About the artist
My name is Saffron Toms and I am a British multi-disciplinary artist, teacher and therapist. My formal studies began with my degree in BA (hons) Photography at Hereford college of arts, following on from this a teaching degree in the arts. My creative journey is one based on exploring the colours, shapes and patterns we experience in our everyday lives. Those that have always inspired me and are always within reach.
I currently live in Barcelona where I work as a teacher and an artist. I am studying and implementing art therapy into my teaching. Having always felt a need to create I follow my creative instinct to guide me through the various stages of my development as an artist.
Creative process
Connection is key. I’ve always admired the shapes of nature, the sensitivity of the light, the sound of the elements and the texture of touch. In many ways, at the core of my work is the exploration of the creative soul through nature. How deep can we go within ourselves and how far can we go into the exterior world? Where does art begin and end in this circular process? Seeing, feeling, processing, responding.
Throughout my life creativity has always been present. It’s been nurtured, rejected, celebrated, neglected, loved. It’s taken many forms. It’s been taken apart, broken into pieces and put back together. Within the body of the work each piece carries a presence. Power. The artwork is looking at you and you become absorbed into a world of colour, shape and line. Look for the center point and you will find harmony and balance. When creating work it’s often a series of decisions based on creative instinct. Responding to what feels right, trusting the process. Seek the flow, follow it then become it.
Something I have always been seeking is the middle point. Within my life I am looking to achieve balance. I ask myself is it possible to be everything at the same time? The world is made of opposites and the work explores this concept. Nature is all the things. The fragility, the anger, the sadness, the quiet, the loud, the fast and the slow- harmonize them together on a canvas, creating a space of peace.
I believe that at some point we have to let go. As an artist I spend much time nurturing the work. Battling with the process, questioning whether I am making the best choices so it is able to be an object of endless possibilities.
