The Big Egg Hunt 2013

Now in its second year, the world’s biggest Easter egg hunt challenges the public to find 101 eggs across the UK, whilst raising vital funds for leading children’s charity, Action for Children.

 

 

Over 100 giant Easter eggs will be hidden in cities across the UK as part of The Lindt Big Egg Hunt from Tuesday 12th February until Easter.  This year, the iconic Lindt Gold Bunny will be joining the fun, giving hunters the chance to win one of 100 years’ worth of chocolate. Thousands of Lindt Gold Bunnies and Lindor truffles will also be handed out as part of the egg-stravaganza.

The eggs have been designed by a host of leading artists including Sam Taylor-Johnson, Annie Kevans and Billy Childish. Myung Nam-An - who has exhiited with us inb Brighton and London has also designed an egg called Dragon's Eye.  Other eggs will feature some of the UK’s best loved children’s characters such as Moshi Monsters, Peppa Pig and Sponge Bob Square Pants.

Locals and tourists alike can bid for their favourite eggs in an online auction, or get interactive with the hunt by using their mobile phones to find out more about the eggs and their artists.

For the first time, this year The Lindt Big Egg Hunt will be going on tour from London to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow and back to London in time for Easter.

London (Covent Garden) Tue 12 – Sun 17 Feb
Birmingham Victoria Square Tue 19 Feb – Mon 25 Feb
Liverpool Paradise Street Wed 27 Feb – Tues 5 Mar
Manchester Exchange Square Thu 7 Mar – Wed 13 Mar
Glasgow St Enoch Square Fri 15 Mar – Wed 20 Mar
London (Covent Garden) Fri 22 March – Mon 1 Apr

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Maker of the Week - Jenny Robertson

Jenny Robertson produces hand knitted cobweb lace shawls, stoles and wraps in gossamer silk and hand-spub cobweb wool. Jenny is based on the Isle of Eigg in Invernessshire and trades as A'Nead Knitwear. She will be showing her work at the Palace Art and Craft Fair.

At what age did you know you wanted to become a maker? 
I was about 50, and to facilitate this, I did research online to get realistic pricing, and then started work. I subsequently learnt to spin and learnt about social media to promote my business.

Is being a designer your only job?
I do other casual work to supplement my income. The main job is being part of the maintenance team for Eigg Electric, the company which supplies Eigg with electricity. I also am one of the first responders for our local broadband company.

If you could be anything else what would you be?
Wood worker
What is the most interesting / fun job you have had?
Creating a wrap for a bride to her colours and a christening shawl with a blue border, knitted in local merino/gotland fleece. I love being able to make things specially for people in the colours and fleece type that they choose.
 

What is your most prized item of design / craft?

At the moment, a shawl knitted from hand-spun baby alpaca as it was completely my own design, not based on anything else and the first shawl I'd spun the cobweb yarn for. Alpaca gives a lovely airy look which makes you feel warm to look at it.
What are you listening to? 

I love orchestral music, especially pieces which bring the natural world to mind.

How many hours do you waste on the internet each day?
Avoid going on line unless I need to research something. Otherwise, it's mainly just for emails.
If you could live anywhere, where would it be and why?
On the Isle of Eigg - it's just the most perfect place for me and my dog, Harry
 

Where and what is your studio?
I work from home, which is the house I built when I moved to Eigg - just perfect.
Three words that describe your feeling of doing your work?
Satisfaction, enjoyment, pleasure

Chips or mash?
Both!

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Image of the Day - Simon Yates

Simon Yates is one of a number of furniture designer/makers exhibiting at the Palace Art and Craft Fair.

His furniture is designed to flows and to have a strong and defined form. 

Simon Yates - Centipede bench with Bench with textured Oak seat scorched with a naked flame. Legs from Ash and Stainless Steel

"It must be appropriate to its environment and to function as it's intended. Inspiration comes from my interest in sculptural, organic and geometric forms"

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Maker of the Week - Sophie Marsham

Sophie Marsham produces mixed-media sculptures, made from reclaimed, found objects.She will be exhibiting her work at the Palace Art and Craft Fair in May. 

 

At what age did you know you wanted to become an artist / maker?

I knew at 21 that a career in art was for me so I went then to the Chelsea Art School for 5 year completing a BA (hons) in Public Art and Design, in 1993.

