Rachael Blakeway

Rachael Blakeway is a mixed media artist who makes an eclectic range of 3D pictures and decorations from throw-away materials and found objects.

She enjoys the challenge and freedom of working with materials that have been discarded or no longer have a use and gives them a new lease of life - a sort of reincarnation. Read Sunday newspapers are made into pulp to create samba birds, mackerel and quirky characters. Empty pie tins and coffee pods become vintage china, hats or a bucket for crabbing and a well-used scouring pad makes excellent chimney smoke for a caravan or mad hair!

Each piece is individually hand painted and decorated making them quite unique as no two pieces are the same and they all have different stories as to where their origins began. She also loves the use of bright colours and a hint of humour giving them a feel good factor.

The inspiration for her work is based on everyday observations of people with interesting mannerisms, vintage objects and nostalgic memories. She believes her methods follow the saying “one mans trash is another mans treasure” and that there is a lot of treasure to be made!

Rachael's collection of work includes pieces that have brought her joy in their creation. The subjects vary from still-life's to scenes of characters that she has encountered or imagined to brightly coloured samba birds. The common theme between them all is the use of vivid colours, feelings of nostalgia or just the comfort of everyday rituals like having a cup of tea! She highlights the smaller pictures by putting them in simple white box frames so not to distract from the subjects which in turn focusses the viewers' attention. She hopes the observer can relate to some of her small pockets of happiness giving them a feeling of warmth and joy especially needed for the winter months ahead.