Christmas Wishes

Winding down into winter, I’ve been enjoying some quiet solitary making. Working slowly towards an exhibition One Island - Many Visions for next year, with fellow Royal Society of Sculptors members, in collaboration with Portland Sculpture Quarry Trust. I’m interested in Lichen (Xanthoria Parietina) found on rocks at Tout Quarry, their colour, form, and radial growth. Among the oldest living and slowest growing organisms on Earth, the first to colonise new land, Lichen absorb large quantities of carbon dioxide. It seems fitting that my making is a slow, meditative process. I’ve been gathering materials, dyeing recycled fabric with turmeric, onion skins and avocado pits, wrapping and hand-stitching. Looking forward to another trip to Portland this weekend to collect beach litter for the work. Thanks to those who have donated remnants. If you have any spare orange or yellow waste textiles please get in touch!

Drawing on Dorset

Two of my charcoal drawings are currently on exhibition at The Sherborne, Dorset, DT9 3JG, part of Dorset Visual Arts Drawing on Dorset, which has toured venues in the South West. The show is in the Drawing Room and runs daily from 23 November - 23 March.

Sprouting Potato, charcoal on Arches paper

Dandelion Roots, charcoal on Somerset paper

If you’d like to purchase a drawing, please get in touch!

I have 3 pieces on show created from discarded piano parts in The Piano Shop Bath, 1&2 Canton Place BA1 6AA, created for Played and Remade. Available for sale and online.

A few images of my work from Elemental, an exhibition at Sou Sou West Gallery, Bridport, Dorset last month. I showed with Jan Alison Edwards and Ally Matthews.

Maquette I, Above and Below; recycled and found materials

Foreground: work by Jan Alison Edwards; Background: my Stilt Structure II

Nymph; found, discarded, recycled materials: fabric dyed with botanical inks, jute, teabags, paper, oil, rhubarb leaves, wood, wire, wood & other natural debris, hair, shoe inner sole, copper, wax, thread, sisal

Nymph (collage); recycled materials: paper, plant debris, fabric, teabags, cardboard

Foreground: Maquette I, Above and Below; on wall: work by Ally Matthews; Background: Stilt Structure II

My work on show at Elemental, Sou Sou West Gallery

Alongside the exhibition, I ran a weekend Eco Sculpture Workshop with Jan Alison Edwards. Below are pics of some of the wonderful experimentation by participants.

Stilt Structure I (detail); found & recycled materials

Seed Commission

Thrilled to have been commissioned by Seed Sedgemoor to create installations for a popup in Angel Place Shopping Centre, Bridgwater TA6 3QT from February ’25. Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand & Life in the Undergrowth will be showing 18-23 Feb. Flags of the Forest will open 8–13 April.  I’ll be at the Seed Creative Popup, Angel Place 18-22 Feb, and running Eco Sculpture Workshops daily, 11am-2pm. Free, fun, and open to everyone aged 6+ (children with an adult). Do drop in!

Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand (detail), Together We Rise, Chichester Cathedral. Photo by Anne Purkiss

Flags of the Forest, Wander_Land, Tremenhere Sculpture Gardens

Seed’s primary aim is to enable more people in Sedgemoor to actively engage in the creative arts. This activity is supported by Arts Council England via the Creative People and Places programme.

New Courses

To kick off the New Year I’ll be running a series of 5 week Sketchbooking and Eco Sculpture Courses from January onwards via Frome Community Education, day and eves.  Please visit this link to see them all, for further info, and to book.

Also: Mon eve 7-9pm, 24/2, 10/3, 17/3, 24/3, 31/3

Also: Mon morning 10am-12noon, 13/1, 20/1, 27/1, 3/2, 10/2

I’ll also be running my Online Sculpture Course from 13 January - 9 February ’25. Visit this link for further details or email me fionacampbell-art@sky.com. Alternatively, I have an ongoing self-directed Online Sculpture Course available at half the price.

