Spring Red

Since I was a schoolgirl, I always loved to draw and paint and my aim as a teenager was to go to art school. I didn't make it there until well into my adulthood because going to university and doing academic things was a better prospect economically. There came a time however when I was able to attend art college and when I went there for the first time, full of nervousness and not knowing what to expect, I felt like I'd come home. I even loved the smell of the place - paints, dyes, kilns, glues - all just wonderful.

I remember my first class - a very strict and traditional drawing class - but I recall the second class in that series much more clearly. We had been set homework and the tutor sat us all round in a circle and told us to put our drawings on the floor for everyone to see ! My first taste of open critique ! It was very scary but actually I found it harder to critique other people's work than to take crits on my own. I soon got used to the whole process but some members of the class actually left because they were just too nervous ! My course was centred around modern embroidery and fabric manipulation but contained drawing, painting, colour study and many other aspects of art. It lasted four years and I loved every minute of it.

This design is based on an acrylic painting I did way back in college "Spring Red", a part of botanical drawing class which was a tough class but still enjoyable.

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