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Emma’s earliest memory of creating a pattern was using a stick on a sandy beach in Northern Ireland. She was hooked and her passion for colour and pattern was established. 

She completed a BA Hons Degree in Textiles and Fashion, specialising in Surface Pattern Design, followed by a PGCE in Art and Design at the University of Ulster, Belfast. 

She taught Art and Design before she got married and moved to South Africa in 2000. She and her family then experienced wonderful and priceless opportunities of living and working in Sudan and Zambia for many years. 

For the majority of her time, she was a Primary school teacher, but art was an integral part of her classroom and teaching philosophy. 

The beauty of the indigenous flora and fauna, the colourful traditional fabrics and the hand-crafted array of goods at the markets were captivating and remain as a primary source of wonder. 

Now, living in Durban, creeping vines, tropical leaves, rays of dancing sunlight, curled seed pods and reaching flowering branches, serve as an endless means of expression and creativity, as they interact and dance with one another in a kaleidoscope of shape and colour. 

She always gravitates towards the energy of vibrant colour palettes, manipulating shapes by incorporating lines, layers and texture using a wide variety of media, including paint, markers, printing and digital tools.

She would describe her work as organic, stylised and figurative.

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These designs emanated from a series of experimental gelli plate prints I had done based on my observations of the contrasting juxtaposition of structures and plant life in my garden. I simplified the detail, used repetitive angular and curved shapes and added translucency with a second layer to give depth. The colour palettes are not shy, exuding vibrancy, movement and playfulness.