See my shop for hand-made gifts and artworks. And do follow my instagram for regular updates.

If you missed As Old as the Hills, please visit my previous blog.

Looking forward to some time off over the festive break. Wishing you the same, and a very Happy Christmas! X

The Gleaning

Over the Summer, I worked with various people on textiles artworks in my garden and locally for an exhibition The Gleaning launching this month.

Earthlings in progress, created by me with community involvement. Test hang in St Peter & Paul’s church

The Gleaning is an inclusive arts project co-curated by Gill Sakakini and me, working closely with writer Polly Hall. For over 5 months, we’ve been working on several large-scale textiles panels concurrently. Each panel has a theme, including Earthlings, War, Peace, Gratitude, Ruth’s Story, Place, Care and Repair, Journeys, Generosity. Stories reflect different styles and cultures using found and recycled materials, all created with involvement of local community. People from all walks of life around Shepton Mallet have joined together in making elements for our collaborative exhibition. Translucent textile and paper artworks will be suspended in front of 11 clear glass windows in Shepton Mallet’s beautiful 12th century church, as part of Somerset Art Weeks’ Festival, supported by events. They combine a range of found objects gleaned from our locality, incorporated into mini artworks, hand-stitched together. Parts have been printed in workshops on fabric dyed with rust, indigo, buddleia, onion skins, tea, and other home-made botanical inks, which I’ve enjoyed developing. Other processes include drawing, collage, tie-dye, batik, appliqué and patchwork on recycled fabric, paper and plastic. Sustainability has been key.

The exhibition launches Thursday 22 September, 6-8pm, open from 23 September-9 October, Mon-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 12-5pm. Hope you can visit!

See our instagram page @thegleaning_shepton and do follow!

It was an immense privilege to be part of Together We Rise at Chichester Cathedral, an exhibition by members of Royal Society of Sculptors, curated by Jacquiline Creswell. Delighted that London Art Critic Tabish Khan selected it for his Top 5 summer exhibitions! I took down my installation Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand this week. The work related to the plight of pangolins - most trafficked mammal, care and repair. It was sad to leave that wonderful space.

Time playing with ideas in my studio has been precious. I’ve been making small scale 3d sketches with found objects, revisiting the concept of taking a line for a walk and line as life, energy.  Entangled Life (Merlin Sheldrake) - a great book about fungi - describes the way mycelium infiltrates roots and other life forms - fascinating and vital. Mycelial ‘highways’ interact across boundaries/species, and can be environmental remediators.

I’m gradually discovering new plant dye colours (iris bulbs produce an intriguing pale lilac grey) and experimenting with bundle-dyeing, a multi-staged process of gathering flowers/leaves, mordanting/fixing, creating the bundle (sandwiched flowers etc in fabric, wrapped round stick), steaming and untying to reveal the imprints.. it’s addictive!

Work in progress inspired by roots and algae hanging into the water at Vobster Quay where I’ve started swimming.

Play is an important element in the process.  There’s a synergy between consciousness and chance, allowing intuitive, tacit responses.  I’m allowing myself to explore various paths, not necessarily leading to conclusions. Hoping to spend longer hours developing new work over the coming months.  Check out my instagram page @fiona_campbell_dycp dedicated to my Arts Council England funded ‘Developing Your Creative Practice’ work.

Deeply saddened by the passing of our Queen, I am so grateful for her support of Arts Council England, and the arts and culture sector in general over so many years, from which I have benefitted along with so many others.

Earthlings

Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand, Together We Rise, Chichester Cathedral. Photo by Ann Purkiss.

I’ve had a full-on month!  Some of the stand out events:

Together We Rise opened in Chichester Cathedral at the end of June.  A major exhibition of work by 25 artists from Royal Society of Sculptors (South West), artist-led, curated by Jacquiline Creswell.

