Image of the Day - Suet Yi Yip

Suet Yi Yip
Birds & Trees
Hand-built
135mmx20mmx80mm

Suet Yi Yip will be exhibiting at MADE LONDON in October and MADE12 in November

Image of the Day - Kate Bajic

 

Kate Bajic 

Blossom necklace

Limited edition, hand pierced, oxidised silver & 14ct gold necklace
Approx 45cm in length.

Kate Bajic will be exhibiting at MADE LONDON with Design Factory in October

Image of the Day - Murray Marks

Murray Marks
Stack of nine hand made Shaker cherry boxes
Murray Marks will be exhibiting at MADE LONDON the Design and Craft Fair and MADE12 - Brighton's Design and Craft Fair

Image(s) of the Day - David Plagerson

David Plagerson - "Build a Bird Blocks" - A new toy that will be shown at MADE London (at least in advance prototype form).

Inspired by Avant Garde toys from the inter-war period including Alma Siedhof-Buscher.  

Image of the Day - Susan Jane Dunford

Susan Jane Dunford
Keystone Arch Jewellery Box
Box with detachable pieces of jewellery.
Sterling silver and rose gold.
H 10 x D 4.5 x W 6.5 cm
Susan Jane Dunford is exhibiting at MADELONDON with Brass Monkeys.

Dove Street Pottery - film

MADE London 2012 - Dove Street Pottery from MADE LONDON on Vimeo.


We've commisssioned Ben Tutton to make some films about makers which we will be screening at MADELONDON and on this blog over the next five weeks.
Ben is primarily a wildlife filmmaker and whose film  Primate Planet - Barbary Macaques has been nominated for the Newcomer Award category at the Wildscreen Festival (theWildscreen Festival is held in Bristol every 2 years and is said to be “the Oscars of the Wildlife TV and Film Industry”)

Ben's first film for us is about David Worsley of the Dove Street Pottery in Shipley who produces functional but  sculptural domestic pottery designed to be both beautiful and used everyday. 

(best to watch full screen as watching through the blog crops it a little)

BAF 2012 - The best place in a storm.

Looks like rain today so come down to a warm, dry, friendly place with a great cafe and thousands of original and beautiful artworks to spend a leisurely afternoon perusing, whilst the rains hit the pavement.

BRIGHTON ART FAIR!

Brighton Art Fair opens today at 10.00 closing at 5.00

Lovely things at Brighton Art Fair

The verdict from (almost) all the visitors to Brighton Art Fair this weekend is that it could be the best selection of artists and work yet.

From the Condom sculptural installation in the lobby, the work of the artists from the Art House at Meath, to the 97 exhibitors in the main hall of the fair, visitor have loved bothe the quality and the variety of work on show.

Below are a just a few examples of the work to be found at this years show.

 

 

Add caption

A Letter from Hong Dam

Hello There,

Thank you so much for those amazing comments relating to my art work at the Brighton Art Fair. What am I doing on the computer at 4am in the morning, I should be in bed. I have another 2 days of the art fair to do. But I am still buzzing and touched from all the comments and connections you have with my work. So far I have said very little about my work, I wanted to let art work do the talking. But people have shown so much interest in work that I want to write a bit about it:

I was particularly touched by a lady call Pauline at the Brighton Art Fair when she said 'I was looking around for art work which say something about the world we live in and your work said it all. Your work has an environmental aspect to them'

 

 

What is your work about?
My art work is a journey of self discovery, exploring: love, loss, separation, and the most powerful thing of all ­hopes and dreams. The hopes and dreams are what keep me going and willing me to survive the uncertainty of the unknown, a journey I may not survive. Like a dandelion; I will keep going and flourish where I can, I just have to believe in the impossible and stand up against all the odds. I feel my experiences make me a stronger person.

What's your reason for doing it?
My reason for doing my art work is purely to remind myself where I came from. Be contented with what I have and value those who are dear to me ­ 'The grass is always greener on the other side'. Chasing rainbows is not going to give me happiness, there will always be people who are better off than I am.
It's a visual diary of the different facets of my childhood memories from sculptures made from natural materials through to digital paintings; nature verses technology and East versus West. I often feel I am floating between two worlds; not belonging to one or the other.

I would like to think that my work expresses some of those haunting yet thought provoking qualities which I am trying to get across. I hope my work connects with some of those who are also far away from home, longing to be back with their family.

