About me…

It’s safe to say that I love diversity in my art. For many years that was a real problem for me, I couldn’t decide what I wanted to do most and everyone kept telling me to specialise, yeah right!

These days it’s much easier and now there are many artists that don’t want to be put in a box or get stuck with a label. For me the best part of being an artist is to be free to express yourself with any material or technique you want to work with.

So what if you’re insta feed doesn’t look lovely designed and colour co-ordinated... 

If you’re happy with the work you’ve done that’s a feeling that will drive you forward as an artist, being inspired by the process and the ever changing world around you.

We are lucky/unlucky depending on how it unfolds, to be living in this age of instant feedback, it really can be a double-edged sword! Nice comments, or critical ones, can affect how you feel about yourself and about your work. 

Following your own inspiration is the key, being true to yourself. Do You! 

Trying it another way…

This is a new website for me and now it’s time to practice what I preach! Everything is on one site! It might get as messy as my studio! But I hope you’ll have a look around and maybe come across some things that inspire you to try something new and just have fun being creative. 

 

 And then Covid hit…

My first Gelli plate arrived 6 weeks before our first lockdown and I had not used it yet. But because I had to close my teaching studio for 10 weeks I found myself with lots of time on my hands! The timing was perfect to get started with Gelli printing, how lucky we are with so much information just a click away and learning from the experts as we go!

I have been playing with some of my favourite techniques for many years, but now they are coming together in unexpected ways, Covid has a lot to answer for! 

 

With learning a new skill comes failure of course, but to me they often are the most valuable part of the process. The things you learn by ‘doing it wrong’ are often the most exciting things to happen and can get you unexpected results that are sometimes better than what you had planned in the first place!

Experimenting with gelli plate printing
Lilac mobile - Maggie Bergman
 

 When it all comes together

As I started to accumulate a lot of ‘mop up’ papers from my Gelli printing, I started looking for a new way to use them.

I had been making mobiles before, but at that time I wasn’t making a lot of papers, now these two areas have come together and given birth to a whole new obsession. The mobiles have taken over my space, they are everywhere!

I hope you’ll enjoy yourself as you follow me on the winding trail that leads through my studio(s) where I’ll be making jewellery, cutting stencils, constructing mobiles, printing, as well as all sorts of other paper and fabric arts.

There is always something exciting going on which keeps me engaged in this crazy time. I always have too many projects on the go to leave much time for brooding about the state of the world.

My studio is my happy place.