9 years ago, I found myself on maternity leave after giving birth to my eldest son. Those initial months were consumed by nappies, breastfeeding, and desperate attempts to catch up on sleep. But as the fog of early motherhood began to clear, I felt I had to get back to my creative space. The studio was calling me.
I wasn't willing to part from him then, so I brought him along. His presence naturally dictated what I could create – working with resins was out of the question, as were large furniture pieces. I decided collages would be my creative fix.
My background in product design and my early career in designing furniture and lighting left me, still to this day, with a complicated relationship to calling myself an "artist" (yes, I recognise the irony given the name of this blog post). This same professional identity had previously held me back from creating collages, despite the fact that I had collected beautiful illustrated books and magazines with the intention of making them. I always told myself to focus exclusively on design as that was the creative identity where I felt I belonged.
But with Adam's birth a new me was born too. Motherhood gifted me freedom to follow my intuition and create with less boundaries. Or perhaps my creative itch was so powerful that I had no choice but to give in to it.
Opening myself up to making collages was great mostly because it made me realise how much I enjoyed it, which only fuelled me to create more. Throughout 2016-2017, I produced a substantial collection, never realising they would eventually become a significant part of my portfolio. Not because they weren't worthy, but because they were created without planning. They simply erupted from me with an urgency that left no room for thinking what their place in the world would be. I only knew they needed to exist, and so they did. Once they materialised, I recognised they belonged in my creative journey.
Since they emerged into the world, these pieces have been featured in various shows and exhibitions, some were sold to collectors and art lovers. The remaining works are available on my website here, with some of my earlier pieces offered at particularly accessible prices – not because I value them less, but because my style has evolved since their creation. I believe they still carry the power to bring joy, and I hope they'll find good homes where they can be treasured.
