Delicate Stitches: library

Showing posts with label library. Show all posts

Friday, 8 June 2018

Wingspan: Carlisle Library 6th-30th June 2018

In the same way that busses always appear in multiples it feels that recently exhibitions are doing the same thing for me. Over the past few weeks I've been installing and uninstalling exhibitions like there's no tomorrow. The latest one is a slightly revised version of the 'Wingspan' exhibition of art and poetry that my partner and I had at RSPB Geltsdale. It is now on show at Carlisle Library and I'm really rather pleased with how it's worked out.

Installation view at Carlisle Library

Display case

One of the things that I like about exhibiting at the RSPB Geltsdale Gallery is that it's a little bit unexpected; people don't generally go there to see art exhibitions but I've had some great feedback from visitors and as the work is inspired by nature it's good being able to show it in a wild place. Exhibiting at the library is different again, it's not necessarily where you'd go to see an exhibition and I like that by showing work here I can exhibit to people who ordinarily might not see my work. It's a shared public space and used by a wide range of people which I think makes it a great place to show art.

It being a public space does of course mean that there are other challenges; the work is not behind glass and of course there is not the same 'do not touch' culture in a library that there is in a gallery. Because of this I decided not to put some of the bigger hangings and more fragile pieces in, I don't think people would deliberately damage my work but textiles can be fragile and susceptible to marks if not handled carefully and I didn't want to take the risk. I'm also using display boards rather than gallery walls so I've had to be creative with my hanging and mounting and am relying largely on the power of Velcro and please do not touch signs! I have put a few smaller pieces in a glass cabinet downstairs (most of the work is upstairs) and I'm pleased with how this looks and it acts as a bit of a 'signpost' to the rest of the exhibition.

Exhibition view: Carlisle Library

I don't think that the exhibition is quite as cohesive in terms of the relationship between Nick's poems and my artworks as it was at RSPB Geltsdale as a lot of the work I've taken out for the library show is the work that ties directly to the poems. However, it's given me a chance to put some other pieces up and I still think there's a strong connection between his writing and my art. We're both very inspired by the natural world, the wild places we visit and the wildlife we see and I think that still comes through. If you go and visit I'd love to hear your thoughts, it's on show until 30th June.

Wednesday, 19 July 2017

Butterfly: A Prism Arts Studio Arts Exhibition at Penrith Library

Following on from their very successful Gallery Trail at Tullie House my Studio Arts group at Prism Arts have been creating work around the theme of butterflies. We've been encouraging the participants to start developing their own practice and follow their particular interests within the visual arts whilst still working as part of a group. As part of supporting them to develop their personal practices we've been looking at the whole business of being an artist; from generating ideas, researching and developing those ideas through to making work and exhibiting.

Sketching from collections

Developing ideas

Developing characters

Alongside encouraging the participants to develop their own styles and ways of working I like to include regular skills workshops to offer new opportunities and possibilities for the participants. For example, on this project I ran a sketchbook making session as I think sketchbooks are a really useful and important tool and can also be works of art in themselves. This workshop led to two of the participants creating hand made books for the exhibition. Running workshops like this is also a good chance for myself and the other professional artists who work on the project to brush up our skills, share favourite techniques and sometimes try something new.

Composition workshop using photocopies

Sketchbook workshop

Part of our research for this project was visiting the Butterfly and Moth collection at Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery and a trip to Cumbria Wildlife Trust's Eycott Hill nature Reserve. This provided an opportunity to get some in depth knowledge of our subject and provided some good drawing opportunities. In my personal practice everything starts with drawing and it's something we encourage our participants to do as well. Drawing is a really useful tool for recording, generating and exploring ideas as well as a means of creation in itself.

Exhibition

One of the things I love about working in participatory arts is everyone's different approaches. I find it endlessly fascinating that from the same starting points and with the same resources each individual will create something totally different. It's also interesting seeing peoples differing approaches; some people have an idea and jump straight in without any apparent planning whilst others like to make meticulous plans and try out every possible permutation before fixing on an idea. Each approach has it's benefits and we try and encourage an approach that balances both extremes. Spontaneity is good but so is planning and experimentation!

Exhibition

Over the course of the project each of the participants developed their pieces in their own ways. I then spent a very warm morning at Penrith Library installing the work. This part is always quite stressful as you never quite know how it's going to go and whether all the pieces will work together. I'm really pleased with how the exhibition has come together, despite being so different I think the individual pieces work well together as a whole and as I was installing lots of people commented on how interesting and cheerful the work is.

