Education

Born in northeastern England, Rosemary moved with her family to the United States in 1969. After graduating from high school she returned to the United Kingdom to attend Cardiff College of Art in Wales, and received the Certification of Foundation Studies in Fine Art. Back in the USA, she received a BFA in Printmaking from Moore College of Art in Philadelphia, PA. Following some travels, Rosemary lived in Vermont for a few years where she married, had two sons. She eventually settled in midcoast Maine in 1998. Her art has been exhibited in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Vermont and Maine.

Process

The love of sewing and needlework began to merge with printmaking while attending college and has continued ever since. While exploring various printmaking techniques, Rosemary currently uses an intaglio technique developed by artist, Imero Gobbato, which consists of a masonite ‘plate’ treated and scribed into with a hand-made tool. The detail in imagery can be as sharp and clean as that achieved using the classic metal plate of an etching, but without the toxicity of acid needed to ‘etch’ the lines. The fiber work has evolved since Rosemary’s mother, a talented seamstress, first taught her to thread a needle, and continues a lifelong learning and involvement in the needle arts.

Images come from dreams, visions and imagination, and begin with an initial sketch followed by a more formal, to scale composition, which is then transferred onto the printing plate and scribed. Rosemary prints both on paper and fabric using a press, especially enjoying printing on fabric and using the processes of piecing, layering, quilting, trapunto (stuffing) and embroidery to pull out the image with more clarity and detail. Sometimes additional imprinting is added on the surface using letter stamps or actual objects. All the fiber work is pieced and sewn by hand, except when a frame is incorporated as part of the finished piece, in which case the border may be attached with a sewing machine.