BIO
Colin is currently a resident artist with Forestry England at Dalby Forest. He has a B.Ed. from Loughborough and an M.A. from Teeside University. His studies in art began in Suffolk, including life drawing classes at Ipswich School of Art. Throughout his 30 years in education he also worked as a designer, illustrator and ran a small studio pottery in Derbyshire.
He taught pottery to primary school children for over twenty years and led a community art project in Kathmandu, Nepal. He is a versatile artist now working from his studio in Lockton, North Yorkshire, where he enjoys pushing the boundaries by experimenting with new ideas, methods and materials. Colin has exhibited work in New Zealand, Nepal, York, North Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. In his latest project in Dalby he is exploring the spiritual and cultural world of forests and, focusing on the stone maze, the myths, magic and legends associated with stone circles.
ABOUT THE ART
For SelfScapes Colin has been exploring the relationship that people and animals have had with forests. Myths, folklore and legends occur across the world. Nyctohylophobia, the fear of dark wooded areas or forests particularly at night, is a common feature. Tales of eerie noises, mythical creatures, transformations, witchcraft, shapeshifting and petrification. Forests talk to those who listen and you can discover much about yourself during a solitary walk through a forest especially at dawn or dusk, or in the dead of the night if you are bold enough.
The eight people/creatures represented in Colin’s installation can all be found within Dalby forest. When Dalby stone maze aligned with the summer solstice there was a cosmic force which caused ancient petrified forms to stir and their eyes opened and once again they drew breath. How did they react to their new surroundings, the global destruction of forests, climate change and the pressures placed on our flora and fauna...?