Great Bustard, from the Scarborough Collections. Picture: Tony Bartholomew
SCARBOROUGH Art Gallery will begin a series of online film nights with When Species Meet this evening (28/4/2020).
Gallery Screenings Online, on the last Tuesday of each month from 7pm, will feature films selected to give audiences a new perspective on both visiting exhibitions and the permanent Scarborough Collections, followed by a question-and-answer session.
The series will have features aimed at making them as accessible to as many people as possible. Each event will have optional live captions from a stenographer; downloading the app version of Zoom is recommended for those wishing to use this function.
Artist and designer Lucy Carruthers and collections manager Jim Middleton: an image from the social story, illustrated by Savannah Storm
A visual guide, or “social story”, will be created too, with illustrations by Scarborough artist Savannah Storm, to explain the format and accessible elements of the screening.
The first screening, When Species Meet, will look at captive and extinct animals and how film has been used to represent them, opening with Bert Haanstra’s nine-minute documentary Zoo, followed by Leanne Allison and Jeremy Mendes’ 20-minute interactive film Bear 71.
Filmed in 1962 and nominated for a 1963 BAFTA Award for Best Short Film, Zoo compares the behaviour of animals and humans, using a hidden camera to capture the true nature of both man and beast.
Great Auk egg, from the Scarborough Collections. Picture: David Chalmers
Bear 71 explores the life of a grizzly bear in Banff National Park, monitored by wildlife conservation offices from 2001 to 2009. The film “gives viewers the experience of ‘being’ a bear”, exploring how one animal’s life is interlinked and affected by the movements of humans and animals around it.
The screenings will be followed by a 30-minute Q&A with Jim Middleton, collections manager at Scarborough Museums Trust, who will discuss the natural history collections within the archive, and with artist and designer Lucy Carruthers.
Andrew Clay, Scarborough Museums Trust’s chief executive, says: “Increasing access to our events, whether they are online or in our venues, is really important to us. No-one should feel excluded. We hope the visual guides and subtitles will support more people from our communities to participate in our activities.”
Film programmer Martha Cattell: email her for access to Gallery Screenings Online. Image: Susannah Storm
Film programmer Martha Cattell says: “Scarborough Museums Trust has a large collection of taxidermy animals locked away in the stores. Some of the species represented – the great bustard, the great auk, of which we have a rare egg, the passenger pigeons, Captain Cook’s bean snail – are now extinct largely due to human intervention.
“Their bodies now rest, static and captive in the archives. They are ghosts of species lost and haunted by the human actions that led to their demise.”
Simon Hedges, the trust’s head of curation, collections and exhibitions, says: “ We launched the Gallery Screenings programme at Scarborough Art Gallery in early March and then, of course, had to cancel it after the first one because of the Coronavirus lockdown.
Chatscreen: another illustration from the virtual guide by Susannah Storm
“We’re absolutely delighted to be able to continue these fascinating events online. They will return to the gallery once we reopen to the public.”
Access to the Gallery Screenings Online event this evening is by password only, available, along with a link, by emailing Martha.cattell@smtrust.uk.com
Grayson Perry: Battling the boredom of lockdown, armed with art
TURNER Prize winner Grayson Perry launches Grayson’s Art Club, his pledge to “battle the boredom” of the Coronavirus lockdown through art, on Channel 4 tonight.
The Essex transvestite artist, potter, broadcaster and writer will be taking viewers on a journey of artistic discovery in a six-part series of themed shows designed to encourage you to make your own work in the new normal of isolation.
This was the year when Perry’s “lost pots” should have been the centre of attention in York from June 12 to September 20 in the Grayson Perry: The Pre-Therapy Years exhibition at York Art Gallery.
Watch this space for any update on what may yet happen. In the meantime, York Museums Trust is in discussion with its partners for The Pre-Therapy Years, an exhibition that is scheduled to move on to other venues.
Cocktail Party 1989, copyright Grayson Perry/Victoria Miro, from the Grayson Perry: The Pre-Therapy Years exhibition, whose opening at CoCA, York Art Gallery, was in the diary for June 12 2020
Back to Grayson’s Art Club. Through the magic of video call, in tonight’s first episode broadcast from his London workshop at 8pm, 60-year-old Perry will address the theme of Portrait with large-scale figurative painter Chantal Joffe and comedian and campaigning presenter Joe Lycett, who has taken to trying his hand at portraiture during lockdown.
For episode two, focusing on animal art, Grayson’s online guests will be British painter and sculptor Maggi Hambling and comedian and TV show host Harry Hill.
Ampleforth College alumnus and Angel Of The North sculptor Antony Gormley and comedian and comedy actor Jessica Hynes will pop up in episode three.
Episode four will feature artist Tacita Dean and comedian cum surrealist artist Vic Reeves, aka Jim Moir, creator and curator of the £500,000 Vic Reeves’ Wonderland for the 2012 Illuminating York festival of light and sound.
Vic Reeves, aka Jim Moir, at the opening of Vic Reeves’ Wonderland, his surrealist 2012 Illuminating York creation
Further guests will be announced later for an interactive series that will climax with an exhibition of works made by both the public and Perry’s celebrity guests as a “chronicle of Britain’s mood and creativity in isolation”.
Whenever it does run in York, Grayson Perry: The Pre-Therapy Years comprises his earliest works and “lost pots”, including 70 ceramics crowd-sourced after a national public appeal.
Presented in York Art Gallery’s Centre of Ceramic Art (CoCA), this exhibition will be the first time these lost Perry creations have been assembled for display together, a cause for celebration for the Royal Academician Grayson.
“This show has been such a joy to put together, I am really looking forward to seeing these early works again, many of which I have not seen since the Eighties,” he says.
Grayson Perry’s Melanie, one of his Three Graces, exhibited at CoCA
“It is as near as I will ever get to meeting myself as a young man; an angrier, priapic me with huge energy but a much smaller wardrobe.”
CoCA first exhibited a Grayson Perry ceramic, Melanie, in July 2015 as its centrepiece talking point after York Art Gallery’s £8 million transformation.
Melanie is one of three women from his Three Graces work, joined by Georgina and Sarah in the Miss Plus Size Competition.
“First seen in Grayson’s Who Are You? documentary, Melanie is a voluptuous figurative piece with a strong narrative that discusses the changing view of what constitutes feminine beauty,” said York Museums Trust’s curator of ceramics, Dr Helen Walsh, at the time.
Perry commented on his Three Graces: “In the history of sculpture, female forms such as these were often seen as fertility goddesses to be prayed to for children and plentiful harvests. Nowadays, we are more likely to see a growing health problem.”
In its Familiarity Golden, one of two “everywoman” tapestries from Grayson Perry’s The Essex Tapestries: The Life Of Julie Cope, on display in 2020 at Nunnington Hall
In May 2014, accompanied by his childhood teddy bear Alan Measles, Perry opened the Meet The Museums Bears special event in the York Museum Gardens in full transvestite regalia as part of York Museums Trust’s contribution to the Connect 10 Museums At Night national celebration.