What mediums do you use to express yourself?I use images, words, and materials (like driftwoods, leaves, bamboo, canes etc, many are found materials) that remind me of the past to tell my stories. I convey my feelings through using vivid colour, shape and form to tell a story of two cultures – a fusion of East and West. I would like to leave you with this phrase:'It is the people who made it a memorable place, otherwise it is just an empty space'

Hong Dam

Sculpture installation at BAF 12

-- Post From My Phone

Location:United Kingdom

Maker of the Week - Norman Yap

Norman Yap is a ceramicist based in London producing bowls, vases and bottle forms in stoneware or porcelain. Norman will be showing his work at MADE LONDON and at MADE12 in Brighton.

 

 

Where did you train? What did training teach you and what do you wish it had taught you?

I am self taught but attend masterclasses to ensure I challenge and develop both the design and production aspects of my work.  Training accomplishes two vital functions for me, the learning from the teacher and the learning and sharing with the other attendees.  Working with clay is rich with possibilities and variations so once the basic technique has been acquired, the artist potter, the path to develop and realise the artistic vision is much aided by the shared experiences and input from others.

Is being a designer / maker your only job, or do you have other employment?

As a former management consultant, I try to apply my knowledge and experience of the business world, of working with clients, the launch of products and running and improving businesses to my own situation.  I work as a full time studio potter and try to turn my limitations (mainly that I do everything myself) into a strength and my latent skills into desirable pieces.

One favourite living designer?

Vivienne Westwood is my top choice for a living designer, she is the epitome of exciting, groundbreaking British design.  Her attitude is always one of openness, her bravery is legendary and her work is an inspiring blend of art and craft.  She has been a champion of British design and making for much of her long career and has rightly been hailed as Britain’s greatest living treasure.  I hope one day to create a range of thrown pieces to be arranged on a wooden framework resembling a long sleeveless evening gown with a naked Westwood behind the framework, dressed only in ceramics.

One favourite historical designer?

The furniture of Ray and Charles Eames has always left me with a complex blend of emotions, from happiness to admiration.  Their sense of design was realised with innovative techniques, experimentation and a sense of creative integrity.  The result is always a piece of furniture or some other domestic functional piece that is quietly elegant, confident but never arrogant and delightful to use.   One of my favourite pieces is their LCW (low chair, wooden) with its bent wooden pieces joined to form a chair that is classic to look at and comfortable to sit in.

What is the most interesting / fun job you have had?
I once managed a call centre providing customer service to 45 countries in 14 languages.  We employed a wonderful team of multilingual individuals who were intelligent, committed, challenging to work with and to manage (because of their high standards and expectations) and exceptionally fun making coming to work an absolute delight.  We still meet up and keep in contact 20 years after we’d first met and usually agree that the period was life changing in many ways.  The best times were when they would talk openly about sex in 14 languages simultaneously during office hours, leaving our American bosses in deep admiration of our work ethic and diversity (because they had no idea what was being talked about) and me nearly exploding from the suppressed laughter knowing what was really going on! 

What is your most prized item of design / craft?

I have a collection of glass vase forms, some modern and some from the ‘50s and ‘60s which together form a group of colours, heights and shapes that I love.

What item of design / craft do you covet most?

A bowl by either Lucie Rie or Rupert Spira, both for their aesthetic value but the former for its significant historical contribution and the latter for its innate poetry and deep spirituality.

At age 16 who most influenced your style?
It was the ‘70s and already it was the line in clothing and accessories that I unconsciously was drawn to. Designers like Yves St Laurent and Pierre Cardin made the human body celebrate silhouettes and line but later, it was to be Vivienne Westwood who really taught me to look at deconstruction and reconstruction from a deeper perspective.

Last book / film that blew your mind?

The short stories of William Trevor always move me whenever I reread them.  They are vignettes of humanity that are short and perfect, simple but intense. 

 What music are you currently listening to?I’ve eclectic taste in music so it’s simultaneously mad scenes in opera sung by Callas, the two albums by Sky (late’70s) and Rumours by Fleetwood Mac.

 

 

How many hours do you waste on the internet each day?
I do a lot of work on the computer – email, website management, photos for publicity, online ordering of materials, communications with galleries, customers and suppliers so I don’t really waste time when online.  I also constantly have a stream of questions running through my mind and the internet helps me to answer most of them.

If you could live anywhere, where would it be and why?

I quite like my current apartment, it’s large and cool in summer and warm in winter.  I also like our house in France (in the Haute Savoie) where the smells, air, birds, water and friends constantly remind me of the importance of being grounded and being surrounded by good people.  London is a phenomenal city to live in, the buzz and challenge to your creativity is addictive but the Haute Savoie offers respite, rejuvenation and resuscitation when the city seems too much.

