Category:Mary Clare Buckle

Mary-Clare Buckle - Artist's Statement

Sweeping away the two-dimensional limitations of painting, Mary-Clare Buckle's work has a tactile, three-dimensional quality and reflects her character - vibrant, colourful, effervescent and full of life. As a textile artist, she works predominantly in felted wool, but has always avoided the traditional 'craft' connotations of this medium.

"I was born in the Philippines but grew up in Hampshire and come from a creative family of artists, jewellers and woodcarvers. My Art Foundation was at the Surrey Institute of Art & Design (Farnham, Surrey). For my Degree course, I studied Three-Dimensional Design and Silversmithing, at the University of Central England (then Birmingham Polytechnic).

"I designed and made jewellery for many years. Exhibitions include Aspects Gallery, London, Birmingham City Art Gallery (now in their permanent collection) and Hanku Department Store, Japan. Commissions included a neckpiece for Sue Jay of Central Television and a small sculpture for Harrods.

"However, I always felt artistically constrained by that discipline. On discovering feltmaking about 9 years ago, my initial work was extremely colourful, freed from the limitations of jewellery design, where it is difficult to use colour easily.

"Felt is the perfect outlet for me: I love the tactile nature and the pure colour. I can either be very imprecise - letting the medium control the design - or can immerse myself in a particular design, exercising as much control as if I were almost 'painting' with the fibres.

"Inspiration comes sometimes from the actual medium itself - 'playing' with different textures and threads. I like my work to be lively - what often comes to mind is that the fibres are 'dancing'. I've been inspired recently from getting into clubbing and 'dance music' - the multi-coloured 'glow-sticks' everyone dances with, the lasers and flashing coloured lights and the visuals projected onto screens behind the DJs.

"Other inspiration includes: costumes and sets from historical drama/films; mediæval artefacts; textures used in Indian/Moroccan/South American fabrics and laquer work; Italian glass. Or perhaps a line in a poem or the title of a pop song, or just playing around with a cultural icon ... and ideas sometimes come to me in the middle of the night!

"I have developed the technique of 'Floating' felts, trying to make the pieces as thin as possible. When mounted between clear acrylic, the light penetrates the piece, giving it an ethereal quality. Unlike conventional framing, the viewer's eye is not constrained to a rectangle and, hung slightly away from the wall, the pieces seem to be floating in space.

"I also light the floating felt pieces from behind or the side, to turn them into wall lights - intentionally blurring the boundaries between art and interior design.

"I now live in the artists' enclave and picturesque village of Abbotsbury, with a view of the sea to add further inspiration to my work, exhibiting my work primarily on my extensive and much-admired website www.1-art-1.com and at my studio gallery in Abbotsbury, to which I welcome visitors all year round, including participants on my very popular feltmaking workshops (see www.feltmaking-workshops.info).

"I particularly welcome commissions, perhaps to suit a colour scheme or design theme."

©Mary-Clare Buckle, August 2006