Minute details in the natural world have inspired a fascinating exhibition by textile artist Lois Parish Evans, opening at Newcastle’s Timeless Textiles Gallery in June. In the Nature’s Abstraction exhibition, Parish Evans’ work uses nature as the starting point for her journey into abstraction.

 “The minutiae of nature have long been a source of interest and inspiration,” she said. “The shape of a leaf, the vibrant colour of a flower, an autumn leaf, or the textural foam on a wave. All these and so much more  inspire my creativity.”

 The artist is constantly seeking to find the extraordinary within the ordinary.

 “Shape, colour, line, texture has all piqued my interest,” she says. “The ordinary things, which are often fleeting and missed if not quickly captured.”

 Over time Parish Evans has moved through stylisation of what she sees in the natural world to become more abstracted. While the initial element that has inspired the artist is often still recognisable, it has been through a process of abstraction. The image is deconstructed to its essence and then expanded out again in a process of reconstruction, which sometimes adds a touch of mystery. Is it a flower, a chrysallis? Is it viewed through a microscope? Or perhaps it is an entirely new world, species or cosmos?

 “My process is a personal response to the possibility of something new and different, a shift in the process of thinking and creating,” Parish Evans explains.

 This exhibition records her personal journey to abstraction. It records her unique response to the natural world. Moving towards abstraction has brought creative freedom for this artist.

 “It allows me to let go of control and to trust internal cues, which come from years of working with the elements of design,” she explains. “The process becomes a dialogue between creation and creator. It is the result of responsive interaction with the unfolding story of the work.”

Nature’s Abstraction exhibition runs from 12 June to 7 July, with the opening from 6 to 8pm on 13 June 2019