The Art of Seeing: Finding Creativity in Overlooked Places

Everywhere I go, I see beauty—even in decay. Whether I’m wandering through an ancient city or trekking through the countryside, there’s a certain magic in the textures of the world around me. The gnarled bark of an old tree peeling away in the wind, sun-bleached driftwood worn smooth by the tides, layers of flaking paint revealing hidden histories beneath, the glimmer of sunlight caught in dirty glass, or the ever-changing reflections in rock pools—each tells a story.

Nature’s beauty is undeniable. The patterns it creates are mesmerizing, and many of our greatest architectural structures have been inspired by these natural designs—a concept known as biomimicry architecture. Examples of this can be seen in the Eden Project in Cornwall, England, and the Metropol Parasol in Seville, often referred to as “The Mushroom.” Have you ever looked closely at a spider’s web and marveled at its strength and symmetry? Or noticed the intricate patterns on the wings of a butterfly, the mathematical perfection of a honeycomb, or the delicate veins of a leaf? Nature offers us not just breathtaking landscapes but also an intricate beauty—even in what some might consider grotesque.

The Birth of an Idea: Creating Art from Found Materials

My journey into working with unconventional materials began during my Textile Surfaces degree, where I started to explore the potential of alternative textures and structures. It was here that I first began to experiment with found materials, incorporating them into my work in ways that pushed the boundaries of traditional textile art. That passion grew even further when I pursued my Master of Arts, where I had the unique opportunity to design my own program, crafting a course of study that truly reflected my creative vision.

Although my specialism is contemporary embroidery, my work has always extended beyond the expected, incorporating materials such as resin, concrete, and natural objects found on my travels. But the true catalyst for my artistic direction came from an experience far from the world of textiles—my first scuba dive.

The Underwater Awakening: Discovering the Reality of Coral Decay

I came to snorkeling later in life, but once I had mastered it, I was hooked. My first encounter with damaged coral came during several snorkeling trips in Mexico and then later the opportunity to go deeper into the ocean led me to complete my PADI Open Water Diver qualification, finally immersing myself in the world I had long dreamed of exploring. I had expected to see what is so often portrayed in photographs of the Great Barrier Reef—vibrant coral formations teeming with life. But what I found was something entirely different. Instead of a rainbow of underwater beauty, I was confronted with vast swathes of grey, lifeless coral. The vibrancy I had imagined was nowhere to be seen.

At the time, I didn’t fully grasp the extent of what I was witnessing. But that dive left me with questions—questions that would eventually shape my artistic practice. I began to research coral reef degradation, the effects of climate change and pollution, especially that of plastic pollution, and the efforts being made to restore these fragile ecosystems.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IfN1v4Az6E

Translating Research into Art

The more I learned, the more I felt compelled to respond creatively. My embroidery work on coral reefs became a way to both showcase their beauty and raise awareness of the urgent need for their protection. I have since spoken extensively about this work to embroidery groups across the country, sharing my research and the pieces I have created based on my findings.

One of my most significant projects, Substratum, was inspired by an innovative approach used by marine biologists to regenerate coral reefs. Researchers have discovered that corals can be successfully grown on a base of marine-grade concrete—the minerals within the concrete provide the perfect foundation for new coral growth. This inspired me to experiment with my own materials, leading to the creation of a series of pieces featuring a concrete base embedded with coral bead embroidery and sealed with resin. These works not only won awards in the Bradford Textile competition for unconventional materials but also became a powerful representation of both destruction and hope.

Bottle cap coral Embroidery

Substratum

Substratum 2

Shells with inset coral bead embroidery

Coral embroidery set into a plastic bottle neck

Devastated Coral

An Unfathomable Beauty

Experimentation

Experimental embroidery

I also made another award-winning piece from the Bradford Textiles competition called Devastated Coral, which depicts the devastating process of how the rising sea temperatures affect our corals, causing them to bleach, then die, and become covered in algae.

I also created a significant piece titled Unfathomable Beauty, a striking collection of nine resin blocks encasing intricate embroidery, all set within a larger sea of resin. When the blocks are turned, the resin catches the light, reflecting the coral embroidery much like sunlight dancing in the shallows of the ocean.

A Piece of Shell Island: Finding Art in the Unseen

My love for working with found materials continues wherever I travel. Recently, on the shores of Shell Island in Wales, I discovered a piece of driftwood that had been lightly charred from an old beach fire. Its surface was beautifully weathered, its texture rich with history. That piece became the foundation for my latest artwork—one that tells a dual story. One side captures the vibrancy of a thriving coral reef, while the other reflects the stark reality of what is happening beneath our oceans: death, decay, and erosion caused by climate change and pollution.

This is the essence of my work—taking overlooked, discarded, and weathered objects and transforming them into something meaningful. Every piece carries a story, whether it’s a sun-bleached fragment of wood, a crumbling shard of concrete, or a delicate embroidered stitch that brings it all together.

The Journey Continues

My creative practice has become deeply intertwined with my travels, and my art is shaped by the landscapes I move through. Whether I am stitching by the sea, sketching in the mountains, or collecting materials on a windswept beach, every journey adds a new layer to my work. Much of my art is displayed on my walls and in my display cabinet in my motorhome, and it’s something that I am proud to show off.

Carrying all of my equipment obviously takes up a lot of room, and of course, it also weighs quite a lot, so I am constantly aware of not taking all my equipment with me. Lately, I have embraced the surface pattern side of my degree, creating bookmarks and vanlife decorations for the van. My Cricut Maker 3 is now my constant companion, as I had really missed being able to use the huge laser cutters at university. Although it doesn’t have the same capabilities as those, it does afford me the opportunity to cut over 300 materials. My scope has just got larger, and my aim is to use both the cutting facilities of the Cricut and combine this with my embroidery.

The world around us is filled with inspiration—it’s just a matter of looking again. If you’d like to see more of my latest work and hear the stories behind each creation, keep an eye on my blog for updates. Let’s celebrate the beauty in the unexpected, the overlooked, and the unconventional—because art is everywhere, if only we choose to see it.