Where and what is your studio?

After a well known arts organisation offering studio spaces in central London declined my application, I went online and got my current studio – a large, light filled space with a flat roof on which my gas kiln sits, safely out of the way of the public and offering me the ability to continue my reduction firings.  It is right across the road from my apartment, another enormous bonus to a potter whose work may entail long hours, either continuously or broken up in segments.  The landlord is the epitome of responsibility, reason and friendliness and I cannot believe my luck.  So when doors close, do not despair, better things may lie behind other doors.

Do you have a good work/life balance?
I would have a better work/life balance if I earned more money from making.  Makers are suffering in these economically-challenged times and as the price of materials soar, current government regulations are also causing galleries to increase their margins, further reducing the final revenue of the makers.  I love what I do and how I live but fear that the ability to continuing doing so is dependent on the support of generous collectors and buyers.

What one word would describe your feeling of doing your work?

Addiction.

Brighton Art Fair Banners

-- Post From My Phone

Location:Marlborough Pl,Brighton,United Kingdom

Brighton Art Fair - cover

Good to see Brighton Art Fair made the cover of Latest again.


Nice write up inside too
-- Post From My Phone

Location:Church St,Brighton,United Kingdom

Image of the Day - Polly Finch

 

 Polly Finch

Oink
Size: 6 x 11 x0.5cm
Media: hand cut  paper.
Oink will be for sale at the Brighton Art Fair this week.

Artist of the Week - Janie Ranger

Janie Ranger explores memory by producing mixed media work on paper and board. She will be exhibiting at the Brighton Art Fair this week.

 

 

Where did you train? What did training teach you and what do you wish it had taught you?   

In a previous life I trained in Fashion and Textile Design at Ealing School of Art (at the same time as Freddie Mercury!) and then worked for Mary Quant for nearly five years as a designer/sketcher. More recently, University of Gloucester for a BA fine Art.

The three years at Ealing were amongst the happiest of my life.  I hated school, was a square peg there. My first day at art school and I thought "This is where I belong."  This feeling re-emerged the moment I walked into the learning centre at Gloscat, where I did an access course before taking my degree.

Is being an artist your only job, or do you have other employment?
I'm a mother, grandmother, gardener, designer, artist.. I'm involved in amateur dramatics both as a designer and director. None of which pays much!  (I recently won a trophy for the most innovative director, and the play won two other awards). I occasionally get a commission to design for professional theatre.  My most recent piece was a painting for the set of Tennessee William's "A Cavalier for M'Lady" Directed by Gene David Kirk at The Jermyn Street Theatre.  I have been asked to design the CD cover for "The London Requiem" by Benjamin Till, which is a new classical 10 movement work to be released in September. I also help decorate and provide art work for my son's restaurant "The Hove Kitchen" on Western Road.

One favourite living artist?
David Hockney.  He smokes and doesn't give a damn. And he does nice drawings and stuff.

One favourite historical artist?

Cy Twombley.  He was my favourite living artist until he died.

What is the most interesting / fun job you have had?
Cleaning military houses with an army colonel's wife.  We had such fun, cleaning other people's dirt is somehow more joyous than doing one's own.

If you could collaborate with anyone living or dead, who would it be and what would you do?
Cy Twombley.  Fill the Turbine Hall at Tate with mark making  

At age 16 who most influenced your style?
Far too long ago to remember.

Last book / film that blew your mind?
Film - We need to talk about Kevin. More into theatre than film.  Propellor's "Henry V" was one of the best things I've seen on stage.
 

What music are you currently listening to?
Everything.  Have my ipod on shuffle, so Christmas music is mixed up with Adele, Elbow, Kings of Leon and the odd nursery rhyme.

How many hours do you waste on the internet each day?
Dont waste time on internet.  I use it for cerebral in depth study and research. Ha.ha.

If you could live anywhere, where would it be and why?
Brighton - well Hove actually.  It's full of quirky lovely people who are so non-judgemental. It's close to London. One day.

Where and what is your studio?

Cheltenham.  It's in an old sail maker's loft.  There are about 12 other studios with artists and illustrators. Plus a gallery downstairs which is used for teaching and exhibitions etc.
 

Do you have a good work/life balance?
Brilliant.  I'm lucky to have a supportive husband.  Both OAP's and getting lots of things ticked off before we reach for the zimmer frames.

What one word would describe your feeling of doing your work?
Bliss

What would your dream commission be?
To fill the Turbine hall with drawings.