Detail of handmade book: Butterfly Story

Detail of Imperial Tiger Scroll

Detail of The Butterfly

All the staff at the library have been really helpful and supportive (and make an excellent cup of tea) and I think it's really good for Studio Arts to have their work on show in different places as it helps us challenge people's preconceptions about what they can do and raises awareness of their work. It also fits in well with Penrith Library's Summer Reading challenge; this year's theme is Animal Agents so it's a win win! The work will be on show until 12th September so if you're in Penrith please do pop in and have a look.

Detail of Butterfly

Detail of Butterflies in the Breeze

Friday, 1 April 2016

The Seven Stories: Response Work

Wild Carlisle by Carleton Day Centre Art Group, 2016

One of the big projects I was involved with for Prism Arts last year was the Seven Stories project. We hung the main exhibition in Carlisle Library in November last year and then at the beginning of this year we went back to the groups we'd worked with to create response work to the exhibition. I went back to the Carleton Art Group and had a great time working with them to create their response piece.

Design

Felt making

I've worked with this group for nearly five years now and we know each other well and this means that there is a lot of trust and understanding. My role has developed from more of a teaching role to more of a mentoring role. Through the work myself and other artists have done with the group they have developed in both confidence and skill and are able to lead their own projects much more. Seeing this development is really exciting and it's great to be part of. When I go in to work with this group I'm always excited to hear their ideas and see how far they've come.

Felt making

Having created 'The Book of Carlisle' for the Seven Stories project the group were keen to carry on exploring some of the ideas they'd been looking at. Seeing the work alongside that of the other participants at Carlisle Library helped the group realise how important environment, place and nature is to them.

3D Felt making

This led the group to decide to further explore felt making, a technique we have worked with on several projects, and to work with a theme of animals in the environment. The group created a collection of 3D felt animals and a series of flat felt environments for the animals to live in. These elements were then brought together in a form that echoed the shape of the book they'd created. The new work has been added in to the exhibition in the library and will be on display until the end of April.

Making rabbits

As a group they are becoming skilled at creating individual elements that they then combine together to create a unified single installation. I really like this way of working as it means each individual is able to develop their particular interests and skills but are also still part of something bigger. I love seeing all the different elements come together and seeing how they inspire and support each other. The group are at a really interesting stage because although I still feed in ideas and make suggestions the main drive comes from them and they have the confidence and experience now to say what they want to do and how.

Exhibition View

One member of the group in particular has come on in leaps and bounds and being part of this is very rewarding. For this project she had a very clear idea of what she wanted to make (rabbits!) and with minimal guidance and help from me she worked really hard to create a beautiful and quirky set of characters that I would really like to kidnap. I'm working with the group again later in the year and am really excited about what they'll choose to explore.

Rabbits!

Thursday, 26 November 2015

The Seven Stories: Exhibition

Seven Stories Exhibition: Carlisle Library

Since January Prism Arts's artists, including myself, have been working in schools and with various community groups on a big project called 'The Seven Stories.' The project is a collaboration between Prism Arts and Cumbria Library Service and stems from a project we ran a couple of years ago.

Installing the work on the hanging grid

Last week we were in Carlisle Library installing the exhibition from their hanging grid. It was a challenging and tiring day but well worth it as the finished exhibition looks great. Later in the week we had an official opening ceremony attended by various dignitaries and, most importantly, many of the participants. Seeing how pleased the participants were with the finished work made all the hours of preparation and sewing worth while!

Flags by St. Bede's students

For this project I worked with a Year 4 class at St. Bede's Primary School and an art group at Carleton Day Centre. I really enjoyed working with both groups and the work they produced is fantastic. I've also really enjoyed seeing the work from the other groups. I particularly like the exploding seed packets made by the group of stroke survivors and the birds and bird cage made by the Creative Conversations group.

The Book of Carlisle by Carleton Day Centre art group

The school children I worked with produced a series of flags inspired by a 700 year old book held in Carlisle Library. The flags weave in and out of the other exhibits, representing the idea of journeys and the twists of a tale and tying all the pieces together.

Looking up from the ground floor

The group from Carleton originally wanted to make a time capsule but as we worked their ideas evolved and we created 'The Book of Carlisle.' This is a large book with each page exploring something the group members liked about Carlisle, including the dragon from the city arms, socialising with friends and the wildlife of the area.

Seen from the balcony

The work will be hanging in the library until March at which point more work, made in response to the exhibition, will be on show. Like all good stories there's always a little bit more to come...

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