My Work
I am inspired by the South West Coast Path and the sea; things rusting and decaying, lost or discarded and found again, put to new use.
For me, beaches are best in spring and autumn; I am drawn to windswept, solitary places, when a brisk walk on a clear day yields interesting finds to be collected, drawn and stitched. Rust from the landslip at Lyme and Eastbourne’s Fishermen’s beach, stripy Devon pebbles, holed pebbles and oyster shells, fossils, sea glass and tatty feathers. And that view of distant cliffs and sea sparkling in the sunlight.
Items discovered in this way often find their way into my sketchbook. Textures, sounds, lines and patterns all contribute. Words are important, and may appear in the work itself or I may write as part of the development of a piece. I dye and print most of my own fabrics, using Procion dyes, rust and found objects.
My work focuses on atmosphere, walking and collecting; the evocation of a sense of place. The muted colours of the sea and coast are combined with hand and machine stitching to add text, images and texture. The quilting stitch is important, adding interest and a tactile quality to the surface: time spent in quiet contemplation echoing time spent walking and collecting. With a concern for the coastal environment recently I have begun to investigate the various forces which shape our fragile coastline. Shifting and changing constantly with the tides, after a storm everything is different, unrecognisable. Pebbles are arranged and rearranged through the action of the waves. A whole beach can be built and destroyed in a season and I am fascinated by this. Slower geological and natural processes also interest me, my recent work considered longshore drift, particularly the action of waves which formed and maintain Chesil Beach. There is more for me to examine, including the effect of animals and the impact of humans (positive and negative).
My practice centres around Lyme Regis and the Jurassic coast in Dorset. Through my work I endeavour to depict the beauty and fragility of this environment, looking for ways to help people notice the beauty of the coastal landscape and begin to connect more deeply with it. My focus is the apparent tension between the needs of humans and the natural processes that shape the coastline.
Walking on sections of the SW Coast Path is my starting point, offering me a way to experience the place in different seasons and weathers, observe changes, record details and note the passage of time. It is part of a mapping process. I find the geology and the associated coastal processes fascinating - these cliffs have become my colour palette. Local sandstones, chalk, Lias and Greensand (both types of clay) range in colour from soft pink, ochre and white to grey-green and dark bluish-grey.
For me, beaches are best in spring and autumn; I am drawn to windswept, solitary places, when a brisk walk on a clear day yields interesting finds to be collected, drawn and stitched. Rust from the landslip at Lyme and Eastbourne’s Fishermen’s beach, stripy Devon pebbles, holed pebbles and oyster shells, fossils, sea glass and tatty feathers. And that view of distant cliffs and sea sparkling in the sunlight.
Items discovered in this way often find their way into my sketchbook. Textures, sounds, lines and patterns all contribute. Words are important, and may appear in the work itself or I may write as part of the development of a piece. I dye and print most of my own fabrics, using Procion dyes, rust and found objects.
My work focuses on atmosphere, walking and collecting; the evocation of a sense of place. The muted colours of the sea and coast are combined with hand and machine stitching to add text, images and texture. The quilting stitch is important, adding interest and a tactile quality to the surface: time spent in quiet contemplation echoing time spent walking and collecting. With a concern for the coastal environment recently I have begun to investigate the various forces which shape our fragile coastline. Shifting and changing constantly with the tides, after a storm everything is different, unrecognisable. Pebbles are arranged and rearranged through the action of the waves. A whole beach can be built and destroyed in a season and I am fascinated by this. Slower geological and natural processes also interest me, my recent work considered longshore drift, particularly the action of waves which formed and maintain Chesil Beach. There is more for me to examine, including the effect of animals and the impact of humans (positive and negative).
My practice centres around Lyme Regis and the Jurassic coast in Dorset. Through my work I endeavour to depict the beauty and fragility of this environment, looking for ways to help people notice the beauty of the coastal landscape and begin to connect more deeply with it. My focus is the apparent tension between the needs of humans and the natural processes that shape the coastline.
Walking on sections of the SW Coast Path is my starting point, offering me a way to experience the place in different seasons and weathers, observe changes, record details and note the passage of time. It is part of a mapping process. I find the geology and the associated coastal processes fascinating - these cliffs have become my colour palette. Local sandstones, chalk, Lias and Greensand (both types of clay) range in colour from soft pink, ochre and white to grey-green and dark bluish-grey.
Copyright © Terry Donaldson 2010-2022. All rights reserved.
