I would describe myself primarily as a designer, because of the approach I take to making my layered paper cut pieces, but I would also call myself a paper cut artist as I do use textured papers, paint and ink in my work. My initial ideas are usually hand drawn on paper, then drawn and developed in Illustrator to be more precise, taking great care over each line, drawing by eye rather than by measurement. My artwork has often been described as looking like stained glass or a ceramic tile, which doesn’t surprise me as I have a keen interest in 2D decorative design. However, my artwork is deeply emersed in the stylisation of natural forms as I’m hugely attracted to their colours, textures and patterns, taking the subjects’ natural shape and abstracting them whilst still working to make them recognisable.

My paper cut artwork means a great deal to me and its evolution is the result of my retirement, about three years ago, after many years of teaching Design and Technology at an excellent state school. I’ve been a creative for as long as I can remember and would measure my success by how well my students performed but had no room or time for myself. I was Subject Leader for Graphics and Graphic Products and my creativity would manifest itself through devising interesting, fun and challenging projects for my students to learn and for me to teach. Finally, I had the opportunity to apply those skills I’d honed to my own artwork, although my work now bears little resemblance to what I used to teach.

My paper cut artwork started off being two dimensional with a real emphasis on colour, shapes and pattern to create perfectly symmetrical or asymmetrical designs, using a paper/vinyl cutting machine to generate the cut line accuracy I am looking for. To create my artwork I use various textured papers and mixed media. Selected sections of the design are now being built up, using model making techniques, to emphasise the various parts or features of the design, playing with the idea of movement, light and shadow, elevating a 2D design into a 3D artwork. This approach is rewarding as I really enjoy the problem solving, construction aspect of it and the satisfaction of getting the whole design to fit together. 

I learnt early on, whilst doing a degree course at Farnham (University of the Creative Arts), that my designing ability wasn’t constrained to one subject area or medium as my creativity lent decidedly towards both Graphic Illustration and Ceramics, as well as Jewellery making, an unusual combination which has engendered a broad creative skill set and a wide range of interests. Since then, I have been naturally drawn to ceramics, tile making, 2-D surface design, screen printing, lino-cut and wood block printing and much more besides that. This helps to explain my deep-seated need to experiment with colour, shapes, pattern and textures in my current work, drawing inspiration from an array of styles and cultural influences from ancient and traditional to modern. There’s no denying that an Art Nouveau, Arts and Crafts influence is creeping in!