My piece Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand was created over a period of 10 months and took 5 days to install - slow, meditative art that is addictive and healing.  Described by another sculptor as ritualistic. The installation process felt like a short residency.  As I worked in the cathedral space, up tall ladders or perched on scaffolding, visitors chatted to me about the work.  It felt important to discuss it. There are over 50 bodily forms relating to the plight of pangolins. These intriguing delightful creatures are the most trafficked mammals in the world. - see my previous blog for details and more images.  I’m frequently having to conquer my fear of heights and I was grateful to those who helped.

I’m in awe of the exhibition and venue. The placement of work is very sympathetic to the space and fabric of the building, thanks to the expertise of curator Jacquiline Creswell.  Extraordinary light and beautiful choir and organ sounds accompany the work, giving it gravitas.  I’m feeling hugely grateful to be part of it, for the support of the Society group, the Cathedral team and hard work of our excellent curator.  As Jacquiline says: ‘we all put our hearts and souls into this exhibition and you can see and feel it’.

The PV was fantastic, with opening talks by Richard Cork (FT Art critic), and The Dean.  I was moved by a highly emotional response to my work:  Friend Sarah James was brought to tears at the sight of it. The exhibition feedback so far: ‘multi-layered, surprising, professional, diverse, strong, symbiotic with cathedral, sits beautifully, remarkable, spiritual, special…’.

The cathedral also has work by Chagall, John Piper and Graham Sutherland among others.

The exhibition runs until 6 September.  Hope you can visit!

Above photos: 1, 2, 3 by Paul Gonella. 4, 5, 6 by Ann Purkiss

Projects often coincide or collide.  I’m co-curating/working on The Gleaning, a collaborative community arts project celebrating diversity, connectivity, and the environment.  Large-scale translucent textile artworks will be suspended in front of clear glass windows in Shepton Mallet’s beautiful church.  Working with Gill Sakakini, Polly Hall and others, we’re delivering a series of free workshops - 2 this week. See full list, funded by Shepton Town Council, Cranmore Parish Council and other donors.

20th July, 10am-12pm – Sweet 11 Cafe, High Street, Shepton Mallet: Cake & Collage

21st July, 3-5pm – St Peter & St Paul Church, Shepton Mallet: Stories with Art

I’ve been working on a large-scale panel themed Earthlings. Stories within a story celebrate fauna and flora, the value and importance of non-humans, and life’s interconnectedness.. For weeks I’ve been hand-stitching remnants together, printmaking and tie-dyeing with home-made plant inks.  On top of collaging and arranging shapes, it takes hours and hours to appliqué pieces together.  We had a lovely time at Collett Park Day with people of all ages getting involved and creating fabulous prints for the panels. A work experience student, Pippa, and local artist Juliet Duckworth worked with me on the Earthlings panel last week.  Many more people have been involved in donating fabric offcuts, fruit nets etc.  We are fund-raising, thanks to our steering group Rosalind Teesdale-Ives, Polly Hall and Lizzie Britain.  Do get involved in some way..

Work in progress for The Gleaning - Earthlings collaboration with Juliet Duckworth

Following on from wire creature workshops with St Benedicts C of E Junior School via LIFE beat, I made a Copper Tree for permanent siting in their Peace Garden, presented on the school’s Wellbeing Day.  Made of recycled copper piping, the tree is designed to support the little sculptures. The creatures represent the school’s ‘Elly’ animals - each having important characteristics to nurture.

Copper Tree with wire sculptures (made in workshops), St Benedicts C of E Junior School, via LIFEbeat

I’m really pleased that Entangled I has been selected for the Royal Society of Sculptors Summer Exhibition by curator Isabel de Vasconcellos. The show will be at 4 Cromwell Place, London SW7 2JE 19-24 July, 10-6 daily.

Entangled I, recycled steel, wire, filter papers, 25 x 26 x 27cms

I made the piece during lockdown 2020 as part of my Life in the Undergrowth project. I was fascinated by roots, shoots and worms in upturned turf in my garden. Work evolved using to-hand and found materials.