Earlier this year, from February 8, Perry’s Stitching The Past Together tapestries went on show at Nunnington Hall, near Helmsley.
Out went the National Trust country house’s 17th century Verdure tapestries for conservation work; in came a pair of Grayson’s typically colourful and thought-provoking Essex House Tapestries: The Life Of Julie Cope (2015).
Hanging in an historic setting for the first time, in the Nunnington Hall drawing room, this brace of large-scale, striking works tells the story of Julie Cope, a fictitious Essex “everywoman” created by the irreverent Chelmsford-born 2003 Turner Prize winner.
Dedicated To Lord Byron, mixed media, by Paolo Lazzerini
BLUE Tree Gallery, in Bootham, York, is holding its first online exhibition, amid the Coronavirus lockdown, in aid of the NHS.
“Due to the temporarily closure of our gallery on March 20, we have now made the gallery and purchase of our artworks available online – with our thoughts for the concerns of frontline NHS staff, ” says Blue Tree’s Gordon Giarchi.
Margaret Clitherow Of York, by Sharon Winter
“This is why we’re starting with a very special exhibition of a variety of our gallery artists’ paintings entitled NHS Charity Exhibition Online – Raising Funds for the NHS. We got in touch with https://www.nhscharitiestogether.co.uk/ and signed up to the cause, and the online show then began on April 20, one month after lockdown, since when we’ve been selling quite a few paintings to date with more to follow.”
Taking part in this inaugural online show are Kate Boyce; Deborah Burrow; Colin Carruthers; Colin Cook; Giuliana Lazzerini; Paolo Lazzerini; Neil McBride and Sharon Winter.
Open Road, mixed media, by Kate Boyce
A minimum of ten per cent of the retail price from every original painting sale will be donated between the gallery and the artists to the NHS Covid-19 Appeal for York Hospital.
“Running until the beginning of June, this exhibition will offer all our customers the opportunity to support the NHS, the artists and, of course, the gallery in these trying times,” says Gordon.
Under The Skylarks II, by Deborah Burrow
All work for sale on the website, bluetreegallery.co.uk, will be posted free of charge in Britain, although charges will apply overseas.
“We really hope you enjoy this exhibition, in the safety and comfort of your own home,” says Gordon. “Stay safe and take care of yourselves.”
TODAY should
have been spent visiting other people’s homes, not staying home, on weekend two
of York Open Studios 2020.
From tomorrow, art will be on the nation’s TV sets as Grayson’s Art Club “battles the boredom of Coronavirus lockdown by taking viewers on a journey of art discovery” in a six-part Channel 4 series.
From his London workshop, anything-but-grey artist Grayson Perry will encourage the British public to create their own art while in isolation, built around six themed shows that will climax with an exhibition of viewers’ art.
Been there,
done that, will continue to do all that art-making, might well be the
resourceful attitude of the 144 artists and makers at 100 York locations after
the Covid-19 pandemic strictures turned York Open Studios into York Shut
Studios.
Over the
past four weeks, CharlesHutchPress has determinedly championed the creativity
of York’s artists and makers. Each day, in brochure order, five artists who now
miss out on the exposure of Open Studios have been 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.
The last five
are being profiled today, when you also can visit yorkopenstudios.co.uk
to take your own Virtual Open Studios tour, wherein artists show their studios
and workshops, favourite processes, answer your questions, and
display pictures of their new work.
“Search for
#YorkOpenStudios anywhere on social media or follow your favourite artists to
see more,” advises the YOS website.
Anyway, time to discover
more about…
Meg, oil on linen, winner of Shirley Hannan National Portrait Prize 2018, by Marcus Callum
Marcus Callum, painting
MARCUS is a British-Australian contemporary figurative painter and digital artist who specialises in realist portraiture.
“Fusing traditional techniques with a
contemporary aesthetic, my work conveys a sense of psychological insight and is
designed to provoke an emotional response,” he says. “Buddhism, meditation,
hypnosis and our understanding of the subconscious mind are influences on my
process and subject matter.
“Characters reflect on increasing anxieties over impending global crises and wonder if, by each of us becoming more conscious, we may discover individual and collective hope.”
Self-portrait, by Marcus Callum
Trained in Sydney and New York, Marcus won the Dame
Joan Sutherland Award in 2014; Australia’s third richest portrait prize, the
Black Swan Portrait Prize, in 2015 and the Shirley Hannan National Portrait
Prize, Australia’s premier award for realistic portraiture, in 2018, when he also
was a finalist in the Sky Portrait Artist of the Year.
Marcus previously worked between Sydney and London; now York has come into his life. He was long-listed for the Aesthetica Art Prize, whose 2020 exhibition opened at York Art Gallery before the Coronavirus lockdown, and he would have been exhibiting in York Open Studios for the first time. Visit marcuscallum.com for more info.
Bratislavian Folk Memory, by Robert Burton
Robert Burton, textiles
ARTIST and academic Robert tells stories in textiles, fibres and cloth, utilising print and found objects in narratives of people, lives and things.
“I explore themes of memory,
loss and transformation through fibre, fabric making, print techniques, drawing
and broad approaches to image making,” he says.
“My artworks cross the threshold of disciplines in a conceptual dialogue between the innovative use of analogue, contemporary and emerging techniques.”
Rob Burton: Themes of memory, loss and transformation
Rob’s work has been shown all over the world in solo exhibitions, biennial and group exhibitions, whether in Britain, the United States or Eastern Europe. Last year, he exhibited in Ivano-Frankivs’k, Ukraine; Vilnius, Lithuania; Madrid, Spain, and Haachst, Belgium.
He regularly collaborates with the international screendance collective WECreate to produce costumes for video, dance and installations. Find out more at robertburton108.myportfolio.com.
Inspired by horizons: Jo Walton’s artwork
Jo Walton, painting
ARTIST, upholsterer and
interior designer Jo’s paintings are abstract, inspired by horizons, whether rust-prints
on paper and plaster, combining rusted metal with painting, or seascapes on
gold-metal leaf.
Her artwork reflects her childhood in Australia and her days as a young woman spent sailing oceans, from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean.
After many years of travelling, Jo returned to England, studying fine art at Bradford University and now exhibiting all year round from her York studios, Rogues Atelier, an old tannery in Franklins Yard, Fossgate, that she shares with jeweller and fellow York Open Studios exhibitor Emma Welsh and textile artist Robert Burton.
Jo, whose work features regularly at Terry Brett’s Pyramid Gallery in Stonegate, would have been taking part in York Open Studios for a sixth successive year.
Jo Walton: Artist, upholsterer and interior designer
In her “other life”, Jo is an upholsterer, initially
learning her skills from making cushions and sail covers for yachts in her time
living in Greece. She gained her City and Guilds qualification in modern and
traditional upholstery and has taught the subject for many years for City of
York Council.
