I am an artist who also works as a development librarian. I graduated in 1990 with a degree in Ceramics from Loughborough College of Art. I was involved in ceramics and worked as College lecturer until 2003 – I was made redundant and I had a child – the changes in my life meant that my artwork was secondary to that of bringing up a family. It is only on the last few years that I have had the opportunity to explore my artwork again to an extent that it has now become once again a primary occupation. My work is a combination of painting, embroidery and found objects.
Q. Your work presents an intimate yet ambiguous response to your personal life experiences, what led you to explore this visually?
It is something that I have always done and I don’t want and I can’t think of any other way to work. The fact of being free to see what happens – what relationships and responses come through in the work – are what, to me, it means to be an artist.
Q. Within your work, you expressively work with painting and mixed media – can you tell us a little bit more about your choice in materials?
Using mixed media and being free to use any medium means I am not bound by the constraints of my materials. Originally using and exploring ceramics for almost 20 years to tell an unspoken, unwritten story, to express concerns and inner responses, and the interpretation of existence and experiences. My ceramics work explored various techniques including slip casting, hand building and various surface treatments to create mainly sculpture and some relief ‘prints’.
During the last few years my work has moved away from ceramics and into experimentation with various techniques, processes and materials. Through this exploration I have discovered that embroidery, paper clay, precious metal clay combined with collage, found objects, drawing and text offered more of a way of working that felt to be a natural fit and delivered more opportunities to extend my visual vocabulary. The texture and colour that I found absorbing in the use of ceramics could also be found and taken further and is more broadly available through other materials. I have found this new way of working to be more immediate and doesn’t involve the slow processes that are a predominant part of any ceramic work. These new materials also offer variable degrees of softness and hardness, temperature, visual reflection, depth and malleability that enables a greater exploration and vocabulary for me to use for my own personal narrative and expression.
Q. As an MA student, in the age of Covid-19, what are you plans following graduation? And how might your practice have had to adapt to the current times?
Thankfully I won’t be graduating until September 2021 when I hope we will have some return to normality, or a new normality. I haven’t had to adapt my practice a great deal as my studio is at home and I have actually found more time to make work during the last few weeks of the Covid-19 Lockdown.
I’m not sure what my plans will be after graduation. I hope to continue making work and be open to more exhibiting opportunities.
To see more of Dionne Hood's work please see the links below