Designs by Penelope Burnett

I am a mature student at Glyndwr University, about to finish my BA in Applied Arts. In my younger years I previously completed an art foundation course, and an Audio Visual Btec National Diploma but lack of confidence through out my life plagued me and I didn't continue. Finally at the age of 50 I decided the time was right to do what I should be doing and I enrolled on this degree. 

I have always been a maker, I was born into it with both parents being makers. I can't seem to chose a medium and stick to it which i think comes from being taught multi skills as a child. I don't mind too much though, I love that I can pick up pretty much anything and create something.  

This degree has taught me many new skills and has taught me to focus on specific projects from the birth to the deliverance, rather than have a million different things all going on at once. 

I have found that my work evolves from life experiences, good and bad. 

I am a mixed media artist. At the moment I am working with silver, copper, enamel and embroidery thread for my graduation project. The project is called 'Behind Closed Doors' and is about raising awareness of domestic violence and coercive control. It's about the hidden bruises. It's about the fake smiles. It's about pretending everything is ok when it is not.

All my pieces are handmade. I am using silver for the pieces which are on show, to resemble the facade of everything being fantastic and wonderful and I'm using copper for the hidden body pieces to resemble the actual reality.  

I have come to realise that subconsciously I draw from my own personal experiences and my ideas and work come from deep within. 

I can best describe my process as that of; random ideas that pop unexpectedly into my mind and further along the process I am able to relate them to a time in my life. 

Times that I don’t generally talk about. 

Suppressed memories. 

These suppressed memories are filtered with more positive observational images of the beauty in nature, the stunning countryside, cityscapes, beaches, the beautiful earth, architecture, our surroundings, all things I love and am inspired by on daily basis.  

I follow a lot of different artists, especially artists who break the rules, artists who say 'why can't I do that?' 

Artists like Karl Fritsch and David Bielander.