SIR Ranulph Fiennes’s destination on March 24 2021 will be York Barbican, his mission to deliver his live show Living Dangerously for the third time in the city.
Named by the Guinness Book of Records as “the world’s greatest living
explorer” and in Burke’s Peerage as Sir Ranulph Twistleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 3rd
Baronet of Banbury, he has spent his
life in pursuit of extreme adventure, risking life and limb in “some of the
most ambitious private expeditions ever undertaken”.
Among his many record-breaking achievements, he was the first explorer to reach both the North and South Poles, the first to cross the Antarctic and the Arctic Ocean, and the first to circumnavigate the Earth’s surface along its polar axis.
In Living Dangerously, Sir Ranulph, takes a journey through his
life, from his early years to the present day. Both light-hearted and poignant, the
show revisits the 76-year-old explorer’s childhood and school misdemeanours,
his army life and early expeditions.
He will share insights into his transglobal expedition and his present
global reach challenge: his goal to
become the first person in the world to cross both polar ice caps and climb the
highest mountain on each of the seven continents.
Sir Ranulph presented Living Dangerously previously in York at the Grand
Opera House in July 2018 and June 2019.
Tickets for his 2021 return go on sale on Friday, April 24 at 10am at yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Stream team: Your Place Comedy compere Tim FitzHigham, left, and a pyjama-clad Mark Watson on screen during April 19’s online gig
REASONS to be cheerful part one. The first Your Place Comedy night, streamed live from Mark Watson and Lucy Beaumont’s living rooms to yours, was a big success.
Compered by Tim FitzHigham, Sunday’s online fundraiser for ten small, independent northern venues in Coronavirus shutdown drew more than 3,500 viewers.
“That’s
considerably more than their combined capacities,” says a delighted event
co-ordinator Chris Jones, Selby Town Council’s arts officer, who manages the Selby
Town Hall arts centre.
“The show
went even better than we had imagined, to say the whole project was put
together from scratch in the space of two weeks by three people with no live
streaming experience!”
Reasons to be cheerful part two. “The show was free to watch on Facebook and YouTube, with an option to donate. We received £3,500 in donations, which will now be split between the venues,” says Chris.
Joining
together in this rolling initiative to put the fun into fundraising are Selby
Town Hall; The Ropewalk, Barton upon Humber; Carriageworks Theatre, Leeds; East
Riding Theatre, Beverley; Junction, Goole; Helmsley Arts Centre; Shire Hall,
Howden; Otley Courthouse; Pocklington Arts Centre and Rotherham Theatres.
“In a
nutshell, I was frustrated that the traditional relationship between venue,
artist and audience – the venue providing the artist with income and the
audience with entertainment – has been has been eroded for the foreseeable
future by Covid-19 and I wanted to find a way to re-create that,” says Chris.
“So, at a
time of huge uncertainty and upheaval in the Coronavirus lockdown, including
for the live entertainment industry, I got these venues from around Yorkshire
and the Humber to come together to provide our audiences with some much-needed
laughter during these difficult times, each chipping in a small amount of money
to put on Sunday’s live stream.
Lucy Beaumont: “Rather bizarre bedtime story”
“Their contributions
to Your Place Comedy go towards paying the artists a guaranteed fee at a time when
all live income has been taken away, and, in exchange, venues get a show to
sell to their own audiences as one of their own, helping maintain those vital
relationships with audiences they have nurtured over the years.”
Reasons to be cheerful part three. “Both Lucy and Mark were fantastic. Mark is relatively experienced when it comes to live streaming and was comfortable enough with the format to perform in his pyjamas,” says Chris.
“For Lucy,
it was a first foray into ‘audience-free’ comedy, but her set was pitch perfect
– even featuring a rather bizarre bedtime story!
– and broadcast live from the pub that her husband, [comedian] Jon
Richardson, has built in their house.”
How did
the format work, Chris? “We were very aware that one of the limitations of live
streamed comedy was a lack of audience interaction, so we devised a function that
allowed viewers to send messages directly to the acts,” he says.
“This
worked incredibly well and really gave the show that extra feeling of intimacy
and warmth that you get from watching comedy in a small venue environment.”
Before
Sunday’s inaugural show, Chris said: “If the first one is a success and this
looks like a sustainable model, I would hope to do several more through the
lockdown period and possibly beyond.”
Reasons to be cheerful part four. “We’re now planning a second show, tentatively scheduled for Sunday, May 3, with two new acts on the bill,” he says. “Watch this space.” Then watch www.yourplacecomedy.co.uk when the line-up is confirmed.
Should you still be wondering what exactly was Hull humorist Lucy Beaumont’s “rather bizarre bedtime story”…..no, you should have been watching!
LAST
weekend should have been spent visiting other people’s homes, not staying home.
Next weekend too.
This is not
a cabin-fevered call for a foolhardy Trumpian dropping of the guard on
Covid-19, but a forlorn wish that York Open Studios 2020 could have been just
that: York Open Studios. Instead, they will be York Shut Studios.
Nevertheless,
in the absence of the opportunity to meet 144 artists at 100 locations,
banished by the Coronavirus lockdown,
CharlesHutchPress is determinedly championing the creativity of York’s artists
and makers, who would have been showcasing their ceramics, collage, digital,
illustration, jewellery, mixed media, painting, print, photography, sculpture
and textiles skills.
Each day,
in brochure order, a handful of artists who now miss out on the exposure of
Open Studios are being given a pen portrait on these pages, because so much art
and craft will have been created for the event and still needs a new home. Home
and studio addresses will not be included at this lockdown time.
Meanwhile,
York Open Studios artists are finding their own way to respond to the shutdown
by filling their windows with their work instead. Look for #openwindowsyork2020
to locate them. “If you see one in your area while taking your daily exercise,
take a picture and let us know,” they say.
Furthermore,
look out for plenty of the 144 artists still showcasing their work over the
York Open Studios period online. Visit yorkopenstudios.co.uk to take
your own virtual tour.
The website says: “We’re
doing a Virtual Open Studio, with artists posting based on a daily theme for
the ten days spanning our two weekends. They’ll be showing you their studios
and workshops, favourite processes, answering your questions, and of course
lots of pictures of their new work!
“Search for
#YorkOpenStudios anywhere on social media or follow your favourite artists to
see more.”
