Jane Sharp is a batik artist who will be exhibiting as a part of Mix3d Stitch & Friends during Bucks Open Studios.
You can see work from the stitch, collage and printing group at the Church of Christ the Cornerstone during the BOS fortnight (June 10-25).
She talked art with Total MK...
What are the mediums you work in?
I am batik artist so I work with Primissima, which is Indonesian cotton, procion dyes, soya wax and embroidery thread.
What fuels your creativity?
I have a general compulsion to create and feel slightly odd if I haven't done anything creative for a while! I am inspired by the natural world, particularly the detail to be found in plants and flowers as you will see from the collection I will be showing at this years' Bucks Open Studios.
I love the act of creating something just as much, if not more than, having the finished article. My batiks take a lot of time to produce as I hand stitch them once the waxing and dyeing element is complete. If I don't have a stitching project on the go I don't know what to do with myself!
The piece of work you have produced that you are most proud of, and why...
I love Artichoke Flower in particular. This design (as with all my batiks) developed from one of my own photographs of a spectacular artichoke head on a friend's allotment. I love the level of detail I managed to capture and the fact that dyes behaved exactly as I hoped they would (this isn't always the case!)
Did you choose art, or did art choose you?
Difficult question! I think art chose me and I'm not sure what I would do without it to be honest!
If you could invite three artists, living or dead, to create a masterpiece with, who would you choose and why?
Grayson Perry for his down to earth approach to the world of art, his creativity and his ability to draw you into his world and make you feel a little less abnormal! Hokusai Katsushita, creator of the world famous Japanese woodblock print 'The Great Wave off Kanagawa', I love Japanese Woodblock printing; it is definitely one of my design influences. And finally, William Morris the famous Arts and Crafts Movement founder; his sublime designs are also an influence.
Tell us about your creative ambitions
Ultimately I want to be a full time artist, it is what I call my bliss, so finding a way for it to become self sustaining would be my goal.
Where will we be able to see you at work/view your work
My work will be on show upstairs at the Cornerstone Gallery as part of the Mix3d Stitch and Friends BOS Show from Saturday 10th June until Saturday 24th June.
For more visit Jane at www.msjanesharp.com
Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/batikattik/
https://www.bucksopenstudios.org.uk/open-studios/2017/mix3d-stitch-and-friends
