Using references from both the natural world and the realm of cosmology, Rachel Gibson RSW explores in drawing, painting, animation and bookworks the perception of natural world as an entity which seemingly exists on the edge, treading a delicate balance between creation and destruction, growth and loss.

These are worlds of fragmentation and change, structure and decay.Some are familiar, some beyond our human experience. Some are microplaces that appear both beautiful and threatening and some are the lost landscapes to be found within ourselves.

My work is wood engraving, and I'll be concentrating on images of the North Yorkshire landscape

My studio oil paintings and etchings are developed from working in the landscape, drawing in charcoal or graphite, making oil studies and taking photographs. Landscape, particularly that of the Pennines, is my primary focus. I am interested in working and worked landscapes: those decisive wall lines enclose land under the open fell, quarries scar the hill, water channelled for forgotten purpose at the old mine, floods transform the familiar scene, storm-blown trees bend sideways, valley fields vaunt a vivid monochrome green. There is a damaged and poignant beauty where silence has overtaken the noise of industry, of human endeavour in the middle of nowhere, falling to ruin. Here is a stark contrast with the wide sky of scudding clouds, the permanence of landforms and nature’s absolute indifference to us, but even where it is beautiful, this landscape, as many others, cautions for the future. This meeting of opposites is where my interest in this landscape lies.

Sally is proud to situate herself as a traditional ceramic artist. Story and narrative are fundamental to the pieces she creates. Consequently, her work exists at the intersection of many influences. Her work is identifiable for its inherent hybridity, in terms of genre and technique – as well as more metaphysical aspects such as ideas and philosophies. Sally never wants to categorise or limit her work by pigeon-holing it, but revels in its multi-functional nature of both utilitarian vessel and ornate sculpture

A Graduate of St Martins School of Art, my painting is both inspired by, and a celebration of the domestic and ordinary. The rituals of daily life are represented by everyday objects such as vases, jugs, tea pots and flowers. These are arranged creating patterns that are underpinned by a strong sense of design. Although figurative, I’m not concerned with getting an absolute likeness but with the painting itself. The paint, which is used in a relaxed way, the marks, the canvas, the colours, and  the composition jostle with each other until the painting finds a life of its own.

My style is realistic, but I have always admired the impressionists, and much closer inspection of my brushstrokes might allude to this. I also love an outline which can sometimes elevate and emphasise the realistic. This leads me to the second aspect of my art; stained glass style paintings. This genre allows me to be even more creative and illustrative, using colour and outline to great effect.

I always want my art to convey something, whether deep or just whimsical. This leads me to my third style of artwork, which is more conceptual. This allows me to put a lot more of myself into my artwork, and probably why I enjoy this sort of work so much, with its endless possibilities to be even more creative.

How I got to the point of where I am - I used to make public art, then puppets and automata and now sculpture. Perhaps it can be something like 'Public Art, Puppets and Paper Pulp Clay'

I have lived and worked in Galloway for decades. I paint mainly in water based mediums in a loose, bold style influenced by a lifetime of observing our wonderful landscape, and also quirky still lifes. My work is semi abstract and not slavishly representative of a place.

I make hand built, smoke fired, sculptural ceramic vessels. My work is naked of glaze and therefore decorative rather than functional. My enduring influence is the natural world and my ceramic work reflects this. My feeling is that the title “Up Close and Personal” applies to everything I make, each

piece evolving as I hand build with clay. Composition and balance are important to me but even more crucial is the feel of the finished work in the hand - curves, angles and transitions, textures both rough and silky smooth. I have to anticipate all these as I work

It is always my hope that onlookers will get that same tactile satisfaction when getting up close and personal with the work. I encourage them to hold and explore in the hand as well as visually.