A review of the year so far

The news section here has been rather neglected of late - so much happened in 2024 with exhibitions, talks and a creative spurt meant that this year I’ve been somewhat hibernating and reassessing - very much still a work in progress.  Despite that, I have been involved with a few things.

Hone Gallery in Notting Hill still have some of my pieces although a few have now been sold. How wonderful to be showing alongside Akiko Hirai, Rupert Spira and Graham Sutherland - to name just a few.

A Potted Précis of Edward Jenner’s Lesser Known Interests (2025)

At Easter, an exhibition opened at the Dr Jenner Museum in Berkeley.  The brief was to interpret Edward Jenner’s life and work.  I chose to exhibit a few pieces as if unearthed out of the ground and one in particular that I gave the snappy title “A Potted Précis of Edward Jenner’s Lesser Known Interests”.  Jenner was a polymath and my large pot is a nod to the lesser known aspects of Jenner’s life and home. From the balloon like shape of the vessel (ballooning and conviviality), the embossing of plants, and the fossil and moss like formations of the pot’s exterior (botany, nature and fossil hunting) to the scratched surfaces (violation) - are all representations of his many and varied interests.

Bloom at Crafts Alive, Rodmarton Manor. Once again (last time 2017 I think), a selection of us were invited by the Gloucestershire Guild of Craftsmen to join them at Rodmarton Manor for their bi-annual exhibition Crafts Alive. The Manor has a wonderful collection of stone trougheries home to a plethora of succulents, mosses and other flora.  I love them and was inspired to make my own mini versions in clay for our group exhibition Bloom.  The forms were slathered with slips and glaze to recreate the lichens living on the stones and then filled with earth and live succulents. They made me chuckle - it’s nice to have a little humour back in my work.

I’m also one of the indoor curators of the Cotswold Sculptor’s Association and we held our first exhibition at The Long Table Sanctuary Space in Stroud. Along with Juli Bharucha we planned the space for over 120 sculptures from 42 artists, including our own work. Feedback has been amazing!

Well, let’s hope it’s not nearly another year before I write something!

Summer Snippets

What a busy summer it’s been and here’s a snippet of what’s been going on:

Once again I exhibited work in the indoor exhibition at Creating Spaces at Miserden.  I must declare an interest as I was also one of the indoor curators now for the 2nd year running but I’ve really enjoyed pulling together the work.  This year the exhibition ran for an extra month, closing its doors mid August.  Typically I didn’t take any pictures of my work in situ but here are two from my favourite corners - L-R: Rebecca Simmons (sculptures) and Jeremy Haslam (wall) and Mandy Coppes Martin (wall).

Also opening in May was a wonderful exhibition at Victoria Works Studios, as part of the 10th anniversary celebrations. Themed around Reuse & Recycle, I was excited to show 2 new pieces = Out of the Ground I & II.  They were created from the debris of previous pieces, broken either accidently or deliberately. Ceramic is such a permanent state, taking something organic and turning it, through the firing process, into something inorganic that archaeologists unearth centuries - even millennia - later is quite a responsibility. That sense of responsibility was the motivation for Out of the Ground.” These pieces are also inspired by fungi, lichens and mosses, creating another micro world of these habitats.

A first for me this year was being invited to exhibit as part of the Pool House Gallery at Quenington Fresh Air Sculpture Show.  I’ve long admired the sculpture show which is held bi-annually in the Cotswolds and was thrilled to have a selection of my seed pods on display - one went to Australia - joining previously made pods that have made their way across the globe.

I was also thrilled to be invited to show at Aleph Contemporary’s Summer Show in Stroud.  I displayed one of my new “Repossession” series. A pure white porcelain vessel form being repossessed by fungi and lichen.  Photo shown here taken by Aleph, thank you!

The Autumn brings many exciting things - a show in Stroud and another at Victoria Works, but these will wait until my next update!

Below Above, Mayfair

In March I was thrilled to exhibit once again with painter Rachel McDonnell and for the first time with photographer Amanda Harman. Showing at Gallery54 in Mayfair our work drew together influences of the natural world and human connectivity.

“Viewed together, this collection of work creates a fascinating space for contemplation and exploration allowing the audience to connect with each artist's subtle, yet powerful, and deeply personal understanding of their environment.” Charlotte Abrahams, Writer, Curator, Gardener 

Reciprocity

In June and July, Mandy Coppes-Martin and I collaborated on a joint exhibition, Reciprocity, at Spring Cheltenham. The show was an enormous success. The film here explains a little more about the exhibition (it’s a little over 6 minutes and shorter versions are under the photos below).

Words from the press release:

The collaborative exhibition delves into the profound relationship between humanity and the natural world. Through their thought-provoking works, the artists navigate the delicate boundary between micro and macro, past and future, to offer a profound visual narrative on the interplay between mankind and nature.

