Winter News

A few more images of my installation Dust of Stars, made from scrap, reused and found materials, some from older work. It questions what is waste, dead, no longer of value. We throw away so much… Looking at the bigger picture, all of life is made from stars made billions of years ago: ‘The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff.’ (Carl Sagan). Matter keeps on going… Loved watching the way visitors interacted with the installation. See my instagram page for video clips of the work. We had some great feedback: ‘one of the most exciting art exhibitions I have seen in a while’ (Jan Ollis, SAW Co-Chair). I gave a talk about Dust of Stars as part of the Hatch exhibition, which will soon be published online via their website.

Photo by Rod Higginson

I’m enjoying the speed and convenience of working at a small scale, trying out different versions of a general idea about precarious structures on stilt legs. The sculptural maquettes are made from repurposed and to-hand materials, treating the assemblages as 3d sketches. These and other sketchbook ideas are leading to upcoming projects, including one I’m co-curating with Jan Ollis (‘As Old as the Hills - working title) for next year’s Somerset Art Weeks Festival. We have some great artists on board and will be taking over the top floor of the Zig Zag building, Glastonbury. The project is rooted in local heritage and environment, linking community with social engagement activities highlighting issues of conservation and sustainability. Culture is an indispensable pillar of climate action. Currently fundraising for the project. More on this soon..

Maquettes: Found & recycled materials: (top left) grass stems, willow, pine, peacock feather, copper wire, wool, roots, steel; (top right) steel, copper wire; (mid left) steel, copper, aluminium; (mid right) sticks, grass stem, khadi paper, leaves; (above left) roots, cardboard, plywood; (right) wood, cardboard packaging, khadi paper

Collage

For many instability is the norm. Dwellings exist on the edges of safety raised high on make-do scaffolding to avoid floods and other threats. In ‘Planet of Slums’ Mike Davis highlights our increasingly unstable urban world. Nomadic Somali tribes carry their homes on camels. Shepherds in France used to herd on stilt legs in boggy ground. I’ve been thinking about resilience, making do. In order to adapt, change the narrative of consumerism and economic growth, imagination is key.

Teaching:

I’ve been running 6 courses at Bath College (3 sculpture, painting, drawing and life drawing). Loved getting to know and working with students on their work - see pics below of students’ work.. ↓ (from top to bottom: Maureen, Mandy, Nick, Cath, Juliette, Sarah, Lynette, Sarah, Martin, Sally, Cath, Fran, Cathy, Pat, Juliette, Jenny, Suzanne, Sally, Judy, Jenni).

Squeezing in my own studio time has taken a concerted effort, and I have been treasuring that.

My next online sculpture course starts in January ‘24. If you’re interested please get in touch, or buy the course direct from my shop. I have other goodies you can purchase too, if considering arty Christmas gifts!

Upcoming events:

My work will be showing in Casting Shadows, Royal Society of Sculptors group exhibition at ACEarts, Somerton, 2 March - 6 April ‘24.

As part of the Snowdrop Festival (February ‘24), I’ll be running a free workshop with writer Polly Hall to create a long scroll-like collage with text, on 20 Jan, 10am-4pm, at Create@#8, Shepton Mallet. The artwork will be installed in the Baptist church for the festival. Get in touch if you’d like to join us.

Really enjoying reading The Golden Mole and other Vanishing Treasure by Katherine Rundell, sent to me by Faber books. As part of the book launch, I was commissioned to make a small Pangolin sculpture, now on display at Hunting Raven Books, Frome. If you haven’t yet, do read the book! Each chapter tugs at your heart with enthralling details about wonderful but endangered creatures.

I’ve been selected for a PADA residency, Portugal in February, and am fundraising for this great opportunity. If you can support me (for travel and accommodation costs), I’d really appreciate a donation via the link below.

Donate

My next blog may be post-Christmas, so here’s wishing you a wonderful festive time wherever you are!

