I'm coming towards the end of this art challenge this week and I have decided to roll two of the topics into one; smallest painting and largest painting. My smallest painting is one of several I made in my Krowji studio. I was experimenting with tiny ink landscapes. I framed them with cut out text from a book to give them a narrative. I wrote about them in my last blog post 'How I Name My Paintings'. This particular piece I never named or framed, it has been hanging around the studio for a few years now. The benefits of painting this small are:
My current largest pieces I made whilst under a mentorship program. All the art from this collection I collectively called Out West, the three largest are almost 60 inches wide. These mixed media works are rolled-up in my studio. I haven't looked into framing them as I don't have the wall space. I enjoyed making these pieces, two of them were partly-painted on location at Pendeen and in St Just. Although those places are close by, there is a difference in the colour palette. This is due to the mining of the area. I deliberately left some of the Pendeen lighthouse painting white, to bring more focus to other areas of the composition. The benefits of working large are:
0 Comments
The first pieces of work I sold were small commissions for friends and family just before I went to college. However, it wasn't until after graduating that I waited to sell from my studio.
Open Studios in Cornwall is a twice-yearly event; a week in spring/summer and a weekend around Christmas. It's a brilliant way to discover new art, meet the creators and see where they work. The test was whether I would have buyers who were not friends and family. I set up an Etsy shop for artwork, a Spoonflower shop for my fabric and wallpaper designs and participated in Open studios where I had everything on display and it worked! I have also sold from galleries, private sales and art shops. Artists often go through stages of not knowing whether the process is right, working alone for long hours or when to stop and put down the tools. Feedback from my customers and photos of my work in situ is a reminder that it was worth sticking with it. I haven't sold on Etsy for a long time and I often debate whether to reopen my shop or upgrade and use my website. However, my Spoonflower shop is still open and hopefully, I can take part in more shows soon. Here is some feedback I have received: Arrived today, wonderful! I'm really happy with your work..so creative! Absolutely gorgeous - the photos show true colours, lovely detail, very pleased with my purchases. Beautiful piece of detailed, affordable art. Shipped on time and well packaged ...they had to be mine!! it's even more lovely in real life I couldn't stop thinking about it, I had to come back for it This week Tate St Ives are hosting an exhibition showcasing the creative talents of its staff based on the theme environments. I am really pleased to have a painting on show! The exhibition also includes sculpture, jewellery, photography, painting, performance, film and more. The exhibition runs from 24 - 29 September 2019, Foyle Studio, Level 3. From Trevalgan with Lanyon by Stephanie Croydon My exhibition piece is mixed media on wood and was made during a mentoring session with artist Liz Hough. We went to a high point in St Ives to sketch; between rocks, fields and with the sea at the horizon. Nearby is a memorial plaque dedicated to St Ives born landscape artist; Peter Lanyon. Statement; 'The coast, woodland and the countryside are places I often use as inspiration to create, working outside directly in the landscape. Primitive places unoccupied by technology and consumerism; particularly up on the hills and in fields where the landscape still feels raw, still bearing traces of how our predecessors occupied and moved through the landscape'. 'I use these areas as a place for quiet contemplation, places where we can be still from the world. ‘From Trevalgan with Lanyon’ is taken from a larger body of work; Out West, and was created with the starting point of looking in more depth at the ancient Cornish landscape. Following Peter Lanyon’s map along the Penwith Coastline, I started from Trevalgan near Lanyon’s memorial plaque, information gathering directly taken from my surroundings'. 'Evolving from my previous work; looking at how the world touches us on an emotional level, working outside leads me to question our movement in the landscape at a time when it has become critical to question the future of our environment. How we move through the landscape every day; our footprint and the wider impact we are creating with consumerism, waste and the impact of climate change'. The private view was really busy and there were performances of music, poetry and other reading on the night. On Friday there will be another performance at 12.30pm by the wonderfully talented Alice Ellis-Bray which is not to be missed! The show has numbers next to each piece rather than text but there are sheets and a booklet available for visitors to find out which piece belongs to which artist, the booklet gives a short statement about each artist. The exhibition is family friendly and free with a paying ticket which will give you access to the rest of the galley. Modern Art and St Ives and Otobong Nkanga: From Where I Stand are the exhibits currently on show. Although this isnt a selling exhibition, there are no prices listed, I am happy for this piece to be displayed in a permanent home should a collector be interested. The exhibition is featured on the Tate website Whats On section HERE The instagram page for the exhibition which also features more artists can be found HERE Summer holidays are right around the corner! whether you’re a stay at home parent, working parent, have a holiday away booked or a couple of day trips, I think a lot of parents’ question how they are going to entertain their children for 6 whole weeks of the summer holidays, I know I do!
