Images

Just as I found when I first started working on a computer, that the "medium" of pixels seemed to relate well to tapestry weaving and that in learning to use graphics programs I could experiment with different ideas for tapestry very easily, I have now found that one of the fundamental characteristics of fibre and the work I do with it has been having an influence on my work with the computer.

Texture is one of the reasons I enjoy working in tapestry weaving - texture, structure, rhythm, problem solving, expressing ideas and emotions. Metaphorical and abstract textures - the fabric of a community, the characteristics of the materials that make up a place, the physical and emotional textures or influences of a place or event.

In school workshops I sometimes discuss with the children the texture of sounds or emotions. If the work is extended from weaving to the computer, I would often ask the children to experiment with a graphics program by asking them to try creating patterns that represent the different textures they have been using and creating in their weaving.

My current work on digital prints bears more similarities to my current work in tapestry weaving than just texture. As I found time (20 years or more) a necessity in order to deal with my feelings about Northern Ireland and conflict, so I have also found it helpful in working with the primary subject matter of the prints I am working on now - an area in South West Scotland.

The prints, I hope, are successful as images in their own right but with a little knowledge of some of the elements that make up each image, perhaps there may be a greater appreciation of them. To this end, each image has some brief information about its content.