Current and Forthcoming Exhibitions 2017

I will be taking part in the following exhibitions this year: Bath Spa University MA Open Studios, Dartmouth Ave, 25-27 January

Walcot Chapel MA Fine Art Residency. 13-20 Feb. Open Eve Mon 20 Feb, 6-8pm, Walcot Chapel, Walcot Gate, Bath BA1 5UG

'The Future Can't Wait', MA Show, Long Gallery, Black Swan Arts Centre, 2 Bridge St, Frome, Somerset BA11 1BB, 18 March - 5 April. Preview Fri 17 March 6-8pm

Wylye Valley Art Trail, 26 May - 4 June

Fresh Air '17, Quenington Old Rectory, Quenington, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 5BN, 11 June - 2 July, open daily 10am-5pm, £5 Adults, children free

Bradford-on-Avon Sculpture Garden, 'Lynchetts', 15, Woolley Street, Bradford-on-Avon, 24 June - 2 July, 11am-6.30pm, closed Mon

Fifty BEES: The Interconnectedness of All Things, ACEarts, Somerton, 1-22 July, open Tues - Sat, 10am-5pm

Summer Sculptures, Glastonbury Abbey, Somerset, BA6 9EL, 1 July - 1 October (normal admission applies)

Evolver Prize '17, Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Honiton, 8 July - 26 August

NGS Open Garden, Benter, Somerset, 23 July, 10am-5pm

'Form and Fascination', Courts Garden National Trust, Holt, Nr Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, BA14 6RR, 9 September - 15 October (closed Wednesdays).  Last entry to garden 5pm.  My work will be shown alongside Ian Turnock's.  Private View Fri 8 Sept 6-8pm

Somerset Art Weeks Festival 'Prospect'.  I will be taking part in 2 exhibitions with Angela Morley, spanning East and West Somerset.  'Ephemeral and Eternal', Round Tower Gallery, Black Swan Arts, 2 Bridge St, Frome, Somerset BA11 1BB, 16 September - 7 October, 10am–4pm, Mon to Sat, (open Sun 1 Oct); Preview Fri 22 Sept 6-8pm and Clayhill Arts, Clayhill Farm, Charlynch Lane, Bridgwater TA5 2PH, 23 September - 8 October, 11am-6pm, Wed-Sun

As part of Somerset Art Weeks Festival we will be running workshops: Black Swan Arts: ‘Organic Forms’: Wed 4 Oct, 1-3pm (Angela Morley); Sat 7 Oct, 10-12 or 1-3pm (Fiona Campbell); book via www.eventbrite.co.uk; Clayhill Arts: ‘Organic Forms Found Materials’ Sun 8 Oct, half day or full day (Fiona Campbell); or ‘Organic Forms Willow Weaving Sun 8 Oct, half day or full day (Angela Morley), or combination of each: book via www.eventbrite.co.uk

MA Degree Show, Bath School of Art & Design, Sion Hill, Bath, BA1 5SF, 23 - 27 Sept, 10am-5pm.   This will be an interim show for me, being my first year of two, part-time

Black Swan Arts Open, 2 Bridge St, Frome BA11 1BB, 2-29 Nov, 10am-4pm, Mon to Sat

More details to follow on these and other exhibitions.

Lead Lines

Months of research and writing for research methodologies on my MA  is now finally over and I am looking forward to focusing more on developing my practice. I have been looking at worms.  I studied an earthworm through a magnifying glass.  Its semi-transparent body enabled me to view its internal organs which buckle and coil as it moves. I am intrigued by a pulsating deep pink artery that runs centrally through the length of their bodies, delineating this coiling movement.  My ideas are revolving around lead lines, reinforced with steel rod in parts, that suggest huge 3d worm forms, skeletal, with linear coiled pink innards made from copper wire, heated red glass, orange twine and plastic strands.  This may change, perhaps it will seem too representational, although the expansive forms meandering through space could be quite breathtaking.

As an experiment, I have created a small worm colony in an old fish tank, with dead leaves for them to munch.  In a few weeks I plan to remove the worms by attracting them to the top, then cast their tunnels.  If it works, it will be interesting to see what their tunnels look like, how they interconnect.

