Flags of the Forest

Flags of the Forest, photo by Russell Sach

I’ll be recreating Flags of the Forest at the Seed Creative Popup, Shop 8, Angel Place Shopping Centre, Bridgwater TA6 3TQ, open to all April 8-13th, 10.30am-4pm.

An immersive installation made from reclaimed and botanically-dyed fabric, wood, metal, and other found materials, the work was originally created at Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens, Cornwall. The eco-flags celebrate the biodiversity of woodlands in hope for a thriving natural world. Visitors can walk among the soft hangings and hard lines, experiencing the interplay of art and sustainability. There will also be a soundscape by Ushara Dilrukshan, adding another layer to the sculptural assemblage.

Alongside the exhibition, I’ll be running a free drop-in workshop on Saturday 12th April, 11am-2pm at the Popup. Be inspired by the installation and enjoy a relaxed, creative space where you can let your imagination wander. The workshop will entail weaving, wrapping and hand-stitching using a combination of recycled textiles and found plant debris to make mini soft hangings. Suitable for ages 6+ (children accompanied by an adult). No need to book.

It would be lovely to see you there!

Riot is developing for One Island - Many Visions. (Above - work in progress: second of a 2-part piece inspired by Sunburst Maritime Lichen (Xanthoria) growing on rocks at Tout Quarry, Portland). I’m creating the work from hand-stitched and woven recycled/waste materials including botanically dyed textiles, wire and beach litter. The multiple layers will be assembled together and exhibited on the rocks at Tout Quarry. Riot is a site-responsive wearable sculpture; each of the 2 parts will be worn and performed during the exhibition (6 September - 31 October). See my previous blog post for the first part of Riot.

Lichens are ancient life forms in symbiosis, composite organisms of algae, cyanobacteria and fungi, exchanging nutrients for minerals and water.  Symbiosis is the rule rather than exception in nature. I’m reading a book I Contain Multitudes: the microbes within us and a grander view of life (Ed Yong).  In fascinating detail it reaffirms the notion that we are not single individuals but ecosystems, all connected.  I’m learning a lot about the microbial kingdom, the ‘messy, fractious, contextual relationships of the natural world’, surprising connections between living beings, and new terms: symbiogenesis, endosymbiosis, holobiont…

I’ve been doing a lot of teaching lately. Pics below of work by participants from my recent Sketchbooking and Eco Sculpture Courses:

and a few by schoolchildren Years 2-6, St Joseph and St Teresa's Primary on the theme of Pollinators:

Upcoming Courses:

Creative Sketchbooking: Wednesdays 2-4pm 5 weeks starting 23 April; 23/4, 30/4, 7/5, 14/5, 21/5; Makers’ Yard, 37 Lower Keyford, Frome BA11 4AR. £60 + £5 materials. BOOK: here

Eco Sculpture: Wednesdays 2-4pm 5 weeks starting 4 June; 4/6, 11/6, 18/6, 25/6, 2/7; Makers’ Yard, 37 Lower Keyford, Frome BA11 4AR. £60 + £5 materials. BOOK: here

I have a strong connection with Black Swan Arts, an important cultural hub in Frome. I’ve shown in the galleries several times over the years, ran workshops, been part of the 30 years anniversary events, and also shown children’s art in the Young Open there through my teaching.  I was a trustee for several years, and later on the Programming Committee. A piece I created in collaboration with Angela Morley is still mounted on the Round Tower. The Arts Centre is currently struggling to keep going due to high bills and lack of funding, so they are fundraising. If you are able to support please do, it’s vital to keep this amazing Art Centre alive.

https://edge.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/blackswanarts

New Projects

January is my least favourite month. I deal with it by cracking on and trying new avenues of research, opportunities and making. I have a few projects on the go: commissioned installations at a popup in Bridgwater (coming soon in February), working on a large-scale textiles piece for Tout Quarry later this year, as part of One Island - Many Visions, and teaching new courses.

