alysn midgelow-marsden's photostream

I work primarily in copper, bronze, stainless steel and pewter metal shims and woven metal fabrics; often altering the original surface by burnishing, texturing, printing, patterning and patinating. By using textile and embroidery techniques I look for new dimensions of textiles in contemporary works which exploit the boundaries of these surfaces creating subtle combinations explored through dense, repeating and interlocking pattern based designs.

Many of my works are composed of evocative forms and figures incorporated into surfaces articulated with complex, undulating, knotted and interwoven designs and text. Patterns emerge slowly as the work is viewed resulting in warm harmonies through subtly gentle, yet obsessive mazes at once disconcerting and fascinating.

Patterns and figures derived from personal markings such as fingerprints and body markings along with the working of a mostly unconscious human ancestral memory and through to the pixelization of an image, create a mosaic of forms and patterns which appear to move and change swaying in the tides of unseen forces.

A happy invention of form and daring conceptualization conspire to combine a composition of lines and geometric patterns with a narrative which considers the spark of creativity and its’ constraints in real life. My aim is to be at once personal, disconcerting and fascinating!

Apart from all of that I have a home in the Midlands of the UK, with a husband, children, dogs and other assorted animals, I have developed the Beetroot Tree Gallery and Cafe showing contemporary art in a friendly and historic setting, I teach around the UK (and further if asked!), I publish books and mentor other creatives to develop their artistic and business potential.

Enjoy the images, many of which are the results of workdays with the lovely people I meet.