'To him all good things, trout as well as eternal salvation,
come by grace, and grace comes by art, and art does not come easy.'
(Norman Maclean)
It is hard to resist the tranquil and beguiling nature of fish;
they’re almost hypnotic to watch. The
elegant simplicity of form, graceful movement and vibrant colours are
amongst their most endearing qualities.
When we were young my mother regaled us with tales of her
childhood Christmases and expectations. The most evocative of which,
was her recollection of the gifts sent from her grandmother.
The much anticipated annual parcels of homemade toys and dolls, I always
felt was reminiscent of the Laura Ingles Wilder stories. The similarities
that exist between my mother’s life and Ms Wilders' despite their place in
history, I feel are still relevant today. Proverbs, propaganda and
idioms such as 'waste not want not', 'make do and mend' and 'the devil makes work for idle hands',
in addition to a prudent instinct for hoarding scraps continue to span the
generations. No doubt, what are the echoes of my mother’s
childhood, has become a fundamental ethos that permeates
my daily life. I
feel that these values are portrayed in the fish that I created
over the recent festive period as gifts for my nearest and dearest.
The initial inspiration, for my fish creations was taken from my
ever growing cache of fabrics, some are now quite rare. Unfortunately, fabric departments and shops,
once all abundant in choice are now sadly in demise. What was formerly
a precious resource containing bolts of exotic cloth, trimmings and
notions are rapidly becoming artefacts of yesteryear. I need alternative
sources to improve my material well being.
The proposition 'something from nothing' suggests, to
me, that some importance is attached to what was
previously lacking. That addition, I believe, comes in the form
of inspiration, time and creativity often driven by necessity. I wanted to showcase how precious scraps of fabrics and rags could
be transformed into a gift and not merely discarded or thrown out. The fabrics used are all remnants from previous
projects including upholstery, curtain and dressmaking endeavours.
'Good things come to those who bait'
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