In her artwork Wendy investigates the idea of collecting and collections, linking historic and contemporary practice. Using the simplicity of ceramic forms to express the fragility of our environment, she creates both one-off sculptural pieces as well as artworks in series.  Her aim is to make the work visually engaging whilst communicating an important environmental message about the consequences of global warming and it's potential to cause extinctions in a majority of the world’s valuable ecosystems resulting in catastrophic species loss. 

 

‘SWARM’

This artwork was inspired by the plight of the British honey bee. The hand formed porcelain lachrymatories, also known as tear bottles, are used as a symbol for loss and were used during the Roman period to collect the tears of mourners.   

 

British honey bees have been practically wiped out by the deadly varroa mite.  In addition, a toxic cocktail of pesticides plus climate change has caused the loss of natural habitat and a lack of forage from declining wildflower meadows.  The managed colonies now need careful support and husbandry by beekeepers to ensure their survival and hives kept on allotment sites are now vitally important.  Bees are pollinators.  They are of immense value to agriculture, horticulture and gardeners.  They pollinate crops estimated to have a value in the UK of £7 billion per year.  The days when Government officials could ignore beekeeping and fail to protect it are long gone.  It is now essential to preserve our natural environment.'  www.swcaa.co.uk