Coppes-Martin's work, crafted from silks and heritage textiles, embodies organic forms that blur the lines between the manmade and the natural. By drawing inspiration from nature's wonders, such as butterflies in the Pacific that drink turtles' tears to absorb saline and diatoms housed in glass that provide every second breath we take, the artist invites viewers to explore the intricate and symbiotic relationships that exist in the world around us.

Simson's work showcases her intuitive approach to capturing the collective consciousness of themes and relationships. Using mostly porcelain paper clay to work instinctively, leaving fingerprint marks and weaving threads of emotion and inspiration, the artist draws on indigenous wisdom and the often-unnoticed reciprocal relationships between flora, fauna and man. Darwin’s Blind Spot is a term coined to explain the overlooked importance of living interactions or symbioses between different species. It is this sense of collaboration, along with man’s active involvement, the artist seeks to capture and elicit a response.

Reciprocity challenges the viewer to embrace the abstract nature of time and the complex interplay between past, present, and future. The exhibition invites individuals to confront their role in a world where human existence is intrinsically interwoven with the natural environment. It is a wake-up call, urging society to recognize our place within a wider ecosystem and to foster a sense of interconnectedness and stewardship.

As the artists beautifully encapsulate, the wider world is both intimate and borderless, always entertaining the dance between the internal and external. However, it often eludes our physical sight, much like the intangible concept of time. Reciprocity provides a glimpse into this elusive realm, reminding us that everything on this Earth has a purpose, that we are part of a larger system that has thrived for millions of years.

Here are a couple of short films about the exhibition - beautifully put together by Artur Tixiliski.

Thrown Contemporary and Creating Spaces 2023

Quiescent

Another wonderful exhibition in Highgate at Omved Gardens curated by the fabulous Thrown Contemporary. This time I was invited to join 11 other artists in “Trace - Exploring the marks we make, physical imprints and expressive gestures are added to with thoughts about heritage, influence and our ecological footprint in this curated exhibition of 12 distinctive collections which spanned OmVed Gardens' impressive glasshouse & gardens”. I exhibited some of my pangolin-inspired pieces on which each scale shows my fingerprint, representing man’s positive and negative affect on these vulnerable creatures.

Also opening in June is Creating Spaces 2023, the Cotswold Sculptors Association’s key annual exhibition at the stunning Miserden House and Gardens, Gloucestershire. On until the end of July, my 4 pieces can be seen in the indoor exhibition at the Club Room.

Winter activities

Awakening II

I’ve been involved in lots of things over the last few months so a wee update is over-due!

I had work selected from over 1,000 submissions for Spring Cheltenham’s Small Works show and was also selected for ThreeStorey’s Winter Show and Thrown Contemporary’s online Winter Exhibition. A busy and exciting time. I also took part in Made in Chalford again selling functional and sculptural work along with a new collaboration with Lizzie Mabley on some jugs - I made, she decorated - and the whole lot sold out!

2023 looks to be an exciting year with several projects in the pipeline - watch this space!

Ebb & Flow, Lansdown Hall & Gallery, Stroud

In November 2022, painter Rachel McDonnell and I are exhibiting on the theme of “The Presence and Absence of Water “. Rachel has completed a series of paintings over the years inspired by trips to Finland, Crete and other places including walks around the Stroud Valleys, each with their watery (or lack of) properties. I will be showing some old favourites and new pieces with turquoise, volcanic and slop-bucket glazes erupting from surfaces and crevices.

Can’t wait to see our work displayed together - I love Rachel’s paintings! Updated with a few images from the exhibition….

Protection Exhibition at the Roper Gallery, Bath

High Alert

I became a founder member of the recently formed 9 Artists Collective and we had our inaugural exhibition on the theme of Protection at the Roper Gallery, Bath Artists Studios in September 2022. It was a great success and stimulated many interesting conversations about the diverse interpretations of protection. I showed three pieces inspired by the plight of pangolins and how cruelly they are treated and trafficked; the pieces showed foetus-like forms vulnerable yet curious and inquisitive to their surroundings. Fingerprint scales show traces of human touch, both negative and positive.

Creating Spaces 2022

Set in the stunning gardens and Club Room of the Miserden Estate, Gloucestershire, is the Cotswold Sculptors Association’s most recent exhibition. I have 4 pieces included in the Club Room exhibition which is open the same times as the gardens from 1st June through to the end of July. Fabulous to be a part of this in such a beautiful location.

The Wild Collective in London

I was thrilled to be invited to exhibit as part of the Wild Collective exhibition, curated by Thrown Contemporary at the beautiful Omved Gardens in May 2022. And even more thrilled when I discovered that all three of my selected pieces were sold. It’s a bittersweet feeling as they had never been put up for sale before as I often have to live with pieces for a while before I’m ready to part with them and a little piece of me went with them to their new homes.

Three exhibitions and a pop-up shop

It’s a busy and exciting period coming up with inclusion in three Winter exhibitions and a pop up shop on the horizon.