“Occasionally, my skills have the opportunity to blend into a ‘huge blank canvas’: interior design,” says Jo, whose first public design commission was for Space 109, the community arts centre she founded in Walmgate in 2006.
Her second was to convert three empty shops on
Bishopthorpe Road into Angel on The Green, a bar and café and home to comedy
nights and exhibitions that had to “flow with a solid theme throughout”. “It was
quite a step to move on to a bar from a community bar,” she says.
In between, Jo created the Rogues Atelier studios, where she takes on upholstery commissions and runs upholstery and cushion-making workshops. Her latest design was for the interior of the Bluebird Bakery, in Kirkgate Market, Leeds. Complete the picture at whatjodidnext.com.
Handmade Bismark Chain, by Emma Welsh
Emma Welsh, jewellery
EMMA, a professional jewellery designer with 11
years’ experience, is now a resident artist at the Rogues Atelier studios.
She designs traditionally
made silver, gold and platinum pieces, her latest work exploring jewellery with
a practical use in the form of vessels with various purposes.
Emma has a keen interest in developing her skills, embracing ancient principles as a means of deepening her relationship with the materials and tools she works with.
She completes bespoke commissions, repairs and re-modelling of existing jewellery into new designs and offers bespoke tuition in York, most notably her wedding-ring workshops. Head to emmawelshjewellery.uk for more details.
Deranged Poetesses, by Northern Electric’s Peter Roman
Northern Electric, multi-media
NORTHERN Electric received a York Open Studios 2020
multi-media bursary to present a tale of loss at the Arts Barge, Foss Basin,
York, over the two weekends.
The bursary “enables artists to create
experiences such as digital works, installations, films or performances as part
of the Open Studios”.
Presented by York storyteller, performance poet and theatre-maker Katie Greenbrown and artist Peter Roman, with a score by Christian Topman and Chris Moore, their latest multi-media presentation “takes us back to when the Ouse teemed with working barges, you knew your place or else – and jazz was the devil itself”.
Artist Peter Roman and storyteller, performance poet and theatre-maker Katie Greenbrown
“We specialise in creating and delivering
multi-media storytelling pieces that combine spoken-word poetry, art and live
music,” says Katie. “Our recent work includes Magpie Bridge for Apples &
Snakes to mark the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing in July 1969; Green
In Our Memory, for City of York Council’s First World War commemorations, and
Rust for the 2019 Great Yorkshire Fringe, in collaboration with Arts Barge and York
Theatre Royal.”
After the cancellation of York Open Studios 2020, what will happen next to the new Northern Electric piece? “We’ve completed it, so we’re thinking of trying to do a digital screening,” says Katie. “We just need to chat with Hannah [West] and Christian [Topman] from the Arts Barge about the possibility of doing that.” To keep on track, visit facebook.com/northernelectric.
TOMORROW: After York Open Studios/York Shut Studios 2020, the CharlesHutchPress art focus switches to the Blue Tree Gallery, in Bootham, York, now hosting an online exhibition in aid of the NHS.
Looking ahead, York Open Studios 2021 will run on April 17 and 18 and 24 and 25, with a preview evening on April 16.
TODAY and
tomorrow should have been spent visiting other people’s homes, not staying home,
for weekend two of York Open Studios 2020.
On Monday, art attention will turn to episode one of Grayson’s Art Club, a six-part Channel 4 series wherein artist Grayson Perry promises to battle the boredom of Coronavirus lockdown by taking viewers on a journey of art discovery.
From his London workshop, Perry will encourage the British public to create their own art while in isolation, built around six themed shows that will climax with an exhibition of viewers’ art.
Grayson Perry: Launching Grayson’s Art Club series on Channel 4 on Monday
Been there,
done that, will continue to do that, might well be the resourceful attitude of
the 144 artists and makers at 100 York locations after the Covid-19 pandemic
strictures turned York Open Studios into York Shut Studios.
Over the past
four weeks, CharlesHutchPress has determinedly championed 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 this month.
Each day,
in brochure order, five artists who now miss out on the exposure of Open
Studios have been 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. The last
ten are being profiled over this weekend, and again home and studio addresses
will not be included at this lockdown time.
York Open Studios 2020: The lost weekends that found diverse alternative ways to reach out beyond the closed doors
York Open
Studios artists have responded to the shutdown by filling their windows for
#openwindowsyork2020, while plenty are showcasing their work over the York Open
Studios period online via their websites.
This weekend,
you can visit yorkopenstudios.co.uk to take your own virtual tour. The
YOS website says: “We’re doing a Virtual
Open Studios, 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. The final five will follow tomorrow.
Mim Robson: Exploring themes of memory, transition, loss, family, identity and womanhood
Mim Robson, printmaking
MIM is a multi-disciplinary
artist now working primarily in printmaking and textiles, with a background in
community arts engagement and land art.
“My current project uses mono-printing techniques,
natural dyes, eco-printing and patchwork to explore themes of memory,
transition, loss, family, identity and womanhood,” she says.
She also is working on a set of illustrated zines, small books and tiny stories, their subjects varied but “generally an expression of an idea, thought or small observations of people or notable moments”.
Mim Robson: a polymath who adds up to a multitude of artistic pursuits
Having grown up in the Yorkshire countryside, the natural world inspires her diverse artistic portfolio, whether land art and ephemeral artworks using materials from nature, such as delicate yet vibrant floral mandalas, or her short-lived beach artworks.
Inspired by sand artist Andres Amador, Mim began making large-scale sand art on the Yorkshire coast in 2016. “Using rakes to make patterns in the sand, these usually take at least three hours to complete…and a few miles of walking,” she says. “I use photography to capture these creations at their peak; they last for the rest of the day until the tide washes them away.”
Mim Robson with one of her out-with-the-tide beach artworks
Since completing a national diploma in 3D design
craft at York College, she has taken assorted craft courses, learning wood
carving, stained glass work and willow weaving; worked and studied in community
and youth work and undertaken a degree in Creative Expressive Therapies from
the University of Derby.
“This now underpins all of the creative events, Crafty
Socials and art, craft and creative expressive workshops I run, as well as my
art-making,” says Mim, whose making extends to darkroom and alternative
photography techniques, stop-motion videos and henna tattooing at festivals and
events. She even finds time for an environmental beach-clean project.
Head to mimrobson.com for more info on this PICA Studios artist.
Pickles Snoozing, drypoint mono, by Lesley Shaw
Lesley Shaw, printmaking
ARTIST and printmaker
Lesley works primarily in charcoal, dip pen and ink and traditional printmaking
techniques, such as linocut, mono and drypoint.
“Life drawings form the basis of all my work,” she says. “I work quickly and instinctively to capture the beauty and simplicity of the form, looking at the shape and line the body takes.”
