Artists Influences and Background

Dawn was raised on the Wirral Peninsula in England near the Dee Estuary looking across to Wales. Growing up Dawn was hugely influenced by the sport of badminton, a particularly popular sport in China and India. The lessons she learnt from her involvement in elite sports have been many. In her 40’s Dawn gained a masters world ranking in Racketlon, a sport combining table tennis, badminton, squash and tennis.

The reaction speed required to play badminton and the immediacy of play are aspects from this incredible sport that Dawn endeavours to bring into her creative work today. From the gentlest touch of the subtlest net shot to the full force and power of the most vibrant jump smash. In either case timing, speed and accuracy combine in a microsecond as contact is made between racket and shuttle. The feeling of flow and being ‘in the zone’ that is particularly strong in sports for Dawn is something that the Eastern traditions have studied for millennia. This became particularly apparent to Dawn as she studied yoga and yogic philosophy.

Sports demand an attunement of the primal gritty survival-of-the-fittest instinct at times. As the human race tackles the massive environmental crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic and an incredibly fast rate of technological change, it seems that it is a time to dig deep as a human race across the globe. Dawn perceives that the entire human race, knowingly or unknowingly, is embarking on a global healing process and this is something Dawn would like to contribute to through art as well as in her consulting work at www.dawnonyou.com and her yoga and meditation teaching.

Much as she developed capability in all areas of the 3D space around her as a badminton player, her creative skill journey also expands into different realms. It is an ever-deepening self-actualisation process unfolding through her work.