Long have I admired Arthur Wallis' naive paintings and scrimshaw engravings and have wanted to try some small 3D pieces inspired by these sailors. I've been collecting bags and bags of driftwood over the Winter, all sorts of shapes and sizes. The other day I tipped the whole lot out on the studio floor and sat with all the different bits, until pieces jumped out and I could see how the shapes might lend themselves to an assemblage. Rusty old bits of metal add a different dimension, some looking like birds or boats. Snippets of sea shanties add words and dreams to the pieces. Coast guard cottages, up the coast at Shingle Street (such a wonderful name for a place), nestle in the pebbles against the harsh East wind. All white in the otherwise grey landscape. Brightlingsea's marina development offers a more contemporary silhouette, but still the age old fishing boats, yachts, barges and smacks bob around in the harbour, unaware of passing time.
