The Sanctuary project was pure creative indulgence on a massive scale, initially based on limited knowledge and naïve enthusiasm. The idea was to make something from nothing, with a combination of plenty of energy and no money.

The cliché that landscape design is about four dimensions: the fourth being time itself, makes it all the more challenging and fascinating.

The motivation behind having big ideas and creating something from whatever materials you have to hand is an absorbing concept. It is a joy to watch things come to life. The fact that we had to be enterprising gave us a greater sense of achievement. It was fun. There was immense satisfaction to be had to be had in sitting down to enjoy the fruits of our labours after a hard day’s toil. The luxury had been earned.

It is the doing of it; the making of it that provides the most pleasure.

My earliest influence was the seemingly boundless countryside where I grew up, and the endless freedom to roam and explore. In my teens I worked for an inspirational artist- craftswoman who taught me skills in ceramics, printmaking and typography. She was instrumental in my acceptance to Art College when I was seventeen. My path to higher education was set, and I owe it to her.

My design training initially resulted in me setting up a successful textile design business, and as my interest in gardening developed I returned to education to study horticulture and landscape design. I enjoyed the challenge of designing a wide variety of gardens for private clients.

In all my work, I use what I have to hand. I try to simplify complex ideas. I make lists and work steadily at several projects at a time, sometimes stepping back to reformulate my ideas. One piece of work may complement or follow on from another, or their difference can provide a space and contrast from each other.
I do not hoard materials “in case” I might use them, or crave attention for what I do. I have what I need, I enjoy my work and am happy to move on when the time is right.

My garden ideas and my art work follow the same themes:

Change and Order: times and seasons in the garden, patterns and themes with the wooden blocks.

Making something with what comes to hand: most of the garden projects, textiles and quilts from recycled vintage fabrics

Using a variety of techniques: Garden – being resourceful to achieve the result, Art: illustrations, paintings, printmaking, collage.

For me, this website which is produced from writings from my journals, art work and photographs, is not about looking back. It is my way to collate my work and ideas into a format. I hope you enjoy it.

Keep looking forward

 

Thank you All

Most importantly, heartfelt thanks and love to G; without whom the completion of this and countless other lifelong projects and hare-brained schemes would not have been possible. His positivity, his patience, his love and his enthusiastic support have uplifted me through thick and thin.

I owe a debt of gratitude to the women of the earlier generations of my family; my Mother, my Grandmother and to G’s Mother, for their encouragement and kindness, and for their belief in me.

Over the years many friends have shared their love of gardening, expertise and advice, and have generously passed on cuttings, seeds and plants from their own gardens. Other friends I love simply because they ‘get me’ and no explanations are required.

Thanks to Andrew and the team at NETBOP who have visualised my random ideas so expertly.