East Finchley Open

 

Yesterday I attended the East Finchley Open, an open house event involving lots of local artists. It's a shame I didn't know about this previously, as it's something I would have really enjoyed being involved in. Even more unfortunately as I'm planning to relocate to Sweden at the end of next month, so might not have the chance in the future either.
It was great to see so much art so close to home - one of the locations was literally around the corner from my own home!
There was quite a variety of different media and styles, which I really think was a positive. I didn't manage to visit every single house, but did go to more than half of them. Each one had quite a different atmosphere, which was interesting. What I particularly liked was that there seemed to be quite a lot of fibre art, and I did meet one artist who was a felt maker and had a really nice conversation with her about felting and her work specifically. She incorporated other materials into her felt pieces, and the results were really visually interesting. In the first house I visited there was another artist making textiles based work, which really reminded me of Natasha Kerr's work, and I found it really impressive. Seeing the work in a home environment was a great alternative to a more traditional gallery environment, and I could see how her work in particular could really work in the home.
I obviously can't speak for the houses that I didn't visit, but I would have liked to see more painting. All of the houses had a mixture of different styles and media, and there was plenty of ceramics and jewellery work too, but as painting is of particular interest to me I'd have appreciated seeing more of that. The first house I visited had some amazing paintings, and the artist was really experimental with the way paint works and what it can do.
It was really great to see the diverse range of work being made in this area, especially as Finchley probably isn't somewhere that immediately comes to mind as an artistic hub. Maybe things will start to change with events like this going on. I personally loved the fact that I could access so much art without having to really go anywhere, I managed to visit multiple locations just by walking in a big circle from my house.
The event is also on next weekend, with some slight variation in the artists involved. I strongly encourage people to visit the open houses next weekend, especially if you're in the area, as it was a really worthwhile day. I might even venture to some of the houses I missed out on. It was a really enjoyable afternoon and I met some interesting people too. I'm really pleased that something like this is going on in my area.

My European Tour

I recently got back from a trip away, where I visited Stockholm, Amsterdam, and Barcelona. It was particularly nice to go to Barcelona as it was the only place on the list that I hadn't been to previously. A lot of people told me beforehand that I'd love Barcelona because of the art and architecture, and they were absolutely right.

Whilst I was in Stockholm I visited Moderna Museet, the modern art gallery, and it was brilliant. When I go abroad I really enjoy being able to see work by artists from overseas who may not have actually reached England - this is something I really loved about visiting galleries in Finland. This was definitely the case at Moderna Museet. The show at the time was by a Swedish artist, Nils Dardel, who I understand is very well-known within Sweden, but was not someone I had heard of before. I found it really interesting, as the artist had worked in a range of styles throughout his career, but with consistent themes, and it was interesting to see how the style had changed and developed over time.

Added to that, the permanent collection was very impressive, with work by some very famous names. It took quite a while to get through the entire gallery but it was very worthwhile and I would definitely visit again. The museum is set in a lovely park area by the water, and outside the gallery there were some sculptures that were also really exciting. The area was very green, so the colours of the work outside cut straight through the environment and really stood out.

I didn't have a chance to see any exhibitions in Amsterdam, but when I got to Barcelona I was particularly excited to visit Fundacio Antoni Tapies. Antoni Tapies is one of my favourite artists, and was a significant influence for me when I worked more with collage. His work still inspires me to be bold and expressive within my work, and this feeling was renewed when I visited. Unfortunately I actually found the gallery quite disappointing, as I had expected it to be bigger and to contain more work. Perhaps part of it was shut whilst I was there, but there was only one room of Tapies' work, and another with a temporary exhibition by another artist. I enjoyed what I saw but felt quite let down by how little there was of it. I understand that the pieces by Tapies are shown on rotation, which leads me to think that it literally is just the one room. I would probably visit again to be sure, but the whole thing took about 20 minutes to get around and was a bit underwhelming.