First, however, here are six more artists and makers for you to discover…
” I hope always to never take myself too seriously,” says ceramicist Chiu-i Wu
Chiu-i Wu, ceramics
CHIU-I’S functional and sculptural gas-fired
stoneware pieces are all individual and hand-built, with no moulds being used.
“I hope always to never take myself too
seriously, but to just have a simple honesty with my ceramics,” she says.
“When I was little, it was with
pen and paper that I felt expressive: drawing and drawing without thought. The
feeling never left me, and I graduated to paint, then finally to ceramics.”
Chiu-i developed her art and ceramics in her home country of Taiwan, exhibiting her first work in Taipei. “I loved it, but always had a hard time when asked about my work,” she says. “I have no deep meanings. Not ones that I recognise anyway. I just produce from my heart, sensing when what I’m creating begins to feel right.”
She studied hard to be able to create the feeling she wanted in clay and glaze. “When I moved to England in 2003, I brought many glaze recipes, but soon discovered a new range of English clays to explore. I can feel my love of English summers, blackbirds and sheep touching my heart and influencing my work,” says Chiu-i, who now exhibits in both Britain and Taiwan.
As well as York Open Studios, Chiu-I’s 2020 diary includes Potfest at Scone Palace, Perth, and Earth And Fire, at Welbeck, Nottinghamshire, both In June; Potfest In The Park, Penrith, in July, and Art In Clay, Hatfield House, Hertfordshire, in August. Find out more at chiuiwu.co.uk.
Amy Butcher: Applique-based hand embroidery
Amy Butcher, textiles
FOR Amy’s applique-based hand embroidery, a
collage of intricately cut fabric shapes create a foundation. This is then stitched
and embellished to create illustrative pieces rooted in nature and animals.
“My love of art and textiles started at school and
has been a passion ever since,” says the largely self-taught Amy, from Stillington.
“The support and inspiration from an embroidery class enabled me to continue to
develop my work and confidence, and in 2014 I was fortunate to get the
opportunity to work with the greetings card company Bug Art.”
Clover Meadow, by Amy Butcher
She now works on developing her own range of greetings cards, prints, cushion panels, coasters and embroidery stitch kits, printed from her original textile art for Beaks & Bobbins.
This would have been her debut year of exhibiting at York Open Studios. More info at beaksandbobbies.com.
Carol Coleman: A lifetime of creativity
Carol Coleman, textiles
CAROL uses dissolving fabric and a wide range
of found, manipulated, painted or dyed ingredients with any creative technique
she can master to produce wall-hung, 3D and wearable art.
Frequently she uses digital photography with
image manipulation to create working designs.
A lifetime of creativity, followed by specialising
in free-machine embroidery, led to Carol being invited to teach and talk about
her work to organised groups.
Phoenix, by Carol Coleman
She became a professional textile artist in 2003 and in 2015 was presented with the gold award for textiles by Craft & Design magazine. As well as exhibiting locally, nationally and internationally, she writes. Oh, and she designed the Dire Wolf Crest for the Hardhome Embroidery for HBO’s Game Of Thrones.
Next up in her diary is Art In The Pen, in Thirsk, on July 18 and 19, “currently still going ahead”. Check carol@fibredance.co.uk for an update.
Jo Ruth at work in her studio
Jo Ruth, painting
JO specialises in intricate stencils cut from
original drawings layered with painted surfaces. She sprays and sponges
her imagery, reinterpreting the relationship between the natural and the urban
world.
Jo trained in fine art at the University of
Reading, followed by post-graduate studies at Birmingham City University, and
then developed her creative, illustration and design practices alongside her
extensive lecturing and teaching career in London and the Midlands.
“Fascinated by wildlife but a lifelong city
dweller, I’m inspired by elements of both worlds: chance encounters with the
birds we see sharing our urban lives and those in more rural settings,” she
says.
Turtle Dove, by Jo Ruth
“The majority of my imagery is based on our
native and visiting birds, those we see in and around our homes and gardens,
but I use techniques such as stencilling and digital technologies more
associated with urban life.”
As a painter-printmaker, Jo’s work is
experimental in its creative process, employing a variety of media to explore
qualities of mark-making, texture and colour. “I draw inspiration from the
linear qualities of Chinese brush painting, calligraphy and the colours and
patterns of my local environment,” she says.
Her website, joruth.com, divides her
work into Urban, park and garden; Hedgerows and woods; Wetland, lake and sea
and Works on brown paper. Her first major solo show was at the Scottish
Ornithologists Club in Aberlady, Scotland, and she exhibits regularly at the International
Bird Fair in Rutland.
LUISA favours expressive and atmospheric landscapes
and seascapes, woodland and contemporary still life in her artwork, painting in
mixed media and acrylics in a painterly yet sensitive semi-abstract style.
“I enjoy capturing light and atmosphere, simplifying forms and reducing areas of a picture to blocks of light,” she says. The North York Moors, the Dales and the Yorkshire coastline are prominent in her paintings, “but I also enjoy abstracted, edgy still lifes, often incorporating a window backdrop and geometric forms,” she adds.
Luisa, who is of British-Italian roots, grew up
in North Wales and studied fine art at the North Wales Institute of Fine Art
but she has since spent most of her adult life in Yorkshire.
“I enjoy capturing light and atmosphere, simplifying forms and reducing areas of a picture to blocks of light,” says Luisa Holden
She has exhibited throughout Yorkshire, such as the Ferens Art Gallery in Hull; the Great North Art Show at Ripon Cathedral and a solo show at the Helmsley Arts Centre, as well as at the Mall Galleries in London with the Society of Women Artists.
Luisa is a member of Leeds Fine Artists and her
work can be found at the Blossom Street Gallery, York; The Blake Gallery, Haxby;
The Leaping Hare Art Gallery, Easingwold, and the Look Gallery, Helmsley.
“I like the challenge of intuitive creativity: taking risks, de-constructing and re-constructing to simply allow a painting to evolve,” she says. “I consider the creative process to be a journey of self-discovery, learning to be spontaneous, free and not fearing ‘messing up’.” Discover the results at luisaholdenart.co.uk.
“I find both the process of creating an object and applying my designs most satisfying,” says ceramicist Anna-Marie Magson
Anna-Marie Magson, ceramics
ANNA-MARIE’S simple, contemporary ceramic
vessels are hand built using stoneware slabs and decorated with layers of coloured
slips.
