This page is a journal of my year with AGORA , a group of us associated with Newlyn School of Art spending a year Mentoring on Tour, starting in Newlyn School of Art, then the Phoenix Art Space in Brighton, then the Arnolfini in Bristol and ending the year in September with an exhibition in the Treemenheere Sculpture Gardens in Penzance

‘When a woman whispers her fears to her ancestors, a thousand grandmothers answer her call’

Old family photos haunt me, I have no idea who they are, other than they are my family, my ancestors. These lost faces feed my practice, I create stories as I work with their photos, making a connection to those who have gone before me. My art is deeply personal, these photos are my only link to my family, and I find drawing painting and stitching, mainly large scale pieces, brings me a sense of my place in the world, even if it is mainly brought from my imagination

Sketches made from the photos, and a zigzagbook created. I thought I was going to work in just sepia tones, but my need for colour got the better of me. This forms the basis from which to work this year.