I’m clearing the decks a little so I can get stuck into more studio work, and will set up a separate blog for my ACE DYCP work..

Hope you can visit some of these events. And enjoy the sunshine!

Together We Rise

Photo Paul Gonella

This week the exhibition Together We Rise opened! Set within the awesome architecture of Chichester Cathedral, the exhibition involves 25 Royal Society of Sculptors members who, during the pandemic, found solidarity by meeting online. Curated by Jacquline Creswell, who was ‘the driving force behind Salisbury Cathedrals’ pioneering art programme’, this unique exhibition is an expression of those meetings.

“Together We Rise is a counterpoint to the challenges of the last two years and an expression of the artists’ perseverance, by coming together through virtual means to overcome isolation, fear and doubt.  The result is a flourishing of creativity, demonstrating the power of shared adversity overcome by shared endeavour. “ (Jacquiline Creswell)

My new work Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand is an installation in the North Aisle of the Cathedral. It tackles the issue of trafficking and slaughter of thousands of pangolins.  Covid - a zoonotic disease - originated from wildlife wetmarkets. Unethical human practices continue to contribute to our own demise as well as increasing animal extinctions at an alarming rate.

Multiple forms suspend, rising and pouring. Some appear skeletal, poised between completion and incompletion, in varying stages of translucency and decay.  Stifled, vulnerable, the ghostly forms suggest pain, loss, death, but also resurrection, and tenderness.

The work has an environmental undertone.  I used recycled materials that are hand-sewn, wrapped, tie-dyed with home-made plant inks, and waxed over woven structures. Stitch by stitch, the labour-intensive process adds to the message of care and repair.  While raising awareness of pangolins, my work is a way to channel and overcome loss, make do and mend.

The title echoes Renaissance religious paintings of the same title. The work also refers to the Ghent altar piece - the bleeding lamb of god an object of religious devotion.  I’ve pivoted the concept to raise awareness around multi-species justice.

Further info: chichestercathedral.org.uk/together-we-rise

Instagram: @togetherwerise2022

Exhibition runs 27th June - 6th September
Mon - Sat, 9am-5pm, Sun 12-2pm
Chichester Cathedral
PO19 1PX

Photo: David Clarke, Solent News

Photo: Russell Sach

Many Happenings

So much happened in April, it flew by and we’re now a third through May!

Materiality

In late April I showed my work in Materiality, an exhibition at Walcot Chapel, Bath, alongside Kate McDonnell, Kelly O’ Brien and Nicola Turner. It focused on the importance of materials through contemporary sculpture and installation.  There was real synergy between the works.  The exhibition ended last Sunday after an incredible week. We were thrilled by so many visitors, and had fun interacting at our various events. Clare Whistler intrigued audiences with her sensitive performative responses to our artwork. Her movement activated the space, and her poetic interpretations of our use of materials offered wonderful insights. 

Snakes and Ladders II, 2022, Materiality

Materiality. Of Bones in foreground

Materiality, Walcot Chapel, Bath. Photo by Kate McDonnell

Of Bones (detail). Photo by David Bird

Materiality, Walcot Chapel, Bath. Photo by Kate McDonnell

As part of our events I ran a sculpture workshop. I loved seeing how intergenerational participants explored the materials in a different way.  Our Materiality Salon involved a candlelit dinner one evening, surrounded by the installations. We had great food, service and conversations around materiality. The evening closed by reflecting on the etymology of materiality - mater (mother). On the last day we held our Artist Talks with Q&A.

Photo credits above: 3 Lou Baker; 4 Juliet Duckworth; 6 Kate McDonnell; 11, 14 Nicola Turner; 15 Rebecca Newnham; 20 David Bird

‘I think this is probably the best exhibition I have seen in this space with the work of all 4 artists making the most of this beautiful building.’ (Anya Beaumont)

‘Spectacularly meaningful and nourishing work… a really inspiring and informative show, fascinating talks, beautiful performance and great workshop! I thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in sustainability and materiality for the day…. Being with the work and working in the space with you was such a tonic and pivotal to my own practice’ (Karen Goonewardene).