Is being a an artist / designer your only job?
Being a sculptor is my only job, I have had my own company for 20 years, this year.

If you could be anything else what would you be?
If I could be anything else, it would be a set designer for film.

One favourite living artist? Elke Harras, the german lighting sculptor, as her work is both innovative and breathtakingly beautiful.

One favourite historical artist?
Da Vinci, who was so massively ahead of his time and incredibly multi talented in different disciplines.

Who / what has had most influence on your work?
Nature has had the most influence on my work as I have an obsession with the tiniest most beautiful detail, only found in nature.
 

What is the most interesting / fun job you have had?I worked for the artist Gerry Judah, when I was 19. I was his studio assistant, but every week was a new challenge, with new materials/scale/usage. He was the key person in my life who set me on the road to an art career.

What is your most prized item of art?
A blue and black charcoal Anish Kapoor drawing which was given to me when my third child was born.

What item of art do you covet most?
Probably the unfurling bridge by Thomas Heatherwick, it would be perfect to get me from my house to the studio in my garden.
 

Last book / film that blew your mind?
Last film that blew my mind was 'Untouchable' with Omar Si, absolutely loved it.

What are you listening to? The new I Am Kloot album, 'Let it all in' which I love.

 How many hours do you waste on the internet each day? 
I waste very little time on the internet as my hours are very precious, especially now I've weened myself off 'Templerun'

If you could live anywhere, where would it be? 
NYC where really special friends live.

Where and what is your studio?
My studio is in my garden, a large purpose built, heated shed with lots of windows.

Three words that describe your feeling of doing your work? 
Challenging, fulfilling and exciting.

Chips or mash?
Mash (with leeks!)

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Image of the Day - Ali Yanya

In the run up to the Palace Art and Craft Fair this May we'll be running daily previews of the exhibiting artists and craftspeople and their work. 

We start off with Ali Yanya who exhibited at the last Palace Art Fair in 2011.

 

Istanbul born Ali Yanya took a fine arts degree at Marmara University and went on to teach at Mimar Sinan University for two years.  Conceiving an ambition to master the art of printmaking he won a Turkish government overseas study scholarship and secured a place at the RCA where he gained an MA with Distinction (his talent being singled out by Peter Blake) and returned to lecture at Mimar Sinan University.  He moved to the UK in 1996 and has since been teaching at Kensington and Chelsea College and elsewhere and exhibiting widely.

White Paper - Ali Yanya

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Preparations starting for Palace Art and Craft Fair

Preparations are now in full swing for our new (or least rejigged) event taking place this May - the Palace Art and Craft Fair

The show is our first show which is split equally between craft and art, with the 59 craft spaces in 3 rooms in Fulham Palace itself and in 2 marquees in the courtyard. The 64 Art spaces are in a large marquee on the front lawn of the botanical gardens surrounding the Palace.

Fulham Palace is well worth spending some time - its a Tudor/Georgian Bishop's palace set in its own miniature country estate - complete with walled kitchen garden and vine house, botanic gardens, all in virtually the center of London.

The Palace Art and Craft Fair takes place 16th-19th May and we're hoping for warm sunny weather to enable visitors to enjoy both the fantastic art and craft and also the lovely surroundings.

 

Reduced price earlybird tickets for the Private View (live music and a glass of wine) and the normal opening hours are now for sale from our website here

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Maker of the Week - Robyn Coetzee

Robyn Coetzee makes beautiful kiln-formed glass birds as decorative hangings and brooches.

Where did you train? What did training teach you and what do you wish it had taught you?
At UWE Bristol I did a Fine Art degree that didn’t involve any glasswork - which, in retrospect, I wish it had. Subsequently I decided to supplement my training by starting a course in making glass beads, but inadvertently enrolled on a glass-fusing course instead! This mistake turned out to be serendipitous, as I found I loved learning how to fuse layers of glass in a kiln and this is now the main technique I use in my work. I am keen to broaden my knowledge of other aspects of glasswork, particularly architectural, and am currently considering studying for a part-time degree in glasswork, whilst continuing to create my designs.

Is being a designer/maker your only job?
I have no other job, having left teaching three years ago to concentrate on design.

