Born 1950

I have been passionate about creating beauty all my life. I have had no formal art education after my A level taken as mature student in 1984. Since becoming a book-maker in 2000, I have done several book-making courses through Book North with Hilary Henning and Peter R. Jones, and attended many print-making demos given by UCLAN print technicians who manage Artlab, a practicing printmakers’ group for Lancashire artists.

I escaped from a 'safe' career with a pension, to a commune (Laurieston Hall) in 1974, where my real education began. Though it has to be said that I chose Laurieston on the basis of its feminist politics, having found out how women were treated in the masculine stronghold of town planning.

At Laurieston Hall, as well as all the other things communards have to do, such as growing food, running a conference centre, having meetings, deschooling children, I managed to find time for some art, and produced printed and screen-printed cards and posters.

Between 1979 and 1982 I tried to live in 2 communes at once, and to bring up my son, Finn, (who was born in 1980) in the Laurieston Hall baby group. It proved too hard in the long term to bring up a child between 2 communes and I joined People in Common in Burnley as a full time member in 1982, becoming a carpenter/joiner in Altham Workers Co-op.

Sometime in this period I went to evening classes at Burnley College and took art 'A' level, and created 'The Box Show' in our communal living room, as a spin-off from one of our class exercises of creating a scene in a cardboard box. PiC also organised 'Hootenanny Jamborees' - total participation entertainment, in order to counteract the couch potato culture, which gave me many a chance to show off and be silly.

Sadly, I could not afford either the time or money to go to art college, so when my back could no longer cope with building work, I qualified as a person centred counsellor ( on a course which included a module on the use of creative arts in counselling) and set up my own private practice. Of course, I still found time for my art work as well, including exhibiting a collection of papier mache vases at Haworth Art Gallery in 1997.

In 1994 I went on a Welfare State International funerals course, and began painting coffins, which meant I could use both my art and my counselling skills, and put both at the service of people who were grieving. I have also worked on commission in other areas of art - banner-making, book making - and led workshops.

Since leaving community in 1998 and moving to Lancaster I have begun to concentrate on my art, though I am also still very much involved in trying to make the world a better place, as a Green councillor on Lancaster City Council and through membership of the Lancashire branch of NCBI - National Coalition Building Institute, and organise the marking of Holocaust Memorial Day here in Lancaster each year. I am also involved in Seed Savers who organise Apple Day and Potato Day, and in May 2005 I organised a photo competition of native trees to mark Biodiversity Day.

Making artists books is now my main artistic activity. In May 2006 I received a grant from Arts Council England to make a book using collagraph prints and involving interviewing volunteer beach litter pickers. This has led to a lot of exhibitions of my work. In October 2006 I started an AA2A award at UCLAN print department. It was a seventh heaven experience to spend so much time concentrating on print, and I learned a lot.
link; www.AA2A.org

Art
Screen & hand printed cards and posters. Laurieston Hall 1976-82.
'Lunar Tree Calendar'; calendar and card illustrator,
1995-1997, line drawings and scraperboard, for two colour reproduction.
1999 computer-manipulated drawings and photos (photoshop)
Portrait - 1996 ,
Coffinpainting, - 8 coffins, 1995 - 2001
Wedding banners. Aug 1996, July 1997, Aug 1997
Fortieth birthday banners. 1997
Personal Ceremonies - Banners. Commissioned by Welfare State International, 4 large banners, 5 small banners (all involving calligraphy plus images), 1999.
Hatch, Match and Dispatch - Banners. Commissioned by Welfare State International, 2 banners. (Calligraphy plus images). 2000
Portrait. 2000
Random Days Calendar - illustrator, 2001
Handmade book - commisssion for birthday present 2000
Lancaster's Hidden Treasures Calendar, concept designer and illustrator. 2001
Hebden Bridge Sculpture Trail, co-artist with Chris Coates. 2002
Fullybound book with embroidery inset in the cover, commission. Dec 2003
'The Daisy School'. Co-artist with writer Sarah Hymas. Book of memories based on photos, drawings, interviews re Greaves Park Nursery School. May 2005