Whether figurative or
animals, her illustrative line drawings are bold, simplistic and striking,
inspired by such artists as Egon Schiele, Toulouse
Lautrec and Sybil Andrews of the Grosvenor School artists, who captured the
spirit of 1930s’ Britain with iconic vibrant linocuts.
“I work quickly and instinctively to capture the beauty and simplicity of the form,” says Lesley Shaw
Lesley, who has a degree in illustration,
lived and worked in London for more than 20 years before settling in York. She
has sold work at the Mall Galleries, in London, and to the BBC and takes part
in both York Open Studios and Art& in York, where she is a member of York
Printmakers and the York Art Workers Association.
She works from PICA Studios, set within an 18th century printworks, now home to the workshops of around 25 artists and makers. Discover more at lesleyshaw.me.
“Suddenly everything made sense,” says Elena Skoreyko Wagner, after finding her way to illustration
Elena Skoreyko Wagner, collage
CANADIAN illustrator
Elena makes bright, intimate, intricate, hand-cut paper collages.
“Using recycled bits of
paper imbued with their own histories, I assemble poetic images to illustrate
personal stories and emotional experiences,” she says.
Elena completed a BFA in studio art from York University in
Toronto, Canada, in 2006, then spent a decade winding her way through odd jobs,
a masters in occupational therapy, a couple of overseas moves and motherhood times
two en route to illustration.
“I found my way to illustration when some former professors
asked me to illustrate a paediatric assessment and suddenly everything made
sense,” she says.
Elena Skoreyko Wagner: “Touching gently on social issues, finding magic and uncovering meaning in the mundane”
“I now work as a freelance and make zines, as well as the colourful hand-cut collages pieced together from collected paper snippets. My work is often autobiographical, depicting women and children to touch gently on social issues, find magic and uncover meaning in the mundane.”
Elena
lives in York with her economist husband and two children. “I can be found most
days nestled in a nook, manifesting a rainbow tornado of paper
snippets, or making equally impressive messes with my two
small protégés,” she says.
Now working from PICA Studios, she would have been making her York Open Studios debut. Take a look at elenastreehouse.com.
A sculptural textile by Ealish Wilson
Ealish Wilson, textiles
EALISH has lived and worked in many places around the world,
spending the past 15 years in the USA before making her way to York and now joining
the PICA Studios arts hub.
However, Japan was where her work was transformed. “Japan taught
me that art exploration and practice is a lifelong journey from which we
constantly learn,” she says.
“Experience informs the creative process over time, enhancing
and developing an artist’s expression. It’s about seeing creativity in the
everyday.”
She brings this philosophy to making her
sculptural textiles, using a variety of substrates and techniques, including
print, drawing, photography and stitching.
Goodbye USA, hello York: Ealish Wilson after her move to Yorkshire
“I repeat this process to create multiple
iterations and layers to my designs,” she says. “Much of my process investigates
pattern and its transformation through surface manipulation. I use many
traditional hand methods of stitching such as pleating and smocking to
physically alter my original designs.
“Frequently my work starts in the digital realm:
whether photographing an object or one of my own paintings, it serves as
inspiration for new work. Many of my images are everyday scenes or objects of
purpose that appear mundane but feature a beautiful shape or colour that’s a
perfect jumping-off point to create a textile.”
2020 would have been the first year in York Open Studios for a textile designer who sees the craft of making as “my form or meditation”. Visit ealishwilson.com to see her work.
A window to Winrow ….
Greg Winrow, printmaking
GREG splits his time 50/50
producing silk screen and linocut prints covering a variety of topics in his
York studio, where he uses a Hawthorne press for his lino work.
Earlier, he studied art
and design in York and photography and design in Harrogate before acquiring his
interest in printing techniques.
Greg Winrow at the York River Art Market
Now a keen member of the
York Printmakers, taking part in their annual fair, he has exhibited too at the
York River Art Market and York galleries. 2020 was to have been his second year
in York Open Studios.
And finally, tomorrow: Marcus Callum; Robert Burton; Jo Walton; Emma Walsh and Northern Electric (Katie Greenbrown).
LAST
weekend should have been spent visiting other people’s homes, not staying home.
This 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 for #openwindowsyork2020, while plenty are 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 Studios, 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…
Birds Heart, by Sarah Raphael-Balme
Sarah Raphael-Balme, painting
SARAH makes figurative
work spanning interiors, gardens, portraits and decorative motifs usually
involving figures or creatures, painted mainly in oil, sometimes in gouache.
Sarah Raphael-Balme: Painting in oil and gouache
A graduate of Chelsea
College of Art, Sarah has shown her work widely in the UK and USA. Her
illustrations are published by IPC magazines, BBC publications, Heinneman and
countless others.
She is exhibiting solo with House of Hackney concurrently in New York and London. Go to instagram.com/raphael_balme for more.
The Enchanted Forest, depicting the sacred and spiritual nature of trees, from Lesley Seeger’s 2020 series, Whispers Of Spring
Lesley Seeger, painting
INSPIRED by the natural world, Lesley paints landscapes and abstract florals, her lyrical work marked by an exploration of the emotional impact of colour.
“Although
all my work begins ‘in the field’ with observation, ‘painting what I see’, I
realise that it quickly becomes, ‘how what I see makes me feel’. How trees and
hills and furrow sit together in the language of light and dark,” she says.
“I’m
interested in the significance of place. This might be somewhere well known,
such as Ripon Cathedral or the White Horse at Kilburn, or a random field or
view in which the way things are placed in the landscape makes it out of the
ordinary.”
“I like to think of my paintings as talismans,” says Lesley Seeger
Lesley
is a self-taught artist, whose work over 23 years now has been inspired by
sculpture studies at York College, as much as by the art of Gillian Ayres,
Howard Hodgkin, Elizabeth Blackadder, Mary Fedden and Ivon Hitchens.
“At a certain point, the painting takes over and I become interested in pattern, mark making, colour and texture as vehicles of expanding what I see,” she says. “The work becomes intuitive…. a hybrid between the observed and imagined, the seen and felt.’
Born in Newcastle in 1958,Lesley studied English and Media at Southampton University, then worked in theatre and publishing and qualified as an art therapist at Sheffield Hallam University. She worked for several years in community arts in York, most notably a six-year residency at York Hospital, where she ran art projects in the renal unit.
Ripe Corn Before The Storm, by Lesley Seeger
Last year she was artist-in-residence
at the Yorkshire Arboretum, near Castle Howard; this year, she holds the same
post at Brisons Veor, Cape Cornwall.
Lesley, who runs
painting workshops, published the art book Coming Home, A Contemporary
Colourist’s Approach To English Landscape in late-2016, and also designs cards
and linen cushions. Upcoming shows pencilled in for 2020 are Art for Youth
North and Art& York, both in October.
“I like to think of my paintings as talismans,” she says. “They will reveal themselves over time with their rich histories of place, layers and colour.” Time to visit lesleyseeger.com.
