Dust of Stars

Work in progress: Dust of Stars, for Hatch. Found, discarded and recycled materials: wood, metal, wire, rope, twine, glass, plastic, rubber, miscellaneous debris and objects.

I’ve created an installation in a disused barn for an exhibition Death & Microwaves, Hatch, Somerset. Enjoyed the freedom to be experimental in a large space, play with shadow, and take a line for a walk, working with my collection of salvaged materials and objects. Regarding the value we give to different materials, I’ve re-used old work and things which often end up in waste piles, what I already have.

Anselm Keifer speaks of the detritus he collected as ‘an incessant metabolism, the beginning of a rebirth.’ The creative cycle,  the ‘ceaseless shuttling back and forth between nothing and something, a constant going from one state to the other’, is synonymous with life and death. Each merges into the other with no real defining point, a cyclical persistence. Considering this and the magnitude of our universe, what is living and what is dead?  As matter is ongoing, is this stuff alive?  Life comes from the dust of stars, and we return to dust. According to Carl Sagan: ‘The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff.’

Death & Microwaves, Hatch, Langport, Somerset, Oct 27 - 12 Nov. ‘Like the Dadaists, whose name came by stabbing a knife into a French-German dictionary pointing to the word dada (hobby-horse), the title for our upcoming exhibition arose from two spontaneous and juxtaposing conversations around a dinner table.’ Book to visit. Exhibition late opening 3 & 10 Nov, from 4.30pm. Tea & cake 5.30pm. Artist Talks 6pm. Come to my talk on 10 November! Georgina Towler and I will each be discussing our work on show. See here for more.

Somerset Open Studios ‘23

A few more pics from my Open Studio event, which ended at the beginning of this month. Some days were magical, with visitors, sunshine, and butterflies galore. Other days wind and rain lashed at the outdoor work, activating the flags. Great to have sold a few pieces and receive quality feedback. Loved welcoming people - thanks to all who visited!

Resurrection., on show in my garden. Photo credit Andy Ladhams; thumbnail pics above: 1-5 Rich Cassidy; 6 Andy Ladhams

I have a small sculpture Roots in ACEarts Open Exhibition. The Meet the Artists event was a great start to the show. Lovely to catch up with so many artists, and see the wide selection of artworks. Runs 14 Oct-11 Nov, 10-5, Tues-Sat, Somerton, Somerset.

My work is currently on show at Stone Lane Gardens Sculpture Exhibition 2023, Chagford, Devon until 31 Oct..

Loved making a small Pangolin sculpture for Faber Books. As part of a campaign to launch the paperback ‘The Golden Mole and Other Vanishing Treasure’ by Katherine Rundell, Faber Books is working with independent, sustainable artists on bespoke pieces inspired by animals in the book. My obvious choice was a pangolin, most trafficked mammal in the world. I have a particular passion for their plight. Many people aren’t aware of what they are and how endangered they’re becoming. They are such docile, shy creatures, and it’s a tragedy that they are slaughtered for their only protection - their scales.

Pangolin, found and recycled materials: copper and steel off-cuts, wire, aluminium & plastic bottle tops, buttons, beads, wood, twine, shells.

I’ve been leading workshops with young people via YMCA/SAW. I’m also teaching art at Bath College: sculpture, drawing & painting, and life drawing courses. It’s been a busy initiation, with heavy admin, training and prep involved. Finding the juggling quite exhausting, but it helps pay the bills and support my art practice.

Looking forward to a PADA residency in February, and seeking help to fund this great opportunity. If you can support in any way, please click on the link below.

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Spring News

Now that the cold spell is over, I feel a Spring update is due.

In my week’s residency at Walcot Chapel, Bath last month as part of my MA, I made a piece (image above) in response to the site, current waste issues, and Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner.  It was inspired by the plight of 1000’s of albatross chicks dying from stomachs filled with plastic.  Entitled ‘Instead of a Cross, an Albatross’, it is a kind of altarpiece. The steel and copper components echoed the trees and shadows through the window.  Later this year I’m hoping to make work involving some participatory interaction with the public using waste materials.

Ongoing work is also being influenced by a book I’ve just read Planet of Slums by Mike Davis, which reveals horrific realities as a result of our rapidly growing worldwide poverty, rich/poor divide - cruel slumlords, neglect and harrowing deaths.  Factory farming (particularly a film 'Our Daily Bread') is also affecting my thoughts, and the loss of Tilly, our beloved boxer dog, who died at the weekend.  These experimental process pieces are all made from scrap materials.

On a lighter note, I continue to teach All Hallows Prep School students extra-curricular art.  I'm proud to see some of their work selected for the Black Swan Young Open, starting this Saturday.  Last week I ran a workshop with several groups of children Years 4-8 at Hazlegrove Prep School, making a 1.75m flying albatross sculpture out of recycled plastic and wire.

This Saturday, I’ll be running a collaborative workshop with Aya Kobayashi and Stephen Ives as part of BBC’s Get Creative event and Black Swan Arts Young Open exhibition, sponsored by Visual Arts South West.  It will explore the creative process - how to shape an idea into form - experimenting with sculpture and sound technology, combining found/reclaimed materials.

Book soon via Eventbrite (https://goo.gl/SNdgny) - spaces are filling up!

This season, I’ll be showing 2 of my sculptures in the The Cotswold Sculpture Park, The Paddock, Somerford Keynes, Cirencester GL7 6FE http://www.elementalsculpturepark.com/ from 1 April – 30^th September, 10.30am-5pm (closed Tues and Wed),  admission £5.

I've visited a few exhibitions locally including Messums Museum's 'Myth, Material & Metamorphosis' (that's a mouthful!) – fantastical sculpture by Kate McCgwire and Ann Carrington (image below), ceramics and narrative paintings with many surprising gems.  It's always a joy to visit the wonderful tithe barn showing consistently high quality, exciting contemporary art.

At The Edge, Bath, the Jerwood Drawing Prize comprises some great pieces.  Amongst others, I loved the thick roll of paper covered in pencil – like a gleaming sheet of metal.

I’ve been invigilating at Hauser & Wirth Somerset for ‘The Land We Live In - The Land We Left Behind’.  It’s been good to be able to keep returning to study the exhibits (numerous artworks/artefacts of interest).  I’ve also managed to sell a couple of small pieces through the Honest Shop - part of the show.  I’m doing a talk for Hauser & Wirth's Sound Bites programme on Beatrix Potter’s drawing of fungal spores entitled ‘Absidia’, Thursday 29 March, 2pm. Come along, it’s free!

Happy springtime!