“The flattened
surfaces of the vessels provide a canvas on which to work,” she says, “I create
fine detail by revealing shapes, lines and marks through wax resist and
sgraffito. I use a muted palette of soft-hued colours to
evoke a sun-bleached effect and a satin glaze to give a tactile, silky finish.”
Originally, Anna-Marie studied fine art painting
at Liverpool College of Art, but when the opportunity to work in a pottery
studio arose, she began to explore her love of surface decoration and textured
pattern on clay tiles. Ultimately, this led to adapting her ideas to hand-built
ceramic vessels.
Inspired by ancient structures: Anna-Marie Magson’s ceramics
“I find both the process of creating an object
and applying my designs most satisfying,” she says. “I find inspiration in the
world around me, such as ancient structures, their weathered surface and the
evidence of human mark-making.”
Anna-Marie’s stoneware ceramics can be found at The Biscuit Factory, Newcastle, Number Four Gallery, St Abbs, Scotland, and Leeds Craft Centre and Design Gallery. More immediately, cast an eye over annamariemagson.co.uk.
TOMORROW: Philip Magson; Becki Harper; Sophie Keen; Charmian Ottaway; Lesley Williams and K. Eliza.
Maria Keki: Applying veils of colour in her paintings
LAST
weekend should have been spent visiting other people’s homes, not staying home.
Next weekend too.
This is not
a cabin-fevered call for a foolhardy Trumpian dropping of the guard on
Covid-19, but a forlorn wish that York Open Studios 2020 could have been just
that: York Open Studios. Instead, they will be York Shut Studios.
Nevertheless,
in the absence of the opportunity to meet 144 artists at 100 locations,
banished by the Coronavirus lockdown,
CharlesHutchPress is determinedly championing the creativity of York’s artists
and makers, who would have been showcasing their ceramics, collage, digital,
illustration, jewellery, mixed media, painting, print, photography, sculpture
and textiles skills.
Each day,
in brochure order, five artists who now miss out on the exposure of Open
Studios are being given a pen portrait on these pages, because so much art and
craft will have been created for the event and still needs a new home. Home and
studio addresses will not be included at this time.
Meanwhile,
York Open Studios artists are finding their own way to respond to the shutdown
by filling their windows with their work instead. Look for #openwindowsyork2020
to locate them. “If you see one in your area while taking your daily exercise,
take a picture and let us know,” they say.
Furthermore,
look out for plenty of the 144 artists still showcasing their work over the
York Open Studios period online. Visit yorkopenstudios.co.uk to take
your own virtual tour.
The website says: “We’re
doing a Virtual Open Studio, with artists posting based on a daily theme for
the ten days spanning our two weekends. They’ll be showing you their studios
and workshops, favourite processes, answering your questions, and of course
lots of pictures of their new work!
“Search for
#YorkOpenStudios anywhere on social media or follow your favourite artists to
see more.”
First, however, here are five more artists and makers for you to discover…
Lesley Birch at work on one of her paintings
Lesley Birch, mixed media
BORN in Glasgow, former
Hue & Cry musician Lesley’s Scottish roots feed into her love of wild and
remote places and in turn into heartfelt paintings notable for their sense of
colour and composition.
“I’m interested in
expressing my personal response to time and place,” says Lesley, whose work
ranges from large, atmospheric landscapes to small/medium works on paper and
boards in oils, pigments and acrylics from her travels to Italy, Spain and
Scotland.
Earlier this year, Lesley launched her Marks & Moments show at
Partisan, the boho restaurant, café and arts space in Micklegate, York, where
she filled two floors with more than 50 paintings from her Musical Abstract
Collection.
Little Pink Shore, by Lesley Birch
Lesley has just completed 21 Days In Isolation, a one-off
project in Covid-19 lockdown offering paintings at exceptionally low prices. “Will
there be more paintings? Yes. Though not on a daily basis. My 21 days are
over,” she says.
Why did she undertake such a “mammoth task”? “Because we are in
difficult times at the moment and everyone should have a chance to buy original
art,” she says. “I’ve really enjoyed painting in the alla prima style and plan
to create a new collection.”
Coming next will be her Romantic Landscapes series. Meanwhile, after the cancellation of York Open Studios 2020, Lesley is putting a selection of her YOS pieces online at lesleybirchart.com at £200 each, framed and ready to hang.
Frances Brock: Expressive portraits and landscape paintings
Frances Brock, painting
FRANCES paints both
expressive portraits in mixed water-media and landscape paintings in water-media
and oils.
By training and profession a music teacher, Frances has a second
string to her bow as an artist, and this month she would have been taking part
in her fifth successive York Open Studios.
A portrait by Frances Brock
Her work shows a broad artistic vocabulary and can be seen at the Dee Alexander Gallery in Epping and Silo Art Gallery in Cawood. In particular, she receives many commissions for her domestic animal paintings.
She has tutored courses at Old Sleningford Hall, North Stainley, near Ripon, for the past two years and leads workshops by request. Learn more at jacksonartsites.com/francesart.
Maria Keki with two of her artworks
Maria Keki, painting
AFTER fine art studies in
Manchester and post-graduate study at the University of Leeds, Maria enjoyed a
fulfilling career as a teacher of art, craft, and design, alongside creating
her own work.
She continues to be
passionate about working with young people through the arts.
In her paintings, remembered and imagined places are evoked through veils of colour. Such works have been exhibited at York Open Studios in previous years and in other local shows too, as well being sold privately. More info at maria_keki@yahoo.co.uk.
Ceramicist Beccy Ridsdel
Beccy Ridsdel, ceramics
BECCY completed her BA
in contemporary 3D crafts at the University of York in 2008, achieving first class
honours.
Since then, she has taught ceramics and kiln-formed glass at York College, as well as making sculptural, hand-built, stoneware ceramics from her workshop in York.
A stoneware ceramic by Beccy Ridsdel
In addition to exhibiting in York, Hull, Thirsk, Sheffield and Sleaford, Beccy has shown work at the Marianne Boesky Gallery in New York and the Houston Centre for Contemporary Crafts in Texas. Her ceramics have featured in magazines and art journals too.
She took part in York Open Studios from 2013 to 2018 and would have resumed her involvement in 2020. More details at beccyridsdel.co.uk.
