# data[].attributes.body
Resu/ergence looks at the site of a, now lost, textile industry in Exeter, UK, and how this area has been revived as a leisure area. It began as a piece of descriptive writing in which I tried to capture the atmosphere of the area whilst also acknowledging the influence of its history. It portrays current times as an abstract, brightly coloured piece of sports clothing against a background of darned and patched scraps of dyed fabric, incorporating styles of mending used throughout the world. The stitched piece is attached to the frame using copper pins to symbolise the tenterhooks that would have been used to stretch the serge, or fabric, on to frames after dyeing.  Historic text about the dyeing of fabric in Exeter, is incorporated into the frame.  The image includes a garment label revealing how our our relationship with clothing production has changed in the UK.

Resu/ergence strives to encourage us to think about the origins of our clothing, and to consider its past through raising our awareness of the work entailed in its production; and its future, through thinking about its longevity and how clothing can be given a longer life through mending. Whilst the revival of an area in line with our current lifestyle may be good, there are implications for the sustainability of our planet if we continue to consume fast fashion at our current rate.

# data[].attributes.body
I find that I work much better with constraints, and when I made this 'Seaweed' piece, I used the following constraints:
-    Choose a pattern in nature
-    Use 5 words to describe the pattern
-    Make a collage that repeats the pattern incorporating at least one of the words
-    Use only one source of materials

The words that I used to describe this were: strong, bold, the power of nature, control, steady, gripping.  I looked for strong colours in photos of the Saturday Guardian magazine (limiting myself to one source) to collage the effect. I added the black lines with permanent marker.  I really felt that I was capturing the feeling that this seaweed provoked. I made this piece quite quickly, without thinking too much. It has made me become more confident in being abstract, and not to spend so much time thinking about the end result, trusting myself more.

# data[].attributes.body
Looking at identity and what it means to us, I began writing down key memories in my life – some of my memories were of incidental, small moments, whilst others were major life events such as births, divorce and death.  Along with my typed memories I decided to do a continuous line drawing of my face.   I wanted to combine the text and picture, so began by reducing the text size  until it filled about two-thirds of an A4 page, leaving space for the additional memories I hope to achieve by the time I’m one hundred.