Nature’s Systems: a new exhibition at Jeannie Avent Gallery

As a sculptor what do you do when you are told you have tennis elbow and must rest your arm for a while - three months as it turned out? The answer for me was something that I had been wanting to do for a while, go back to painting.

Tam Giles, a fellow artist, was working on tidal issues in the Thames and near Camber, where her daughter lives; and as I was not able to carve wood any longer, I wanted to look at it in another form - trees and the spaces in between.

I have also been looking at plant shapes and patterns combined with the colour patterns that my grandmother uses in her crochet blankets.

Tam and I decided to put together an exhibition based on natural shapes, and on 6 March, Nature’s Systems will open.

The elbow is on the mend, which is lucky as I have a commission to work on, so a big thanks to the physio department at Guys hospital.

I also work as an artist on a lot of community projects - of various types. In 2006 I managed to secure £95,000 Lottery funding from the community fund, for the Heart Garden at Art in the Park - Burgess Park. This is a gardening and art project which I manage on a Friday. We are looking for a new member for the project if you are interested.

Have you seen the pebble mosaic in Bellenden Road - the Komodo Dragon? That’s mine. You can read an article about this and other aspects of my work in another article on Dulwich OnView - and my own website.

Nature’s Systems, our exhibition of painting and some sculpture, starts 6th March at the Jeannie Avent Gallery, North Cross Road, East Dulwich (Fri- Sun 10-6)