| Project Title | Beyond the Sheets |
| Location | Watchet, Somerset, UK. |
| Date | February 2025 – ongoing. |
Artist Statement
I am an interdisciplinary artist and handmade papermaker based in Somerset, UK. My practice explores ideas of collaboration, dialogue, and shared experience.
My work is experimental and responsive, often blending artistic disciplines such as installation, sculpture, and film. Each project becomes a standalone exploration, shaped by material and emotional resonance.
Recent works, such as The Honesty Shop (2024), invite audiences to move beyond passive observation into active participation. I situated myself within the gallery space, where viewers became participants through conversations stimulated by the installation works. The installation was designed to create an immersive experience, engaging audio, dialogue, visual elements, and touch.
Through a combination of traditional craft techniques, multimedia approaches, and socially engaged projects, I seek to create spaces for shared experience and reflective dialogue. Collaboration sits at the heart of my practice, where the creative process becomes an open site of exchange—responsive to material agency, environment, sustainability, and interpersonal connection.
Contextual Statement
Beyond the Sheets is a public-facing project combining a two-day collaborative workshop and a podcast. The workshop, held in a handmade paper mill, explored creative engagement with rag paper and pulp. The podcast captures reflections on collaboration, artistic research, material consciousness, craftsmanship, and sustainability.
The project took place at Two Rivers Paper Mill, located within the East Quay Arts and Culture Centre in the West Somerset town of Watchet, UK. This setting gave the participants a fully immersive experience of the craft, in a creative environment steeped in the history of papermaking.
I had the pleasure of collaborating with Jim Patterson, master papermaker and owner of Two Rivers Paper. Zoe Collis – papermaker, and Sarah Ward – artist printmaker and administrator. Their expertise is invaluable, shaping both my own learning and the participants’ experience, enriching the project with their deep knowledge of the craft and strengthening my future as an artist – craftsperson.
I invited three artists – Lisa Robertson, Jackie Ford, and Sarah Beckerleg to participate my project. I specifically selected experienced, collaborative artists to ensure the focus remained on exploring paper and pulp as a creative medium, rather than simply teaching the process of making handmade paper as a substrate.
Special thanks to my collaborative partner, Sarah Ward, for all her help and support throughout the project.
