Queen Street Mill Textile Museum Burnley

Queen Street Mill Textile Museum Burnley

I visited Queen Street Mill Textile Museum yesterday.  I must admit I love old mills.  It is a unique survivor of the textile industry reopened in 1986.  Based in Burnley it is a Grade I listed building.  It is the only surviving steam-driven weaving shed.

I loved the building full of light from overhead windows but also the beauty of the machinery and materials.  The patina and marks created by use intrigues me.  It confirmed that I am inspired by industrial objects and their influence on our local history and our human relationship with it.  They are practical objects but I find beauty in them and will be creating some artwork based on it.

Helmut Lemke Sound Artist

At the weekend I was privileged to have the opportunity to meet Sound Artist Helmut Lemke.  He was undertaking Portfolio Surgeries at Neo:gallery 22 Bolton.  He offered me some interesting critiques on my work which were very useful and informative.  

Knowing I would be meeting him I did some research on his own art practice and was intrigued.  He is German and moved to England about ten years ago.  He has been investigating sound for more than 35 years and has performed and exhibited process based work responding to his investigations.  He has worked in concert halls and out door markets, galleries, museums, the frozen seas of Greenland to Function Rooms in Pubs and International Festivals.

His work ranges from writing, drawing, photography, sound recording and performances and well worth looking at.  He has made me reassess how I look at my work and have confidence in what I like in it and respond to emotionally.

Arbitrary Ground Neo Gallery Bolton

Gloss Paintings by Jason Simpson

Last week I helped to curate an exhibition called "Arbitrary Ground" at Gallery 22, The Market Place, Bolton with two other colleagues from Neo Maggie Hargreaves and Angela O'Mara.    It is the first time I have curated an exhibition and it was more difficult than I anticipated but it was very interesting and I enjoyed working with Maggie and Angela.

The exhibition features work from all disciplines.  It was selected through open submission and features work from new and better known members of neo:  The exhibition is another celebration of the diversity and breadth of membership at Neo.

Painting by David Winning

Jason Simpson and David Winning are just two of the artists exhibiting.

The Coffee Art Project

My piece entitled "Coffee Woodland"

My Piece entitled "Coffee Woodland"

I have just completed this piece above for submission to the Coffee Art Project.  The concept of the Coffee Art Project is a high profile art competition linked to the theme of coffee.  Emerging artists specialising in all media types are asked to submit a unique piece of artwork that connects to coffee.

The aim of the competition is to showcase the creativity and talents of emerging artists while raising valuable funds for and awareness of Project Waterfall which supports clean water and sanitation initiatives, this year in Tanzania in partnership with Water Air Charity.

All the artworks are sold off in aid of the charity.

For my piece I used watercolour and stitch to illustrate imaginary coffee trees such as the Cafelatta Tree, Americano Tree, Marochino Tree and finally the Cappachino Tree.   I then multiplied the images to create a woodland and encased them in acrylic.

I really enjoyed the process and pleased that it will help to raise money for such a good cause.

Patchwork Puzzle

As I mentioned in my previous blog I am playing around with images to piece together to create a Patchwork or Quilt.  These are some designs I was considering for silk scarves but I wasn't sure anyone would want them as a scarf!!   I am back to that research stage when you have an idea in the back of your head but you need to do lots of trial and error to get near to the original idea.

I think I need to start a new sketchbook!  That always helps.

Some tentative ideas for the patchwork!

Patchwork

I have been in the studio today working on drawings and sketches that I a  planning to work into a quilt. Going through the February blues maybe that's why everything is blue!

Busy Bee

My 16 year old son has been busy taking photographs on his 'walkabout' travels with his friends as sixteen year olds do!   But I must admit I was impressed with the quality and composition of the photographs as they were only taken on a mobile phone.   They are quite painterly and he has agreed for me to use some of them as inspiration for sketching and painting.

Thought you might like to see some of them!