Artist's statement: Part 1: My background is fine art but in July 2020, l suddenly put my brushes, paints and charcoal down and just walked away. Not something l ever thought I'd do! I couldn't even go into my studio to clear up for six months! I came into jewellery making completely by accident when, later that year, l wanted to make my daughter a rough opal pendant for her birthday. I bought a rough Welo Opal and some silver wire and set about it. Unsurprisingly, I made a complete hash up of it! I decided l needed to do some research and followed a wire wrapping tutorial. Although it was far from perfect, I was really chuffed with the outcome. I was hooked! For 9 months, I followed wire wrapping and weaving tutorials, the air blue whilst my hands got to grips with the new movements and skills they had to learn! After that, l started to make my own designs and then to gradually teach myself silversmithing. I had three 1:1 classes at the beginning of this year where l was taught how to make a simple ring and how to use a piercing saw. I'm so enjoying this journey; learning new skills, shaping the silver and working with semi precious gemstones. All the silver I use is recycled and where possible, gems are bought from sustainable sources. Just goes to show, you never know where life is going to take you or what's around the corner. Part 2: After a sabbatical of making jewellery for three years, I returned to painting after a friend commissioned me to do a mural of his Harley Davidson motorcycle tank; the collaboration was great fun, working together to come up with design, which inevitably, was fantasy art based. After that, I decided to teach myself to use an airbrush. My artistic practice explores the intersection between humanity and the cosmos, seeking to reflect our influence on both the natural world and the universe beyond. Through a combination of observational studies and imaginative interpretation, I aim to evoke both wonder and a critical reflection on our collective responsibilities. Since childhood, as well as the landscape, I have been fascinated by the images of the universe, in recent years taken by the Hubble space telescope and now, the enhanced imagery of the James Webb telescope. My first image was 'Coca Cola', which I fell suggests toxicity. From there, I decided to combine images from the James Webb telescope with imagery of global issues that I feel strongly about; it's a way for a way to have an outlet for the pain that these issues cause me, to communicate and, hopefully raise subjects for discussion. Each of the nebula images are carefully selected to complement the subject and rendered using an airbrush and acrylic inks, which I think is perfectly suited to this kind of imagery. The main subject of each piece, which are thoroughly researched, is achieved using micro brushes with acrylic ink; I think the two ways of working, work well together; the gaseous substance of the nebula combined with the physical. The working title for this series is 'The Human Impact'.