open studios 2013

a little belated but a huge thank you to everyone who came and visited me for open studios.

in between the catalogue going to print and the event itself i was invited to my sister's wedding which was something i just couldn't miss. this meant i was unable to be there on the first day. a friend kindly sat in for me but unfortunately sold a painting in the window which wasn't for sale! at first i didn't think that this would be a problem as he had taken the couple's email address. so i wrote to explain, thinking they would understand. however, that didn't turn out to be the case. they have refused to return the painting and after writing a second time, they haven't responded. they are willing to lend me the picture to exhibit but are insisting on retaining rights of ownership. i'm very sad about this as it wasn't a painting i was ready to sell. it was also sold at the wrong price - well below what it was worth. i'm very attached to this piece but really don't know what else to do. i have been trying to find out where i stand legally. if anyone reading this has any experience or advice i'd love to hear from you. and if you see this painting in your friend's house, please urge them to return it. thank you.

so apart from the shaky start the rest of the week was lovely. i met so many interesting people, among them a local crab fisherman, a guy who had the task of transporting a life size wired-together replica of the skeleton of the red rum race horse, a man who gave breon o'casey his first exhibition in london and told me about his lavender guinea foul, a man training for john o'groats to lands end cycle ride, a lady who talked to me all about armenian dancing and an enthusiastic rock-collecting drunken local who found my pole a useful support! probably the funniest moment was when a man walked in clutching a gps. it said 'you have reached your destination'. he switched it off and took in his surroundings looking very bewildered. staring at me he said 'where am i?' i replied 'well, you've reached my studio - did you mean to come here?' he still looked very confused. so i showed him a catalogue and where he was. he looked familiar and i was racking my brain trying to place him. he looked like my hebden bridge friend sue's dad but i wasn't quite sure as i'd only met him a couple of times. so i quietly said, 'you look like sue's dad' and he said, 'yes - i am'. but i wasn't quite sure if he knew who i was. so i explained and then said 'did you know you were coming to see me?' he replied 'well, i don't know your surname do i?'. so i chatted to him for a while but i must say i never really discovered if he had realised who i was and had planned to come and see me or if it had just been a coincidence.

the week grew steadily sunnier so it became quite difficult to stay indoors. i found a stripey deckchair someone had thrown out (strange behaviour in a heatwave) and snatched brief moments sitting in it in my doorway. i still don't have any electricity in the space but the wind-up grammar phone cranked out a few rumbas and night lights illuminated my lovely fireplace.

........at a wedding i think you'll find!

window display (with a little nod to former uses!)

window display of pigments

rock pigments and misleading crabs

lone flower - view from window

new wall and beach findings

boxes of coloured collections

more things from the sea

copper verdigris, turquoise, malachite, azurite, lead and rust

wall of birds

display of things found during renovations

interesting objects from nooks and crannies

my lovely fireplace

people often stop and chat in the doorway. beware - i can hear every word!

time for a crackly tune.....

family enjoying chips on the bench.

open studios

no longer a launderette!

so i'm frantically trying to give the studio a make-over before open studios start on saturday 25th. i'm artist 149 at 22 lower market street, penryn. unfortunately i can't be there myself this saturday as my sister is getting married (at quite short notice!) but a lovely friend will be holding the fort and i will be there sun, weds, thurs, fri and the following sat and sun from 11-5pm. he will be fully briefed but may not be wearing the smock and beret i've been trying to tempt him with!

the discovery of two fireplaces has meant that i'm not as far on as i was anticipating with the studio renovations and i don't have any electricity. but i can make tea on my tranja and although the toilet's in a bit of a state it can be used. anyone with high standards about these things might prefer something less dark and draughty!

i will have a display of all the interesting objects i've found behind the walls, in nooks and crannies and in the fireplaces. it's a chance to see the studio as it progresses and i'd love to meet any historians and locals who can tell me more about the building and it's former uses (as well as anyone who has experience with old walls!).

the window cleaners came yesterday and were appalled by the state of them! they said they'd seen worse but would have to come back again today to finish the job. so it might be more than the £2 quoted. still, there was a moment where the curtains were down and light was streaming through in a way i've not seen it before which was great. i suddenly felt very exposed to the world and replaced the curtains quickly again. lots of different thoughts for how it can be permanently. maximum light but without being overlooked. when i told them i was opening to public on saturday, they laughed!

