Solitude

For the air is sweet with silence

2024 Air-hardening clay, wire netting and acrylic paint on beechwood plinth

'Solitude' explores the introvert's need for a period of quiet reflection, as a means of de-stressing and replenishing energy, following any challenging experience. Whilst the figure appears relaxed, having found respite in her solitude, her inward facing toes suggest an enduring vulnerability.

As with many of my sculptures, poetry played an important part in the development of this piece. Both the poem and the piece progressed in parallel, each inspiring the other, determining certain sculptural decisions, along with the corresponding poetic stance. This way of working enables me to delve further, with a view to expanding the depth of expression in my work.

Solitude

Breath deeply,
For the air is sweet with silence.
Gone, the daily tinnitus of din.
Soon you'll hear your mind's voice
Through the silence,
Enough to find the quietude within.

During 2025, I was inspired to develop another poem for 'Solitude':

Solitude

Just stay here
and listen for the silence,
now wilful storms
have found their place elsewhere.
Through bare trees
the rain's still slowly dripping,
and storm torn twigs
lie scattered everywhere.

It's time now,
to heed your silence calling,
as winter eases gently into spring.
You're mind's voice
will find in it, a new song.
Know, only you can teach it how to sing.

'Solitude' is featured in 'Women Art' Special Edition, June 2025, Collect Art, Tbilisi, Georgia.
She also took part in the group show 'Beneath The Veil' October/November 2025, The House of Smalls, Edinburgh