I completed a new piece 'Cocoon' last week for Fresh Air '17. Inspired by the puss moth cocoon and pupa, it is a drawing in space, welded, woven and wrapped. The exhibition starts this weekend and runs until 2 July.
Fresh Air ‘17
Latest Trips and Exhibitions /
I have been very remiss with blogging - too many balls to juggle! Recently I took a short 2-day break to Yorkshire to visit the Sculpture Park, an astounding place, and walked across the moors to the house that inspired Wuthering Heights, one of my favourite books.
As summer blasts upon us (hooray!) I have a flurry of work and exhibitions coming up from tomorrow. I hope you will be able to visit some of them:
I am still working on a large Cocoon piece for Fresh Air ’17 (see below), due to be installed in a week and still some way to go before completion! Quenington Old Rectory, Quenington, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 5BN, 11 June – 2 July, open daily 10am-5pm, (£5 Adults, children free).
In between making this I have been working towards an imminent MFA module at Bath Spa Uni, to be assessed next week. Clashing deadlines, late nights, but nearly ready!
I’ve made a Nests piece for Fifty BEES: The Interconnectedness of All Things, at ACEarts, Somerton, 1-22 July, open Tues – Sat, 10am-5pm. A lovely project with great ambitions.
I am also taking part in the following:
Wylye Valley Art Trail, (see below) Venue 16, The Hive Artspace, 93 Boreham Rd, Warminster BA12 9JY. 26 May – 4 June opening with a Private View this evening.
Bradford-on-Avon Sculpture Garden ‘17 (see attached), Lynchetts, 15 Woolley St, Bradford-on-Avon BA15 1AD. 25 June -2 July 11am – 6.30pm (closed Mons). Opening night Sat 24 June, 6-9.30pm (tickets £6, inc. wine + live music).
NGS Open Garden, College Barn, Benter, Somerset BA3 5BJ, 23 July, 10am-5pm
Summer Sculptures at Glastonbury Abbey, 1 July – 1 October
‘Form and Fascination’, Courts Garden National Trust, Wiltshire, 9 September – 15 October. I will be showing a selection of work alongside Ian Turnock.
Somerset Art Weeks Festival ‘Prospect’, ‘Ephemeral and Eternal’, Round Tower, Black Swan Arts Centre, 2 Bridge St, Frome, Somerset BA11 1BB, 16 September – 7 October, 10am–4pm, Monday to Saturday, (open Sun 1 Oct) and Clay Hill Farm, Bridgwater, 23 September – 8 October. I will be showing alongside Angela Morley.
I am also really looking forward to a mini break away to the Venice Biennale soon.
Have a lovely Summer!
Exhibitions: Black Swan Arts, Fresh Air and 50 Bees /
Just a brief update on a few exhibitions and events that I’m taking part in this Spring. I hope you will be able to visit some of them. ‘The Future Can’t Wait’, recently opened in the Long Gallery, Black Swan Arts Centre, 2 Bridge St, Frome, Somerset BA11 1BB, 18 March – 5 April (see attached poster/invite). A show of exhibits from 30 Bath Spa MA postgraduate students across four disciplines - ceramics, fashion and textiles, fine art and visual communication.
I’ve been involved in linking this up with BBC’s get-creative-weekend. On Saturday 8 April, from 2-4pm, Black Swan artisans will be offering drop-in taster workshops for adults and children over ten years old, and MA artists will work with young people offering activities for children of all ages, exploring concepts of their current exhibition. I will be doing one of the workshops.
I’m still working on my piece for Fresh Air ’17. Too large now for my studio, I am making it outdoors. Spring weather is helping a lot! Quenington Old Rectory, Quenington, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 5BN, 11 June – 2 July, open daily 10am-5pm, (£5 Adults, children free).
I’m also making a small sculpture for Fifty BEES: The Interconnectedness of All Things, at ACEarts, Somerton, 1-22 July, open Tues – Sat, 10am-5pm. The topic is close to my heart.
Have a lovely Spring!
