Naomi Hare is an artist based in Edinburgh, on the
East Coast of Scotland. She has relatively recently
changed her media into sculpture after a life long
interest and involvement in art and craft, mostly
of the Fine Art variety. She has dabbled in photography,
collage, mixed media, paper making, Installations,
Psycho- geographical mapping (derives) and many other
disciplines.
A lot of the inspiration comes from the movement
of water or land formations in Scotland and the Coastal
seascapes. Designs occur from playing with ideas,
materials and images such as the patterns left by
water on sand and rock, or the atmosphere of the sea
and sky. Distinctive elements of her designs are carved
textural wood surfaces for wall mounting. They are
highlighted by the shapes and colours with their visually
impacting lines. The effects she has achieved have
arisen from wide ranging experiments with textured.
The Surfaces and painting incorporate traditional
and contemporary techniques. The work ultimately both
engages the eye and offers the opportunity for touch.
The subject matter also ranges from internal organs,
plant life, insects, shells, bones, trees, moss -
to the abstract. The inspiration always comes from
the natural world. Lately she seems to be leaning
more towards expressing landscapes, elements, Fossils
and microscopic structures, the more monumental of
natural shapes.
It is hard to draw a common thread from such an eclectic
range of subjects, styles and sources of inspiration.
She endeavours to capture the archetypal character
of the subject. With human and animal forms this often
entails a paring down of detail, not unlike primitive
art. In other more fractal, subjects - trees, landscapes,
shells -this can mean the opposite, a building of
intricate colours using the woods own detailed textures,
to create the intricate character of the subject.
Where possible, Naomi endeavours to work with reclaimed
wood. This in itself is one of the most challenging
aspects of her work and it can impose restrictions,
including size and weight. Yet she experiences a great
satisfaction in developing or adapting techniques
that extend the use of redundant woods not normally
used in the arts.
