New Work Developing

Maquette; found objects: pondweed, buddleia dyed fabric, khadi paper, plastic netting, leaves, wire, sisal, steel, aluminium

Developing Work (Developing Your Creative Practice funded by Arts Council England)

I’ve been revisiting concepts of Life in the Undergrowth, reading Entangled Life (Merlin Sheldrake), and experimenting with making new plant dyes and ink. My latest discovery, literally on my doorstep, is buddleia, which produces a wonderful vivid yellow, ochre and olive green.  So abundant, buddleia is ‘one of our best wild sources of yellow in the UK… plenty to share with butterflies and bees…’ (Flora Artbuthnott).  A studio tidy up gave me a chance to pick through a few collected objects to inspire.  I’ve been drawing roots and iris bulbs, which had survived in a bucket since a pond clean up 2 years ago.  They will potentially provide me with some black iris bulb ink soon..  This has led to a few small trial sculptures. ‘Radical’ derives from the Latin ‘radix’ = root. Excited to see where the roots take me.

For more info and to follow my development please visit my new instagram page: fiona_campbell_dycp dedicated to my ACE DYCP work.

Together We Rise

It’s been over a month since Together We Rise opened at Chichester Cathedral.  Last Saturday I revisited and really enjoyed showing London Art Critic Tabish Khan round our exhibition, along with Maria (Royal Society of Sculptors), Jo (Jo’s Art History) and Nia (Tate). Photo credits (below): 2 Martyn Sheppard, 7, 8, 9 Paul Gonella

I’ll be taking part in an Artist Talk event alongside fellow sculptors and curator Jacquline Creswell, this coming Wednesday 17th August at 11am and 2pm, Chichester Cathedral. ‘Hear about how the show was conceived through meetings on zoom during the pandemic, learn about materials and processes, and join in the discussion on how the works resonate with the architecture and context of the Cathedral.' Tickets £6, book here - or call: 01243 813586

Hope to see you there! There’s a month left to visit the exhibition - it ends on 6 September.

The Gleaning

I’ve been working on textiles panels and leading workshops for The Gleaning - a community arts project I’m co-curating with Gill Sakakini.  The work involves gleaning materials, ideas, people, cultures..  We’ve had some wonderful collaborative sessions, most recently at Collett Park with a group of people drawing together on fabric for our Shepton panel, which will represent the town’s iconic landmarks.  We used wax crayons and oil pastels, followed by ink - mainly homemade botanical mixtures including turmeric, onion skin, avocado pit, oak gall and buddleia inks. The wax resists the ink - a great way to build up colour in layers. We return to the bandstand on Tuesday 16 August, 10-12 for another free workshop. Do join us!

I’m delighted to have been supported by The Eaton Fund, enabling me to buy a sewing machine and other materials for The Gleaning.  Hand-stitching is important for some of my work, but it’s not always ideal for large-scale pieces! Thanks also to our funders Shepton Mallet Town Council, The Arts Society Wessex Chrisi Kennedy & Cranmore Parish Council. We’re still seeking some funding - get in touch if you can help.

Check out our instagram page: thegleaning_shepton

Tomorrow I’ll be running a free swan sculpture workshop at Wells Museum via Somerset Art Works - free drop-in!

'Art is always about reappraising the way we look at the world. It can speak more eloquently than propaganda because it can inject emotion into facts. And sometimes it can work like a Stealth Bomber: it can slip under the radar and hit home’ Cornelia Parker.

Spring Blog

Martydom of the Ten Thousand (detail), work in progress. Photo by Martyn Sheppard

I invited Martyn Sheppard for a studio visit recently to document my pangolin-inspired installation, in progress.  The work will be part of a group exhibition Together We Rise with RSS members at Chichester Cathedral, 27 June-6 Sept, curated by Jacquiline Creswell.