Dawn Ridsdel: Maker of cheerful, colourful ceramics
Dawn Ridsdel, ceramics
DAWN creates colourful
and cheerful ceramics to enhance and brighten the home, applying a sculptural
aesthetic while exploring surface and form in her use of layers of slips,
underglazes, lustres and glaze.
She
went back to college in her thirties to study craft and has been working in
arts education as a technician ever since, 23 years now, at York College, where
she also teaches ceramics.
“I
was very happy helping others, but I decided I needed to take a different
direction and took a further course of study, which has given me new confidence,”
says Dawn. “After a lot of hard work, I was awarded a first class honours
degree in contemporary craft from York St John University in July 2017.”
“I’m fascinated by colour and the way it can affect us and how we perceive it, ” says Dawn Ridsdel of her ceramics
Based
in a garden studio on the outskirts of York, Dawn specialises in hand-building
techniques to make vessel and cloud forms and develop the clay surface to hint
at open spaces, skies, seas, stars and planets. “I’m very moved by the decline
in natural habitats and species and believe that we must do more to celebrate
and protect our wildlife,” she says.
“I’m
also fascinated by colour and the way it can affect us and how we perceive it,
so my work also uses contrasting colours which, when brought together, can
enhance each other and cause them to vibrate. In this way I hope to bring life
and vitality to my work.”
Dawn has exhibited at Art& York at York Racecourse, Sunny Bank Mills Gallery, Farsley, and various galleries in Yorkshire. Seek out her work at dawnridsdel.co.uk.
TOMORROW: Chiu-i Wu; Amy Butcher; Carol Coleman; Jo Ruth, Luisa Holden and Anna-Marie Magson.
Sir Tom Courtenay, by Isobel Peachey, an entry for a past New Light Prize Exhibition
THE New Light Prize Exhibition has been given the green light for 2020.
Turning the spotlight on northern art, this prestigious biennial event will
be held this autumn, despite the Coronavirus pandemic that has forced many arts
organisations into temporary closure.
Rebekah Tadd, development director at New Light, says: “We’re very fortunate that the way our exhibition is organised means we’re able to go ahead as planned.
“The submissions process all takes place online –
artists are invited to submit their works via our website by May 31 – and the
judging process takes place online during the summer.
“The physical exhibition, which launches at
Scarborough Art Gallery before going on tour to Carlisle, Newcastle and London,
isn’t until mid-September, so we hope that, by then, we can go ahead without
any changes.”
Andrew Clay: Chief executive of Scarborough Museums Trust. Picture: Tony Bartholomew
Celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2020, the exhibition will start at
Scarborough Art Gallery for the first time, running there from September 19 to
January 10 2021.
Andrew Clay, chief executive of Scarborough Museums
Trust, says: “We’re really looking forward to welcoming the New Light Prize
Exhibition to Scarborough Art Gallery.
“This exhibition’s policy of shining new light on northern
artists is one we firmly believe in, so we’re thrilled to be involved and to
able to support in this way.”
Judging this summer will be done by a panel of Royal Academy printmaker and artist Anne Desmet; RA Magazine editor Sam Phillips; Huddersfield Art Gallery curator Grant Scanlan and New Light chair Annette Petchey.
Scarborough Art Gallery, where the 2020 New Light Prize Exhibition will be launched in September. Picture:Tony Bartholomew
The prize winners will be announced at a private view at Scarborough Art
Gallery on Friday, September 18.
Those prizes are:
The £10,000 Valeria Sykes Award: open to all artists aged over
18 with a connection to the north, whether through birth, degree level study or
residence.
The £2,500 Patron’s Choice Award: presented on the night of the
private view; all exhibited works are considered.
The Saul Hay Gallery Emerging Artists Prize: offering
mentoring, professional advice and exhibition opportunities, including a solo
show.
The Zillah Bell Printmakers’ Prize: all forms of original
printmaking are eligible; the winner will be offered a solo exhibition at
the Zillah Bell Gallery in Thirsk.
The Visitors’ Choice Award: visitors are asked to vote for
their favourite work.
New Light Purchase Prize: the selected work is purchased
by the charity to add to its collection.
Caravan Of Love, oil on canvas, by Christopher Campbell, an entry for a past New Light Prize Exhibition
The New Light Prize Exhibition will move on from Scarborough to Tullie
House Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle, The Biscuit Factory, Newcastle, and finally
The Bankside Gallery, London.
Established in 2010, New Light runs not only the biennial open
exhibition for established and emerging artists, but also the New Light Art For
All education programme of talks, workshops and school projects.
This spring, the New Light Collection is being launched with the aim of
making “the best in northern visual arts” available to more people by loaning
pieces, free of charge, to public bodies and charities.
The common thread that runs through everything New Light does is a “deep belief that the visual arts matter and the north of England deserves to be celebrated”.
New Light is run by a dedicated group of people with
a passion for northern art and relies entirely on donations and sponsorship.
For more information, go to newlight-art.org.uk.
The Pyramid Gallery poster for the Strange Days virtual exhibition
IN
response to York Open Studios 2020’s cancellation, Pyramid Gallery owner Terry
Brett is stepping in with a lifeline to artists, offering the Stonegate gallery’s
website as an online showcase at a much-reduced commission.
Its name
prompted the lyrics of The Doors’ song from 1967, Strange Days is an “Art behind
the doors” show that aptly is growing through springtime with new additions
each day, trailed on Terry’s blog at pyramidgallery.com.
“We’ve opened the show to all York Open Studios artists and any York artists who already do business with the gallery, and I’ve lowered my commission to just 20 per cent, plus VAT, to make it work for them,” says Terry.
Delivery Creature, by Chiu-I Wu, one of the York Open Studios 2020 artists
“This enables York artists to show their new work to our customers, without a selection process, and allows them to earn more from each sale.
“The gallery
is closed and my staff are furloughed, so I can operate with lower overheads
during the Coronavirus lockdown, hopefully maintaining contact with my
customers who are confined to their homes.”
For those
living at a YO postcode, there will be free delivery of artworks, subject to the
present lockdown restrictions. “So, delivery might be in a few weeks if the
items cannot be sent through the post,” says Terry.
Terry Brett, on Stonegate, outside Pyramid Gallery
To
complement the Pyramid virtual gallery, he has addressed the challenges presented
to galleries by the Covid-19 pandemic in a candid piece on his blog.