Current and Forthcoming Exhibitions 2017 /
I will be taking part in the following exhibitions this year: Bath Spa University MA Open Studios, Dartmouth Ave, 25-27 January
Walcot Chapel MA Fine Art Residency. 13-20 Feb. Open Eve Mon 20 Feb, 6-8pm, Walcot Chapel, Walcot Gate, Bath BA1 5UG
'The Future Can't Wait', MA Show, Long Gallery, Black Swan Arts Centre, 2 Bridge St, Frome, Somerset BA11 1BB, 18 March - 5 April. Preview Fri 17 March 6-8pm
Wylye Valley Art Trail, 26 May - 4 June
Fresh Air '17, Quenington Old Rectory, Quenington, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 5BN, 11 June - 2 July, open daily 10am-5pm, £5 Adults, children free
Bradford-on-Avon Sculpture Garden, 'Lynchetts', 15, Woolley Street, Bradford-on-Avon, 24 June - 2 July, 11am-6.30pm, closed Mon
Fifty BEES: The Interconnectedness of All Things, ACEarts, Somerton, 1-22 July, open Tues - Sat, 10am-5pm
Summer Sculptures, Glastonbury Abbey, Somerset, BA6 9EL, 1 July - 1 October (normal admission applies)
Evolver Prize '17, Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Honiton, 8 July - 26 August
NGS Open Garden, Benter, Somerset, 23 July, 10am-5pm
'Form and Fascination', Courts Garden National Trust, Holt, Nr Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, BA14 6RR, 9 September - 15 October (closed Wednesdays). Last entry to garden 5pm. My work will be shown alongside Ian Turnock's. Private View Fri 8 Sept 6-8pm
Somerset Art Weeks Festival 'Prospect'. I will be taking part in 2 exhibitions with Angela Morley, spanning East and West Somerset. 'Ephemeral and Eternal', Round Tower Gallery, Black Swan Arts, 2 Bridge St, Frome, Somerset BA11 1BB, 16 September - 7 October, 10am–4pm, Mon to Sat, (open Sun 1 Oct); Preview Fri 22 Sept 6-8pm and Clayhill Arts, Clayhill Farm, Charlynch Lane, Bridgwater TA5 2PH, 23 September - 8 October, 11am-6pm, Wed-Sun
As part of Somerset Art Weeks Festival we will be running workshops: Black Swan Arts: ‘Organic Forms’: Wed 4 Oct, 1-3pm (Angela Morley); Sat 7 Oct, 10-12 or 1-3pm (Fiona Campbell); book via www.eventbrite.co.uk; Clayhill Arts: ‘Organic Forms Found Materials’ Sun 8 Oct, half day or full day (Fiona Campbell); or ‘Organic Forms Willow Weaving Sun 8 Oct, half day or full day (Angela Morley), or combination of each: book via www.eventbrite.co.uk
MA Degree Show, Bath School of Art & Design, Sion Hill, Bath, BA1 5SF, 23 - 27 Sept, 10am-5pm. This will be an interim show for me, being my first year of two, part-time
Black Swan Arts Open, 2 Bridge St, Frome BA11 1BB, 2-29 Nov, 10am-4pm, Mon to Sat
More details to follow on these and other exhibitions.
Research /
My MA continues to absorb me. Research is a main focus this term, I have never got through so much literature in such a short time! I am looking at the 'expanded fields' (Krauss) and blurred boundaries in drawing and sculpture, doing alot of thinking, writing, visiting exhibitions, listening to talks and making samples. I love the alchemy. Inspired by artists such as Eva Hesse in the 60's who defied categorisation, Cornelia Parker (exploded shed; melts down and ‘draws’ the object/s (eg a lead bullet) into wire), Monika Grzymala (see image below: theatrical explosions with tape and paper), Chiharu Shiota (immersive stretched installations) and critics/philosophers e.g. Rosalind Krauss and Peter Osborne, new ideas are slowly formulating.
This month, I will be taking part in the Quartz Visual Arts Festival ’16, ‘Outside In’, 15-22 December at Queens College, Taunton TA1 4QS. This involves a collection of work based on the rural landscape and natural world from over 40 artists and makers in the South West.
I’ve been involved behind the scenes at Black Swan Arts, Frome. The winter exhibition ‘30 Years/30 Artists’ is now running until 24 Dec, our final 30th anniversary celebration of 30 years at Black Swan. Postcard artworks have returned to the Gallery (displayed on a strange pink/silver/pearl tree I cobbled together), this time in secret envelopes at just £10 each - Christmas bargain!
I am also working towards a large piece for ‘Fresh Air ‘17’ in Quenington, Gloucestershire. More news on this later.
Very best wishes for a happy festive season!