I have cast some more 3d lead lines, using routed wood blocks as moulds, made with a friend (Nick Weaver)’s help.  The wooden lines were gouged with 4 different router cutters, so that I have a range of curved and v-shaped lines.  The process was slow, as the lead didn’t melt properly on my studio electric hob, until I directed a gas blowtorch flame into the hot pan too.  When I poured, the slag remained in the pan, so the lines were smooth, clean lead.   I am considering how these might become more 3d, or whether they don't need to, and how to convey message with method and materials, creating forms that carry natural associations, bridging the gap between science and art.

Questionnaire

I have created a brief questionnaire as part of my MA research (see images below).  If you have the time to download the document (link below), fill it out and return it to me via email (e: fionacampbell-art@sky.com) by 1 January 2017, that would be fantastic! To download click here: questionnaire

(Photo credits:1: Yellowtrace; 2: Amanda McCavour; 4: Laurie Lax; 5: Tate) 

Thank you in advance!

Research

My MA continues to absorb me.  Research is a main focus this term, I have never got through so much literature in such a short time!  I am looking at the 'expanded fields' (Krauss) and blurred boundaries in drawing and sculpture, doing alot of thinking, writing, visiting exhibitions, listening to talks and making samples.  I love the alchemy.  Inspired by artists such as Eva Hesse in the 60's who defied categorisation, Cornelia Parker (exploded shed; melts down and ‘draws’ the object/s (eg a lead bullet) into wire), Monika Grzymala (see image below: theatrical explosions with tape and paper), Chiharu Shiota (immersive stretched installations) and critics/philosophers e.g. Rosalind Krauss and Peter Osborne, new ideas are slowly formulating.

This month, I will be taking part in the Quartz Visual Arts Festival ’16, ‘Outside In’, 15-22 December at Queens College, Taunton TA1 4QS.  This involves a collection of work based on the rural landscape and natural world from over 40 artists and makers in the South West.

I’ve been involved behind the scenes at Black Swan Arts, Frome.  The winter exhibition ‘30 Years/30 Artists’ is now running until 24 Dec, our final 30^th anniversary celebration of 30 years at Black Swan.  Postcard artworks have returned to the Gallery (displayed on a strange pink/silver/pearl tree I cobbled together), this time in secret envelopes at just £10 each - Christmas bargain!

I am also working towards a large piece for ‘Fresh Air ‘17’ in Quenington, Gloucestershire.  More news on this later.

Very best wishes for a happy festive season!

Worms, Oil and Graphite

Since finishing my egg sac drawing/sculpture (above), worms have been a recent preoccupation.  Last week I went on a worm hunt (in a harmless way) to photograph and draw them for my research. There’s a special technique for this: by vibrating the earth, they rise to the surface (apparently to seek mates in the rain – more important than the fear of being pecked by birds or moles).

This is a layer of research over my investigation into possible uses of graphite (and linseed oil) as a medium. Graphite, interestingly, is a form of carbon, which, I’ve recently learnt, is a primary element (4^th most abundant in the universe) that comes from the beginnings of life – brought from the stars via buckyballs. All living things contain carbon in some form. Julio Gonzalez, when he first coined the expression ‘to draw in space’ was initially inspired by constellations and the points between them as a metaphor for drawing in space.  Graphite, due to its carbon property, is the thinnest medium and can stretch to only 1 atom thick, whilst retaining great strength.

Earth worms have been of interest to me for several years.

I respect their status as recyclers and importance within the cycle of life.  I like their grey to maroon transparent skin tones (some with clearly visible red veins delineating their contours as they move) and their form that resembles many others – limbs, tree roots/branches, neurons, filaments...

I hope to create a series of works in 2-d and 3-d – drawings/sculptures/installations that could be immersive, possibly worm-like!  The drawings might start flat on oiled paper with graphite, leading to graphite as 3-d.  I need to explore other possibilities - perhaps using perpex to back the paper so it can arc into space.  It's early days, and seems a little slow to get going, but I'm enjoying the process of investigation.