“I ask myself how can I take what I’ve learnt at The Learning Connexion, and use that to help people in my community?”
©2016 Love the skin you’re in
Materials: Leather.
Artist’s statement: There is a lot of healing behind my artwork. For this work I took discarded bits of cow hide from the leather making process and reinvented them. Like those leather off-cuts, I once felt like I had been discarded, and no longer had a purpose in life. To reinvent the leather I soaked it in water, which represented the tears I’d once shed, and tightly bound it, which took ownership of each of the 13 pieces, so that when they dried there were these unique, beautiful vessels. They were all different shapes, some lumpy and bumpy in areas and I’d purposely made little twists and holes in the leather, working with just the material at hand. Like that leather, we each have to work with what we have – you shouldn’t compare yourself to anyone else. But you certainly can choose to reinvent yourself and change your purpose in life – to become whoever and do whatever you want to do. These leather vessels sit empty as I once did. It took me 42 years before I could even like myself and see my own personal beauty. We are all empty vessels and how you choose to fill yourself up...well that’s up to you. I couldn’t be where I am now, without acknowledging my past. My past has put me where I am today. And what I do today is what defines my future.
Exhibition tip: “Think outside the box. Make it interesting.”
To find out more about The Learning Connexion’s Creativity and Art Certificate and Diploma programmes call us on 0800 278 769 or request a prospectus.
See more of Sheree Matheson-Harris’s work at www.facebook.com/nurturingnatures.
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