1 - Could you explain your practice? Only you know why you do what you do.
My practice has developed out of a love of surface and process and through trying to find a medium to record and express my fascination with sense of place and the memories that can be held from previous human habitation. I have always been interested in pushing print processes and using them in ways that perhaps are not standard. For me, making art is about recording your ideas but in a way that is non-permanent.
Collagraph printing always reveals surprises and I think that is why I continue to explore its limits: by using household packaging to create intaglio ‘drawings’ I like to incorporate the accidental and play with what can make marks. I also like that there is zero waste from using low-fi print methods at home: everything can be recycled.
My practice has evolved through being a busy working mum and teacher, and this has shaped the media I have stuck with: I end up with pockets of time to create a response to the places that I visit and so the scale and process that I use are very much influenced by that. I do not currently have access to a studio, so finding that you can adapt a die-cutting press for intaglio printmaking has really helped me to explore my ideas in different ways.
2 - Is art relevant today?
Yes definitely, it will always be relevant as a core part of what makes us human: we should always remain curious about the world we are in and art is a massive part of that.
3 – We are always asked what other artists influence us, we want to know what art you don’t like and which influences you?
I am not a great fan of commercial art and I am more influenced by the ‘ordinary’; rust on a weathered sign, peeling road paint. The artists I admire are interested in the process and similar subject matter. I have found a real network of like-minded artists and printmakers who are genuinely supportive since learning how to share my creative exploits on Instagram and this is where I am most influenced to continue to create and experiment.
4- If you could go back 10-20 years what would you tell your younger self?
I would tell my younger self to keep drawing and creating new ideas and not to stop because of the demands of teaching!
5 – If you could go forward 10-20 years what do you hope to have done or not done?
I hope in the next ten to twenty years that I have found the magical life-work balance that can be quite elusive! I would like to save the money to convert our garage into studio space so that I can run classes, as there is nothing local here to access. I dream that I may have had regular access to a larger etching press to explore larger scale work and fabric printing (which is what I graduated in) and I would love to do some site-specific residencies once I am old enough to ‘retire’…..!
the title and year (see separate email – Crossland PoW Hut 1 printed in Dec 2021)
web site www.ghostbuildings.wordpress.com
Instagram handle @iacartroom