Seed Pop Up

I’ll be recreating two art installations in a popup space at Angel Place, Bridgwater, commissioned by Seed Sedgemoor. The first - Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand - relates to the tragic plight of pangolins, the world’s most trafficked mammal. Made from recycled and found materials, it invites visitors to get immersed and consider environmental and conservation issues. This installation, together with a gentle film Life in the Undergrowth, revealing small hidden worlds in my garden during lockdown ‘20, can be experienced at the Seed Creative Popup (Shop 8), Angel Place Shopping Centre TA6 3TQ from 18-23 February, 10.30-4pm. This will be followed in April 8-13th by Flags of the Forest, which explores the beauty and resilience of nature.

Alongside the installations, I’ll be running free drop-in Eco Sculpture Workshops from Tuesday 18 to Saturday 22 February, 11am-2pm at the Popup. Open to all aged 6+ (children accompanied by an adult). No need to book.

I’ll be there daily - come and visit!

Seed’s primary aim is to enable more people in Sedgemoor to actively engage in the creative arts, particularly those who don’t usually do so. This activity is supported with funding from Arts Council England via the Creative People and Places programme.

New Work

‘Riot’ (working title - above) is developing steadily, planned for an installation in Tout Quarry, Portland, part of One Island - Many Visions exhibition with fellow Royal Society of Sculptors members (Sept/Oct). I started early as things can get busy as the year progresses. Hoping the final work will be used in a performance as part of the show. It’s going to be a fantastic event with symposium, exciting speakers and more.

This work is inspired by Lichen (Xanthoria Parietina) found on rocks at Tout Quarry, their colour, form, and radial growth. It has been created from waste and recycled materials including textiles (some home-dyed with natural pigments including turmeric), wire, beach litter & debris rescued from the sea. These have been hand-stitched, woven, wrapped and bound together to form a layered mass of line, texture and colour.

Among the oldest living and slowest growing organisms on Earth, and first to colonise new land, Lichen absorb large quantities of carbon dioxide. The rocks are made up of skeletal micro organisms such as diatoms built up over millennia, and the ancient life forms now growing on them - lichen - are a symbiotic relationship of algae, fungi and cyanobacteria.

My labour-intensive processes relate to care and repair. Reflecting on ‘troubled beauty’ in our unstable world, symbiosis and vascular threads as universal rules of nature. Detritus, the fabric of earth, in collaboration, weaving together to make new worlds.

Now to stitch it all together! If I have time I’ll make another smaller piece. Hoping to try it out soon as a wearable artwork.

Grateful to Chris Black for letting me use the space at Zig Zag building, Glastonbury.

New Courses

I‘ve been enjoying running courses in person and online. My Creative Sketchboooking course offers a variety of processes covering drawing (indoors & out), painting, and collage. It’s been good fun! My next series start in a month - if interested please book soon as places are filling up!

(Images below include participants’ work by Sarah Bayly, Alice Irving, Ingrid Sosrin & Sanita Gourley)

Other News

Two of my drawings are currently on show at Drawing on Dorset, The Sherborne, Drawing Room, Dorset, DT9 3JG, daily from 23 November - 23 March, an exhibition which has toured venues in the South West.
The venue has been spectacularly refurbished, thanks to the late Michael Cannon’s enormous generosity.

My drawings represent the overlooked - often small organisms - which fascinate me. These forms recur in my work in different guises including sculptural and textiles work.

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

Zig Zag Residency & Artist Bursary Award, As Old as the Hills

Work in progress. Photo by Richard Tomlinson

I’ve been working in the Zig Zag building, Glastonbury, constructing some of my stilt structures for As Old as the Hills, a project I’m co-curating with Jan Ollis.

I’m interested in placing art in unusual spaces that bring their own atmosphere. The Zig Zag is unique; an iconic example of Bauhaus architecture, light floods in through long banks of windows which span both lengths of the building. I’m thrilled to be using it as a residency and exhibition space, collaborating with such a great selection of artists, and community.

