Artist focuses craft on trade fair

BCTF is the largest and most well-established event of its kind, focusing exclusively on British made artisan products across categories which include handmade ceramics, porcelain, fashion accessories and jewellery, glass, metalwork, woodwork, textiles, greetings cards and fine art.

Anne, who lives in Brighouse with her husband and two children, said: “I have been an art teacher for over 20 years and have always believed that sharing my skills and knowledge, alongside encouraging people to be creative, is really important for your mind and soul.

“I had never considered creating work of my own - not enough time, let alone expecting others to buy my work - but over the past few years I have enjoyed taking some time out of teaching to focus on developing my own practice.

“In my work my love of drawing and stitch, have become entwined in my stitched collages.

“The inspiration for my work comes from an obsession for collecting nature’s treasures. Jars of shells and pebbles collected on a variety of holidays are on display in my studio, but it is my collection of seed pods that really inspire my work.

“I think this comes from remembering back to when I was young, picking dandelion heads, making wishes and blowing them away (I still love to do this now). “The idea of seeds creating new life is a theme that runs through my work. I love to create new work out of up-cycled books, maps, paper, fabric and found bits and pieces.

“People are surprised when they see my collages, as, at first, they assume they are created out of fabric, mainly because of the stitch, but on closer inspection they discover that my work is primarily paper.”

Anne will also show new work at BCTF.