"In the medium of collage Peter Clark captures the essence of a chosen subject with various techniques by manipulating paper and working with a palette of colour, texture, weight, pattern and age which results in a wonderful three dimensional image."

"Clark graduated from Manchester college of Art and Design has long been interested in making visual that which exists in words, his career started as an illustrator and designer of animation for television. A long time collector of ‘things' Peter trawls the markets with his wife textile designer Karen Nicol and collects old stamps, faded maps, love letters, labels, buttons, dress making patterns, playing cards, textiles cotton webbing that binds books and paper boxes for the basis of his work."

"Clark's approach to paper collage is three dimensional. Peter first draws the outline in felt tip and then spends hours choosing from his collection of found ‘things' the right materials and colours to define the muscles, features and tonal effects which finally bring to life the finished work. He rolls and sculpts specific areas creating texture at crucial points in the work and never far behind is Clark's humor."

The book, Paperwork: Peter Clark by Matthew Sturgis. may be ordered from Peter Clark's website, PeterClarkCollage.com, or pre-ordered in paperback from Amazon. 

But first, look at Clark's wife's website, KarenNicol.com. She's an embroidery and mixed media textile artist working in gallery, fashion and interiors with a London based design and production studio that has been established for over twenty-five years. YSH London highlighted an interview with Karen that included photographs of their home and studio while she sketched the history of her career and inspirations for her work.

Karen  specializes in Irish, Cornelly, Multihead, beading, lace and hand embroidery.  She's a Visiting Professor at London's Royal College of Art,  part of the Fashion and Textiles staff. One of her works at the College may be seen at the Materials for Living research hub. 'Out of the blue into the black' was an art piece featured in an oceanography exhibition in Santa Fe. Currently, Ms. Nicol is also a Designer in Residence at Bath Spa University.

One of her exhibitions, Exhibition Pieces, was recently featured at the Rebbecca Hossack Gallery. Her work has  from creating an artwork celebrating plankton to an embroidered triptych. Nicol's  her current clients include Chloé, Clements Ribeiro, Julien Macdonald, John Rocha, Betty Jackson, Matthew Williamson and Michiko Koshino.