Exhibitions -
Box show. Exhibition of art in cardboard boxes with Chris Coates. Dec 1986 Pendle Artists. Annual exhibition. 1987
International Women's Day. Exhibited in women's art exhibition.. Hebden Bridge.1990 International Women's Day. Organised & exhibited in women's art exhibition. Blackburn.
1991
Hawarth Art Gallery, solo exhibition of papier mache, 1997
Lantern House Opening Exhibition. Personal Ceremonies,' 1999. (See Personal Ceremonies, Banners, above)
Gregson Community Centre, solo art exhibition, 2000
Tullie House Art Gallery, Carlisle, 'Hatch, Match and Dispatch', Dec 2000 - Feb 2001 (See Hatch, Match and Dispatch, Banners, above.) One hand made book also on display.
The Millenium Book Project - one handmade book in the exhibition, various venues, 2000.
Annual Contemporary Artists Book Fair, Halifax, 2001-2004
Victoria Gallery, UCLAN, Preston. Group exhibition by Artech, landscape paintings and artists books. Nov/Dec 03
Platform Gallery, Clitheroe. Christmas Crafts Show, artists books, Nov/Dec 03
Ashton Memorial Gallery, Lancaster. Body and Soul, group exhibition by AIM, scraperboards and oil painting. Dec/Jan 04
Sherbourne House, Dorset, Timeline exhibition, 3 books exhibited. May 2004
5athegallery, St Helens, Merseyside. Body and Soul exhibition as above June04
Small Publishers Fair, London, with artistsbooksonline. October 2005
January 07 ‘Book’, artists book exhibition with Artlab, Centre of Contemporary Art, Preston.
February 07 Solo exhibition at More Music, Morecambe, (books and prints).
March 07 Contemporary Book Artists Book Fair, Leeds with Artistsbooksonline.
Mar/Ap 07 Echo artists’ group exhibition, Sultan Gallery, Lancaster, (books and prints) – including talks/powerpoint shows by John Fox and Catriona Stamp.
? 07 Bristol, ‘Regenerator’ – group show of altered books.
May 07 Maritime Museum, Lancaster, in 'Worse Things Happen at Sea'.
May 07 Morecambe Library – small solo show, of ‘Beach Findings’.
May 07 The Artshop and Gallery, Abergavenny, group show with Artistsbooksonline.
June 07 PAD shop and Gallery, Preston, group show with Artlab.
June 07 Wyre Countryside Park, small solo show of ‘Beach Findings’ to coincide with World Environment Week.
Aug 07 Liverpool, group show with Artlab
Sep/Oct 07 ‘For The Love of Books’, Wrexham Art Centre, group show with Artistsbooksonline
Sep/Oct 07 ‘Coast’, Mona House, Morecambe, group show with QSands
10 Nov– 12 Jan 08 Gwynedd Museum & Art Gallery, Bangor, with artistsbooksonline
12-16 Nov 07 ‘Beneath the Tarmac the Grass’, open artist-made book exhibition as part of Tether Festival, in Bromley House Library, Nottingham.
26 Nov-22 Dec 07, Christmas show, Mona House, Morecambe, group show with QSands
25 Jan 08 Exhibition at Nguzo Saba Centre, Preston, with Plaited Fog Artists Group

Courses
Screen-printing workshops, Laurieston Hall, tutor, 1976 - 1982
Poetry workshops for International Women's Day, Blackburn, tutor, 1992
Paper lanterns, Welfare State Internationa.l, lantern workshop, volunteer tutor. Some people with learning disabilities in the group. 1995
Canal Centenary Festival, WSI, banner workshop, volunteer tutor and artist.l996
Collage workshop, Quaker Fellowship of the Arts, tutor, 1998
Banner workshops, tutor,
Wyre Borough Council, (Mixed groups of adults and children.)
July 1998, April 1999, Aug 2000.
Welfare State International, for Growing Old Disgracefully, 1998.
Banner workshops, Lancaster,2002
Bookmaking group, Lancaster, and now Torrisholme, monthly, 2002 -05
Bookmaking workshops for The Adult College, White Cross Education Centre, Quarry Rd. Lancaster 2004/05

Writing
Short Stories. Published in "Spare Rib ". 1978 "Bread & Roses".
Poetry published in Virago collection of women's poetry.1982.
Articles in "Spare Rib", "Peace News","ATTAM". 1976-80.
"In the Gold of Flesh." Poetry published in Virago colleetion of women's poetry.1984 International Women's Day. Led poetry workshops. Blackburn 1992
"Art in Communities." Article for "Diggers & Dreamers". 1995
"Channel" .Writing, illustrating, editing POP. UK (Process Oriented Psychology)Magazine. 1994 - 1997

Events
Community film & video. Film show organiser. 1986-87
Hootenanny Jamboree. Organised and performed in total participation cabaret. Nov 88/89/91
Multi-Cultural Arts Festival. Burnley. Organiser of craft fair. Oct 1991
Millenium Walk in a Wood, temporary environmental art trail, co-artist,Jan 2000, with photographic documentation, leading to 2 hand made books, one photographic, one using images inspired by the trail, and found words.
Photo competition of native trees for residents of Lancaster and Morecambe District. Organiser and co-judge with R. Horner, chair of Wildlife Forum. May 2005

Training
Screen-printing - one-to-one tuition at Laurieston Hall, 1975, (water-based ink) and evening class, Burnley College, 1988, (oil-based ink).
Printing press- one-to-one tuition at Laurieston Hall, 1978
Calligraphy - evening class, Burnley College, 1985
Papier-mache - self taught.
Lino-printing - courses at Mid-Pennine Arts, 1984, Red Water Arts, 1994
Paper-lantern-making - Welfare State International, learning-on-the job, 1995
Banner-making - Welfare State International, learning-on-the job, 1996
Photoshop - one-to-one tuition, Edge of Time 1995, WSI course, 2000
Book-making - self taught, using Alisa Golden's 'Creating Hand-made Books', 2000, and Coptic and Islamic bookbinding short courses 2001
Web design - WSI course, 2000
Coptic, Islamic and traditional western bookbinding, with Book North,2001-2
Printmaking (collographs and screen printing) at UCLAN via Artech.2003

Other Training
Certificate in Further Education Teaching Level 2 - 2004