Thanks to everyone who made it to the show and participated! 

Pyre is back from the International Bienale, Taiwan. This film (made by me and my son Jack Robson) gives some insights into the work.

I’ve been enjoying the ritual of stitch in my latest projects. My multi-form piece 'Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand’ (inspired by the pangolin plight) is in the final throes of its making. It will be part of an exhibition Together We Rise at Chichester Cathedral with Royal Society of Sculptors members, 27June-6 September, curated by Jacquiline Creswell. PV 1 July, 6.30pm. Would love to see you there!

I’m beginning to focus more on my next project The Gleaning, which I’m co-curating with Gill Sakakini. It’s a community arts project of immersive textiles installations, celebrating diversity. Large-scale translucent artworks will be suspended in front of clear glass windows in Shepton Mallet’s beautiful church.  Stories will reflect different styles and cultures using recycled and found materials, all made with the community. The final exhibition will be part of Somerset Art Weeks Festival (themed ‘Sanctuary’), 24 September to 9 October ’22. Preparations are in progress for our first workshop at Collett Park Day, Shepton Mallet, on 11 June. As the title suggests, this involves a lot of gathering - of ideas, materials, and people. It’s been fun working with Gill, compiling unwanted sheer fabric, used teabags, tie dyeing with indigo, oak galls and other plant inks, printing samples, collaging, and stitching. We’re seeking funding, so if you can help please let me know!

Prepping for workshops for The Gleaning, with Gill Sakakini

Workshops:

On Earth Day (22 April ) I ran a Greening the Arts workshop via Somerset Art Works, funded by SSL at Somerset Earth Science Centre. Participants used a range of 2d/3d found/recycled materials and objects, including home-made plant inks, made drawing tools from found debris eg feathers and grasses, experimented with processes and combinations, in between discussions about sustainability and the climate crisis.  Everyone made drawings, translucent fibre collages, and small sculptures.  As part of it I compiled a Greening arts Resource list, which will be live on the SAW website.

Greening Arts Workshop

Circle of Life was a project I worked on via SPAEDA, involving Churchstanton Primary schoolchildren making headdresses, masks and costumes using recycled and found materials, inspired by the Lion King production, African art and ecology. These came together in a final story/dance performance in early April. Covid affected the project as several of us went down with it, but still very pleased with results!

Photos (above, bottom row) by: 1, 2,3 Jenna Creasy, SPAEDA; 4 Steve Richardson, Somerset County Gazette

Below: colourful outcomes from a Birthday Party wire workshop I ran

In my voluntary role on the Black Swan Arts Programming Group, I helped Simon Hitchens curate his exhibition Beyond Body (Long Gallery).  The work explores the notion that there is the possibility of a state of being, sentient or otherwise, that is post-human.  His talk will be on 19 May 6.30-7.30pm.

Alongside, I’m showing Verticals in Black Swan’s Round Tower as part of Celebration, an exhibition which celebrates the people behind BSA’s community arts centre.  If you’re in Frome, do visit.

I did an Instagram Takeover for the Ingram Collection last week. Head over to their page to spot my posts.

Just spent a weekend in Devon and Cornwall, including a site-visit to Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens, wonderful tour by owner Neil Armstrong and picnic with Royal Society of Sculptors members.  It’s staggeringly beautiful, with lush tropical architectural plants, magnificent trees, many used to embrace or support the installations by sculptors including David Nash, Richard Long, Kishio Suga, James Turrell and fellow RSS member Seamus Moran.  We’re planning a group show there in 2023 - exciting!

See my instagram page for regular updates.  And do visit my shop for drawings, cards, gifts and more…


Thanks for reading this bumper blog, and hope to see you at a future event!

Fiona x