Bangle Pair, by Evie Leach
Evie Leach, jewellery
EVIE decided to follow her creative passion by
studying jewellery and silversmithing at the Birmingham School of Jewellery.
There, her basic knowledge, learned from her
jeweller parents, transformed into traditional skills.
Evie Leach at work
Her trademark is angular
designs with inspiration taken from geometry found in nature and architecture,
while more recent designs include semi-precious gemstones set beside angled
clusters of gold and silver to create dynamic, one-of-a-kind pieces.
Not only would PICA Studios jeweller Evie have been taking part in York Open Studios, but also her husband, self-taught artist Mick Leach, would have been making his YOS debut. Cast an eye over her designs at evieleach.co.uk.
The Hairy Fig and Kiosk, in Fossgate, by Ric Laptrot
Ric Liptrot, illustration
FREELANCE illustrator Ric
captures everyday life in York, depicting its distinctive and much-loved sites
in acrylics, pencils, collage and mono-print.
“I’m inspired by the architecture and scenes of
York,” says the PICA Studios artist. “I combine my passion for these buildings
with my support for the independent businesses York has to offer.
Ric Liptrot: Inspired by the architecture and scenes of York
“I’m an ambassador for these shops, bars and cafés
and believe they’re important in helping communities grow.”
Take a look at Ric’s illustrations that “capture the places loved by the local community” at liptrotillustration.co.uk.
Ursa Major And Minor, by Katrina Mansfield
Katrina Mansfield, painting
KATRINA creates vivid,
fascinating “fluid art animal inks”, using alcohol ink on synthetic Yupo paper
to depict the animals, birds and insects.
The paper allows a
longer working time with the ink, “the most intriguing medium and at the same
time the most frustrating”.
“It can produce magical
results that you get lost in for hours and hours, but it can also destroy the most
striking pattern in the blink of an eye,” says Katrina. “It is exactly like
nature itself, devastatingly beautiful.”
“Ink is the most intriguing medium and at the same time the most frustrating,” says Katrina Mansfield
In turn, this is why she
chose the subject of animals. “The creatures of this Earth are both fragile and
unbreakable, they are flawless and yet also imperfect. They add colour to our
human lives, yet they are increasingly in danger of becoming extinct through
our actions. This series of works is a reminder to all that we need the
diversity, beauty and intelligence of these creatures in order to survive.”
Now a PICA Studios
artist, Katrina trained in fine art and scenic art at York College, Lincoln
University and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. She worked in
television, film and theatre for a decade, latterly in the West End and West
Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds, before returning to York in 2018 to focus on
developing her new process of fluid art animal inks.
“The paintings take anything from one to four weeks to finish and are principally made without the use of a paintbrush,” she says. “I only use a brush if I have no other option or to place the white in the eyes; everything else is formed from the natural flow of the ink.” Animal ink magic awaits at katrinamansfieldartist.co.uk.
Wall hangings from Kitty Pennybacker’s textile range
Kitty Pennybacker, textiles
KNITWEAR designer Kitty combines
cording, knitting, weaving and felting to create a textile collection of super-soft
homeware items, such as wall hangings, neckerchiefs, baby blankets and knee
throws.
“The work re-imagines the tartan and tweed fabrics of my childhood in North Yorkshire,” says Kitty, who gained an MA in Fashion Design and Society from Parsons School of Design, New York, after her BA in Fashion Textiles Design at the University of Brighton.
She has worked within the fields of fashion and television in New York and London and is now part of the PICA Studios art and design hub. Learn more at kittypennybacker.com.
Kitty Pennybacker : Knitwear designer
TOMORROW: Mim Robson, Lesley Shaw, Elena Skoreyko Wagner, Ealish Wilson and Greg Winrow.
LAST
weekend should have been spent visiting other people’s homes, not staying home.
This 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 Studios, 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…
Student artist Monica Marshall
Monica Marshall, mixed media, student
EMERGING artist Monica
is a fine art student at York St John University, where her practice centres on
coping with life and the psyche, and how this is affected by Asperger Syndrome.
“I explore the complexity
of emotion and the subconscious through the use of text and expressionist mark-making
in a variety of media, primarily through drawing, painting and printmaking,”
she says.
In her experimental art,
she plays with scale, distortion and using colour to convey certain emotions. “My work is mostly monochromatic, combining text alongside self-portraits
and other characters,” says Monica. “The results communicate a powerful message
while retaining elements of humour.”
“The results communicate a powerful message while retaining elements of humour,” says Monica Marshall of her art practice
She takes inspiration from German Expressionism, Surrealism and
outsider art. “In regard to media, I am very open-minded and experimental. My
preferred medium is usually printmaking, using a colour scheme consisting
primarily of red, green, black and white, as well as oil painting on a large
scale,” says Monica, who divides her time between York and Brighton.
“When I’m not scribbling, painting and/or hiding in the print
room, I enjoy finding and photographing monkey puzzle trees – otherwise known
as Araucaria Araucana, penury, Chilean pines and an assortment of other aliases
– as well as writing poetry, prose and short stories.”
This was to have been Monica’s first year as a York Open Studios artist. Discover more at monicamarshallblog.wordpress.com.
Past And Present, by Richard Barnes
Richard Barnes, painting
RICHARD’s distinctive, dazzling work in York and London has focused on drawing and photographing the cities as the light fades.
“I record the sounds,
movement, architecture and atmosphere of the ancient buildings within a modern
context,” he says of his cityscapes. “Our brains are bombarded with digital
information; the resultant paintings explore a reality beyond this facade.”
His cityscapes are ever evolving.
“I am looking to highlight the sensations of life and light, movement and
stillness, the changing and new juxtaposed with the permanent and prevailing
history.”
“I am looking to highlight the sensations of life and light,” says Richard Barnes
For contrast, he paints
Yorkshire landscapes. “In my landscapes, the idea is to escape the noise and to
respond to a natural but often equally dramatic environment,” says Richard.
Living in York since
1984, working as both an artist and art teacher, he completed his PhD in 2006,
exploring the use of digital intervention within a traditional, intuitive
painting practice.
Now, the development of Richard’s images often involves drawing; photographing; printing; working on top of this print; re-photographing; re-printing; re-working, many times over, “until a final image is arrived at that captures the visual and tactile nature of the experience of being in a particular place, at that particular time.” Visit richardofyork.com for further insights.
Overlapping, by Emily Harper-Gustafsson
Emily Harper-Gustafsson, painting
BOOTHAM School art
teacher Emily creates delicate and contemplative paintings that seek to capture
small moments in space and time.
“Familiar objects are
transformed by the use of negative space and subtle subversions of traditional
perspective,” she says.
Emily Harper-Gustafsson: “Subtle subversions of traditional perspective”
“My paintings attempt to
render the apparently everyday and mundane a matter for epiphany, contemplation
and reflection.”
Emily can be contacted via e.a.harper@hotmail.com.
