Spring is underway and blossom is opening making frothy countryside hedgerows and trees.   The dawn chorus is loud these mornings and the fields are drying up bit for walking.  I know the world is not so kind in many places so I hope you are keeping safe and are able to take some moments with your art-making to restore the soul.  

Here’s a little update of what I’ve been up to…

Our local arts week finished at the end of last month and it was the biggest yet.   Next year it will be 10 years since it started and planning is already underway.  Despite being a newbie I am very much enjoying being part of the arts collective and getting to know other artists.  It’s a very supportive commmuntiy. 

This year, I had paintings in the High Street gallery as part of a takeover of shop windows.   A friend and I were hosted by the lovely carpet shop again with its wonderful window space and I’m happy to say the largest landscape found a new home! There was artwork everywhere – three other exhibition spaces I can think of, as well as many music and literature events.   The church, cinema and community centres were full of events. 

I was particularly pleased to send off some money to The Alzheimer’s Society following a talk about my own work and that of my parents thanks to kind donations.   

I’ve been beavering away at the ‘Talisman’ group project and now have a number of tree totem poles, pouches and wrapped twig chips.  It’s been great exploring different trees and some of the surrounding folklaw, piecing together (as I usually do) small elements to create the totem pole forms, each with a distinct palette.   Totem poles have a different meaning to talismans really but I like the long form so I took a bit of artistic licence! The meanings and associations with each tree seem to overlap as I’ve researched them, so things like protection and strength are associated with more than one but I’ve just decided to separate them a little to make each distinct.   Each one has the Ogham letter for the tree (apart from Sycamore which is not native and therefore not old enough o have one) and meaning symbols from various cultures such as Celtic, African or Viking. They all have marks made directly by using the tree such as those made with twig brushes, leaf prints or bark rubbings and for me, it’s this act and the stitching of the various symbols that link most to the theme which we have all interpreted fairly loosely! I hope the twig chips might be small things that can be taken as talismans by viewers if we get to exhibit the project. It’s been a lot of fun and provided some good distraction during one of the wettest, dullest winters on records. 

In the meanwhile, it’s been a very long wait but I’m delighted to say I have been awarded a research and development grant from the Arrs Council National Lottery fund.  Hooray! 

I will document the project here on my blog so you can follow along but essentially I will be researching materials and processes suitable for mixed media vessel-making, in particular, plaster-soaked fabric and other hardening compounds.   I shall be working with an artist mentor and have hired some pottery studio space suitable for creating a body of samples and getting messy!   I will introduce you to who I’m working with in due course when the initial admin and arrangements are done but it will start over the summer.  

Ceramic vessels have constantly inspired me and vessels in general continue to be a central preoccupation but I wanted to explore how vessels can be made using fabric rather than clay as I do not have access to a kiln and whilst I actually loved doing ceramics I don’t want to swap back over to a different discipline.  This way I can bring together my love of vessels, stitch, markmaking and landscape in what hope will really scratch an itch. 😁 

I have realised that using hardening compounds with cloth would allow me to push the scale and possibilities and I also can’t wait to experiment with grits, cement, plaster and other messy goodies (hence hiring space rather than working in my bedroom studio 😱). Him Indoors is very patient with bits of thread up the hoover but he might draw the line at cement and plaster up the stairs.

Catch you next time!