Printmaking Workshop - Gunnersbury Park Museum

Hello you!

Here's some snaps from the printmaking workshop I recently taught at Gunnersbury Park Museum. I had THE BEST day with a deeply inspiring group of adults working directly from nature on a range of low tech and low cost printmaking techniques that don't need a press and can be easily replicated at home. We created printmaking blocks from carved plasticine and engraved polystyrene. It was SO MUCH FUN!

In other news I've finished the final 30m of the EPIC 95m meter illustrated hoardings I've been working on for Southwark and I'm SO excited to see it all installed! 

This Friday is a half day as we're zipping* off in Clementine (the orange camper van - my second favourite thing in the universe!!) to head off to a BIG family reunion on the Saturday and then Sunday I'm performing with my Charleston Dance Troupe WHOOP WHOOP!

I hope you have lovely plans for the weekend, I would like to suggest pancakes should feature heavily!

( * FULL DISCLOSURE... Clementine is a granny camper van and unable to 'zip' which suggests EXTREME speed but I love her x) 

DRAW Brighton

Hello you!

I'm really excited about my drawing class next Sunday 30th September at Draw Brighton.

It will be a really fun and friendly workshop to start (or rekindle) your passion for drawing! I'll take you through lots of different exercise, ideas and media to help you to build your confidence and start your journey towards discovering a personal drawing style.

This workshop is suitable for nervous beginners and rusty artists alike and costs £45 or £35 for students - booking is required via the paypal link (see here) or by emailing info@draw-brighton.co.uk.

I really hope to see you there x

Printmaking at Gunnersbury Park Museum

Hi all!

Cor, manic week - my boyfriend's away in the States for 3 weeks so I've booked A BILLION things to keep me busy until he gets back. TOO. MANY. THINGS but SO. MUCH. FUN!

This week I've been working on the TOP SECRET new public art project in Kent (I hope to be able to announce it very soon!) Until then I want to share the FANTASTIC work created by young artists during Monday's teaching at Gunnersbury Park Museum - they were SO talented!

Hope all's well with you... back soon HOPEFULLY able to spill the beans about Kent! x

Gunnersbury Park

Hiya

Hope you've been having a SPLENDID week! I am planning on having ice cream for dinner so am currently living my very best life. Still on the catch up.... I wanted to share this SUPERB image from last week. I spent the each day working in different venues across West London on outreach for Gunnersbury Park Museum. It was a wonderful commission. The education team (brilliant Ellie and Sharon) wanted a project to celebrate the local area, with the work created to be exhibited in the museum ready for the reopening. 

I designed an activity where we made free standing buildings inspired by local architecture (with fantastical additions!). I'm so excited to see them all installed!

Next week I will FINALLY! get round to sharing more from my Artist Residency at Coutts Bank, until then, have a great week (and have ice cream for dinner - I give you FULL permission) x

The GIANT Lantern Parade

HOORAH! I'm writing to you today on a sunny Spring morning in my pretty new flat in Hove. I've finally unpacked and I'm looking forward to gradually exploring my new neighbourhood by the sea!

Last week was the GIANT lantern parade I've been working on for months and it was FANTASTIC! It was the culmination of the engagement element of my public art commission for the new Barratt Home development in Laverstock. The week before the parade, I'd invited Wessex Archaeology and Wildlife Drawing to run workshops both at the school and at Riverbourne Community Farm culminating in beautiful observational drawings (more info here). Same Sky then spent two days at the school helping every pupil to create their own beautiful hand made lanterns (decorated with the drawings created in the previous days workshops) and managed a beautiful procession.

Here are the images from the lantern procession on the 20th March to celebrate the project, the local community and the Spring Equinox. The junior school pupils and their families paraded with their lanterns from the junior school site down, through the new housing development and down to the infant school site. The Infants were awaiting our arrival waving the hand drawn flags I'd created for them. On arrival there was hot chocolate, singing and a lovely speech from the Head teacher. It was a really magical event and I'm very proud of it. Next up I need to design and create the permanent artwork for the development and new Country Park!

GIANT thanks to everyone who made this happen, particularly the school staff and pupils, Wessex Archaeology, Wildlife Drawing, Riverbourne Community Farm, Same Sky and the marvellous Barbara Leatham for her wonderful photography...

Conningbrook Lakes

Hiya

Phew, it's always crazy this time of year isn't it. I'm on a mission to take 7 FULL DAYS OFF over Christmas (a first and a proper Christmas miracle!) but in order to do this I need to get lots and lots and lots of stuff done. I am currently juggling eight projects and losing my tiny mind, but finding leaning hard on all the Christmas snacks to be deeply beneficial!

