Emma Vaughan

I'm English and studied Fine Art in Bristol in the late 80's. Afterwards I studied photography and later trained as a garden designer. I've been working as a gardener and designer for a while. I've always kept sketch books and taken photographs and over the last few years have been finding myself drawn towards bringing all my ideas together and wanting to make art again.
I'm a Buddhist too, in fact I became a buddhist when I was an art student and I feel for me there is definitely a connection between my spiritual life and my creative life. I work intuitively but when I look more deeply at the things i'm interested in in my work concepts or themes do emerge.
I love to meditate and for me making art is meditative, and is a way of connecting to my buddha nature, I love the feeling when the mind is silenced and the work is allowed to express itself. I'm very drawn to Zen aesthetics, (although i'm not a Zen buddhist), I like the simplicity, and the expression of just the essence, the pure essence of things with no frills.
So one of the things I'm interested in is Zen calligraphy, because it's made from a peaceful but vital mind. When I'm painting I hope to paint with this kind of mind.
I'm drawn also to textures, of ol...

BA Hons Degree University of the West of England, UK, 1987-1990
HNC Garden Design 1998-2000