In April 2011 I began a project to get 'under the skin' of the beautiful Slad Valley, in Gloucestershire, where I live and work. My aim was to explore the valley in depth and to see it from angles other than the obvious.
In the first part of the project, The Valley Under the Skin, I slowly walked the full length of the two streams which form the valley and explored its woodlands, edges and settlements, - a total of 45 walks. My experiences inspired a series of glass pieces which, along with a selection of the photographs, maps, sketchbooks and sound recordings I made during my walks, were exhibited at Lansdown Gallery in Stroud in June 2014.
For the second part of the project, The Valley In the Glass, I considered the valley as a place of change, exploring pathways old and new, human and animal, and interviewed people who know the valley well about how its wildlife and landscape have changed and are likely to change in the future. A new body of glass work inspired by what I learned, plus photographs and a soundtrack featuring clips from the interviews and sounds recorded in the valley, were exhibited at Nature in Art Museum and Art Gallery, near Gloucester in November and December 2016.
Exhibition GalleryA selection of the pieces, photographs and sounds which appeared in the first exhibition.
