About this collection

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I’ve always had a bit of a fascination with Celtic knotwork. If you look at the designs I was making 20 years ago, Celtic knotwork featured heavily. I’m not the only one that finds these beautiful designs beautiful and interesting to look at of course - what’s not to like? The symmetry, the unbroken pattern and the fact that it always resolves so perfectly…very satisfying! 

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That being said, I didn’t explore the ideas behind Celtic knotwork much when I looked at it back then; I just dropped in completed designs, tweaked them very subtly and then went onto other things. So it’s remained on my radar as an unfinished exploration. 

Also, when I was looking at the designs all those years ago, I wouldn’t have dared make anything less than perfect, and I had the time – and the patience – to make sure I did them properly. These days, things are a little different! 

So after some basic research into how to make these designs, I obtained some collage papers with Celtic designs and picked out some bits as starting points. I ripped off the joins and I took the lines in different directions. I followed the rules sometimes and broke them sometimes. I integrated the lines with other elements that often feature in my work (like plaid and florals) to make things more interesting. 

The first work I created in this area is Unravelling. This is an original painting on canvas that features a multitude of Celtic knotwork designs within it – working all those lines together was a very time-consuming but very enjoyable experience. When it was finished, I knew it was more than a single piece in itself; it contained the starting point to create so many other works. It was the mothership!

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So I photographed sections of Unravelling, enlarged them and traced over the lines, changing patterns here and there as I went. I then traced over sections of the revised patterns, scanned them in and printed them out again as a new starting point for additional works. I extended the lines again and joined them in different ways. I experimented with different materials, colour and patterns. These activities were all very relaxing, almost meditative (which has given me some other ideas for what I could do with this work - but more about that another time)