Being Shortlisted

I was thrilled when I heard that my artwork ‘Be More Daisy’ was short listed for the Chaiya Art Award. This is the 3rd time the competition has run and 2023’s exhibition ‘Awe and Wonder’ will be held at the Oxo and Barge House Galleries from 7th - 16th April. This work represents a new way of working for me and I had to learn a new set of processes, so it is especially pleasing to have it selected.

Inspiration

More often than not nature inspires my work. Although an appreciation of nature fuels a desire to minimise our impact on the planet, it can feel overwhelming sifting through the volume of information and advice available to us, advice which isn’t always clearcut. But we do all need to make changes, however big or small and my aim for this piece was to make work with as little impact on the environment as possible.

Materials

It has been very rewarding creating this work mainly from things that would otherwise been thrown away. I have been touched by a stranger’s donation of old cotton sheets and astonished by the variety of colours that I’ve extracted from onion and avocado skins and the quality of printing they have produced. 

Background Imagery

I didn’t have to look far to find newspaper head Iines referring to the impact our actions have on the environment. I cut the headlines out of the paper and collaged them together and this became the image for my silk screen. I used the screen to print and over print the natural dye colours onto the background cloth. It seemed appropriate to me that the some of the printed words are not as clear as others! The lighter and darker areas of the background are joined on a slight curve to echo the curvature of the earths surface.

Focal Point: Why Daisy?

Rather than being one single flower, a daisy head is made up of lots of individual flowers which work together for their greater good and astonishingly adjust their position so they always face the light. We too need to make adjustments, however big or small and work to minimise the impact on the planet. The daisy seemed a fitting symbol for the focal piece of this work.

Designing my daisy

Although gardeners may not agree with me, I felt lucky that I had daisies growing in my lawn when I was in the design phase. Crouching down I managed to get some interesting images of daisies but it was only when I picked a couple and photographed them indoors that I felt I could get close-up to the daisy.

An image of a ‘perfectly formed’ daisy wouldn’t have been in keeping with the piece and so I digitally manipulated the image until I achieved a more abstract design but still one that incorporated the essence of a daisy. (See images above)

Stitching

With the background printed and the daisy design selected, I was sure that I was on the home straight with the stitching but this element proved more troublesome than I expected. I wasn’t short of ideas but many of them got lost on the background. Two of the more successful samples are shown above. In the finished work, fabric paint was added to the stitching on the daisy petals to make them more discernible from the background.

Conclusion

Screen printing is often key to my textile work and learning how to screen print with natural dyes has been interesting and enjoyable. My collection of old sheets has grown and I’m keen to use these again whenever possible. I feel very honoured to have been selected for the exhibition. Thank you Chaiya Art Awards for the opportunity.