Dormant

First up is Thrown Contemporary's Online Winter Exhibition in which I’ve been invited to show Dormant, one of my unfired pieces. Dormant is one of a few hand-sized sculptures I have been working on since the first lockdown. Initially inspired by pangolins and their plight… the piece is wound up (double entrendre intended) together with many subtexts (life, birth, loss, vulnerability, protection) and each scale is left with a human mark (my fingerprint). Due to being unfired the piece is fragile and is already slowly being chipped away - something I see as inevitable and apt. Dormant will be shown as part of their online exhibition which opens on 18th November running until 30th January 2022.

Next up is Spring Cheltenham's Small Works Show where two of my new sculptural pieces have been selected. The exhibition opens 2nd December and is on through to 23rd December. All work exhibited is under 10 inches and brings together over 100 pieces from artists across the UK.

Hot on the tail of Spring Cheltenham, I am also taking part in a group exhibition at ThreeStoreys in Nailsworth. The exhibition will have 2D and 3D work from local artists and I'll have three sculptural pieces for sale including, for the first time, one of my jugs with jugs! The exhibition is open 7-22nd December & 5th-15th January 2022.

Last but not least, I am taking part again in the annual Made in Chalford Christmas fair hosted at Victoria Works Studios. You'll find a great selection of makers selling creative gifts and treats on 4th & 5th December 11-4pm each day. Click here for the gift guide and more information on whose work will be there and come and say hello!

SITE Festival 2021 →

I’ll be showing my new sculptural work as part of the SITE Festival at Victoria Works Studios. Please do come and visit, for conversation and feedback - lockdown has brought out new inspiration!

INVOKING ABSENCE - 3-26th SEPTEMBER 2021

Invoking Absence

water, mineral and deity

Curator: Patricia Brien

‘Nothing is created or destroyed; it just moves and changes’

(Tyson Yunkaporta)

I am thrilled to be a part of this exhibition at Halliday’s Mill Gallery opening on Friday 3rd September. Artists include: #chantalpowell #fionafinnegan #mairhughes #moragcolquhoun #annasimson #monicasjöö #patriciabrien and poetry: JLM Morton.

I’ll also be running, with curator Patricia Brien, a votive offering workshop on 3rd, 18th and 25th September. More information on the workshops to follow here www.patriciabrien.com.

Creating Spaces II at Berkeley Castle

UPDATE - exhibition extended to 1st September!

I recently joined the Cotswold Sculptors Association and am thrilled to be showing a small selection of my Practically (dys)Functional cups at Berkeley Castle from 4th-28th July. There will be a selection of work displayed around the grounds, the Kings Gallery, Picture Gallery and Dining Room. Pre-booked tickets and more information is available here .

Open Studios - 19/20 & 26/27 June 2021

The Select Art Trail Open Studios will be happening once again in Chalford this June and I’m taking part at Victoria Works Studios along with a host of talented makers and artists. Covid permitting, pop on down and say hello. More information to follow but pop the dates in your diary.

Mini Made in Chalford - 5th & 6th December 2020

Christmas is coming round once again but this year we are holding a mini Made in Chalford so as to be more Covid safe in these difficult times. Held at Victoria Works Studios on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th December, 11am - 4pm each day, you will find a selection of artists and makers’ work for sale - wonderful Christmas gifts or a treat for yourself. Buy local and support local businesses.

I’ll have a selection of homeware ceramics and you’ll also find jewellry, textiles, paintings and a whole lot more! Book a free timed entry (not essential, but helps us plan) here and have a look at just some of the exhibitors on the guide produced by Pascale Stanley here.

SIT Select Trail - 17/18 and 24/25 October 2020

17/18 and 24/25 October 2020 - new dates

Following the postponement of the Trail due to Covid ‘19, we have a new date for October. I will be taking part, along with several other residents and guests at Victoria Works Studios, over the two weekends. If possible, please pre-book a timed entry to the Studios here, so we can manage social distancing in a safe manner. Alternatively, for appointments or more information, please email me here or ring 07970 224470.

Please see the digital brochure here, listing all those taking part. Artists and makers at Victoria Works start on page 36 with me on page 42.

MADE IN CHALFORD CHRISTMAS FAIR, 2019

It’s that time of year again and the Made in Chalford Christmas Fair is taking place on Saturday 30th November and Sunday 1st December from 11am to 5pm each day. I’m joining a host of other artists and makers (ceramics, jewellery, paintings, sculpture, textiles… and more…). Great for a spot of Christmas shopping! This year we’re supporting Chalford Village shop, as usual, and the charity Allsorts, for families who have children with additional needs.

Select Art Trail 2019

I am opening my studio again this year as part of the Select Art Trail 2019, along with 11 other artists and makers from Victoria Works Studios. Come on down and you’ll be able to see ceramics (not just mine), jewellery, textiles, glass, sculpture, paintings and so much more…. My entry in the brochure below is on page 68 and you can see the artists and makers taking part at Victoria Works Studios from page 56.

SIT select is an arts organisation supporting the visual arts and applied arts. View this years trail of exciting artists in and around the STroud Valleys.