Martydom of the Ten Thousand is inspired by the plight of pangolins, trafficked and slaughtered in thousands. Multiple forms will suspend, rising and pouring. Stifled, vulnerable, ghostly, they suggest pain, loss, death, but also resurrection. There is hope in their elevation. I’m using recycled materials that are wrapped, hand-sewn, tie-dyed with home-made plant inks, and waxed over woven structures. Stitch by stitch, the labour-intensive process speaks of care and repair.

Not only are Pangolins the most trafficked mammal in the world for their scales and meat, but they are also being killed through mis-understanding about their behaviour and ecology. Pangolins are ‘the politest of all wildlife species!’ (SWARA magazine). Pangolins are gentle and shy, they roll into a ball when under threat, and only eat ants and termites, but many people fear them. Awareness and education about them is vital for their survival, along with farming practices that promote healthy soils - non-toxic to insects - to support bio-diversity. There is no evidence that the keratin in their scales have any medicinal value.

I’m excited to be working with SPAEDA (Alice Crane) again for Circle of Life, a project at Churchstanton Primary, inspired by the Lion King production, which the whole school will be visiting. We will be making collaborative costumes/headdresses, and there will be dance and music. 

I’m also delighted to have been selected as a creative practitioner for Lifebeat's Art in Somerset Schools project later this month, with an arts and wellbeing focus.

Giant Snowdrops, Collett Park, Shepton Mallet, Snowdrop Festival

Last month my giant Snowdrop sculptures were installed for a week at the entrance to Collett Park, Shepton Mallet for the Snowdrop Festival. Thanks to Shepton Snowdrops for the commission, Gill and Steve Sakakini for helping me install them, and Jack Robson and Euan Wilmot for helping with the de-install.

I used recycled plastic, fabric, copper and steel for the 3 giant structures, addressing environmental issues of waste, over-consumption, and our plastic oceans.  

During the storms the wind and branches lashed against the bud, causing a bit of damage. But they survived fairly well and shone in sunlight.

As part of the snowdrop festival, I ran a workshop at the Art Bank with some amazing results from participants - most who’d never tried wirework before.
I was thrilled with responses to my sculptures in Gill Sakakini’s‘s Drawing On community drawing session. Gill introduced Georgia O ‘Keeffe to the group, so drawings were influenced by her work (and mine).

It was a pleasure to share my practice in an online talk with students at Art Academy London. I chatted about the trajectory of my art career to date - particularly residencies - and how they’ve impacted ongoing work.

Workshops coming up include one focusing on Greening the Arts via Somerset Art Works.  I’m looking into taking key steps to move my practice forwards in terms of sustainability, and in relation to Postgrowth and Degrowth. More news on this soon.

I visited Louise Bourgeois: The Woven Child at the Hayward Gallery recently and loved it! I spent a long time at the exhibition looking, thinking and sketching. Bourgeois’ juxtaposition of soft and hard materials and her tactile marks of making - particularly stitch, are so expressive of vulnerability, anger, pain. I was interested in her use of the needle as metaphor - sometimes gigantic.  And works that captured a pregnant pause:

I’ve always had a fascination with the needle… used to repair the damage… it is never aggressive (Bourgeois). 

My work is currently on exhibition at International Biennale, Paper Fiber Art 2021/22, Change: NTCRI, Nantou 54246, Taiwan; 12 Nov-10 April ’22.

Keep in touch with me via social media: 

Instagram @fionacampbellartist

Facebook @fionasculpture

Twitter @fionasculpture

Finally, as a valued follower, I’m offering you a special Spring discount of 10% off any item in my shop.  Use code FISPRING22 at checkout to claim your discount. Hurry - it expires on 31st March 2022!

Highlights 2021; Looking Ahead 2022

Happy New Year!