Among the York Open Studios artists taking part in Strange Days are Kate Buckley; Peter Park; Jo Walton; Chiu-I Wu; Lesley Birch; Colin Black; Linda Combi; Zoe Catherine Kendall; Michelle Hughes; Sally Clarke; Adrienne French; Hacer Ozturk; Jill Tattersall; Karen Thomas; Kate Pettitt and Ruth Claydon. #
The second weekend of the 2020 event would have taken place on April 25 and 26.
TODAY
should have been spent visiting other people’s homes, not staying home. Next
weekend too.
This is not
a cabin-fevered call for a foolhardy Trumpian dropping of the guard on
Covid-19, but a forlorn wish that York Open Studios 2020 could have been just
that: York Open Studios. Instead, this weekend and next weekend will be
York Shut Studios.
Nevertheless,
in the absence of the opportunity to meet 144 artists at 100 locations, banished
by the Coronavirus lockdown, CharlesHutchPress
is determinedly championing the creativity of York’s artists and makers, who
would have been showcasing their ceramics, collage, digital, illustration,
jewellery, mixed media, painting, print, photography, sculpture and textiles
skills.
Each day,
in brochure order, five artists who now miss out on the exposure of Open
Studios are being given a pen portrait on these pages, because so much art and
craft will have been created for the event and still needs a new home. Home and
studio addresses will not be included at this time.
Meanwhile,
York Open Studios artists are finding their own way to respond to the shutdown
by filling their windows with their work instead. Look for #openwindowsyork2020
to locate them. “If you see one in your area while taking your daily exercise,
take a picture and let us know,” they say.
Furthermore,
look out for plenty of the 144 artists still showcasing their work over the
York Open Studios period online. Holtby studio painter Kate Pettitt, for
example, is penning a daily blog at facebook.com/katepettittartist/.
“Visit the YOS website and take your own virtual tour at
yorkopenstudios.co.uk,” she advises.
Good advice! The website says: “We’re doing a Virtual Open Studio, with artists posting based on a daily
theme for the ten days spanning our two weekends. They’ll be showing you their
studios and workshops, favourite processes, answering your questions, and of
course lots of pictures of their new work!
“Search for
#YorkOpenStudios anywhere on social media or follow your favourite artists to
see more.”
First, however, here are five more artists and makers for you to discover…
Harriet McKenzie: Artist and foster carer
Harriet McKenzie, ceramics
HARRIET’S 2020 mission
is to “examine drawing in the interface between the two- dimensional picture
plane and the three-dimensional object”.
To do so, she creates ceramic
Circles: enclosed forms, in black clay with engobe and sgraffito painting.
Her Circles reflect how relationships, interplay and suggestion are the bedrock of her art practice in her home studio. Harriet, or Hatti as she is known, is both an artist and a foster carer, a role that fundamentally informs her work as “a multifaceted influence revealed over time,” she says.
Harriet graduated with First Class honours from her Bradford
School of Art fine art degree in 2007, first participating in York Open Studios
in 2008 and she has since done so in 2009, 2011 and 2015 to 2018, when she was
a bursary award winner.
Rounded up: A selection of Harriet McKenzie’s Circles
Her formal art education had a gap of 20 years as, first, she
took time out to travel and live in America, before making a home and raising her
daughter in York.
“I found it impossible to do both art and earn a living as a single parent,” she says candidly. “With my art, I got so focused and involved with each project, my poor daughter suffered, but with age comes a better balance.
“Now, I only do work to show in galleries or Open Studios once a year, as this can fit round my sometimes challenging life as a foster carer.” Seek out Harriet’s work at hattimckenzie.com.
Harriette Rymer at work
Harriette Rymer, painting
HARRIETTE creates
abstract paintings, vibrant and playful in character, often featuring a
geometric context, that she presents as original wall art panels, digital
artworks and installations.
“By employing a range of
mediums, I explore conflicting and harmonious relationships within colour and
texture,” she says.
Harriette first studied art and design at Leeds College of Art in 2013, later taking a science degree in Newcastle. After graduating, Harriette returned to her artistic passion and now combines her love for precision with design in her paintings, screen-prints and cards (where she uses block-printing and stamping techniques).
Energy, by Harriet Rymer
Her fascination with colour manifests itself throughout her vivid
work, curated under such collections as Confetti Collection, Hues, Colour
Overlays, Milieu, Pattern Postcards and Expanse.
“I want the viewer to make personal connections with each
composition, just as I have, whether it’s a reminder of a place they know well
or a visualisation of a memory, thought or feeling,” says Harriette, who uses
acrylic, gouache, watercolours and pastels.
This year she has exhibited in the York Printmakers show at Pairings wine bar, Castlegate, York, and in A First Glimpse at the Inspired By…Gallery, Danby, and she would have done so too at this month’s cancelled British Craft Trade Fair, Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate.
Take a look at harrietterymer.com.
“I’m an instinctive painter,” says Steve Williams
Steve Williams, painting
STEVE’S strikingly vibrant and original paintings in acrylics are inspired mainly by North Yorkshire’s landscapes and coastline.
“I’m an instinctive
painter,” he says. “My pictures take form through the process of painting, not
through adherence to a fully formulated plan. Exploring my emotive response to
my subject matter, I allow my paintings to develop as a result of my mood or
subconscious mindset. They stem from an original idea, image or situation and
then come together of their own accord.”
Whitby At Night, by Steve Williams
Using acrylics, palette
knives and brushes, Steve seeks to infuse his pictures with fluidity, energy,
colour and texture. “My aim is to achieve a balance, a cohesion, harmony and
completeness, in all of my pictures,” he says.
“I work spontaneously to
convey my emotional energy into a painting. I believe this is the only way to
ensure authenticity.”
Steve exhibits regularly with contemporary galleries throughout Yorkshire, in London and further afield. Commissions are welcomed via stevewilliamsart.moonfruit.com.
“My inspiration comes from nature’s wonders,” says Sam Jones
Sam Jones, jewellery
SAM is self-taught in
the art of lampworking, otherwise known as glass-bead making.
She works with various
materials, such as glass rods, clear resin and metals, making her own glass
beads and combining these with silver, copper and semi-precious stones in her
jewellery since 2006.
