CLARE DUDENEY
Weaving is a meditative process, like taking a walk with threads. I have an idea of where to go, but allow the journey to unfold in surprising ways. I mix many fine yarns to create soft transitions like watercolours. There is one decision to make in the present, where two yarns meet and twist to change colour.
“I bring elements of domesticity and craft into my works. I have made large paintings on cotton bedsheets and use traditional processes like weaving. But my works tend not to be functional, I intentionally leave loose threads on the back of my weavings, so they are fragile and imperfect like a person.”
My woodcut paintings explore loss. It’s a process of destruction; of carving marks, careful fixing and painting the exposed wood. Learning that by letting go of what has come before, it’s possible to make space for something new. These works have an interesting spatial aspect as the marks which appear to be on top, the last marks, are deepest.
The monotype paintings build on this approach and language. For these I place marks on glass and press the paper in, building layers of colours and textures, often remembered from the landscape.
I enjoy using simple materials, vibrant colours and working with my hands. Recently I’ve been exploring how to make my practice more sustainable using natural pigments and dyes - such as from onion skins, cabbage and carrot tops.
Ideally I like to work in the landscape. I’ve been artist in residence on a ship in Antarctica and a sailing boat in Scotland. I find that by working abstractly, I can express the feelings of being somewhere for a moment in time.
