Textiles Based on Walks in Sompting Estate

When I moved to Worthing in 2018 I knew I would be able to walk to the sea, but didn’t realise I was within walking distance of the equally beautiful Sussex Downs landscapes.  As an artist with a focus on nature’s seasonal shifts and transient colours, I am always walking, observing, taking photos and making colour studies to inform my artworks.

Sompting Lane

Sompting Estate is described on it’s website as ‘a place where people and nature thrive’. I discovered this to be the case during lockdown; it really did provide a sanctuary from the nearby noisy A27 motorway.  A working estate which combines farming, residential, business and conservation, it promotes walking and cycling opportunities for the community and open access flower and butterfly rich wildlife sites. 

In the New Year I decided to make this local landscape the focus of my work for 2022, building a sense of this place to create one textile piece each month.  Working in one location over time and watching seasonal changes links to previous projects including a group residency at Sussex prairie Gardens in 2015-16.

A sense of place

I considered better known local locations like Cissbury Ring, but the ability to walk from my front door feels right for the personal and sustainable aims of my artwork.

During January and February my focus has been on the beauty of the trees with their skeletons silhouetted against both blue and grey skies.  The textured tangle of old man’s beard, brambles, hawthorn branches and seed heads offering foreground details and patterns.  During this month the landscape is at it’s baldest, but the structure of the trees really have a chance to shine, especially at dawn and dusk.

First completed piece