This new collection explores the ‘skin’ of the tree. These pieces, created by making rubbings of the fissured layers of bark that serve to protect its inner workings, each represent a moment in a tree’s history. The geographic coordinates are recorded, establishing a direct connection to the tree’s environment. (It also means they can been found, should you wish to find them!) Around four years ago, while sitting quietly contemplating and sketching in a favourite ‘Pinaleta’ (Pine grove) I took a simple ‘ rubbing’ using charcoal and paper, of the ground where I sat - it produced a beautiful pattern - an impression. The impression revealed the delicate scalloped edges of shells, sitting in amongst the ridges and the fine fan-like patterns of the fallen pine needles. It seemed to tell the story of the place. I looked up then at the pine trees that rose up around me and thought about the stories they could tell. And so the first bark impression was made. I wanted to incorporate them somehow into my work. I tried using them as a layer - a background to a painting, but they would disappear and, though I would know they were there and telling a story, they were hidden. After much experimenting I realised that these beautiful impressions, each one unique to each individual tree, needed the space to tell their stories - not to be covered up or manipulated in some way. Creatively, it is a fragile, unpredictable process, not always successful, many get discarded. But when it does work, it’s quite magical. A journey from the physical connection with the tree and the process of making the original bark rubbing , through, scanners, and copies, and transfer mediums, finding the perfect surface and colour, until finally the trees story appears -almost as three dimensional landscapes, not previously noticed - scars and contours, suggesting rivulets and pathways - a moment in a tree’s history. The resulting impressions are each unique, they are a record of and a homage to a specific tree and as such, I felt it important to acknowledge their place in the world. Each time I make a rubbing I make a note of the tree’s geographical coordinates, and these are then recorded on the final artwork. In this way establishing a direct connection to the tree’s location and creating a memory of the area. And so, for me, they not only make a really beautiful interior design feature for the walls in our lives, below the surface they also hold quiet stories, and a tangible connection to the environment. Originally only focused on the local pines, the series has now grown to include other trees meaningful to the region, and beyond - now including a selection of impressions collected from a recent trip to England. The collection will be gradually added to to create a whole forest family.