My series of Stilt Structures imply precarity, adaptability and resilience; treading the earth lightly. Stilt dwellings, built to avoid floods, exist on edges of safety around the world; precarious, fragile structures in unstable environments that might collapse. Somali nomads carry their homes - elaborate bundles - on overladen camels (symbols of adaptability, endurance, trade routes). The Landes stilt-walkers of 19thC adapted to their marshy environment. The work also refers to the ancient timber Sweet Track built 3800BC, Avalon Marshes. The walkway, constructed on diagonal sticks, was a way for humans to traverse boggy marshland, once submerged under sea.

My work responds to the Zig Zag building: its history as Morlands sheepskin/leather factory, the verticals/horizontals of its Bauhaus architecture and Bauhaus textiles. I’ve sourced materials from marshes, rivers and beaches, and harvested local plants to dye fabric remnants. Bound, wrapped and hand-stitched, the bundles carry politics of textiles: history of trade, colonisation, mass production, and wasteful fashion industry. In our increasingly unstable climate of floods, famine, extinctions, gyres of waste escalating in the name of ‘progress’, my hybrids - part vessel, house, creature - are past and future imaginings.

Thanks to my neighbour Roger Spear who has been a great help to me with constructing and installing, and Chris Black (Zig Zag) for all his support. Also to Nigel Evans and others who have dropped by to give a hand.

I’m really thrilled and so grateful to have been awarded a Curator Space Artist Bursary to support the development of my new work for As Old as the Hills.

You are welcome to attend our Exhibition Launch on Saturday 21st September, 10 - 5. After party from 5pm

The project and preparations for our Exhibition Launch are going well.  Artists are now working on the final stages of work in residencies at the Zig Zag.  One of our artists, Cat Robertson, has been staying with me, and it has been inspiring working and getting to know her. Our Launch opens at 10am with events happening throughout the day, starting with the opening by the Mayor of Glastonbury, a dance response to the work  at by Katherine Ashworth and Melanie Thompson 11am , followed by a comedic performance by Di Milstein 11.30am, then a talk 2.30pm by Damon Bridge (RSPB/project partner).  Or do come to the exhibition any day 10-5 between 21 Sept-6 Oct , part of Somerset Art Weeks Festival.

Upcoming workshops as part of As Old as the Hills:

Drop in or email: fionacampbell-art@sky.com

Book via Eventbrite

Artists in Conversation, Tuesday 24 Sept, 6.30pm,, £5

Layered books Workshop with Penelope O'Gara and Fiona Campbell, Saturday 28 September, 2-4pm, £12

Workshop working with found feathers, owl pellets, plant & river weed pressings with Duncan Cameron, Sunday 29 September, 2-4pm, £12

'Living on the Edge’: Talk by Zig Zag owner Chris Black, blurring boundaries between urban & rural, Sunday 29 September, 6pm, £10

Pyre is currently on show at Royal Society of Sculptors Summer Show: ‘Reality Check’, Dora House, 108 Old Brompton Road, London SW7 3RA, 22 July- 21 Sept,

I have an upcoming exhibition Elemental at Sou’ - Sou’ -West, Bridport with Jan Alison Edwards and Ally Matthews (19 Oct-10 Nov), so am making new work for this

I’m offering an online Sculpture Course (self-directed) - great value at only £40. Do share!

Hope to see you at one or more of these events!

As Old as the Hills

Collett Park Day drop-in workshop, As Old as the Hills. Making & embedding paper with recycled/found river & sea debris. Community work will form part of our final exhibition. Photo: Kirsten Madeira-Revell & me, by Barbara Voules

As Old as the Hills is a community art project I’m co-curating with Jan Ollis. Rooted in heritage and environment, it culminates in an immersive contemporary art exhibition & events in the iconic Bauhaus building (Zig Zag), Glastonbury for Somerset Art Weeks Festival (21 Sept-6 Oct).

The project looks at climate change, floods, water pollution, and the ancient layered history of Mendip & Somerset Levels – interdependent landscapes. The exhibition takes place on the top floor of a disused space, once Morlands leather factory. I’m interested in placing art in unusual spaces that bring their own atmosphere. The Zig Zag is unique; light floods in through long banks of windows which span both lengths of the building. Thrilled to be collaborating with a great selection of artists, working in a range of disciplines from large-scale sculptural installations and textiles to photography and performance: Madi Acharya Baskerville , Nikki Allford, Fiona Campbell, Duncan Cameron, David Kefford, Di Milstein, Penelope O’Gara, Catriona Robertson, Jan Ollis, Richard Tomlinson.