I obviously saw a lot of Gaudi's architecture in Barcelona, and I loved how vibrant and colourful it made the place seem. I'm really keen to visit Barcelona again in the future as I really enjoyed myself and would like to see more.

Whilst I was away I took a sketchbook to document my adventure, and this has become an ongoing piece of work now that I'm back home. I always have a sketchbook with me, and working in sketchbooks is something I really enjoy doing. As I have a large number of sketchbooks, some for my own practice and notes, some more like this to document particular experiences, I'm considering exhibiting these in July. This isn't something I've done before but they do represent a significant aspect of my practice, and it presents an alternative to pieces hung on the wall that the viewer can't touch or directly interact with. Now that I'm home and settled I need to get back to the felt pieces I was working on prior to going away, as these could be an additional element to an exhibition. My holiday was absolutely amazing, and I'm glad that the actual experience has given me something to work with at home.

Current things

I've been a bit quiet lately because I've had so much to do, but I'm still alive, and have a couple of plans at the moment. I'm exhibiting at Art Splash at Trispace Gallery on 30th May. It feels like a while since I've exhibited, even though it's not really long at all, and I'm looking forward to this show. I haven't yet started thinking about what I'll actually exhibit, but I'll get to that soon. I think it'll be an interesting event, with music and art.

The above is a collage, made this afternoon, for Art House Co-op's 5 minute challenge. It was made with materials found around my home, and I think that it sums me up quite accurately. I like it, and I think it's a good reminder of what it's possible to do in only five minutes. I think that sometimes doing a piece of work that is completely unrelated to my general practice can be really useful, and just enjoyable rather than something done for a specific purpose.

Recently I've been working on some writing rather than actually making art. I'm working on more cut ups, this time inspired by being able to see into the windows of so many of my neighbours. I hope to eventually work on some book art making use of these texts.

Next month I'm also going away to a few places in Europe for a couple of weeks, and I hope that this opportunity to see art in several countries and have some time to relax will inspire me. At the moment I have ideas for a lot of different pieces of work, and need to focus a bit more.

Coffee Art Project Opens Today!

The Coffee Art Project opens in Brick Lane today, and I'm really looking forward to seeing it later on today. I really enjoyed working on my piece for this show, and I'm pleased that I took part. I've seen a video of the exhibition being installed and it looks great, I'm excited to see how other artists have interpreted the theme.

The show is on until next Sunday, and definitely worth going to see as so many artists are involved.

Current work

This week I've been sketching in charcoal, which I haven't done for quite a while. I've really got back into using it, and I'm particularly enjoying smudging lines or areas I'm unhappy with, and then reworking them. I find this really adds to the character of the sketch, and I find the results to be much more interesting and atmospheric than completely clean lines. I like the build-up of layers and intensity in this image, and I'm keen to work a lot more in charcoal now that I've rediscovered the medium.
I'm also planning some new fibre pieces, having unexpectedly discovered a quantity of unrefined wool amongst my materials this morning. I'm planning to felt the wool and use this as a surface for embroidery, and will most likely also weather the work once it's completed. It's been a few months since I worked on a completely embroidered piece, and I'm feeling a desire to do this again.

My art fair experience

Parallax Art Fair finished yesterday. This was the largest exhibition I've been involved in as of yet, so it was a new experience, and provided great exposure for my work.
Due to other work, including curating a show, I feel that I didn't prepare as far in advance as I should have for Parallax, and I've certainly realised that something on this scale needs more preparation than other shows. I think taking on other shows and responsibilities since agreeing to be part of Parallax might not have been the best idea, and I've realised that in future I need to be more mindful of the workload that I take on.
For consistency, the organisers of Parallax have very specific requirements for how work should be hung. I was under the impression that this wasn't very flexible, and this was the element of the show that caused me the most difficulties, but upon attending the show I noticed that very few people had actually hung their work in the way described by the organisers. If I exhibit at a Parallax event in the future I think I'll be less concerned about
hanging the work in a way that suits me better.
The show was very busy, and during the private view it was difficult to just walk around because it was so crowded. Not every single person at the venue would have seen my work, but I was pleased with the number of visitors. When I attended the fair yesterday a lot of other artists commented to me that it was quieter than they had expected, but there were still a lot of people coming through. The fair was held in Chelsea Town Hall, which is a great location with plenty of foot traffic.
I was really impressed with the huge variety of work and styles in the show. Understandably, not

