Labour of Love - The Hill Farmers

I arrived to a remote, beautiful part of England, by the English borders, in autumn 2023, to draw. As the weeks and months went by, sitting by the fire in the local inn, winter enveloping us, I met people that felt and sounded, very different to me. As I watched their interactions from afar, I became convinced I could detect roots growing out of their boots. The hill farmers, with lives tied to the land, weather and animals, became my main area of research. The Tarset valley has a damp, rainy, microclimate, wood is a sustainable, stable material for drawing. My work continued through the winter and into the summer, labour with love became the over arching theme of my work.