She graduated with a degree in jewellery from Sheffield Hallam
University in 2000 and works within the creative industries as a scenic
painter. “I’m drawn to colour, pattern and texture,” she says. “I enjoy experimenting
with processes and like working with various materials as I find each has its
own qualities.
Handmade glass-beads necklace, by Sam Jones
“My inspiration comes from nature’s wonders, from the nebulas
within our galaxies, to the weird and wonderful inhabitants of our oceans.”
Should the non-scientific among you be wondering, a nebula is a
giant interstellar cloud of dust, hydrogen, helium and other ionised gases.
Some nebulae (the Latin plural) come from the gas and dust
thrown out by the explosion of a dying star, such as a supernova. Other nebulae
are “star nurseries”: regions where new stars are beginning to form. Science home-schooling
lesson of the day, at your service.
Discover more at samjonesjewellery.com.
Gerard Hobson with his wren installation beneath the Clock Tower at Beningbrough Hall, near York. Picture: Sue Jordan
Gerard Hobson, printmaking
GERARD has had a love of
birds, animals and art since childhood, a wildlife bent that saw him qualify as
a zoologist from Bangor University and work for Wiltshire Wildlife Trust as a
botanist and illustrator.
On relocating to the
north, he worked for Yorkshire Wildlife while continuing to develop his own work
on a freelance basis, turning his hand to woodcarving and studying print-making
in York.
Gerard now works from
his garden studio in Clifton, producing limited-edition hand-coloured linocut prints
of birds and animals, much of his work being inspired while out walking his dog
on the Clifton Ings.
His repertoire has expanded to take in cushions and lampshades, mugs and chopping boards, produced in tandem with Georgia Wilkinson Designs, and cut-outs of birds, animals, fish and mushrooms.
Leaping Hare, by Gerard Hobson
Gerard branched out still further earlier this year for his Winter Wildlife In Print show at the National Trust property of Beningbrough Hall, Beningbrough, near York, where he combined multiple prints in the Hayloft gallery with 14 sculptural scenes/installations in the outbuildings, gardens, grounds and parkland, inspired by creatures that make Beningbrough their winter home.
“I hope my art may stir people to become more interested in
the wildlife around them, to feed the birds and join their local wildlife trust,”
he says. “To share this with their children and their children’s children, and
hopefully generations of young people will become more interested in the birds
and woodlands around them. Maybe some will go on to be environmental
campaigners – who knows!”
More info at gerardhobson.com.
TOMORROW: Lesley Birch; Frances G Brock; Maria Keki; Beccy Ridsdel and Dawn Ridsdel.
Gin Anyone? A sketch for our times by Geraldine “Geri” Bilbrough
TODAY
should have been spent visiting other people’s homes, not staying safe at home.
Tomorrow too.
This is not
a call for a foolhardy Trumpian dropping of the guard on Covid-19, but a
forlorn wish that York Open Studios 2020 could have been just that: York Open
Studios. Instead, this weekend and next weekend will be York Shut Studios.
Nevertheless, in the absence of the opportunity to meet 144 artists at 100 locations, banished by the Coronavirus lockdown, CharlesHutchPress is determinedly championing the creativity of York’s artists and makers, who would have been showcasing their ceramics, collage, digital, illustration, jewellery, mixed media, painting, print, photography, sculpture and textiles skills.
Each day,
in brochure order, five artists who now miss out on the exposure of Open
Studios are being given a pen portrait on these pages, because so much art and
craft will have been created for the event and still needs a new home. Home and
studio addresses will not be included at this time.
Meanwhile,
York Open Studios artists are finding their own way to respond to the shutdown
by filling their windows with their work instead. Look for #openwindowsyork2020
to locate them. “If you see one in your area while taking your daily exercise,
take a picture and let us know,” they say.
Furthermore, look out for plenty of the 144 artists still showcasing their work over the York Open Studios period online. Holtby studio painter Kate Pettitt, for example, is penning a daily blog at facebook.com/katepettittartist/. “Visit the YOS website and take your own virtual tour at yorkopenstudios.co.uk,” she advises.
Fran Brammer: Founder member of York Textile Artists
Fran Brammer, textiles
FRAN left behind
Worcestershire for Yorkshire to teach art and design, then textiles, until
succumbing to the allure of a historical costume-making course.
She now works as a
textile artist and tutor, specialising in personal landscapes “drawn” using
freehand machine stitching that she produces for sale, exhibitions or private
commissions.
“My work is created by
building, then cutting away layers of found fabrics and stitching,” says Fran. “The
images explore individual experiences and histories both large and small.”
In her teaching
capacity, she hosts workshops, demonstrations and talks focusing on freehand
machine work and creative textiles.
“The images explore individual experiences and histories both large and small,” says Fran Brammer of her textile work
Fran, a founder member
of York Textile Artists, writes on her latest blog: “If you are a bored
creative, feeling a bit isolated and frustrated, try out the York Textile
Artists public Facebook page.
“We are planning to post
challenges and projects for you to get involved with, some as daft as a brush,
others more proper and ‘textiley’. If you don’t do Facebook, go on to our
website, yorktextileartists.com, and sign up for newsletter. We have plans.”
As for how Fran’s
artwork is responding to the Coronavirus shutdown, she writes: “All of the
current pieces are tied to opportunities lost due to social distancing…so time
to start anew and work with the restrictions.
“This has no deadline, no
purpose or goal, it just is. It is about being in the landscape, about being
alone with that landscape and how perception shifts, given time and space.
Interpretation and response rather than fact.” Read more at franbramm.wordpress.com.
Geraldine Bilbrough at work on an illustration
Geraldine Bilbrough, illustration
INSPIRED by music, film, stories and human emotions, using pencil and sometimes watercolour, before re-touching digitally, Geraldine tries to capture beauty and feeling within her thought-provoking images.
This York illustrator and designer has been drawing
all her life and considers art her biggest passion, creating detailed
illustrations, often based around portraiture with an occasional hint of
fantasy.
A portrait by Geraldine Bilbrough
“I enjoy nothing more than finding inspiration for new work and discussing ideas with other creatives,” her website profile says. “When I’m not drawing, I love to travel and explore new places, eat my way around cafés and restaurants, visit art galleries and learn French.” Learning French will have to hold sway for now, but roll on a return to those other joys, Geraldine, whenever that day may come.
