It's taken two years with multiple failures to get here. Carvings that crack, paintings that biodegrade too soon, sculptures that become habitats for minuscule insects. But recent studio sessions contain a different taste; the addition of a strength, a quiet certainty - aka knowledge of the materials I work with.
I forage most of materials from the woodlands where I work. I enjoy the naturally occurring shapes in trees, chance alchemy making pigments, test ancient processing methods with sheep fleece.
With so much failure the materials have taught me some core basics, much of which I could have learned from binge watching you tube, but those failures made a different kind of knowledge that has sunk deep.
The learning doesn't stop here, but propels a platform where I can explore a decisive and chosen aesthetic.