About Me & My Art

Hi, I’m Pascale - Artist, Designer, Teacher, Curator, and Exhibitor since 1990. It all started with being part of a group of five artists who rented one of the buildings from British  Rail at Sherborne Station in Dorset.  We called ourselves 'Station Artists'.   
Soon after this, Sherborne Contemporary Arts (SCA) was born,  holding their first exhibition at Sherborne House,  the old grammar school for girls in Sherborne.   With all this creative inspiration, I became an Outreach worker for Artshare South West. As Exhibition Co-ordinator, I secured lottery funding for an exhibition at Sherborne House for disabled artists throughout Dorset called "Creatability '97”.

I moved to Wiltshire in 1998, and after a few office jobs in Bath, I wanted something more in tune with me.  A position for an assistant was advertised in the shop window of a picture framer and gilders in Bradford-on-Avon, and I begged the owner for a job.  I got the job.
By 2003, I had trained as a picture framer under the watchful eye of Jem Marsh, a brilliant engineer famous for the Marcos car.  I worked in Walcot Street in Bath, in a wonderful store called 'The Looking Glass’, and continued my job at Rooths in Bradford-on-Avon.  In the mid-2000s, I needed major surgery,  requiring three months off work, which was the death of  all my jobs.

Having acquired all these skills from three of the best framers around,  I started my own picture framing business.  I already had a studio at Stowford Manor Farm, so it seemed a natural transition. My business was  incredibly successful.  I received work from galleries in London,  Pulteney Arms in Bath, and a well-established hair salon in George Street, Bath.  I had taken a course on Gilding and Restoration, and with my small gallery, everything was grand in my life.

In conjunction with framing, I always wanted to work with children, teenagers, and families and established Access All Arts. This was right at the beginning of  the craze for workshops and courses.  I was a trailblazer in my field.  I ran projects with Wiltshire County Council, Somerset, and worked closely with local schools, colleges from Trowbridge, Bradford-on-Avon, Frome, Keevil, other organisations such as Trowbridge Museum, and projects in  Bath.  

Exhibiting  my own work has always been important to me. I showed  at the Bath Fringe, as  Resident Artist at The American Museum, including other galleries, and at the Victoria Art Gallery for their Summer Show & Beaux-Arts in Cork Street. This went on for a number of years until my dream of actually owning a Creative Centre could become a reality. It was unaffordable in England yet feasible  in France. I took a leap of faith!

In 2008, I moved to France with my partner, who continued with his job in the UK.  I project managed the small holding to be developed as an Art Centre/Boutique Camping. I worked on  renovating whilst developing the marketing and legal side of things.  Sadly, due to unforeseen circumstances, I returned to the UK in 2011. My partner’s heart was not in it.  

With no real stability or studio,  I focused on photography due to the natural world around me and my dog Napoleon,  whom I could not be separated from.  I reinvented my art practice and built a new website, www.beautifulcardcompany.com. It was tough coming back. I'd always had a studio, so this hit me the hardest.  I'd sold everything to survive. I reinvented myself too as a housekeeper, which I still do now. Starting over from ground zero at 54 is 'no mean feat'.  

From 2011 to 2019, I had lived in a Georgian flat in Bath, a 70-foot narrow boat, a 14th-century cottage in Rode, a basement in Limply Stoke, a Grade 2 listed cottage in Warminster, and a converted stable. That is a lot of moving around. Currently, I am not far from Cheshire, where I grew up.  I live in a beautiful part of England.

Whilst in Warminster and feeling disillusioned at just about everything,  I picked up a needle and worked on a couple of design ideas for a needlepoint. This was something I could definitely enjoy and develop.  Having made large paintings in the past,  it was time to work on something more portable.

After moving  to Corsely in 2019 as a housekeeper for an American couple, I felt  inspired. They encouraged my creative side and had dogs, my favourite species.  When Covid hit, I bought a Dryad Four Shaft Counterblance loom and fell in love with weaving. Tapestry weaving,  pattern weaving,  all that goes with yarn and wool. The processing of the fleece, to the dyeing and spinning.  

I still paint, draw, and do some  photography, but weaving, well, that is magical.  My passion and enthusiasm for this craft just grow and grow. It brings such joy to my life. My art has kept me alive, for this I am grateful.