Wander_Land, DYCP, Sovereign Nature

Above and Below (detail)

I’m delighted to invite you to

Wander_Land

1 July - 5 August
An exhibition of sculpture by members of the Royal Society of Sculptors at Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens and Gallery. I will be showing 2 new works made this year, Flags of the Forest and Above and Below, around the theme of woodlands/forests, biodiversity, rhizomic systems and entanglements of matter. I’ve been developing the Flags as an outdoor installation. Both works are made using eco-friendly materials and approaches: recycled, found, discarded and re-purposed materials, including home-made botanically dyed textiles, hand-stitched.

Inspired by a pilgrimage route that passes through Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens, Wander_Land explores our relationship between landscape and wandering. 

Please join us for the Private View:
Friday 30 June, 6 - 8pm

1st July: Artist Talks 2.30-4pm

5th August: Closing Event am & pm

Open 11am-4pm daily
Tremenhere Sculpture Gallery, Nr. Gulval, Penzance, Cornwall TR20 8YL (T: 01736 448089)

Instagram: @wanderland2023

Below: pics of work in progress for Flags of the Forest. Thanks to Nigel Evans for his assistance.

As my Arts Council England ‘Developing Your Creative Practice’ Award draws to the end of its year, I’ve been looking back at what I’ve learnt and achieved. Huge thanks to ACE for the grant, Mark Devereux Projects for the bi-monthly mentoring sessions, and all who’ve contributed, engaged and followed my progress.

I’ve really appreciated the conversations and advice given my Mark Devereux over the 6 sessions. They were helpful in staging my progress, each building on the last. Mark helped to pinpoint key aspects of my practice, made sensitive observations and offered suggestions for development. In light of his questioning, I’m thinking more about presentation, the sensory, and my Kenya connections.

Kenya (my birthplace) is an underlying thread which I’m drawing out in my work. The tie is emotional. I’m focusing more on making do, ingenious uses of materials, embedding life and art, use of colour, textiles, space, connecting with earth, creatures, plants.. In my new series of work, I’ve explored and tested scale, materials, processes, ideas and different qualities through maquettes, drawings and larger pieces. I’m planting a dyers garden which will enable more home grown inks to be produced, expanding my repertoire of botanical dyes and eco prints. 

I was asked to create a river train and oak copse crown/headdress for a giant puppet’s costume (ACE-funded project via Spoken World). I used recycled/found materials to create the pieces, including eco-dyed fabric, wire, plastic, found wood and leaves for the crown. The river train took many hours to stitch together! I led a community workshop at Create@#8, Shepton Mallet to create some of the elements, and grateful to all those who helped. The giant Sovereign Nature has been processioning at Somerset Festivals. I enjoyed performing with her at the Green Scythe Fair.

Jem Dick made the giant and worked with project director/storyteller Sharon Jacksties and community groups to create the gown.

Upcoming giant processions:
15-16/7 Pitchfolk Festival
3-6/8 Fanny’s Meadow
and appearances at various residential care homes. 

My work House on Fire is showing at Stone Lane Sculpture Exhibition, Stone Lane Gardens, Stone Farm, Stone Lane, Chagford TQ13 8JU, 1 June-31 October. The gardens are magical and there’s a great range of sculpture on show - do visit!

Film: Kenyan Art Research Trip

I’ve made a film about my Kenyan Art Research trip. 

I immersed myself in Kenyan culture, met some inspiring contemporary artists and curators, visited galleries, museums, markets, other places of interest, and had wonderful adventures. In the final week I went to Nanyuki, on the edge of Ol Pejeta game reserve which overlooks Mount Kenya, for more wildlife, sketching, a bit of relaxation and family time.

I learnt so much and made many new connections.

Threads of ideas are brewing for new work.  I brought back various materials/found objects, sketchbook of notes/drawings, photos/footage/sound recordings (used in this film), and bark rubbings, now made into a small handmade book.

I’m very grateful to Arts Council England for supporting the trip via my DYCP award, and to those who hosted/supported me in Kenya including Untethered Magic, Ian & Andrew Campbell. And thanks to all artists, curators and galleries who gave their time.

