Artist's Profile and Statement

Pam at work My first creative influences came from my mother. She had an artist's ‘eye’ and she was a maker. She taught me how to look and wonder at the natural world around me and I inherited her love of collecting and finding beauty in the smallest pebble or leaf.

It was my ambition to be a painter but practicalities led me into textile design rather than Fine Art. As well as the basic concepts of craft and design it taught me the characteristics and quality of ‘material’ along with the importance of drawing as a language of organisation and transformation, fundamental to developing skills in all areas of communication.

I returned to Fine Art (Fine Art Printmaking) because of my wish to express ideas and concerns from a different standpoint and with a different emphasis. My love of printmaking was inspired by the Swedish artist and printmaker Birgit Skiold. Her innovative approach gave me a desire to explore not only the techniques of print but also to discover more about the beauty and quality of handmade paper, livre d'artistes and the Japanese aesthetic.

The relationship of technology and material, the physical, intellectual and sensuous processes are all combined in the discipline of print. There is nothing more satisfying than impressing a deep velvety black into pristine white paper!

My ideas, references and inspiration have remained fairly constant. A fascination with landscape, both natural and urban, repetition, order and chaos, shadows of memory, the layering of history are all present in my work.

Through the universal language of abstraction and the use of metaphor, I reflect my personal and universal concerns about the transience of life and nature. By creating work without the constraints of representation the work can exist in its' own right, as an object if you like, which may draw from the viewer a sensation, a memory, a collective recognition of the beauty of form, a perception of space or the purity of a line. Making, building and mark making is evidence of our own existence, past, present and future.

My work is displayed throughout this website, if you are interested in purchasing any pieces please use the Contact Form to get in touch.

Education and experience

Masters Degree in Fine Art Printmaking from Camberwell College of Arts, London in 1996.

B.A. Hons. in Fine Art Printmaking from Cheltenham & Gloucester College of Higher Education (now Glos.Univ) in 1994. I was also Highly Commended in History and Theory of Art and Design.

London Certificate in Art and Design (Textiles) from Hammersmith College of Art, London (now Chelsea College of Art) in 1973.

Over the years I have worked in various areas of art and design. As a textile designer I sold and exhibited work to such places as the Textural Art Gallery, London and Liberty and Co. I was awarded a CAC Craftsmans Grant and was given a residency at Fosseway House Workshops as a tapestry weaver. More recently I have worked as a printmaking technician and visiting lecturer in Printmaking, a gallery assistant and occasional Art reviewer. I have also worked as a picture framer, specialising in hand painted frames and have run various workshops in Printmaking, Papermaking and Mixed Media.

Exhibitions

I have exhibited across the U.K. and abroad taking part in such exhibitions as The Jerwood Drawing Prize, The National Print Exhibition, RWA Annual and Open Exhibitions and Fresh Art.

My work has been exhibited in the following selected galleries: