Studio
I am often asked where I work and so I have decided to devote a page on this website to my working areas. I make no apologies for the untidiness of these workshops. It should be remembered that my practice is based on recycling and I cannot govern the rate at which recyclables arrive from my generous donors. My principal objective is to produce products from the materials that will appeal to my customer base. Raw materials tend to accumulate around the workshop.
UK Workshop
In the UK I work in a converted double garage.
1. This is my principal fabric stash, located on purpose built shelves on the South Wall. The sources for these include donations and purchases from Charity Shops.
1. This is my principal fabric stash, located on purpose built shelves on the South Wall. The sources for these include donations and purchases from Charity Shops.
2. When I started cutting my own rubber stamps I quickly found that I needed to create a reference system so that I could locate them whenever I needed to use them to produce more images. I started numbering them, posting them on the walls and filing them in order. At present there are 230 images posted on the walls, starting on the South Wall, on the left of the photo and extending round onto the West Wall. Below the images are concertina files containing collage materials and plastic bags containing paper and fabric images from my stamps.
Below the shelf are black plastic crates which hold the bulk of my old commercially produced stamps which I still use for specific projects such as Alice and Frida Journals and also for commissions. In front of these are two swivel chairs one covered in cream leather that I use for the titles on my Little Leather Books and the nearer one has miscellaneous papers and cards for use on my recently acquired Printer.
On the right hand side are two six foot tables, obscured by work in progress
Below the shelf are black plastic crates which hold the bulk of my old commercially produced stamps which I still use for specific projects such as Alice and Frida Journals and also for commissions. In front of these are two swivel chairs one covered in cream leather that I use for the titles on my Little Leather Books and the nearer one has miscellaneous papers and cards for use on my recently acquired Printer.
On the right hand side are two six foot tables, obscured by work in progress
3. Crates containing bought in commercial rubber stamps.
4. The framed pictures on the West Wall above the shelving are from my metallic range and date from the 1990s. On the top shelf are more containers of commercially produced stamps. The books on the shelves are my Art Journals which are numbered for reference. The sliding drawers hold my Lynne Perrella rubber stamps and my hand cut word stamps, such as Travel, Collage etc.
In the foreground is the first of the two six foot tables which are located back to back to those in the second photo. Down the middle I have two shelves on which the indexed stamps are located. Below the books on the table are more of the indexed stamps.
In the foreground is the first of the two six foot tables which are located back to back to those in the second photo. Down the middle I have two shelves on which the indexed stamps are located. Below the books on the table are more of the indexed stamps.
5. The door on the North Wall leads through to my Workshop. The bookcase houses various inspirational monographs on artists. The artwork above the bookcase is a self portrait by Inge Clayton.
6. This is my sewing and cutting out area. I usually do my cutting out on the ironing board. The bookcase on the South Wall contains Gardening and Art & Craft reference books. Above the pin board on the East Wall are two Inge Clayton works. The Blazer on the back of the swivel chair was my Mum's and I haven't yet used it in my work.
7. I use the surface on the right to assemble my books. The lower shelf houses various sized clips and ribbons. On the top shelf are maps for my Little Leather Book end pages and printed titles for my fabric covered books. The modest lady on the wall is another work by Inge Clayton. Below the work surface are bins containing denim, velvets and tweeds for my shoulder bags.
8. This is the South(back) side of my Book assembly area. The white papers are recycled matts and w/c papers sized ready for 10"x 8" and 7"x 5" collages. The frames are 10"x 8" ready for use at UK shows.
9. This table is used for any work that I prefer to sit down for.
10. I use my new Pookie Printing press on this table. On the top shelf are hand cut stamps corresponding to the indexing system.
11. This my principal hand printing area for both printing on fabric and on paper/card.
12. The view from my hand printing area shows on the left the beginning of the fabric stash, two more Inge Clayton works and an Anne Leuck painting above the start of the hand cut stamps index.
I will add photos of my Evanston workshop after I return in November.