Christine Twitchen
I am an artist, a dentist and a mother in varying proportions depending on the day of the week!!
I have always been a curious mixture of artist and scientist and the two disciplines have interacted, developed and complimented over time. I am always interested in new techniques and materials in order to achieve the quality and result I am constantly aiming for.
My greatest love, pre children!, was sculpture. Modelling with clay and a truly inspirational teacher were the start of an obsession with faces and the human body. Having previously spent 5 years training to be a dentist and working with models and of course, real teeth!, the graduation in scale to life size heads was not difficult. A husband, a dog, a cat, fish, guinea pigs and 2 children has made the time and space necessary for sculpture a luxury that I can only look forward to again in a few years time!!
Printmaking has also been a great love of mine and with the wide variety of techniques - screen printing, zinc plate etching and lithographs, opened another stimulating aspect of image production.
I also use many other materials in my work. Very often gold leaf will make an appearance, as will the use of acrylics, water-colour, pencil and oil.
All my animal work has been done to commission and as I don't advertise, is all by word of mouth. Many have been painted from extremely poor quality photographs, as that is sometimes all that is available - but good results are achievable.
The fishing pictures and maps have become a favourite of mine since my involvement with the Wessex Salmon and Rivers Trust charity. They have been produced as retirement presents, gifts, and donations to the annual auction.
Graphic work and calligraphy have also played quite a part in my armamentarium, having designed posters, wedding invitations, seating plans, certificates, programmes and logos.
My most recent exciting project is an unusual way of combining many of these skills... I now make houses, fishing lodges, haunted houses, in fact anything out of gingerbread! Fantastic fun to make, beautiful to look at and simply delicious to eat!!! Together with my friend Fiona, we have formed The Incredible Edible Gingerbread Company! We design, make, bake and sell a fabulous range of gingerbreads and cakes!