Photo credits from top: Snakes and Ladders (I) - Barry Cawston; Hope of a Tree - David Bird; All The Colours, ArtFirst - Laura Hylton; Octopus - Steve Richardson; Loft Residency - Dan Hopkins; Glut - Paul Tucker, Courtesy of The Ingram Collection & Unit 1 Gallery; Pyre - me; Hope of a Tree - Linda Ashe; Me installing Snakes and Ladders (I) - Kathryn Sewell

A few highlights from 2021.  It was a tough year, but with plenty of highs. I met and worked with some wonderful people, and grateful for all the support from friends, family, buyers, organisations and followers. 

It was great to have a short film made about my practice, commissioned by Art UK in partnership with Culture Street and Royal Society of Sculptors.  Aimed at secondary schools, it’s one of 10 films about sculptors’ techniques. 

I was delighted to be awarded first prize for Round Lemon’s anniversary exhibition ONE. I gave an artist talk and interview as part of it.

Thanks to Chris Greenwood Red Line Art Works for inviting me to give a Zoom talk.

Touring Inch by IN:CH was hard work but fun along the way. Collaborating with 10 other artists, we showed in some amazing spaces over 4 months, got funding, found new ways to show art and involve the wider community. I worked with Shirley Sharp on performative window drawing and shadow drawing events, and led workshops.  The research and development of work was as exciting as the final outcome. Thanks to all venues and funders including Somerset Skills and Learning, Somerset Art Works, The Arts Society and many other supporters.

It was wonderful to be selected for Wells Art Contemporary at Wells Cathedral. Snakes and Ladders (I) was suspended in the South Transept. Thanks to excellent curators Simon Periton and Robin Sewell.

I was thrilled to be a finalist for the Ingram Prize 2021.  My selected piece Glut was shown in a beautifully curated exhibition at Unit 1 Gallery along with some brilliant artists. Thanks to Jo Baring, Stacie McCormick and Alison Price.

My short film Life in the Undergrowth was part of In Pursuit of Spring at Black Swan Arts.

I loved my Loft Residency, which gave me a chance to explore, develop, make new work and document pieces in an incredible space. My solo exhibition was open during Somerset Open Studios.  Thanks to Heritage Courtyard Gallery and Studios for inviting me and for their support! 

Thanks to Spaeda Arts and Eastover School, Bridgwater for the Octopus and Sea Life wall commission. It was lovely to work with primary school children in the making of it and see their reactions when it was installed.

I enjoyed chatting to Polly Hall about my work for her Procrastination Station podcast.

I’m grateful to Seed Sedgemoor for commissioning All The Colours for Art First. It was a big learning curve: I designed a lenticular (holographic/moving) image of a chameleon changing colours for Buses of Somerset, made up of the community’s images, some created in workshops I led. 

I was really delighted that Pyre was selected for the International Biennial Exhibition Transfiguration: From Nature to Art in Taiwan, which is on exhibition at the National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute until 10th April 2022.

Thanks to Sculptors Drawing Space and Royal Society of Sculptors South West for ongoing zoom meetings led by Simon Hitchens.

I ran my second sculpture course last year, got to know some great artists through it, and am about to run my third (10 Jan - 13 Feb). I still have a few spaces so if interested, see this showreel for details.

Images: Martydom of the Ten Thousand (working title), for Chichester Cathedral

In the studio. Photo by Jack Robson

Sketch: ideas for installation

I have some exciting exhibitions lined up for this year including Together We Rise at Chichester Cathedral with Royal Society of Sculptors curated by Jacquline Cresswell, and Materiality with Kate McDonnell, Kelly O’Brien and Nicola Turner at Walcot Chapel. Fingers crossed it doesn’t get cancelled again.

I’m working on a large installation for Chichester, inspired by the plight of pangolins. Stitch by stitch, forms are emerging and a growing collection of bodily forms are gathering in my studio.  I’m using recycled materials that are hand-sewn, wrapped, tie-dyed with home-made plant inks, and waxed over woven structures.  It’s going to take me a few months, but I’m enjoying the labour-intensive process.  Louise Bourgeois said ‘The act of sewing is a process of emotional repair’. 

Here’s to a greener year in 2022 full of love, kindness and creativity!