Who is your favourite designer?
My favourite contemporary artist is the late Pablo Picasso, for his ability to use simple lines to such striking effect e.g. his ‘Dove of Peace’, created for UNESCO for the 1949 First International Peace Conference.
I also love the decorative design of the Ndebele people of Africa, particularly their use of bold colours and geometric shapes to decorate their buildings.
I like the Arts & Crafts movement’s style, particularly William Morris’s patterns depicting nature using clear, distinct lines and bright colours.
I also find the artistic symbolism of ancient cultures very powerful, e.g. linguistic symbolism in the form of Egyptian hieroglyphics and pictorial symbolism in two-dimensional stone age cave paintings or three-dimensional fertility statuary.

What is the most interesting/fun job you have had?
In order to pay off a loan taken out to fund a furniture-painting business venture, I once spent a while working on the assembly line of a well-known car manufacturer. Surprisingly (well it certainly surprised me!), the job proved both interesting, as I saw how a car was put together, and great fun - since no shift was considered complete without a practical joke or two!

What is your most prized item of design/craft?
I once sculpted a kiln-cast glass statue of a fertility doll - which I sold, to my eternal regret. It had substantial personal significance for me and I wish I’d kept it.
Now my most prized item is a gold pendant on a chain, bought by my mother 40 years ago when my parents first arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa, having emigrated from Holland. The pendant is a round gold disc containing seven smaller glass discs, each multi-faceted and covered in a reflective coating. I love it for its beauty and familial significance.

What item of design/craft do you covet most?
I would dearly love to own ‘The Venus of Willendorf’, a famous Palaeolithic artefact symbolising the goddess of fertility, because it seems so powerful, somehow.

At age 16, who most influenced your style?
Growing up in the 1980s – Madonna, of course! Like most teenagers, I was attracted by freedom of spirit and a rebellious stance and she coupled this with innovative clothing style and amazing, cheap jewellery to great effect. I also remember emulating the style of ‘eVOID’, an ‘Afro-fusion’ band who were big in South Africa, particularly their bangles made by stuffing a flexible plastic tube with ethnic print fabric! We were also very influenced by European style – to my friends’ great envy, my father ran a clothing factory and I would get to help choose, and later keep, the sample clothes from Europe.

What was the last film/book that blew your mind?
 ‘Tsotsi’ (which means ‘gangster’) has stuck in my memory as it is such a striking film. It tells the true story of six days in the grim life of a 15-year old boy in present-day Johannesburg, South Africa. I found it particularly moving to be reminded of the stark reality of life in parts of my homeland.

What music are you currently listening to?
While I’m working, I usually listen to Radio 6 Music as it tends to play new, interesting music. A current favourite CD is by ‘Freshly Ground’, an interesting South African female singer. I love her unusual voice and the wide and eclectic range of influences you can hear in her music.


How many hours do you waste on the internet each day?
I spend about three hours a day on the internet - about half of which, if I’m honest, is probably wasted!


If you could live anywhere, where would it be and why?
I love England (apart from the weather of course!). I am currently enjoying living in a leafy cul-de-sac in central Bristol, which provides a peaceful sanctuary to retreat to when I’ve had enough of all the advantages of city centre living. I live within walking distance of Fig, the shop run co-operatively by myself and others to sell our designs, and the Bristol/Bath area is great for other opportunities to showcase my work, such as art trails, exhibitions, galleries, pop-up shops, Bath Christmas market etc. However, I am considering a move to a place where I could continue my glasswork studies; there are very good suitable degree courses in Swansea and Plymouth.

Where and what is your studio?
My studio is a large, purpose-built wooden construction, conveniently located in my back garden. It is glass-fronted, thereby allowing light to flood in and enabling a panoramic view of the garden and all the birds and other wildlife that come to visit when they think no-one’s looking!

Do you have a good work/life balance?
Yes, generally I do. Having a studio separate from my home, albeit only about 4-5 metres away from my back door, means that I go to work and come home again just like any commuter, which helps to prevent work taking over my home life. My work commitments are unevenly distributed, with the last quarter of the year being particularly busy. I often find, particularly during these months, that I have been so immersed in my work I haven’t noticed that time has flown by, but even then when I do leave the studio I definitely leave work behind. The first quarter of each year is relatively quiet work-wise, so I usually take that opportunity to have a proper break and perhaps go travelling.

What one word would best describe your feeling of doing your work?Fulfilling. Losing myself in creating beautiful objects, ranging from ‘rural rustic’ to ‘quirky fun’ to ‘urban edgy’ depending on my mood, never fails to provide me with a great feeling of satisfaction.

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