Glancing Light, mixed media on canvas, by Freya Horsley
Freya Horsley, painting
TAKING landscape and
seascape as her starting point, whether in Yorkshire, Europe, the Himalayas or
Canada, Freya’s abstract paintings focus on transient effects of light and
weather and the changes they bring to the face of land and sea.
Whether drawing on the
spot outside in the landscape or painting larger works back in the studio, she
uses a wide variety of materials and experimental processes to create her
surfaces and atmospheric effects.
“I’m increasingly exploring
in greater depth the relationship between what is being painted and how it
comes about, how much is real place and how much painted space,” Freya says.
Freya Horsley: Focusing on transient effects of light and weather
“In the first stages of a
painting, I pour and drip very liquid paint, manipulating it by tilting and
moving the support on the floor and easel. Gradually I refine this process, responding
to the marks and to my own sense of the space that emerges.
“I also often use wax,
collage and other media, alongside the veils of thin acrylic and oil paint, to
explore these different levels of looking and ways of experiencing a place and
space.”
Based in York, Freya exhibits in Yorkshire, London, the North West, Lancaster and Cornwall. She was to have shown her work at Bootham School, as usual, at York Open Studios, and still in her diary is Coast, at Porthminster Gallery, St Ives, Cornwall, from June 13 to September 5. Take a look at freyahorsley.com.
“I aim to push ideas through a range of unorthodox methods to create a new body of work,” says Benn Jackson
Benn Jackson, painting
BENN’S practice involves experimenting with a range
of processes that never end or finish, pushed through different methods to
create something different.
“The ‘process’ refers to the process of the
formation of art: the gathering, sorting, collating, associating, patterning,
and moreover the initiation of actions,” says Benn.
Benn Jackson at work on his process
“’Process’ explores the way the artist forms
decisions. With my practice, I aim to push ideas through a range of unorthodox
methods to create a new body of work.”
That work, spanning print, collage and painting, would have been exhibited at York Open Studios for the first time. Check him out at instagram.com/jelly-benn.
Jelena Lunge: Drawing inspiration from people, emotion and nature
Jelena Lunge, drawing
JELENA’s work is concept
and progress driven. “Using pen and ink, I draw inspiration from people,
emotion and nature,” she says. “Mostly I create drawings that are
thought provoking and illusory.”
Jelena graduated from Vilnius Academy of Arts, in Lithuania, with
a BA in sculpture and qualified as an art teacher. Her drawings have been shown
at international exhibitions in the Baltic States, Russia, Ukraine, the Czech
Republic, Germany, the USA and the UK.
Jelena Lunge at one of her many York exhibitions in 2019
“I now live and work in York, where I display and sell my work
from creative spaces and galleries,” says Jelena, who last year exhibited at
City Screen; York Explore library; Angel on the Green; Naburn Lock; Spark: York;
Clements Hall and the Golden Ball pub.
“My drawing combines portrait form with the abstract, incorporating symbolism with touches of fantasy,” she says. More info at jelenalunge.com.
TOMORROW: Sarah Raphael-Balme; Lesley Seeger; Evie Leach; Ric Liptrot; Katrina Mansfield and Kitty Pennybacker.
Nothing happening full stop. Now, with time on your frequently washed hands, home is where the art is and plenty else besides
EXIT 10 Things To See Next Week in York and beyond for the unforeseeable future in our now extended Lockdown hibernation. Enter home entertainment, wherever you may be, whether together or in self-isolation, in the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic. From behind his closed door, CHARLES HUTCHINSON makes these suggestions.
Celebrating Shakespeare’s 456th birthday: Tamsin Greig as loyal servant Malvolia in the National Theatre’s Twelfth Night, screening on YouTube from tonight
Shakespeare’s birthday
WILLIAM Shakespeare’s 456th birthday falls today. The Bard, by the way, was no stranger to writing under debilitating duress, working in London amid the bubonic plagues of 1592 and 1603, when more than 30,000 Londoners died, and a third plague in 1606.
That year alone, Bill quilled three of his mightiest works, King Lear, Macbeth and Antony & Cleopatra. Tonight is a chance to celebrate on a lighter note, watching the National Theatre in the NT At Home YouTube streaming of Twelfth Night, starring Tamsin Greig as loyal servant Malvolia, at 7pm for free. Twelfth Night will be available for seven nights and days on demand.
No Morris dancing in York on St George’s Day under lockdown rules
St George’s Day
TODAY is not only the Bard’s birthday but also St George’s Day, in principle another cause for English celebration, given the dragon-slaying, princess-saving Roman soldier’s status as this nation’s patron saint. However, if outbreaks of Morris Dancing and Punch & Judy shows are the best we can throw at it in usual circumstances, maybe Lockdown is a chance for some home schooling instead.
Today’s task: Find out in more detail who St George was; why he is England’s patron saint and why the English flag is a red cross on white. Oh, and come up with your own way of celebrating at home; surely it must be better than dancing with bells on.
York Shut Studios…but artists embrace the virtual to compensate for Coronavirus-enforced cancellation
York Open Studios going virtual
THIS should have been weekend number two for York Open Studios, the chance to see work by 144 artists and craft makers in 100 locations in and around York, whether in their homes or studios.
Instead, as with last weekend, it will be York Shut Studios but that does not mean York’s artists have put their brushes into lockdown. Creativity demands improvisation, and so you can head to yorkopenstudios.co.uk for the “Virtual Open Studio”, where you can still bring their home work into your home.
Stream team: Compere Tim FitzHigham, left, and comedian Mark Watson in their living rooms for the first Your Place Comedy online show
Your Place Comedy, streamed from their living room to yours
AT the initiation of Selby Town Hall arts centre manager Chris Jones, here comes Your Place Comedy, a Sunday night when comedians stream a live show via YouTube and Facebook from their living room into yours. There is no charge, but you can make donations to be split between the ten small, independent northern venues that have come together for this Lockdown scheme.
The first one, featuring Hull humorist Lucy Beaumont and a pyjama-clad Mark Watson, drew 3,500 viewers last Sunday. Chris is planning the second 8pm online gig for May 3 at yourplacecomedy.co.uk; acts to be confirmed.
Puppet Theatre: the third Lockdown Legends Challenge set by York Theatre Royal
Lockdown Legends Challenge, set by York Theatre Royal
EACH Monday morning, York Theatre Royal will post a theatrical #LockdownLegendsChallenge on its Twitter and Facebook pages for the whole family to take part in, just for fun. Even the participation of pets is “actively encouraged”.
After One-Minute Plays in week one and Costume Creation in week two, this week’s challenge is Puppet Theatre, or pup-pet theatre if your pooch partakes. “Re-create a scene from Shakespeare with household objects,” comes the invitation. “Then send your responses to lockdownlegends@yorktheatreroyal.co.uk and we’ll share these on our social media pages throughout the week.”
