'We can't control the weather'

This wearable art waistcoat was designed from clifftop walks above the Blast Beach, Seaham. Made as part of a body of work known as Seacoasts. Feeling the effects of the weather when on the clifftops I was moved to draw and write about my feelings over a period of 6 months, the biting wind on my face, the bright blue winter and summer skies which give warmth from the sun, gently falling snow, driving rain and more.

It is made from handmade cotton wool paper and polyester wadding, using a traditional machine made 2.5 cm stitched grid to hold the layers together and a network of lines to embellish. The pattern was drafted from the quilted waistcoat I usually wear when out walking. Cotton wool paper is used as a metaphor for protection, although quite a juxtaposition as if the paper was wet it would disintegrate.

We cannot control the weather, this artwork was a starting point for future projects on climate change.