everything was to my personal taste, but I feel that anyone could have found something they liked. I really enjoyed being involved in a show that was so diverse. The artists showing encompassed so many different styles, backgrounds, and interests, and for me it was great to be part of a show including artists I doubt I'd ever exhibit with otherwise. I feel that my work was exposed to a really diverse audience, and probably to people who would never normally see, or choose to see, my work. In relation to my own tastes, I really liked that there was so much vibrant, colourful work in the show.
It was interesting also to meet other artists, particularly artists from outside of London. Generally artists were friendly and supportive of each other, but one thing that I found really disappointing is that some artists were perfectly happy to leave their flyers in other artist's spaces, stand in other artist's spaces blocking their work whilst talking on the phone or to a visitor, or leaving their belongings in another artist's space. I noticed this happening quite

a lot, and a couple of the artists near to me were culprits. I think that one person in particular was just ignorant rather than genuinely rude, but I was quite surprised that some artists had so little regard for others. Perhaps they were just very concerned with promoting themselves and ensuring that they were seen, but I feel it's a poor attitude to do this at the expense of others.
When I saw an artist putting her own flyers in front of my work and business cards I quite happily moved them into her own space, and I hope that others who found this happening took the same approach. The fact that this was happening is probably just the luck of who I was placed near to, and may not have been an issue with other artists or in other parts of the venue. I don't think this would put me off exhibiting at an event like this in the future, it's just unfortunate.
Sitting in my space yesterday was great because I met a lot of different people and got plenty of feedback and comments from the public, which was really positive for me. Many people asked

questions about the work and made comments, which made me happy. I had quite a good position in the room as my work was at the very back, whereas there were aisles going up the room towards the back, meaning that some people may miss work in one of the aisles, whereas my space was fairly unavoidable.
The pieces I showed were made between 2011 and 2013, including the paintings made in Iceland, and I don't intend to exhibit the same work again in the near future. I have more recent work that I'm pleased with, and I feel that the work with weathering is continue to develop in new ways, so I'd like to focus on that for now. Furthermore, I don't want every show I have to be repetitive and only show the same work. These pieces have all been exhibited at least three times, and I feel that this is enough.
Unfortunately I didn't make any sales at the show, but I feel this was a really valuable experience in terms of exposure for my work. The fair was quite different to the exhibitions I usually take part in, so it was a new experience for me. I'm really pleased that

I was given the opportunity to take part, and I hope that the exposure my work gained will pay off in the future.
On the whole this was a really positive experience, and I would be interested in exhibiting with Parallax again in the future. I really enjoyed seeing the other work in the show, and will definitely attend future fairs as a visitor. It's exciting to see so much work in one place, and to be exposed to so many different artists all at once. If I exhibit in the future I'll definitely prioritise this show over other work and be more sensible with my preparations. I've been working towards this show since December, and now that it's over I'm looking forward to working on new exhibitions and projects.

Exhibitions this week

"Expression", the show I've curated for Camden Image Gallery, opened on Saturday night, and I got a lot of really good feedback from both visitors and the artists involved. It was a lot of work but I'm really pleased with the quality of the work in the show, and I think it looks great. The show is now open to the public until 1st March, so please do go along and see the variety of work.

I'm also exhibiting at Parallax Art Fair later this week, and am now preparing my work for hanging there. I'm really happy that I was offered this opportunity, and I'm looking forward to setting up and the private view on Thursday night. Tickets are free of charge, and can be ordered here. This is the last time for the foreseeable future that I will be exhibiting certain pieces, including the pieces made in Iceland, as I'm focusing on progressing and developing the work with weathering, so this is a chance to see these works one last time.