2020 would have marked her York Open Studios debut.
Cast an eye over geraldinebilbrough.com.
“The thing about jewellery is that it’s never practical,” says Ruth Claydon
Ruth Claydon, jewellery
HOW would Ruth Claydon
sum up her jewellery? “Old, found, turned around,” she says, picking the title
Moth And Magpie for her brand of re-purposed cast-offs mixed with ancient
treasures, in acknowledgement of how her instincts match both.
“My ideal Magpie-upcycler scenario is discovering a vintage
or antique piece of jewellery and taking it back to my studio whilst I’m still
giddy with excitement to create new jewellery from it straight away,” she says on
her mothandmagpie.com blog.
Sharp-eyed Ruth sees the
potential in re-working cast-off old jewellery, making a virtue of the unwanted
by merging it with heirlooms and ancient finds such as salvaged Roman glass
beads and metals. In doing so, she makes old into new, modern designs, enhanced
by techniques such as hammering, melting and enamelling.
“Old, found, turned around”: Ruth Claydon’s definition of her jewellery
“Because the thing about jewellery is that it’s never practical,”
her blog contends. “It’s not about what will ‘do’. You absolutely have to love
it. It’s emotional. It’s the icing on the cake. It’s as personal as perfume. It’s
about how it looks, but even more it’s about how it makes you feel.”
A light carbon footprint sparks joy for Ruth. “Because I want to wear things that have also made other women feel special,” she says. “Because I want to create value from individuality, exclusivity from design, and if an Elizabeth Taylor diamond winks at me across a room, I can twinkle right back knowing that pinning down my glamour is as complex as the history entwined in the piece I am wearing.”
Find out more at
mothandmagpie.com.
Jacqueline James with her large and sturdy Swedish floor loom
Jacqueline James, textiles
JACQUELINE creates one-of-a-kind,
custom-dyed, hand-woven rugs and wall hangings, mainly contemporary in style,
using natural and durable materials in geometric patterns and stripe rhythms.
Born in Dumfries, Scotland, she grew up in the Pacific Northwest, USA, before moving to York in 1982. From 1985 to 1988, she studied woven textile design and construction at Harrogate College of Art and Technology, where she focused on rug weaving.
In 1989, Jacqueline
established her weaving studio in York, since when her textile work for
commission and exhibition has blended traditional techniques with contemporary
design style.
“Everything is made by hand on my large and sturdy Swedish floor loom,” she says. “Inspiration for new designs comes from everywhere, especially all the colours and patterns I see in nature, landscapes and architecture.”
Geometric patterns by Jacqueline James
Jacqueline’s work is in public and private collections in Britain and North America and her major commissions include weaving for York Minster, Westminster Abbey and the British Library. “I particularly enjoy designing and weaving bespoke commissioned work from private clients, interior designers, architects and places of worship,” she says.
“For me, weaving is a
lifestyle occupation which gives me a great sense of purpose. I adore the
tactile qualities and the rich colours of the threads I use and find the action
of weaving very engaging.
“Rug weaving is the perfect vehicle for
my visual interpretation and expression. As a rug weaver, I feel
privileged being part of the international weaving community and continuing an
important heritage craft tradition.” Discover more at handwovenrugs.co.uk.
Jean Drysdale: Designing sculptural objects, wall pieces and items to wear
Jean Drysdale, textiles
JEAN has worked in felt textiles since leaving
modern language teaching in 2007.
“I was drawn firstly by the apparent simplicity
of a process that produces wonderful results,” she says. “Then I looked
further, researching the great history, breadth and the depth of the felt-making
tradition.”
In 2011, she completed a City and Guilds course and since
then she has developed her felt-making process to create highly textured
sculptural objects, wall pieces and items to wear.
Textile with style: The work of Jean Drysdale
“Now I delight in achieving a contemporary result through use of
wide-ranging and ever-evolving techniques,” says Jean. “I work with unspun
sheep’s wool fibre, ranging from British and European rare breeds to fine
Australian merino. The felting process bonds the wool with silks and other
natural fibres.”
She likes to
explore texture, form and colour. “I use traditional and contemporary wet-felting
and hand-dyeing techniques and enjoy contrasting colours which migrate and
transform during the process,” says Jean, who has exhibited in York, Leeds, North
Yorkshire and Scotland, including at Helmsley
Arts Centre and Kunsthuis Gallery at The Dutch House, Crayke. More info at
jdrysdalefelt.co.uk.
TOMORROW: Harriet McKenzie; Harriette Rymer; Steve Williams; Sam Jones and Gerard Hobson.
Voces Suaves: Madrigals At Your Service streaming today (April 18)
THE National Centre for Early
Music series of Facebook streaming premieres presents vocal ensemble Voces
Suaves this afternoon at 1pm.
Over the coming weeks, the York
music venue, at Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, will be streaming a line-up of
past performances from the NCEM archives.
In today’s Facebook concert, Voces Suaves perform Madrigals At Your Service, focusing on the musical treasures of the Italian Renaissance and re-creating the magnificence of the courts of Ferrara and Mantua, with music by Monteverdi, Gesualdo and Wert.
NCEM director Delma Tomlin
says: “This group of nine professional singers are graduates of the Creative
Europe EEEmerging programme and have
performed at major European concert venues and festivals, taking audiences and
critics by storm.
Palisander: Online concert coming next on May 2
“This performance, recorded
at St Lawrence’s Church in York, was a highlight of the 2018 York Early
Music Festival and it forms the third in a series of NCEM Online concerts
designed to welcome audiences from across the world into the extraordinarily
rich world of early music.”
Future streaming concerts include a 2019 performance by the recorder ensemble Palisander on Saturday, May 2, at 1pm. “The group have been part of the EEEmerging programme too and their debut album, Beware The Spider!, released in 2017, received outstanding reviews from the critics,” says Delma.
Palisander’s concert was
recorded in the Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate, York, at the 2019 REMA
Conference.
To join the merry streaming
throng, simply click on to the NCEM’s Facebook page @yorkearlymusic.
Alternatively, log on to the NCEM’s website, ncem.co.uk, and click on
the news section.
Future concerts and streaming dates will be announced at ncem.co.uk.
