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Who would have thought in 1969 when I graduated with a B.A Hons, in History from Vassar College, New York, USA, that over thirty-seven years later I would be making my living from teaching Art in a school and from travelling and exhibiting my batik paintings in the UK, Europe, Canada, USA, Japan, China, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.
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I was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and spent many summers in the SW Scotland. I was educated in both Edinburgh and in England, but pushed Art aside at school to concentrate on more academic subjects. It was only when I was introduced to batik in 1970 whilst I was doing a Post Graduate Certificate of Education in Bristol, UK. that I realised that I had missed out on my artistic education.
I was lucky with my first job as a teacher to be appointed as the Art specialist in a primary school, but soon realised that I had to attend a number of evening Art classes to be one jump ahead of the children! For the first number of years after University, I taught Art in primary schools in Bristol, UK - drawing, painting, collage, weaving, batik and pottery, but soon found that for my own work, I could only concentrate on one technique and that had to be batik. It has a magic that no other technique has and it's amazing how it still inspires me by the many possibilities that it has to offer. I now live in Sussex but spend the summers in Nova Scotia, Canada, where we have a house. (My maternal grandmother was Nova Scotian). I am Head of Art at Cumnor House School in Danehill, Sussex, UK where I have been since January 1986. Many of my students have won art awards to their next schools as well as national competitions. I teach all kinds of Art to children aged 6 -13, but I make it a point that each child has an opportunity to do a batik whilst they are at the school. I try to combine my own work with teaching, which often is almost impossible. Thank goodness for school holidays! I have been fortunate to exhibit in different parts of the world, including Canada, US, China, Japan, Indonesia, Belgium, Germany, France and of course the UK. I have lectured in Japan, China and Sri Lanka and have work in private collections throughout the world. I have been featured in many magazines, including Popular Crafts, The Artist's and Illustrator's Magazine and Home Style Magazine where I demonstrated the technique of batik. In 1994 I wrote 'Decorative Fabric Painting' published by Merehurst Fairfax. I also wrote 'Creative Batik' Search Press in 2001. The DVD 'The Magik of Batik' will be out later this year. In it I show different techniques of applying the wax and dyes. I also show how I work in a painterly way by painting the dyes on the fabric rather than dipping the fabric. My travels and many interests are my inspiration. My work ranges from realistic land and seascapes, sporting scenes (especially rugby and cricket), animals, birds, horses, flowers to abstract images, e.g. reflections, which I create with the wax and dyes on fabric and paper. I try to capture movement, colour and luminosity in my work, as well as contrasting light and shadow. I often handpaint areas with successive layers of wax and dyes, finishing off with a final dip of the fabric in the darkest dye. I also discharge the dyes at different stages and then reapply colour. My work is mainly on cotton fabric and I use Procion MX Cold water reactive Dyes. My batiks are usually framed behind glass although larger pieces are stretched on artists' stretchers. Also, I occasionally do batik and shibori on scarves. I run various batik workshops throughout the year for adults as well as children and have been invited to give lectures/presentations to art societies and conferences. I must have wax running through my veins! Batik has been such a great influence and inspiration to me over the last 37 years. It has allowed me to travel and explore the world. What started as a hobby has become a driving force in my life. Batik has a magic that no other technique has to offer. |
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