Seasons end of Autumn Term Exhibition.

So proud of all the artists who took part in the Seasons Art Class in Camberley this term. The exhibition to mark the end of the course was a stunning with a really high quality of work. 

During the class artists explored a number of different skills and mediums including drawing in pencil and oil pastel, watercolour, acrylic and mixed media paintings. 

The course took inspiration from all over the world looking at Dutch painted tiles, Indian pen work, Venitian masks plus a case study on Cezanne. It has been such a great term can't wait for the next one!

If Seasons Art Class in Camberley sounds like the course for you , find out more by calling 01962676360

Making Aslan.

Each December Launchpad turns it's training rooms into a Winter Grotto to give out donations to anyone who needs them over the holiday period. It is a wonderful thing to be a part of. This year the Art Group were asked to contribute towards the Narnia themed grotto by building a life sized Aslan. It was a bit daunting at the beginning but thanks to our very talented artists Aslan was finished in four weeks!

During week 1 we concentrated mainly on building a good structure making sure our Aslan would be sturdy and be able to stand on his own. Once the legs and body were sculpted out of chicken wire we made sure we gave him good strong spine and structure in the legs. We gave him a makeshift head making it clear what we had to do the next week.

In week 2 Aslan's legs were shaped better and we made sure they were well balanced. We had some left over modelling mesh which was cut up and threaded into the body to create a mane. He really started to feel like a lion!

By week 3 one of our artists was determined  to to make a proper head for Asian. He resculpted the modelling mesh we had and created teeth almost like dentures, creating them as a separate piece and gluing them in. With the teddy bear eyes I found the face really started coming alive. Lots more mane was added too.

Week 4 was just adding finishing touches, thickening the main and adding a nose. The final details really make Aslan perfect!

To find out more about what Launchpad do to help people who are homeless or vulnerable to homelessness especially in the winter months go to www.launchpadreading.org.uk

The Block.

We all feel blocked from time to time, but what happens when you depend on your creativity for your career? What happens if your creativity is a large part of who you are and it has temporarily left you? Personally speaking my creativity is as natural as breathing. It is something I have always had and loved for as long as I can remember. It is quite terrifying when something you can lay your hand on in most situations, at any time, simply disappears.  The most reasonable people will suddenly get superstitious about their creative process and whether the blarney (as Joni Mitchell called it) flows or not. It doesn't matter if you have been professional for 30 years or someone who has just started dabbling 'The Block' can hit at any time.

All kinds of rituals are created to try and secure success. Routines are established, special motivational cuppas are drunk, different ways to calm a busy brains are practiced and ways to decorate blank white walls in the mind are dreamed up. A motto one of my lecturers repeated almost daily was 'Creativity is 90% perspiration and 10% inspiration,' something I am definitely not going to argue here, but that lightening strike is priceless. For me it feels like inspiration comes from somewhere else. The end product will be shaped by my style, influences, symbolism and narrative but on particularly productive days it feels like the colours and ideas just flow through me. I am a bit murky about where that somewhere else is. When it's working and you know when you are on to something you don't question it. You take it with both hands and say thank you very much.

Yes creativity is like magic to me. It is amazing what you can do and especially when you have a group of people all pooling their ideas. You may have the odds stacked against you, no time, no money, no help or understanding. You might have half a plan with a lot of faith and trust in your capabilities and something beautiful might happen.

Blank pages staring up at you can be terrifying and the pressure to start something can be enormous. The simplest way to combat this is to get something down. Anything. It can be something very rough, a splash of colour, some scribbled lines, something you chuck away later but at least it's a start. 'The Block' is like insomnia, if you let it take hold it can last for what feels like a lifetime. You have to break it as soon as possible. Sometimes it is important to shake things up, have a change of scene. Talk to someone in a similar position to you and  talk about what they are doing, what's exciting them. 

I struggle in between projects. My projects can be quite intense and take up all my brain and energy while I'm doing them and can take months to complete. I can feel myself being a colour bore or Frida Kahlo freak when I'm talking to friends! I think sometimes you can just become tired and your creativity needs to recuperate just like any other part of your body when you have been using them too much. I think it is important to keep moving though. It is important to keep the mechanics going drawing, observing, like a muscle, keep exercising so you don't become stiff and stop moving altogether. I enjoy drawing simple things around me, taking small steps, being gentle while my creativity lies dormant. These little recordings of your life are just stepping stones towards something bigger. How we are within ourselves will effect anything we create externally. Taking time to be comfortable, refreshed and relaxed will allow our creativity to grow.

