Artist Statement
Tansy Lee Moir’s work is inspired by trees and how their history shapes them. For her they are tangible evidence of a life lived: old trees are time made wood.
She forages for images in woodlands, capturing the essence and energy of trees through drawing. She transforms those visual memories in the studio, building bodies of work around themes which chime with her own experience. Her drawings weave together elements of tree, figure and water and are always about movement, whether it spans three seconds or three centuries.
The material qualities of charcoal are core to Tansy’s process, which feels like sculpting, carving out contour lines, scraping and wiping to reveal light, form and texture. There’s something poetic about drawing trees with carbonised wood.
Old trees can be powerful symbols of struggle and loss, resilience and hope and she draws to discover what looking at them can teach us about ourselves.
Artist Bio
Tansy grew up in the Peak District in Derbyshire and gained a BA(Hons) in 3D Design: Wood, Metal & Ceramics from Manchester Metropolitan University. She moved to Scotland in 1994 to work as a Community Artist, going on to study Community Learning and Development at Post Graduate level at Edinburgh University.
After a rewarding career in community development projects alongside her art practice, she now works full-time as an artist and educator, exhibiting and teaching across the UK. Her work is in private collections around the UK, Europe and the USA and in 2023 she was awarded a commission residency by the late Hugo Burge, creating work for the Marchmont Collection.
Tansy has developed close connections and collaborative projects with organisations and individuals who share her passion for our ancient tree heritage. She is a professional member of the Society of Scottish Artists and Visual Arts Scotland.
