About the Artist

Helen BIRMINGHAM

I graduated from Kingston Polytechnic in 1984 (Helen Barter) with a BA (Hons) Degree in Fine Art Printmaking, and later gained a PGCE in Secondary Art teaching from Canterbury Christ Church College. For a number of years I was Head of Art at a secondary school in Kent, later opening my own craft shop in Faversham, where I ran classes for both children and adults in various craft subjects.

I now work from my own studio in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, producing works of art in a broad range of media, including painting, photography, glass, textiles, beading and mixed media collage.

My recent move to North Yorkshire has heightened my interest in the geological and fossil evidence for a belief in evolution over creation, and has encouraged me to look at how ecological changes cause the disintegration of structures. A new series of work entitled "Time and Tide" can be viewed and is available for purchase at the Primavera Gallery, King Street, Cambridge.

My work was selected as part of the East Coast Open Exhibition in Scarborough earlier in 2010, and I am currently working on a series of 10 images "Time & Tide, an exhibition for Scarborough" which will be exhibited at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough as part of the local arts festival "Coastival" in February 2011.





2009 was the bicentenary of Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of "The Origin of Species". Broughton House Gallery in Cambridge held a major exhibition of my artwork in June and July of 2009, during the University's "Darwin Festival".

With my mother being an art teacher, and my father a botanist - not to mention having a variety of auricula named after me, "Auricula Helen Barter", - I guess it was inevitable that I should inherit a combined interest in art and science! Much of my artwork has been inspired by Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution, and more specifically his seminal work "The Origin of Species". I am fascinated by the science of heredity - how character traits are replicated and reproduced, passed from one generation to the next, with virtually imperceptible changes evolving over time to create a significant change.







My background in printmaking leads me towards the practice of making multiple images, but I am excited by the notion that no two images are "identical". I enjoy the discipline of recording the history of my actions upon a surface, either photographically at intermediate stages of a works' creation, or physically "replicating" a piece of work to a given stage, so that the original can stay intact, whilst the idea can continue in the form of a "next generation". This practice tends to lead to themes in my work "evolving" over time, with some repeated elements and motifs appearing in future generations.

I believe that as an artist I have two roles: the hand which creates the image and allows for chance, and the eye which identifies which changes are beneficial and encourages their evolution. In summary, my work attempts to illustrate something of the nature of "being", whilst exploring and recording not only the changes which occur during the creation of the piece itself, but also exploring the evolution of ideas and images which occur as a result of that creation.







RECENT PUBLICATION
I have recently had my first book published by Search Press: Twenty to Make "Beaded Felt Jewellery" ISBN 978-1-84448-315-0

"Using simple techniques, Helen Birmingham shows you how to create fabulous jewellery that you will love making and adore wearing! Her unique, eye-catching designs, coupled with her fantastic use of bright, jewel-like colours, makes this book a treasure trove of ideas and inspiration that you will want to plunge into again and again."

Paperback 48 pages RRP £4.99
Search Press were voted "Best Craft Publisher 2007"