Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy New Year!
A few updates to round off the year:
Exciting news! I’ve been selected for a commission with SEED and First Bus. I will be working with the community to co-create artworks to be installed on First Buses across Sedgemoor in 2021. It will be something a bit different to my usual work, and will stretch me in new ways. More details coming soon…
Our travelling group exhibition is getting more compelling as plans develop. Inch by IN:CH is an artist-led project for ‘21, bringing contemporary art out of studios and galleries and into communal areas of our everyday lives. Small-scale works in cases will be transported from place to place, migrating outwards in a spiral. 11 artists will engage with local communities through workshops, talks and performances. We’re looking for match-funding for our ACE application, so if you can help in any way, financially or in-kind, do let me know!
My latest piece The Fall is almost at the point where I can call it ‘finished’ (see previous post for details). A quote from The Overstory (Richard Powers) sums up my thinking: ‘Trees talk to one another... through the networked soil... Mats of mycorrhizal cabling link trees into gigantic, smart communities... there are no separable events. The bird and.. branch.. are a joint thing.. linked creatures..’ Human frailty, greed, the Icarus factor, is the sorrow.
The Fall in progress: steel, copper, found wood, wool, sisal, twine, rope, leaves, feathers, naturally dyed cotton, wax..
My work is on sale at the Artisan Christmas Market, ACE Arts, Somerton. I will be invigilating there tomorrow (Saturday 19 Dec) - do come and say hello if you’re in the area, and maybe consider buying some hand-made Christmas gifts :-)
Small and Affordable (Frome) is Black Swan Arts’ fundraising exhibition with 100% going towards keeping the wonderful Black Swan Arts alive. All works are under £300 and under 30cm sq. There are some great pieces for sale donated by artists, for a great cause.
My offering: New Beginnings, found and recycled paper, wax, steel, copper.
My next Online Sculpture Course runs 11 Jan-14 Feb. If you’d like to learn new 3d skills using sustainable materials, or know someone who does, please visit this link. Places are filling up so book asap! It could make a stimulating start to the New Year and/or a Christmas present for someone who wants to get more creative ;-)
Also, it’s your last chance to benefit from a 10% discount offer to friends and supporters in my online Shop (ends Sat 19 Dec)!
Red Line Art Works trophy. Photo by Jason Bryant
On a positive note, here are a few special moments from this year:
A bronze trophy arrived in the post for winning the Red Line Art Works global award!
Despite most of my exhibitions and commissions being cancelled, I took my work online, launched a sculpture course and made several films. I was lucky to receive ACE funding for Life in the Undergrowth.
I showed at the Royal Society Summer Exhibition, curated by Robert and Nicky Wilson, Jupiter Artland. The pangolin mask I made out of cotton offcuts, dyed with avocado pits, all hand-sewn, has come in very handy. I feel acutely sad for the plight of pangolins. I’ve scaled back my Christmas cards this year and instead donated to Flora and Fauna to help pangolins, who are being slaughtered en mass to the point of becoming endangered.
Exhibition trips, seeing my son, other family and friends in between lockdowns, making art and being in the garden have kept me sane. I’ve learnt more about resilience, and the importance of being kind to nature, and each other.
Goodbye to an extraordinary year which has deeply affected us all. Looking forward to turning the corner!
Wishing you a very Happy Christmas and here’s to a better, healthier year in 2021!
Do keep in touch via my social media channels:
Best wishes and take care,
Fiona x