It’s time for Bingo in the street
Vintage game of the week: Bingo…in your street
BINGO is all about houses, and Lockdown Limbo is the chance to shout “House” in a game conducted with neighbours in our sunny springtime streets at Bruce Forsyth’s favourite social distance: “Nice two metres, two metres nice”.
What is bingo, should you never have ventured to Mecca Bingo or Clifton Bingo Club? Bingo is “a game in which players mark off numbers on cards as the numbers are drawn randomly by a caller, the winner being the first person to mark off all their numbers and exclaim ‘House’.” Repeat. Bingo.
The Boomtown Rats: Re-arranged York Barbican gig
Still keep trying to find good news
DEER Shed Festival, off. Courtney Marie Andrews at Pocklington Arts Centre in June, off. The Boomtown Rats at York Barbican, off. Jack Dee, Off The Telly, Barbican too, off. The list of cancellations grows like the spring grass, but do keep visiting websites for updates.
Deer Shed, at Baldersby Park, Thirsk? Definitely returning in summer 2021. Boomtown Rats? October 26. Jack Dee, October 1. No news on Courtney, yet, alas.
Venturing outdoors…
…FOR your daily exercise, be that a run, a cycle ride or a stroll near home, in a changing environment. Amid these disconnected, alien, strange days, your senses heightened, there is the chance to appreciate the previously unexperienced: the bird song in excelsis, a chorus no longer impeded by traffic; the bluer, bigger skies; the fresher air, the pollution levels so noticeably dropping.
York actor Mick Liversidge has taken to reciting Shakespeare’s sonnets in the fields, exercising mind and body alike. Why not Shake up your routine too?
York’s city walls lit up in blue for the NHS
Clap for Carers
STAND by your doors at 8pm every Thursday, no excuses. Theatre-goers, concert-goers, save your hand-clapping for our NHS doctors, hospital staff, carers, volunteers and key workers. How moving, too, to see familiar buildings and landmarks bathed in blue light: a tribute growing and glowing by the week.
Play at home: York country singer Twinnie’s new album, Hollywood Gypsy, released on April 17
And what about…
NEW albums by Laura Marling, Ron Sexsmith, Cornershop and York country singer Twinnie. Interior design books. Cerys Matthews and Guy Garvey on Sundays on BBC 6Music. The return of BBC One’s Killing Eve on Sunday nights and iPlayer. A themed new recipe of the week, whatever reason and seasoning grabs you.
Catching Rick Witter’s improvised home version of Shed Seven’s Chasing Rainbows on social media:. “I’m just staying home all the time”. Well, you are, aren’t you.
Perfect Day Crocs: One of Lesley Birch’s 21 Days In Isolation artworks in oil, inspired by Cornwall, in harmony with her paint-spattered choice of footwear and garden pebbles
YORK Open Studios 2020 must be York Shut Studios 2020 instead, after the Government’s orders to stay home put paid to visiting other people’s homes.
In the face of the Coronavirus pandemic, however, York’s resourceful artists and craft makers are still finding ways to share their wares, whether online in the Virtual Open Studios showcase at yorkopenstudios.co.uk, on their own websites or by filling their windows with artworks.
This weekend, as with last weekend, 144 artists would have been exhibiting and working at 100 locations, among them landscape painter Lesley Birch at her home studio in Clifton Place, York.
Far from downing brushes, she decided to undertake the one-off 21 Days In Isolation Project, her progress documented on Instagram, #lesleybirch21days.
Lesley’s latest paintings for her Romantic Landscapes series hanging up to dry in her home studio
“I set about the project almost immediately at lockdown,” says Scottish-born Lesley. “I’d always thought about filming my painting in a time-lapse and had never got around to it.
“So, I set up the clamp and my camera on my easel and away I went. The first few time-lapses worked out well. Then I thought, ‘why not do this for 21 days? – a time-lapse a day and a painting a day – and see what happens’.
“Why 21 days? Well, that just came into my head, but I realise that was actually the initial lockdown time [set by the Government], so it must have gone in subconsciously.”
Setting her artistic boundaries for the project, Lesley decided to work in oils. “I’ve been trying to develop my skills in this medium, and I decided to base the paintings on my trips to Scotland and Cornwall, working from my sketchbooks,” she says.
Artist Lesley Birch, pictured in the studio in earlier times before 21 Days In Isolation
“I filmed a painting every morning, because the light was good, and painted into the afternoons. Every day I had a fantastic routine: breakfast; set up the oil palette and paper. Ensure camera OK. Then away!
“Morning break coffee and assessment of the painting. Another painting maybe. Lunch. Then photographing the paintings and uploading them to my Instagram feed.”
Under the #artistsupportpledge initiative set up by artist Matthew Burrows, Lesley could sell her 21 Days works as part of the pledge. “The deal was if I reached £1,000 worth of sales, I’d buy another artist’s work. So really, it was artist supporting artists – worldwide.”
Lesley worked from her studio in her garden. “Usually it’s for printmaking and large acrylic paintings, so it was a change to restrict myself to oils. I had to gather my materials from PICA studios in town [in Grape Lane], bring them home and order paper and new oils online”.
Lesley assessing the first few days’ work on the studio floor
How did the working experience contrast with Lesley’s painting trips to Italy, Spain, Cornwall and Scotland? “I wasn’t feeling the wild wind or soft sun on my skin and I wasn’t by the sea, so I used my sketchbooks as inspiration. And my head. I revisited these beautiful places in my head. It was great!” she says.
Painting at home contrasted too with the busy environment at PICA, a shared space where others work around her. “I was alone…with my IPod music – I’m not I’m not sure my music is to their taste!” says Lesley, a former musician with Hue & Cry in the 1980s.
“My PICA friends commented on Instagram on what I was doing, so there was still that support. And I chatted to my studio mate Mark [fellow artist Mark Hearld] most days on the phone.”
What did Lesley learn about herself as an artist working in isolation? “I think many artists already work in isolation – and indeed, this is the way I worked before I got together with the PICA crowd,” she says.
Such A Rugged Day, memories of Scotland, by Lesley Birch, from the 21 Days In Isolation Project
“So, I just reverted back to that way of working: alone, with my music. I challenged myself with the focus; I never thought I’d be able to create so many pieces.”
Comparing how she felt on Day 1 and Day 21 of her “mammoth task”, Lesley says: “Well, Day 1 was a bit of an exploration. I had no idea that I was planning going on for 21 days until the end of Day I, where I felt exhilarated and in no doubt that I could produce one or more paintings each day.
“By Day 21, I was utterly exhausted. The creative energy to ensure I was happy with each piece was a challenge. The Instagram messaging system went mental with paintings selling in seconds by the last few days! I even had to send one to New Zealand.
“I was collecting addresses, bank transfers, and then I had to go online and order a whole lot of packaging for sending out the paintings, which still had to dry. I was overwhelmed.”
Pale Green Sea on the easel as Lesley painted in isolation
Lesley had decided to sell her uplifting landscape paintings at only £120 a pop, including shipping, “because we are in difficult times at the moment and everyone should have a chance to buy original art”.
