MY SANCTUARY
A haven of joy and beauty where I can create in a way that is gentle and kind to the environment around me.
My studio, newly built in 2025, is my sanctuary, an integral part of my everyday life and a huge influence on my practice and the work I create. Lined with huge windows, the space is full of light and connects me with all the nature that’s outside. Most of my resources are immediately at hand; the alpacas live in the adjoining field and the flax I grow for weaving and the plants I use for dyeing are from the polytunnel or the garden.
It is split into two rooms; one acts as the wet studio and a working space for conceiving and sketching out ideas, processes such as weaving and felting, or making large sculptural pieces, and the other is a versatile space designed to be used for everything from yoga days to exhibitions, enabling me to work with other people within the community.
The studio was built within my nature-first ethos which means it’s sustainable wherever possible. The building has a timber frame, the insulation upstairs is made from hemp which was grown in Lincolnshire, and the wooden, multi-coloured floor is reclaimed from a gym complex. We have 32 solar panels, half of which go straight back into the grid while the other half feed both the house and the studio so that, on a good day, they are carbon neutral. We also installed a large tank in the ground behind it to collect the water off the roof; that grey water gets used for the loo in the studio, for washing clothes and for watering the garden.
Much of the furniture is reused or repurposed. The sink is from eBay, some of the tables are from Tresham Art College and another came from a friend who had an upholstery business. We’ve also made shelves, a trolley and bookshelves out of wood that was left over from the build.
