Sandra Hampton

sahampton32@hotmail.com

 

Personal Statement

Sandra believes that creativity is inspired by your experiences of life and of your environment and that therefore every individual has the potential to create art. Her inspiration is derived from two sources: the D/deaf students that she works with, and also her research and studies in fine art. Sandra has worked with children and young adults with a hearing impairment for 17 years. Many of the students also have complex additional needs. Teaching art to these students has convinced Sandra of the importance of self expression through creativity.

Sandra’s work is a refection of her own life experiences, and of the environments that she both works and lives in. She began to use an imaginary picture frame to create her paintings in order to examine life from a range of perspectives. The compositions were often small details drawn from her everyday surroundings. Sandra initially admired the Impressionists’ style, brush stroke and use of vivid colour, and she began to draw inspiration from their work. More recently she has been inspired by Mondrian, his intuition and his ability to create until he felt it was just right. Sandra has also been inspired by Batchelor in his use of chance discoveries and random encounters.

Sandra’s work has evolved from painting, to relief and has now begun to develop into structures. By removing the limitations of working to her original schematic: the two-dimensional wall-hanging, (that is traditionally more related to painting), Sandra has been able to fully explore the range of media that goes into her work. Sandra has found new ways of expressing each medium by experimentation and play, which has inspired her to move her work forward. Her works are no longer merely a play on manipulating paint.

Recently Sandra has been drawn towards the play on structures and on spaces, and more specifically construction within a site. In this way, Sandra allows both the studio and space to become significant to her works. Her intentions are to allow the viewer to have their own experience with the site, and to engage with the site in its own right. Sandra believes that the process and ideas behind her work are secondary to the viewer’s individual experience and engagement with the finished pieces. Therefore, experiencing a work of art is a personal experience of life and of an environment.