“I’ve really enjoyed painting in the alla prima style [a direct painting approach where paint is applied wet on wet without letting earlier layers dry] and plan to create a new collection,” she says.
“Will there be more paintings from 21 Days In Isolation? Yes, though not on a daily basis. My 21 days are over. I feel on a bit of a roll at the moment, but I don’t want to put myself under the pressure of daily filming, so I’m just gonna take my time. These paintings will be more of the same as I have lots more sketchbooks for inspiration.”
More of Lesley’s new Romantic Landscapes paintings pegged out to dry on her studio washing line
She is calling the series her Romantic Landscapes. “That’s how this series seems to have developed in the time of Covid-19. I want an idealised view of reality,” Lesley reasons. “I think at the moment people want to escape into nice things: beautiful colours, soft skies and even a storm or two in a painting isn’t too bad.
“I know I want to escape, so I’m just following my intuition. These paintings will probably go to my galleries, but a small collection will go online for sale.”
As for how Lesley will spend this weekend, she concludes: “York Open Studios has been in my head this past week and I shall continue to be creative.”
Did you know?
After the cancellation of York Open Studios 2020, Lesley Birch is putting a selection of her YOS pieces online at lesleybirchart.com at £200 each, framed and ready to hang.
Turning the base: Phil Magson removes excess clay with a bladed tool
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 Studios, 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…
Philip Magson at work in his studio
Philip Magson, ceramics
AFTER taking a degree in
3-D design at Loughborough College of Art, Philip began making and selling
terracotta garden pottery.
On moving to York, he
developed the production of colourfully decorated domestic earthenware at his
workshop on Micklegate.
Finished with white opaque glaze: Philip Magson’s ceramics
Alongside teaching art,
his skill on the wheel is now employed in exploring an interest in contemporary
ceramics. His influences range from the abstract work of Franz Kline and Peter
Voulkos to the simplicity of classic Japanese pottery.
His pots are hand thrown on the wheel, using a stoneware clay. Mostly domestic-ware, simple and modern in style with contrasting surfaces, they are finished in white opaque glaze. Take a look at philipmagson.co.uk.
Carrier Pigeon, by Becki Harper
Becki Harper, illustration
BECKI’S illustrations
are inspired by behaviours and narratives within nature, alongside botanical
forms and patterns, with an exploration into the appreciation and
sustainability of the natural world.
“My observational drawing is often the source of an
idea, character or composition, and they greatly inform the visual language
within my work,” she says.
Becki loves nostalgic colour palettes and vintage
graphics, especially the imagery featured on old dress patterns.
Becki Harper: Favours traditional techniques
“I favour traditional techniques such as
watercolour painting, which is the process used to add colour to my drawings.
This passion for creating things by hand has led to exploration into other
media such as textiles, craft and ceramics,” she says.
“Sometimes I work by myself, and at times I work with other artists and community groups on all kinds of projects and commissions.” More info at beckiharper.com.
Selkie Child, by Sophie Keen
Sophie Keen, illustration
SOPHIE is an established children’s book illustrator of 15
years’ standing, with a bold yet traditional style that utilises watercolour, concentrated
watercolour ink, fine-liner and pencil.
Since graduating from Liverpool John Moores University in 2003, she has been represented by The Organisation agency, her work being published in such titles as: The Selkie Child (Oxford University Press); My First Bible for Marks and Spencer; My Favourite Michael (Little Tiger Press) and The Christmas Wish, The Lonely Chick and The Best Dog In The World (Scholastic).
Sophie Keen: Flying high in the world of illustration
Last year, under the name Sophie Humphreys, she provided the
illustrations for Carolyn Robertson’s Two Dads, read as a CBeebies bedtime
story by pop singer and musical actor Will Young as part of LGBTQ History Week.
“Inspiration for my work has become much easier since having
children myself, although time and energy has become ‘strangely’ hard to
come by,” she says. “But I’m never short of ideas, even if they have to be
written in haste on the back of a shopping list at 2am.”
Sophie, who also makes murals and bespoke pieces for bedrooms and nurseries, would have been taking part in York Open Studios for the first time. Discover more at sophiekeenillustration.com.
Charmian Ottaway: A love of ancient history and the natural world
Charmian Ottaway, jewellery
CHARMIAN has been a jeweller and goldsmith for more
than 25 years, working mostly to corporate and private commission, although her
work in high-carat gold, platinum, pearls and silver can be found in selected
galleries and exhibitions too.
A love of ancient Greek and Roman history and the natural world is reflected in her designs.
“I am passionate about sourcing beautiful semi-precious and precious stones,” says Charmian Ottaway
“I am passionate about sourcing beautiful
semi-precious and precious stones and incorporating them into my pieces, and
I’m committed to using fairly traded and mined metals and certified stones,”
says Charmian, who favours classical techniques, having discovered her love of fine
jewellery while working for Cartier.
Her most prestigious commission to date is a replica Richard III Boar Brooch for the Yorkshire Museum in York, where she also has done pieces for the Jorvik Viking Centre and York Archaeological Trust. Among her private clients is “York’s very own” Dame Judi Dench. Learn more at charmianottaway.co.uk.
A semi-abstract oil painting by Lesley Williams
Lesley Williams, painting
LESLEY produces semi-abstract
oil paintings based on aspects of the landscape, gardens and ponds, where the
translucent colour and shades move around one another creating a visual magic.
“My works based on ponds
show an interest in spatial dynamics, as well as the reflective qualities of
water within the plant forms,” she says.
“They suggest the
feeling found in the moment. They show intrigue in what lies beyond the immediate
surface and in spaces around a subject.”
Lesley Williams: Intrigue in what lies beyond the surface
Born in York, Lesley gained a degree in textile design at Nottingham Trent University and
later an MA in fine art from Leeds Metropolitan University.
More details can be found at lesleywilliamsartist.co.uk, where her work is divided into Pond Reflections (new work for 2020); New Work; Water Gardens; Pools: Ponds; Waterlilies and Garden Borders.
“I want to provoke responses,” says K. Eliza
K. Eliza, multi-media
STUDENT
K. Eliza is an ambitious and multi-sensory artist, influenced by how “aesthetics
interact with the natural world and emotions”.
Her present work focuses on rebirth, protection, death and life
cycles and she delights in expressing herself in different media, whether wearable
sculpture, digital print making, drawing or photography.
Student artist K.Eliza
“I use tights, wire and plastic, moulding them into depth and
form to represent the obscure and body parts,” she says. “I want to provoke
responses from audiences, intrigued by the potential of material and the
impression they leave on us.”
K. Eliza, who would have been participating in York Open Studios for the first time. Her contact details are k.eliza.art@gmail.com.
TOMORROW: Monica Marshall, Richard Barnes, Emily Harper-Gustafson, Freya Horsley, Benn Jackson and Jelena Lunge.
