Rachel Gibson MA LAS
Winter Harvest - Gathered and Tied
Born in Berkshire, Rachel grew up in Northamptonshire, eventually moving north to Newcastle to study Fine Art at the University of Northumbria. Coming to Cumbria after gaining her degree was a temporary measure. That was fifty years ago! Since then this bewitching place has become both personal base and creative focus. Although she has travelled widely, her response to nature has been founded in her love of the Cumbrian Fells.
‘Using references from the natural world, my work seeks to reflect the transience of my surroundings, the main focus being on the less obvious and the hidden. This makes my viewpoint highly personal. I look for and record found objects and natural events that suggest shelter and growth as well as vulnerability and loss: a delicate balance. My initial response is in drawing. I experience the drawn image as an immediate and exciting coordination between hand, eye and brain. Ideas are developed in paint, print, bookworks and animation. These processes are rarely fully planned and only become complete when they seem so: unique journeys and unknown destinations. There is constant restructuring and rethinking. Through layering, erasing, drawing and relayering each piece carries its own history, linking experience and memory and all the uncertainties in between.’
Rachel worked as a lecturer of art in further and higher education but always continued to develop her own career as an artist. She returned to the University of Northumbria in 2006, gaining a Masters Degree in Fine art and Education. She has been shortlisted for Cumbria Life Culture Award and the Cumbrian Artist of the Year Award and her work selected for major exhibitions both nationally and internationally.
She is a member of the Lake Artists Society. Her work is held in both public and private collections..
