Gardens of the Mind

Gardens of the Mind was an Arts Council of Wales Research and Development project, later receiving Production funding in 2018/2019.

The project allowed me to develop and further my practice by creating glass work concerned with investigating the visual and physical correlation between structures and micro-structures within plant and human biology.

The project was informed by my time spent at the Walton Neurological Hospital in Liverpool. This Arts Council of Wales funded residency was developed as part of The Bluecoat Display Centre’s outreach programme. Here, I was introduced to Ramón Cajal’s drawings and paintings of brain cells. The similarity of structures that span so many natural forms was a source of fascination. The legacy piece I made for the hospital began investigating these connections, but I felt there was much more to explore and research, and I applied for funding to continue this work.

The project allowed me the platform to develop and show work that was experimental and conceptual. It gave me the time and focus to investigate techniques and new ways of expressing my artistic language, and to widen and deepen these elements of my practice.

It was during this time that I started working with glass powders in an alternative pâte de verre technique, which allowed me to create free-formed shapes and works. Part of this project included a residency and exhibition at Ruthin Craft Centre, North Wales, and a Maker in Focus exhibition at Craft in the Bay, Cardiff.

This project was carried out in collaboration with Bangor University Herbarium, the Walton Centre Neuroscience Laboratories, and mentor glass artist Rhian Haf.

The project was transformational and allowed the opportunity for a change of direction in my practice.