Wilma Kenny

People raise eyebrows when I describe myself as a dilettante: it is a dangerous, two-edged word, having collected negative connotations. I refer to its original sense: a lover of art: one who delights in art; beautiful and terrible ways of seeing, and interpreting, trying to understand the world and our place in it. Shapes and colours combine with ideas and stories. Gardening, Ikebana, writing and fibre are for me all forms of artistic expression.

One of my great pleasures, especially in the winter, is creating art with needle, thread and cloth or yarn. This year, I’m experimenting with an air pen as a means of adding script to my pictures. Whether or not the viewer chooses to read the words, the writing adds an intriguing stitch-like layer of texture.