the course in 1978, and that June became the first bride to be married at Peckforton Castle. Lady Tollemache had a wooden cross made by the estate carpenter to be put in the chapel in celebration of the occasion. It was a magical day, and I was looking forward to a magical future; funny how romantic love skews your vision. Fast forward twelve years, a divorce, four daughters, and a strange new existence. I picked up where I left off fourteen years prior and reignited my passion for painting. For more than 30 years, I've worked consistently with dedication to my craft. I’ve exhibited with groups and solo. In addition, I completed a Teaching Certificate, which has been instrumental in working with schools, colleges, museums, and working with individuals. My Etsy Shop is my preferred platform for selling my art as I no longer have a shop on this website. I'm also on Pinterest and other social media sites...but the best way to contact me is via email; I usually respond within the same day. |
