The weeks have flown by so far in 2024 as I have been extra busy working on text and supplying images for a forthcoming book. It’s an exciting time and more details will follow later in the year.
These cold winter months have also been a good time for me to develop a range of new artwork as I prepare for exhibitions. An eye-catching display of some of my artwork is in the upstairs gallery of Mackenzies Smokehouse in Blubberhouses, near Otley. It is a most beautiful location where I enjoy spending time photographing the stunning nature from the upstairs window:
When I was 15 I began collecting discarded single-use items such as National Lottery scratch cards as I saw a way to incorporate these unwanted items into my art. Below is how I collaged local scenery here in the Yorkshire Dales based on ideas from my own photography:
I also enjoy holding workshops at Mackenzies and below shows an image from the Christmas event I held downstairs in the farm shop, which then raised funds for Maggie’s Cancer Support in Leeds.
My workshops are an ideal opportunity for adults and children to get creative in a relaxed, sociable atmosphere. The next at Mackenzies will be a Mother’s Day-themed workshop on Saturday 9th March from 10am until 12 noon. Below is an example of how I showed children a way of making a Mother’s Day card by recycling old Spanish ONCE lottery tickets that had been donated for my art! Bookings for the next workshop are being taken via Mackenzies.