Sadly we didn’t get ACE funding, but we’re very grateful to those who have supported us. Funders include The Arts Society, Gane Trust, Shepton Mallet Town Council, individual donations and a great deal of in-kind.

A range of workshops are open to the public. Jan and I had a great time running a free drop-in workshop at Collett Park Day on 8 June (pics above/below). We’ll be running more workshops in local schools. There are plenty of workshops to join, including a fabulous day at Avalon Marshes: ‘Memory, Mud, Mind’: Walk, Talk, Workshop, Sat 6 July, 10am-4pm, Glastonbury BA6 9TT.  Info & book here.

Photo credits (above): 1, 11 Barbara Voules; 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 Richard Tomlinson; 4 Jan Ollis

Work in Progress

I’m making a series of stilt structures, precarious hybrid forms around the notion of resilience, adaptation, making do. The tripod sculptures are assemblages of recycled & found mixed media, layered, stitched and patched together, advocating reuse, care and repair in the context of global consumerism and waste. They’ll be showcased in As Old as the Hills.

Stilt houses, built to avoid floods, exist on the edges of safety in slums around the world . People in Landes used to move about on stilts in boggy ground. Somali nomads transport their homes/belongings - elaborate overladen bundles - on camels (symbols of adaptability, endurance, trade routes). Growing up in Kenya, I have vivid memories of African women bent over with heavy loads piled high on their backs. My work also refers to the ancient timber Sweet Track found in Avalon marshes, Somerset, dating 3800BC. These stilt structures are a means of survival in adversity, and suggest treading the earth gently. Have always been fascinated by Dali’s elephants.

Stilt Structure II, found, recycled & waste materials: wood branches, coir, copper wire, handmade naturally dyed fabric, leather, plastic netting, polyester stuffing, jute, sisal, wool, thread, nylon tights

Stilt Structure III: maquette (above), found, recycled & waste materials: wood, steel, wire, paper, cardboard, teabags, bark, plant debris, sisal

Stilt Structure III: collage (below), found, recycled & waste materials: cardboard, paper, wood, wire, leaves, leather, plastic, bark, plant debris

Stilt Structure III (far below), work in progress, found, recycled & waste materials: wood, steel, wire, paper, cardboard, fabric, jute, bark…

With limited studio space, working large-scale has its problems. I utilise other spaces including my garden, but with such poor weather this summer in UK, I haven’t been able to work outside much. Luckily I’ve had access to a neighbour’s garage, so my latest piece is developing there.

Upcoming Exhibitions

Delighted my work has been selected for the Royal Society of Sculptors Summer Show, curated by David McAlmont. The exhibition will be held at Dora House, 108 Old Brompton Rd, South Kensington, London
SW7 3RA; 22 July-21 Sept. PV Sat 20 July, 11am-2pm.

I’ll be installing work in Truro Cathedral, Cornwall soon for Solastalgia, an exhibition curated by Summer Auty, It runs 1-14 July. 

I’ll be showing 2 drawings in Landscape (Re)View) at The Wall, Musgrove Hospital, 2 July-29 Oct, & small works at Brewhouse, Taunton in September - part of Somerset Reacquainted.

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

I have some handmade books on exhibition at Create@#8, 8 Town St, Shepton Mallet, as part of Art Book Shepton. Open 14-23 June (Fri-Sun). I’ll be there on Sun 16th if you want to pop in.

1 Kenyan Tree Rubbings, graphite, paper: I made the tree rubbings in Kenya on an ACE-funded DYCP trip in ‘22. The book is special to me as it documents an important time revisiting my Kenyan roots, and seeing my Dad for the last time.

2. Fungi, paper

For more about my DYCP year see @fiona_campbell_dycp and my film.

I’m raising funds to go on a trip to Vietnam at the end of the year. Please consider purchasing something from my shop. I’ve added an Online Sculpture Course, which has no time limit (self-directed) - great value!