Current artwork projects
{Originally published as a blog item I wrote for the Climatecultures.net website published on Sept 8, 2025}. I can never remember a time in my life when I did not prefer to be outside rather than inside. Growing up on a farm, in a small village on Dorset, the open spaces outdoors in all seasons [ ]
Transhumant herders have in-depth knowledge of the environment, and ecological balance, as this is one of the most sustainable, efficient livestock farming methods.” (UNESCO: Intangible cultural heritage. Transhumance, 2019) Transhumance is a type of rural, nomadic, pastoralism where livestock is moved from one grazing area to another more remote area, in a seasonal cycle. It [ ]
Now back in Selborne, Hampshire for a long stay, it’s interesting to reflect on the particular enduring features of the place. Selborne in North East Hampshire is a village of some 700 people, best known for the continuously published book ‘The Natural History and antiquities of Selborne’(1789) written by Gilbert White (1720-1793). The book is [ ]
Visit to Stephens State Park in NJ. A treasure and a surprise.
Setting out to collect soil samples to make into painting pigment, I often reflect on the deep history of this process. I think of cave dwellers using the earth to make pigmented paint or drawing materials, and using these as an integral part of cultural ritual. Evidence from South Africa and Australia point to earliest [ ]
New Year, fresh start. I am now exploring further how landscape is and can be expressed through the natural materials that comprise it. Just looking down at what’s below your feet gives you one view of landscape albeit a small one. The colours and textures are simply magnified when you look up and around. I [ ]
With the doubtful privilege of being the first bee to be endangered in the US, the rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) population continues to fall year on year. This bee species is native to the Eastern US including New Jersey and was an excellent pollinator of wildflowers, cranberries, and other important crops, including plum, [ ]
There is no English tree which has gathered round itself so much of historic, poetic, and legendary lore as the Yew; none is so closely associated, directly or indirectly, with events, persons, and buildings, which are famous in our national history. – Lowe (1897) The Yew-Trees of Great Britain and Ireland Growing up in Church [ ]
The verb botanizing was first used around 1750 to describe collecting or investigating or studying plants in their natural habitat. I had never heard the word until 2020 when the Small Miracles project –exploring local plant species and their pharmacological uses was underway. Botanizing was very popular in the 19th century, and of course [ ]
The pandemic has upturned everyone’s lives in 2020 and we all quietly adapt, as we must. In recent months, it has still taken me a long time to get back to writing a blog. So here goes. I found it VERY hard to start creating work from March onwards- and well understand those who can t [ ]