The subject matter of my work is as much rooted in the natural world as it is in the art of the past, occasionally my pictures are completely abstract but mostly figurative, predominately landscapes, inspired by where I live in Wales and what I see around me.
I am particularly fond of the period in European art around 1900, and the work of my grandfather, Martin Bloch (1883-1954) remains a prime influence.
If you look at my work hoping for stylistic integrity or any one single ideology you might be confused as I pursue several different approaches simultaneously, what unites my work is a feeling for colour. Self taught as a painter, I aim to achieve a consistent freshness of approach.
Under the Willows, mixed media and oil on canvas.Welsh landscape. Acrylic paintingCoastal path, Pembrokeshire acrylic, original paintingSmall acrylic landscapes.
I began making jewellery as a small child, and have pursued this craft in various forms ever since. As a teenager I experimented mainly with wirework, but in recent years I have focused more on learning beadweaving techniques. This wonderful craft appeals to my love of pattern, my love of vibrant colour, and my love of dainty, precise details. One of the things I enjoy most about working with seed beads is that they can be used to make three-dimensional shapes that are either geometric or curved or both. I also love the tactile element of beadwork – it can be quite slinky and smooth to the touch, and feels lovely to wear.
Beadweaving generally requires hundreds, if not thousands, of tiny glass ‘seed’ beads. Usually, they will be stitched one by one – this requires many, many hours, much patience and very good lighting!
I love the technical aspect within printmaking, sculpture and metal casting- but it has only been in the last couple of years that I have had the opportunity for ‘play’. I inherited an etching press which at first gave me new incentives to explore once again the medium, having studied sculpture and printmaking as a degree in 1990.
Having created The Metal Press, which casts things made into sculpture and jewelery, it has expanded my ideas in so many directions – but always it leads me back to simple enjoyment and engagement with things I love, a wonder with the natural world and a love of objects.
I would like to explore some reproductions of objects next year – or parts of them that I can create sculptures with. What was it about ‘ a machine that can make lace’, just something to marvel at and I hope it never stops. The metal casting is really about printmaking for me too – editions.
I have over 10 years experience in woodland work and working with wood. After watching too many nice pieces of timber ending up in firewood piles I purchased a chain saw sawmill system and began using this wood in a more creative and satisfying way. All the timber I use has come from local woodland management programs or is a by product from local tree surgery work and would otherwise have ended up as firewood.
Trading as wholegrain woodness, I make hand crafted rustic and bespoke furniture and furnishings utilizing the natural form of the wood. I work from my workshop in the bowl of the Preseli hills in north Pembrokeshire, within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and take my inspitation from nature, my surroundings and by using the materials in interesting and unusual ways. I like to keep the design simple and let the wood do the talking and bring out the “wholegrain woodness” in all my work.
