Light Tube: Solar Flare

Original Artwork by Caroline Burton

Light Tube 1.2 Metres Tall

Caroline Burton is a fibre artist residing in New Zealand. She creates abstract contemporary artworks using the medium of felted wool and silk fibres, often with three-dimensional sculptural elements. Her work has a strong spiritual component, each piece being an expression of aspects of her faith and is inspired by natural forms.

A relative newcomer to the world of art, Caroline originally trained and worked as an engineer. Evidence of this previous training can be seen in some of her chosen subject matter: an obsession with geological forms and processes, for instance. Through diligent practise, as she has made her way to becoming a self taught artist, Burton has found a passion for creating art that has totally enthralled her.

On her artistic journey, Caroline has discovered a need not only to express her own innate creativity but also to encourage others to discover and nurture their own. This has led her to become actively involved in events which foster the arts in her local area. She has also been invited to share her insights with various groups and loves to interact creatively with others through demonstrations of her process and workshops.

My art practise is at once a celebration and an exploration. Every time I make art, it is in celebration of the fundamental truth that I have discovered, which is as old as time: that I have been created with creativity in me. At the same time, I am exploring creation itself; humanity, the vastness of the unseen parts of even the very ground beneath our feet. These are the things that remind me that there is so much that we don’t, can’t, won’t know.

The challenge of discovering ways to express these thoughts and explorations using fibres has proved compelling. The process of sculpting and painting with un-spun fibres fascinates me with every new piece that I create. There is an alchemy to the process of transforming wisps of fibre into something with form, structure and strength.