Emily Sutton
It's that time of year again... Emily Sutton and Mark Hearld will be opening their York home as part of York Open Studios, opening on Friday the 17th April.
Opening hours will be Friday 17th April 6-9pm, Saturday 18th April 10-6pm, Sunday 19th April 11-5pm and then the following Saturday and Sunday. The address is 104 The Mount, York YO24 1AR.
Below are a selection of the original works that Emily will be exhibiting (we hope to share some of the examples of Mark's work soon).
Emily will be adding to her range of St Jude's fabrics this year as part of our tenth anniversary.
If you'd like further details of these, please sign up to our e-mail newsletter.
Rena Gardiner
Our friends at Little Toller are soon to publish the first book about the artist and printmaker Rena Gardiner (1929-1999).
"Rena Gardiner dedicated her life to her art, doing so alone in a thatched cottage in the heart of Dorset. Combining the great tradition of British topographic artists with the rich era of autolithography of the 1940s and 1950s, she created her own very personal and individual visual style. An unsung heroine of printmaking, uninterested in publicity or fame, she created an artistic legacy that is instantly recognisable for its exuberant use of colour and texture."
Find out more about Rena Gardiner and the book from the Little Toller website.
Michael Kirkman linocuts
We continue collecting Michael Kirkman’s work personally and are delighted to add another selection of his linocut prints to our online gallery.
Having studied at Edinburgh College of Art, Michael Kirkman graduated from an MA course at the Royal College of Art, London in 2010.
His inspiration comes from a need to communicate moments in time that seem strange or extraordinary, to capture what goes unnoticed. Some important influences include Eduardo Paolozzi, Mimmo Paladino, Balthus, Edward Burra and Jonathan Gibbs.
Michael has exhibited at our St Jude’s In The City events in London and Edinburgh and has produced commissioned prints for the National Theatre and Palace of Westminster (to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee).
View all currently available linocuts by Michael Kirkman
Surface Tension
Writer, artist and musician Rob St. John (who contributed to our Random Spectacular No. 2 journal) has announced details of his latest project, Surface Tension.
In summer 2014, Ben Fenton, project manager of the ‘Fixing Broken Rivers’ campaign run by London freshwater conservation charity Thames 21, got in touch with Rob. Ben had an unusual commission in mind: could Rob design a project drawing from both art and science to creatively explore and document pollution along London’s River Lea?
Almost a year later, and the project – Surface Tension – is finished, resulting in an album of new music and field recordings taken along the Lea; a book of writing and photographs documenting the Lea Valley and the creative processes in Surface Tension; and an exhibition of film photographs from the project at Stour Space, Hackney Wick, London (E3 2PA) throughout April 2015.
In late summer, Rob walked most of the length of the Lea – one of Britain’s most polluted rivers – wearing holes into the soles of his shoes as he made field recordings with binaural microphones (which look like cheap headphones, but capture a 360 degree soundscape around your head), underwater hydrophones and contact mics. At the same time, he took film photographs on both a vintage 120 camera and a 35mm pinhole camera made from a Lesney toy matchbox (the Lesney factory was on the river at Hackney Wick).
Rob’s work has always had a foot in both art and science: working with sound, photography and natural processes in ways that are both experimental and accessible. In 2011 he released a critically acclaimed LP ‘Weald’; in 2013 the Water of Life collaboration with Tommy Perman; in 2014 the Bastard Mountain LP; and in 2015 Surface Tension and a sound installation Concrete Antenna at Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop.
Surface Tension is released in April on limited edition CD, housed in a beautiful book of Rob’s photographs and writing, designed by Tommy Perman.
Find out more about the project and order a copy of the limited edition CD.
Country Living
I was delighted to be asked by Country Living magazine to create a mug to celebrate their 30th anniversary.
This limited edition mug has been handmade and hand decorated by Burleigh at Middleport Pottery in Stoke-on-Trent.
The mug features on the cover of the magazine's April 2015 issue and inside you'll find a feature on our home and studio in the Scottish Highlands, photographed by Cristian Barnett who I've had the pleasure of working with before on two short films, including this one looking at the making of my Nature Table wallpaper.
You can find out more about the Country Living mug from their General Store.
Charles Shearer
We're pleased that we'll be working again with artist Charles Shearer who formed part of our 2010 St Jude's In The City exhibition in London.
Charles was born in Kirkwall in Orkney. He studied at Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen and later at the Royal College of Art, London, specialising in illustration. Charles now teaches printmaking in numerous art schools and works on commissions for books and magazines, such Faber's poetry series.
His work also features on a favourite CD at home, Drever/McCusker Woomble's Before The Ruin
His prints are inspired by his extensive travels both here and abroad.
If you'd like to hear from us as soon as we've added his work to our online gallery, please sign up for our newsletter.
Nostalgia & Progress
I was delighted to be asked to take part in the 'Nostalgia & Progress: Illustration After the Second World War' exhibition at The Stanley and Audrey Burton Gallery in Leeds.
The exhibition explores the history of British book illustration in a fertile period after the Second World War. This era was marked not only by technological progress and innovation – even in the midst of rationing – but also by nostalgia and a romanticising of the pre-war past. Artists exhibited include Edward Bawden, Edward Ardizzone and Ronald Searle.
The exhibition also includes a display of contemporary work by artists who particularly reference this period, including Mark Hearld, Emily Sutton and Ed Kluz. I have two limited edition prints forming part of the exhibition - Shoreline and Knockando Thrift and Feathers.
The exhibition runs until 28th February 2015 at The Stanley and Audrey Burton Gallery, Parkinson Building, Woodhouse Lane, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT. Find out more via the gallery's website
Here are some images of the catalogue which features essays by James Russell, Sarah Butler, Laura Millward and Layla Bloom. Copies are available for purchase from the gallery shop.
From top to bottom: Cover illustration by Edward Ardizzone, then another image from Edward Ardizzone, Charles Keeping, Esme Eve, Edward Bawden, Reg Boulton, Emily Sutton, John Broadley, Ed Kluz, Jonathan Gibbs, Angie Lewin, Edward Bawden.
