I have been inspired by the work of the Pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne-Jones and this piece is a reference to our 'inner landscape' and the importance of the forest environment in our folk/fairy tale tradition. This mosaic is made using a mixture of stained and kiln formed glass pieces.

Is made from clipped fragments of vitreous glass mosaic tiles, applied fancy mosaic glass shapes & nuggets with glazed clay butterflies, leaves & flower heads. There is also the addition of beach combed, sea turned pottery which has been purchased from fellow beach combers & collected by myself & my sister from the beautiful beaches of Fife in Scotland. This assemblage of mosaic & mixed media items has then been decorated & embellished with gloss green enamel, gold leaf, prismatic glitter, faux cabochons, faux pearls & rhinestones.
Where I live in Fife there are stretches of rich, deep forests & wonderful coastlines; my family & I when out walking through these forests are occasionally gifted with magical sightings of the incredibly enigmatic & cute red squirrel. Peering down from the tree top canopies & branches these little squirrels watch you for a little while with intent curiosity before vanishing into the depths of the trees. So for the 2011 The Year of the Forest exhibition I instantly thought of the shy & secretive red squirrel as my inspiration.
With “Secret Squirrel” I sourced sea turned pottery which has been decorated with ferns & flowers, coloured in greens & splashes of blue, along with sea turned pottery coffee pot & tea cup handles which look like tree branches & ivy vines. My usage of this pottery, green & blue mosaic media, along with gold decorated glass & gold leaf was to create an impression of a red squirrel hiding in the forest tree tops, hidden slightly by the thick foliage with the blue skies & rays of golden sunshine flickering & shinning through the leaves & gaps in the tall canopy.