I live and work by the sea, in a wonky old house in Hastings Old Town.
My house has been in turn, a warehouse, an ice house, various shops (including a grocers and a ladies’ dress shop) and an occasional gallery. It is tucked one street back from the seafront, directly behind the rooms where Rossetti stayed before his marriage to Lizzie Siddal in 1860. The former shop space is now my studio, which I open for exhibitions and events. The first, 'Wish You Were Here', September 2008, featured seven book artists, photographers and film-makers all presenting their work within a suitcase. The exhibition was opened by Iain Sinclair, with film-projections onto the back of The Cutter; a bibliotherapist on the stairs; a tombola; very special cakes and a book stall.
I graduated from BA (Hons.) fine art in 2000, and the graduate certificate in book arts in 2007. My work addresses collecting, hoarding, family history, the homemade, women's craft history, found objects, repetitive action in drawing and needlework; and clothing and objects as memory.
I'm currently working freelance organising small artists' book fairs, writing, curating exhibitions, researching and making new work. I am co-director of Creative Coast, a small arts company which manages the annual Coastal Currents Arts Festival in Hastings.