YORK Open
Studios 2020, the chance to meet 144 artists at 100 locations over two April
weekends, should have started with a preview this evening, but the annual event
has been cancelled in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
However,
with doors sadly shut for the April 17 to 19 and April 25 to 26 event,
CharlesHutchPress wants to champion the creativity of York’s artists and
makers, who would have been showcasing their ceramics, collage, digital,
illustration, jewellery, mixed media, painting, print, photography, sculpture
and textiles skills.
Each day,
in brochure order, five artists who now miss out on the exposure of Open
Studios will be given a pen portrait on these pages, because so much art and
craft will have been created for the event and still needs a new home.
Addresses will not be included at this time.
Meanwhile,
York Open Studios artists are finding their own way to respond to the shutdown
by filling their windows with their work instead. Look for #openwindowsyork2020 to locate them.
“If you see one in your area while taking your daily exercise, take a picture
and let us know,” they say.
More Alike Than Different, by Lu Mason
Lu Mason, multi-media
IN her latest work, Lu is looking at how we connect as human
beings, using the theme that we are all cut from the same cloth.
“My installation consists of one long series of paper figures,
all connected to each other, all cut out from the same roll of paper: More
Alike Than Different,” she says.
Lu has had an unusual
journey to where she is now as an artist. She worked for many years as an
occupational therapist, but she always painted patterns for her own enjoyment
and had a small business making rag rugs.
Lu Mason: Unusual journey
Fifteen years ago, she
started making cut-paper mobiles, since when she has enjoyed putting her work in public places in
the form of installations, as well as creating mobiles using Perspex shapes
over the past year.
“I make site-specific work, in collaboration with
clients,” she says. “I’m interested in doing installations, residencies and workshops
and I’m now producing a range of brooches made out of Perspex too.”
Lu was one of the 2020
York Open Studios multimedia bursary recipients in a
scheme set up to enable artists to create experiences such as digital works,
installations, films or performances for the annual event. Take a look at
madebylumason.weebly.com.
Andre, by Nick Kobyluch
Nick Kobyluch, drawing
NICK’S pen and ink drawings explore line, form and colour
through both landscape and portraiture work, most of his final pieces
originating from drawings initially done in his sketchbooks.
Born in Bradford, he moved to London to work as a freelance
illustrator for design, editorial and advertising clients, from the Observer
and the National Lottery to Barclays
Bank and Oxford University Press, after completing his BA in graphic design at
Hull College of Art in the 1980s.
Over the years, he has moved away from commercially commissioned work to pursue his own interests in drawing, motivated by a desire to experiment and evolve as a line artist, favouring the pen, “the most unforgiving of mediums”, over pencil and charcoal.
Nick Kobyluch: Motivated by a desire to experiment
The urban environment inspires Nick. “I love cities and the way
they represent in complex physical form the many ways we interact as
individuals and as a society,” he says. “It’s all there in the odd
juxtapositions, hidden corners and strange compromises.”
He names Frans Masereel, George Grosz, Edward Bawden, Eric
Ravillious, Richard Diebenkorn and David Gentleman as artists he “comes back to
time and again”. “All share a mastery of line and form,” he says.
This would have been his first year as a York Open Studios exhibitor: the latest affirmation of his desire to “keep moving forward” as an artist. Contact him via nickkobyluch2@gmail.com.
Hole Of Horcum, by Michelle Hughes
Michelle Hughes, printmaking
MICHELLE is a printmaker
and graphic designer, creating linocut prints inspired by nature and the great
British countryside.
“I love exploring the
countryside by bike or on foot, camera in hand, capturing ideas for my next
prints,” she says.
Once back in her garden
studio, Michelle makes simple but stylised silhouettes based on her
photographs, then cuts these shapes into lino. She hand-prints with an etching
press, using oil-based inks to create tonal blocks of colour.
Michelle Hughes: Artist and workshop tutor
For 25 years, Michelle
designed homeware and fashion ranges for large corporate companies such as
Disney, George Home at Asda, Arcadia and Shared Earth. In June 2016, she took
the leap of faith to set up her own business, initially in graphic design, then
printmaking, bringing together her love of craft, photography, colour, nature
and exploring.
“I’ve always loved working with my hands and making things,” says Michelle, who also holds workshops in her Holgate studio. “I like the spontaneity of making marks with the tools, the quality of line and the graphic style of the final print. It enables me to distil the landscape down into simple lines.”
Michelle has designed a series of a dozen linocuts, A Landscape Speaks, for the National Trust property Sutton Hoo in Suffolk. Learn more at michellehughesdesign.com/.
Oil on canvas by Lucy McElroy
Lucy McElroy, painting
AFTER 15 years as an art teacher, Lucy balances her time between
the “joys and challenges of being a mother, teaching part-time at All Saints RC
School and spending time developing her own practice in her home studio”.
“Traditional techniques enable me to create a true likeness of
my subjects, while exploring ways to capture beautiful and emotive moments on
paper and canvas,” says Lucy, who studied fine art at the University of Leeds.
Lucy McElroy: Capturing beautiful and emotive moments
She works in pencil, pastel, charcoal and oil on canvas and
finds time for a few portrait commissions each year, undertaken in between her
own creative projects.
This would have been the first year that Lucy had participated
in York Open Studios. View her work at lucymcelroy.co.uk.
The Blue Bell, in Fossgate, York, one of 30 new works Ian Cameron made for York Open Studios 2020
Ian Cameron, painting
IAN’S artwork is created
using crayon wax rubbings, vibrant Brusho-coloured washes and Indian ink
drawings, embellished with collage and watercolours to create a multi-layered
effect.
“I love to draw in my
sketchbook,” he says. “I usually draw with a black gel pen and often use
watercolours. Sometimes I rub over embossed surfaces such as manhole covers
with a wax crayon and then paint over with a colour wash to create a resist
effect. The final picture has a great deal of depth brought about by the
different layers or levels.”
Ian Cameron in the wooden studio he built in his garden
Ian developed an interest in art “quite late in life”, at 50 to be precise, in 2003 when he attended GCSE Art evening classes. A-level studies and an art and design foundation course at York College ensued.
2020 was to have been his seventh year in York Open Studios, exhibiting 30 new works created in the wooden studio he built in his back garden. For more info, visit ifcameron.tumblr.com.
TOMORROW: Fran Brammar; Geraldine Bilbrough; Ruth Claydon; Jacqueline James and Jean Drysdale.