Whilst I will be juggling work with the kids being off there will be little time to be in the studio to paint but I can still be creative in other ways. I have been thinking of some creative activities that you can do with children (suitable for most ages and with supervision) to pass the time and make some summer holiday memories. Whatever your plans are we all hope for sunny days where we can be outside but some of these activities are ideal for indoors or you can pop on the wellies and raincoat if you don’t mind the elements.
Open Studios will be taking place around Cornwall from 25th May to 2nd June 2019, welcoming art collectors and admirers into their creative spaces. Some artists will also be running workshops. Look out for the catalogue which lists over 300 artists taking part all over the county, this also gives guidance on how to book workshops, which days and times artists will be open, directions to their studio, whether there is parking, toilets and disabled access.
If you are limited with time but really want to see lots of varieties of art I recommend a visit to Krowji Studios in Redruth. Krowji is a creative hub of practitioners working in paint, ceramics, textiles, design, Printmaking, illustration, glass, jewellery, photography, sculpture and creative sector agencies. It also has a quirky and awesome café. Krowji is a short walk from Redruth train station and busses stop just outside on the main road. I last took part in the event in 2015 as a tenant of Krowji and it is unfortunate that I cannot take part in Open Studios again this year as I now work from a small studio at my rented home but hopefully I will be able to take part again someday. It’s nice to meet admirers of your work and to be able to sell to them directly and give them a personalised service (and a slice of cake if possible!). I wish all the best to past colleagues, college friends and studio neighbours taking part this year. Click the links in the text to find lots more information. *this post is not sponsored or endorsed in any way by Open Studios or Krowji Studios or any of the artists taking part I decided it would be a great idea to list all the galleries, museums and theatres in Cornwall for locals or whether you’re planning to holiday here. Then I realised what a vast list that would be! So I have compiled a shorter list of sites that already have all the information (and have done a much better job than I could have including contact details and maps!) Click each title to go to the relevant website
Museums Cornwall museums News, events, educational trips, links to museum websites for ticketing and prices, Cornish history links Trip advisor Visitor ratings and reviews, maps, (clicking the link will take you straight to museums) 101 things to do on a rainy day in Cornwall Similar to cornwall museums without the images but does include contact numbers and postcode and map link plus cinema, theatre, markets, organisations, kid activities…I wish I had found this during the last half term! Day out with the kids Galleries, user friendly looking site with locations shown on a map on the right hand side, nearer the bottom there are links for different types of days out Visit Cornwall History and heritage attractions Cornwall Heritage Trust Places to visit, organisations Galleries Cornwall Arts and Crafts Directory Includes Art galleries, Cornish artists, Graphic designers, Technical illustrators, Art training, Art suppliers, Art exhibitions, crafts, services and suppliers Cornwall Guide List of galleries, literature, jewellers and theatres, search by area and more Trip advisor (again) the link should take you straight to a list Krowji A hub for creative professionals with an onsite cafe , open twice a year for Open Studios to meet the artists, buy their work, attend workshops, café open daily (I did a year residency here and the café décor is worth visiting!) Theatres Rogue Theatre I highly recommend booking to see Rogue Theatre when they have shows, theyre magical and like nothing ive ever experienced before, I love to go along with friends and dress up for the experience, especially for the Halloween show! Visit Cornwall (Theatre section) The minack Theatre Stunning location, also has gift shop, gardens, exhibition area, story telling Cornwall Council List of organisations in the culture and creative industry Photo by Benjamin Elliott on Unsplash |
Archives
February 2021
Categories
All
My Spoonflower Shop
|