MULTIDISCIPLINARY ARTIST LIVING & WORKING IN SAINT IVES, CORNWALL.
OPEN STUDIO AUG & SEPT. FOR ANY INFORMATION ON SALES, COMMISSIONS OR TO ARRANGE A STUDIO VISIT PLEASE USE CONTACT FORM.
PAINTING, CARVING & ASSOCIATED PURSUITS
CREFFT IN THEORY
CELF
Crefft is the Welsh word for Craft. Whereas 'craft' in English has evolved to have connotations of hobbies and pastimes, in Welsh it still retains some of its original meaning of traditional skills and expertise. That is, concise and deliberate pre-determined action, towards an exact and practical destination. Through a deep knowledge of the parameters of a material, and continual practice, it is possible to gain understanding and be able to manipulate that material in complex ways with precision. By this practice, I believe a person can establish a unique 'handwriting' within their work that shows through every piece, reflecting both personality and preference. My own preference has always been to create work by hand that appears to be made by machine.
Alongside woodwork, I was drawn to knitting and sewing from an early age, watching my mother and grandmother practice these skills as part of the quiet rhythm of everyday life. From these early observations grew both a lifelong interest in the migration of skills from one medium to another, and the realisation that one could customise existing objects or to create the things that didn't yet exist, but which you wanted in your life. Almost unconsciously, I began to understand that each material carries its own parameters, limits and possibilities and that to work meaningfully is to listen to what a material allows. This understanding has come to define my approach to practice: designing with, rather than against, the nature of a medium in order to fully explore an idea. Through textiles, book-binding, woodcarving and other disciplines, I found a window into the deep tradition of craft and, in doing so, a clearer sense of my own position within the wider vocation of art and design.