Biography
Valerie Pragnell (b. Worthing, Sussex, UK 1942 - d. Dumfries 2006) worked in London and Paris in 1960s and moved to Glasgow in 1972 where from 1981–5 she studied at the mural and stained glass department of the Glasgow School of Art. She took part in British Artists in Glass in 1986 at Liberty's in London. She soon abandoned glass but light and colour was often incorporated into her later work. In 1988 she was artist-in-residence at the Glasgow Garden Festival. She created work from natural materials such as bark, branches, mud, moss, thorns, seeds and leaves, often weaving them into pod-like forms. Pragnell showed in group exhibitions in Scotland from the mid-1980s, although sometimes her works were specifically designed for a site. Twelve Seasons, produced in 1996, was such a successful body of work with the public that it went on two-year tour throughout the UK. Tree Pods and Storm were featured in the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art 1989–90 Scottish Art since 1900 show.
