I really think everyone should draw, without an objective or concern of judgement, just for the love of mark making. If you’re an Artist/Designer it is fairly essential, though the placement of drawing in your practice or project varies greatly and it has taken some time for me to take ownership of and feel comfortable with when and how I go about drawing within a project. Drawing doesn’t feature a great deal in my research but comes in into my process further down the road, into the development stage. Writing, taking photographs, talking to people and collecting research in paper form, this is what I start doing.
When I discovered ‘Conceptual Art’ at the tender age of 17, it kind of blew my mind, though I didn’t particularly like or value a lot of the artwork I discovered back then, I was fascinated by the idea that I could make work that wasn’t decorative or functional, but that could stand on the strength of ideas. As a lover of the grotesque, the permission to make ugly things also was thrilling, I loved that experimental time, still living in my home town of Luton. Marc Dion’s work below was a real inspiration, he was one of the first conceptual artists I discovered and he is still a huge favourite.
Though I strayed away from conceptual Art, my work in theatre and making textiles for costume was all hugely interesting for me and have all fed into my current area of interest; Site-specific Textiles. This new area is a place where I can balance my interests and excercise them fully.
Working more as an Artist and less as a designer the last few years, the most important part of my approach has been in researching and soaking up as much detail about a location as I can. I see the sorting and processing of this early material as a form of writing and drawing together, as relationships and connections are formed, this material sets the foundation for the intention of the work.