INSPIRATION

My work is inspired by the natural world around me. I take great pleasure in being out in the countryside including the many hours I spend in my hillside garden.

Dogs are a large part of my life and much of my time is devoted to exercising my two adorable spaniels. It is on our walks that I often get my inspiration through encounters with birds, animals and flora. Walking by a field of wheat or barley the unmistakeable sound of a skylark catches my attention. The harder task is glimpsing the source of this beautiful song high above me. On a forest trail I make out the form of a roe deer as he flits across the path ahead of me. On a steep descent into the village early in the morning or at dusk I sometimes look up to see a flash of white as a barn owl quarters the hedgerow.

The garden at Quarry View gives me an endless amount of inspiration and ideas for my embroidery art.  I grow lots of bright colourful flowers that I can recreate in my work.  I study them throughout the seasons and try to capture their different stages of development: an ostrich fern leaf beginning to unfold in spring; an echinacea flower reaching full bloom; the beautiful structure and translucent colour of the eryngiums; perennial poppies and their amazing seed heads; and the abundant daisies in our wildflower meadow.

In my garden I see lots of interesting birds from buzzards circling above, to a tawny owl I once disturbed among the garden ferns. On one occasion when I was weeding I suddenly noticed the earth next to me moving to reveal a mole emerging from the ground. Along with an abundance of garden birds I regularly encounter rabbits, partridges, pheasants and sometimes even stoats.

At a time when many people are losing their connection with mother nature and her healing qualities I hope my work will inspire others to pause and reconnect with the beauty of the world around them.