Materiality, Greening the Arts and more

Snakes and Ladders (detail). Photo (above) by Dominic Weston. Photo (left) by Geoff Dunlop

I’ve been working on several projects in schools along with prep for forthcoming exhibitions and new art projects. And pleased to have just recovered from my first bout of covid!

Materiality

I’m excited to be exhibiting with 3 other women artists whose work I admire. We met during our MAs at Bath Spa Uni.  The exhibition has been a long time coming, with cancellations due to lockdown etc…

Materiality (27 April - 1 May) is the first show at Walcot Chapel, Bath since it closed for lockdown 2020.  It features 4 women artists: Fiona Campbell, Kelly O’Brien, Kate McDonnell and Nicola Turner, and celebrates the importance of materials through contemporary sculpture and installation art. Large-scale objects and interventions will interact with the architecture of the Chapel.  We are each driven by our materials and engaged with sustainability in our practices. The exhibition runs  27 April - 1 May, 12-6pm daily at Walcot Chapel, Walcot St, Bath BA1 5UG. Private View Tuesday, 26 April, 6-8pm

Special Events: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/materiality-tickets-295143270467

Salon, Thursday 28 April, 7-10pm.  Join us in the candlelit Walcot Chapel to eat, drink and share thoughts on materiality, facilitated by Professor Alf Coles. Tickets: £10.

Sculpture Workshop with me, Sunday 1 May, 11am-1pm.  Focusing on flora and fauna, you will be creating a sculpture using recycled and found materials. For ages 10+ to adult. Tickets: £12.

Artist Talks, Sunday 1 May, 2.30-3.30pm. An informal, in depth look at the works and our practices.  Clare Whistler will be performing her work reflecting on the exhibition. Tickets: FREE!

Numbers are limited so book your place now! Hope to see you there:-)

SAW Greening Art Workshop: 

I’m leading a FREE workshop specifically for Somerset Art Works members, 22nd April (Earth Day), 10am-12.30pm, Somerset Earth Science Centre, Moons Hill Quarry, Stoke St Michael, Radstock, Somerset BA3 5JU. Parking on site, free teas/coffees.

The workshop will investigate artists’ environmental responsibilities, looking at key concepts of Climate Change and the role of the arts: how we can make our practice more sustainable. There will be a presentation, discussion and practical workshop covering a range of 2d and 3d activities using homemade, recycled and found materials.  You’ll be able to create something to take away, and have permanent access to an online resource pack full of relevant information around Greening the Arts. Funded by Somerset Skills & Learning.

It’s free of charge, but £15 deposit is required to secure your place. Full-refund after you attend the event. Book:  https://somersetartworks.org.uk/2022/03/saw-greening-art-project/ Do join me if you’re a SAW member!

International Biennale ‘Transfiguration' NCTRI, Taiwan

It’s the last couple of weeks of my exhibition in Taiwan, 12 Nov-12 April ’22.  I received 2 beautiful exhibition catalogues - see below and here. A short film about my work for the exhibition will be broadcast soon..

I’m still working on ‘Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand', inspired by the plight of pangolins, trafficked and slaughtered in thousands. The installation 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.

Here’s a film clip about the work:

Circle of Life

Circle of Life is a school project I’m involved in via SPAEDA. I’m working with primary schoolchildren making headdresses, masks and costumes using recycled and found materials, inspired by the Lion King production, African art and ecology. These will come together in a final story/dance performance later this week.

I’m taking part in the Artists for Ukraine exhibition and silent auction, at Black Swan Arts, Frome between 1 - 24 April. Do visit and bid!

New Beginnings, donated to Artists For Ukraine

Delighted to be featured on Art From the Heart winners in March: https://www.artfromheart.co.uk/post/artists-of-the-month-winners-march-2022

Do support by visiting and purchasing from my shop.

I hope to see you at one or more of these events, and in the meantime, warm wishes to you!

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!