For now I thought I'd share a little about a project I recently worked on....

I was commissioned by FrancisKnight to collaborate on a new residential development and country park 'Conningbrook Lakes' in Ashford Kent. A fantastic development by Chartway, Latimer and Ashford Borough Council, my role was 'Lead Artist' as part of the strategy development to liaise with the design team, undertake research, public consultation and contribute to the overarching vision of the public art strategy.

As an artist regularly given public art strategies and briefs it was really exciting to have the chance to be on the other side. To work as part of the team to establish the themes and various commissions for the new development.

My favourite part of the process was the community engagement, we worked with a wide range of community groups to gain feedback on our initial ideas and give people the opportunity to contribute to the process. My highlight was running a creative art workshop with the local Beaver group to design benches for the new country park...

I'm hoping to find more time for teaching and running creative courses and workshops next year as I really do miss it!

Have a lovely week and I'll be back again soon xxx

More birds...

Hello

I had an amazing long weekend in The Highlands, it was beautiful and relaxing and included fires, walks, chocolate and watching 'Gentlemen Prefer Blonds" ie, it was bliss. I then spent Tuesday in Devon watching my niece who was MARY in the school nativity and frankly bloody marvellous! Therefore this weeks 'to-do' list needs to be squished into only a few days, so things are a bit nuts right now!

I'm excited to share some images from my public art project earlier this summer. I've been commissioned by Bellway Homes and Studio Response to create a series of public artworks for a new development of 64 homes in Charfield, South Gloucestershire. Part of my commission was to create a community engagement project, so I worked with Charfield Primary School for two days in July.

After the initial research I had decided to focus my artwork for the project on local birdlife as the geography of the area attracts a range of interesting birds. I therefore wanted to create a project with local local community where they (and I!) could learn about local birds and get excited about the artwork to come. I created a two day full school event and invited in a range of practitioners to deliver a wide range of sessions exploring bird life and inspiring the students. 

These sessions included...

- Bird Ringing at a local nature reserve with Ed Drewitt (British Trust for Ornithology)

Attaching a small, individually numbered metal tag to the leg or wing of a wild bird to enable individual identification.

- Bird Identification in the school playground with the RSPB, learning to use binoculars and spot common British birds

- Creating dens inspired by birds nests with a team of Forest Schools practitioners

- Bird song/ language

Working with author/ illustrator Nadia Shireen exploring bird language

- Lunchtime live birds of prey flying display in the playground 

- Drawing Birds

Led by 'Wildlife Drawing', an observational drawing session with live birds of prey (accompanied by their handler) 

- Play consultation

Working with 'Learning Through Landscapes' Felicity Robinson exploring how to make the green spaces in the development ‘playful’ and enable a variety of different types of play.

- Bird movement 

Dance and movement workshop led by Rise Youth Dance Company to explore how different types of birds move (flapping, gliding, hopping, diving, soaring, flight)

(All images credit: Gareth Iwan Jones http://www.garethiwanjones.com/)

It's still birdy in the studio, as I'm now sculpting the artwork for the development informed and inspired by the engagement events earlier this summer!

Other things I've been up to include...

- designing illustrated blinds for Eton Museum of Natural History (sent the roughs this week...)

- creating 4 x cards for Coworth Park (finished this week and excited to share with you soon!)

- designing the consultation project for my public art commission with Barratt Homes for the new housing development 'Riverdown Park' - Bishopdown Farm, nr Salisbury

- creating a new map illustration for a hotel (tell you more soon)

OK, off to work on my goldfinch sculpture, he currently has a ridiculous beak that will need excessive surgery tonight! x

While I've been gone...

Hiya

So sorry for the absence, it's C R A Z Y in the studio at the moment combining all the little jobs that keep popping up with my three big projects which are...

- Collaborating with an architectural practice to design a block of apartments in Essex
- Designing all the integrated artwork for a town centre redevelopment in Berkshire including paving, lighting, underpasses, street furniture, cladding and gates
- Creating integrated artwork for a new housing development in South Gloucester

I just wanted to share some student artwork from the recent workshops I led at Royal Holloway University to celebrate Fascination of Plants Day 2017. I worked with six different groups aged 11-73 and had a fun and inspiring time working with them on their beautiful drawings. Here's a small selection of the work created that day...

OK, thats's all for now BACK TO WORK! x