there have been some road works going on just up the hill which has meant that the section of road outside the shop has been closed. i was thinking it'd be great if it was still the same next week as i could extend my territory, put deck chairs outside and have a little street party. when asking the men at work i inadvertently made their day - "no one EVER wants the road works to continue" beamed a man in a hard hat down a hole. sadly they are due to finish on friday, unless i can conjure up some distractions!

oh yes, and i've suddenly decided to take up the floor tiles which looks much nicer. but it's very time consuming, addictive and like a hard drugs habit....... i keep having to do just one more line. hopefully most of them will be gone very soon and my state of euphoria will have been cheap and worth it.

hope to see you sometime in the week x

floor chipping addiction!

open studios cornwall 2012

on saturday afternoon i went to explore some open studios. i love open studios and am thinking about throwing my doors wide next year. it was disappointing that there weren't more in falmouth and penryn. i'm not sure why this is as there are so many artists in these areas. in bristol the studio trails are amazing. there are so many that each individual area has its own event and in some places there are many houses on the same street which means it can all be done on foot. i know bristol is bigger but i heard on the radio someone saying that cornwall has the largest concentration of artists for its area outside london (i hope i've got that right). and i know so many artists in falmouth and penryn so i'm guessing it must be the money. i think in bristol it's around £20-£25 to participate but here it's £100! that just doesn't make any sense to me. i know there are costs involved but surely not £20,000! (there are about 200 artists this year and it's sponsored by mylor yacht harbour too). so it seems a shame if it's the money situation that's preventing a truly vibrant event from blossoming here.

anyway, puzzlement aside, i saw some wonderful work, met some great people and was very inspired. i've just picked some of my favourites to tell you about here.

first off i visited  sarah mccartney just along the road from me. her studio is in her garage and it was over-whelmingly fantastic (so much so that i went back again the next day for another look!) it was full of everything that i love- verdigris copper, bits of driftwood, an amazing collection of found and natural objects and that's before even looking at her work. at the back were two glass cabinets with beautiful specimens including fragments of lobster shells, crabs, skeleton birds, dried frogs and a pair of tiny wings from a gold crest (i think). trays along the front contained shells, old copper nails, sea tumbled glass and a whole array of aesthetically beautiful objects.

her work is exquisite with insects, images, gold leaf and words encased in resin and framed within the found wood, copper and tin. i definitely recommend a look at her  blog for a full insight into her work as there is drawing, painting, sculpture, illustration, work in progress and it's all very inspiring.

why i am awake by sarah mccartney

don't lose it by sarah mccartney

evolve by sarah mccartney

                                        

after a couple of others in falmouth a friend and i headed to krowji in redruth, a converted grammar school with about forty artists' studios.

christine spencer-green's magical dream-like paintings caught my eye, a few of which had her green-eyed black cat sabrina emerging enigmatically from the canvas. she told me that she'd always had pure bred siamese cats in the past but that sabrina is special because her mother is siamese but her father is a black fisherman's cat which means that sabrina  is an unusual black siamese witch's cat! 

sabrina and me by christine spencer-green

painting by christine spencer-green

esther connon is an illustrator and printmaker and looking through her hand bound limited edition book 'florence flies away' was an absolute treat. the book itself is such a wonderful and beautifully crafted object housing a wordless illustrated story. her screen prints are finely executed on gorgeous paper and her latest book, 'the seed' had totally sold out.

from the book 'florence flies away' by esther connon

'the seed' - opening sequence by esther connon

'the seed' - rain sequence by esther connon

in 'the white butterfly' a "butterfly brings peace to an old man's final days. this story is based on the japanese legend that believes the butterfly to be the soul of loved ones that have passed away".

 'the white butterfly' by esther connon

and i love this delicate drawing from 'lily and the lion'

'lily and the lion' by esther connon

wandering along the corridor i came upon siobhan purdy with her dreamy intuitive paintings beckoning me forth. she was great to chat to and for me her paintings summed up the magical quality of cornwall. she is mainly self-taught and i love the way that her paintings are so genuinely her.

farmer's wife by siobhan purdy

misty morning by siobhan purdy

and finally before closing there was just enough time to have a quick peek at tom raffield's ingenious steam bent lamp shades and furniture in ash and oak. i always find steam bending fascinating. it's amazing how the form of a material so hard and deliberate can be re-sculpted with such ease and look so natural in it's final shape with the grain obediently following the new curves.

my kitchen has been converted from an old 1930's green house so the window sills all remain sloping so that plants could make the most of the light. i realised that one of tom's lovely coiled pots would be  a great solution as they stand at an angle and are therefore perfect for wonky shelves!

flower pots by tom raffield

gracing a sloping shelf at home