Catching the Breeze

Mixed media hand stitched book, 210mm x 148mm (double page of A6 sketchbook).

This double page depicts a coastal view of Margate.
Created during a residential for Artists Educators, a chance to breathe in the sea air, see the sights and to work alongside fellow creatives.

The respite of escaping routine of my current landlocked life in Oxfordshire: of teaching, parenting and housework, to make time and space for my own creative practice was very much needed.

I made this handmade book with no intentional narrative and initially used it as just an opportunity to play with colour and materials.
As a small A6 sized hand stitched book of 18 pages, I created and filled most of the pages over one day, completely absorbed into the flow of making.

The irony of catching the breeze, the following day I came down ill with Covid, unable to rejoin the group or having any energy to create anything. This handmade book remains unfinished, yet still connects as a tangible memento of creative play, a seaside souvenir.