Helen Pailing – New Light Bursary Winner
Brooch 1: Good Luck Serpents
£2,200.00
Salvaged borosilicate glass (Mayflower Glass), glass lampworking technique, Merino wool, hand embroidery, Padauk wood
70cm x 90cm x 10cm
‘I was so pleased with the quality of the work submitted but the glass stood out! I think I was drawn to the use of materials and the consideration and attention to detail really made an impression.’
Linnet Rubaya
‘I was thrilled to be selected by Linnet Rubaya as a New Light Bursary winner and to meet her on the opening night, along with many other artists from the North whom I’ve long admired.Sunny Bank Mills holds a special place in my heart, as I grew up nearby. It was a real joy to finally exhibit a piece of my own in a venue that has meant so much to me.’
Helen Pailing
Helen Pailing is an artist-maker who seeks to redefine the possibilities of materials in sculpture, to ‘recraft waste’ materials into sculptures, assemblages and site-specific interventions. She uses haptic knowledge to inform her work.An economy of means and materials is integral to Helen’s process. Reusing materials destined for landfill serves as her form of quiet activism, aiming to raise awareness of seemingly non-precious or redundant ‘waste’ and celebrating the inherent value within all matter.Graduating with a BA (Hons) in Embroidery from MMU in 2004, Helen further developed her interest in the material culture of craft by pursuing an MA in Designer Maker at UAL, awarded in 2012.In 2019, Helen completed an AHRC-funded, practice-based PhD at UoS, based at the National Glass Centre, titled ‘Recrafting Waste Using a Stitch-Based Methodology: A Collaboration Between Makers and Matter’. She has work in private and public collections, including The V&A and the National Glass Centre, and now lives and works in the North East.