If you could exhibit in any gallery in the world which would it be?
Boring I know - but it would have to be The Tate.

Image of the Day - Susan Wheeler

Susan Wheeler

Wittenham Clumps

Method: Linocut

Size: 60cm x 62cm

Susan Wheeler will be exhibiting at Brighton Art Fair this week with Chiaro Print.

Featured Artist - Christopher Sacre

This year we are very pleased to be able to feature in the entrance lobby at Brighton Art Fair a new installation by Christopher Sacre.

Christopher Sacre’s epiphany as an artist arrived unexpectedly when he discovered a happy marriage between condoms and plaster in 2010. The resultant installation, ‘See What This Man Gave Birth to After Using 2000 Condoms in 22 Days’ consisted of 2000 of plaster ‘babies’, simple cast forms whose method of production references the way in which a used condom is knotted and discarded. “Would they be black? White? Deaf? Disabled?” he asks. “The sperm left inside the condom all looks the same...”

 

For the Brighton Art Fair Christopher has been inspired to create new artworks based on his installation. Using bold colours from our national flag and the Olympic rings he explores new territory but, as ever, chooses to remain ambiguous as to the meaning and form the work will take...

 

Christopher says, “It's an honour to be invited to showcase my work at the Brighton Art Fair, which I consider to be one of the increasingly important dates in the art calendar. I'm a little daunted to be honest but looking forward to meeting everyone!"

Biog

London-born Christopher Sacre studied Fine Art Sculpture in Wolverhampton. His 2010 installation, ‘See What This Man Gave Birth to After Using 2000 Condoms in 22 Days’  marked a creative turning point as his work shifted from more traditional, nature-related sculpture to the conceptual.

Re-energised by the success of the piece, he continues to explore the possibilities of his condom-cast creations whilst pushing his work into unfamiliar territory with drawings, paintings and prints.

Christopher also works extensively with museums and galleries around the country delivering creative workshops for both deaf and hearing children. He is based in Medway, Kent.

Image of the Day - Hugh Ribbans

 Hugh Ribbans
‘Ahoy there! Velodrome II’ - one of a series of Olympic influenced prints – (this one was made in anticipation of a Chris Hoy triumph in the Velodrome)
It’s a black linocut with added water colour to the cyclists – size is 26x35 cm
Hugh Ribbans will be exhibiting at Brighton Art Fair this week!

Image of the Day - Emma Franks

Emma Franks
Blue Garden
Oil on Canvas
Emma Franks will be exhibiting at Brighton Art Fair this week.

Argus preview of Brighton Art Fair

It's started - the run up to the ninth Brighton Art Fair. Stands go up on Wednesday and Artists hang on Thursday. Thus is what the Argus has to say after a chat with me!

Image of the Day - Emerson Mayes

Emerson Mayes. A Rook's Gallery. 6"x4". Oil. £140
Emerson Mayes will be exhibiting with ACEO gallery at Brighton Art Fair next week.

Image of the Day - Emily Kirby

Emily Kirby
Lakeside III, Oil on Linen, 55 x 45 cm
Emily Kirby will be exhibiting at Brighton Art Fair in September

Image of the Day - Jocelyn Prosser

 

Jocelyn Prosser. Golden Girl with Cat. 6"x 4". Mixed Media. £100
www.aceogallery.co.uk

Jocelyn Prosser will be exhibiting with ACEO at Brighton Art Fair next week.
 

CALL FOR ENTRIES - PALACE ART AND CRAFT FAIR

Applications are now open for the 2013 Palace Art and Craft Fair at Fulham Palace London.

 

2013 sees a change of date and format for the Palace Art Fair. We are making the switch to May to enable visitors to take full advantage of the extensive and renovated grounds and walled kitchen garden, and longer and warmer evenings. We are splitting the show between Art and Craft with about 65 places in each category. Craft will be exhibited in rooms in the palace itself as well as 2 high quality marquees erected in the Tudor courtyard. Art will be housed in a large floored marquee on the front lawn of the Palace.

The Palace, grounds and the surrounding Bishops Park have recently finished an extensive renovation and are looking fantastic. We believe that bringing the best Craft Makers and Fine Artists together to exhibit at the Palace will increase the reputation of the Palace Art and Craft Fair as an enjoyable, accessible, show for the west of London.

If you are interested in applying for the Palace Art and Craft Fair it is essential that you download the application form. The options are fully explored in the pdf but the online version contains very abbreviated information so please read the pdf but do apply online if possible.