Megan Hughes

Megan Hughes is another graduate of textiles at Dundee's Duncan of Jordanstone art college. This department always impresses me with the quality of the research, sketch books and development work that the students undertake. Megan's insect legs and insects are just fantastic full of character and humour and great as a springboard for unique design.

"I visited the D’arcy Thomson Museum to collect visual information on bugs and other insects, this drew me to engage with tiny things with weird characteristics. It was a rare occasion which gave me the chance to be able to examine lives which are smaller than a penny yet hold such rich visual information. These creatures are limited edition living jewels. Having the chance to photograph and observe these microscopic characters allowed me to become aware of their impacting sensitivity and a wide spectrum of colours within their textured shells. I was mainly drawn to the strange shapes which make up their alien bodies and abstract textures on their hard backs. I dissected the images of them to understand motifs and textures, these tiny details helped me build back up an image of strangeness through irregular compositions. As a print and surface designer, my aim is to capture the sensitivity shown in my mark making and really put an emphasis on the quality of developing manually, to keep the tradition of hand techniques." Megan Hughes