Radio interview at Blast1386.com

I feel very privileged to have been invited to do an interview at Blast 1386 on Friday  16th November at 11am. I have been asked to talk about Art, arts in Reading and community workshops I have been lucky enough to be a part of. You can listen in live at www.blast1386.com or listen anytime at www.mixload.com/Communitymatters/

Launchpad Artwork at Holy Brook Gallery, Reading Central Library.

So proud of  our extremely talented Launchpad Artists who have achieved so much this year. The Art Group have created large paintings for the Salvation Army's communal garden, created an amazing Pop Art Laaunchpad Wall outside the Launchpad offices and topped the year off by making some wonderful artwork for our show at the Holy Brook Gallery. 

If you would like to find out more about Launchpad Reading, the work they do supporting Reading's homeless or how to support hem please visit launchpadreading.org.uk

Making a quilt for Launchpad's Big Sleep Out 2018.

After the success of the our last communal art project last year at Launchpad's Big Sleep Out the dreamcatcher, we decided we should carry on the tradition! This year in Launchpad's art sessions we created a simple unmade bed. Participants in the Big Sleep Out were invited to write positive messages for the people Launchpad support. These messages written on coloured squares of paper were then pinned on the bed creating a decorative quilt. Our bed is now proudly displayed in Launchpad's activity rooms for everyone to see!

If you would like to find out more about Launchpad Reading and the work that they do go to www.launchpadreading.org.uk

Salvation Army Addiction Memorial.

During the summer I was invited to run some workshops at Salvation Army to create with the members a mock up of a memorial for residents who had been lost to addiction. The workshops were a chance for people to remember the ones who had been lost, for members to talk about how addiction had touched them and to come together and do something creative. It was amazing to see people pull together and support each other despite how hard lives can be. Also it was a chance to remember friends and family with dignity knowing that these people are valued.

Click your heels together 1, 2, 3...

One of the community art projects I was running recently was inspired by Joseph Cornell an artist who created shadow boxes containing his dreams and fantasy worlds while working a day job and looking after his family. I thought some escapism would do us all a bit of good. There’s nothing wrong with a bit of fantasy here and there. The title of the book I was using for reference was called ‘Master of Dreams’ which I thought was a marvelous description and I decided to take it literally. To help plan the project and help inspire the people I work with I usually make the project alongside them so I started to delve into my own dreams and fantasies. As an adult my Achilles heel has always been when everything can get far too serious and cynicism sets in. It is so easy to get disillusioned on the rat race, barely seeing your partner, looking after everyone in the family’s needs and getting your children to tidy their room or get the dreaded homework done. Even though I am an atheist and don’t believe in magic, fate, star signs etc. I miss a time when everything was magical and I had a sense of wonder. As an adult a sense of humour or positivity usually keeps the rot from setting in but sometimes I crave more than that. The innocence of when magic existed, toys talked to you and fairies left messages under your pillow.

So if I want to create a fantasy world based loosely on the things that captured my imagination when I was little it would be a cross between the Care Bears Movie and the Faraway Tree. I would live in the clouds with cuddly teddy bears that loved me and slide down rainbows all day. Animals would talk to me, fairies would be my friends, they would show me their secrets and we would eat amazing magical sweets that melted in the mouth. We would go on adventures and be transported by clouds, beds, wishing chairs and ruby slippers and be back in time for tea.

As a grown up my dream has always been to travel, I don’t mind much, I will go most places. I don’t fancy anything dangerous, mind. I am hungry for different cultures, foods, scenery. I want to experience everything really just without the grown up nonsense of money, passports, dealing with small children during travelling, booking/arranging time off and airports that take the edge of your experience.

Looking at my methods of travelling I have plumped for ruby trainers or flats. I don’t want heels as I would never wear them. When busy teleporting around the world you don’t want sore feet and I barely have the patience for heels at the best of times. Really I would like bare feet but who ever heard of teleporting feet. Umbrellas are too unpredictable in bad weather. I wouldn’t enjoy being blown about in the rain no matter how practically perfect I was in every way. Inside a bubble I would be terrified just incase it burst. Wishing chairs and flying beds are great  - as least you would be comfortable when you travel, even get 40 winks, but where are you going to park the thing? Also do you need a bike lock to stop your precious transport from flying off on it's own?

No, no shoes it has to be, click your feet together and off you pop - maybe with a carpet bag with the odd table lamp in it just incase. A little home up in the clouds with the sun shining down would be perfect. Maybe hold the hands of the ones you love so they can come too. Carefree and looking stylish with your ruby trainers going anywhere but home.