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Dot
Living with this artist is a "different" experience as moods and lifestyle are often dictated by
the project she is involved in or what stage it is at.
Depending on the above she will be distant, distracted or engaging and jolly at any given time.
There is a constant process of exploration going on as she uses different materials and techniques to
produce the sort of effect she needs for the particular element of the piece she is working on.
I have watched closely as Dot started to invent her technique of bending wire to create models of
fish, birds and animals working to the specifications established by her and the client.
It began with a model cat made out of garden wire and progressed to the current, rather
sophisticated method, using hallmarked silver and semi precious beads.
The real skill is in the way in which she bends and shapes the wire to create the outline and
framework of what becomes the finished article.
It is as if she first makes a skeleton of the creation and then hangs some meat on it.
She has now been working on a commission basis for many years and each creation is
built by a slow, considered process of making a little, studying it, deciding if it
is acceptable or not and then, once she is happy with that stage, moving on to the
next.
This painstaking process takes quite some time as she will not rush to finish anything
until she is satisfied that it is exactly the way she wants it to be.
There is a degree of self imposed solitary confinement needed to keep her head clear as she
deliberately moves forward to the conclusion.
And then, finally, when it is all done, each is delivered to its new custodian to be enjoyed
as they wish.
And then it’s time to start all over again.
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