Cathy's Art Diary

Fascinating discussion at Charleston Farmhouse as part of their garden festival exploring the value of vanishing rural skills and what we might recover when we live closer to the land. The event brought together hedge layer Paul Lamb and charcoal burner Ben Short interviewed by   Lulah Ellender. They read from their respective books then outlined how they had discovered their alternative professions and what it has meant to them to work on the land. They then discussed the importance of not losing rural skills and what they brought to the environment and to the people who practiced them.

Luscious fair at Somerset House organised by the Craft Council showcasing contemporary craft and design. This fair was full of beautiful things and was accompanied by a useful catalogue. The core of the show was a series of rooms taken by various craft galleries and organisations. I seemed to be drawn to the glass, possibly because I went on a lovely sunny day which showed it off well. Other work I liked included beautiful pieces made of paper by Su Blackwell, a room of jewellery and other gold and silver items from The Goldsmith's Company and some tapestries of landscapes in the Craft Scotland room. The most interesting rooms were those for the Open Collect project which invited a platform for artists to showcase an ambitious project. I loved these cakes shown at the bottom of the blog by Sarah Brown which are made of glass. I had a good conversation with Belinda Coyne who had done a series of enamel plaque called "Lost Paths" of landscapes which feature unrecorded ...

Two glorious weekends at the Brighton Artists’ Open Houses looking at an array of art and craft work. The show was on longer but we only managed to do three days over two weekends however we went into full train spotter mode and got round 22 houses! We concentrated on the groups at Five Ways, Beyond the Level, Hove, and Dyke Road. It was a mix of old favourites such as the wonderful sculpture at Collectors’ Selection and Dion Salvador Lloyd’s lovely seascapes, although it was nice to see him branching out into delicate flower pictures.   New discoveries included St Augustine’s Rough Diamonds, not so much for the art but for the amazing things that had been done with the building. Random shout outs go to Claire Morris’s lovely garden sculptures, the eclectic 11 Rugby Road, Frances Doherty’s botanical ceramics and John Beetham’s paintings of archaeological sites and abstracted maps shown with wonderful ceramic heads by Alain Guy. Closed 26 May 2019

Wonderful exhibition at Kew Gardens of high end contemporary craft one of a series of ‘Handmade’ exhibitions around the UK. I had been given a ticket by my friend Richard Shock, the only wood turner I spotted in the show. It was nice to catch up with him briefly between sales! I hope it went well for him. There were lots of lovely yummy things and I could have spent a fortune! I think jewellery and ceramics were the stars of the show and I loved Jonathon Pearce’s smooth tactile furniture. However my purchase of the day was a lovely paperweight from glass worker Thomas Petit. It is so nice to chat to the crafts person when you buy their work and hear more about it. Closed on 15 October 2017 but coming to Oxford 18-20 May 2018.  

Eclectic selection of artist open houses in Brighton as part of the May festival. Sadly I only made it to one weekend this year but we still packed it in! We did the Five Ways trail and some of the neighbouring ones as well as a few choice one that we love such as Eve Shepherds sculptures. I’m afraid it’s a few weeks ago so I can’t remember who was where but highlights included furniture by William Jay, jewellery by Deanna O’Keeffe made from old 1960s and 1970s costume jewellery giving it a modern twist, collages by Frances Bloomfield, ceramics of plants by Frances Doherty and Paintings by Annelies Clarke.

Great weekend doing about 50 of the Brighton artists’ open houses ! We do rather go into train spotter mode when we get going. We did almost all of the Fiveways Group houses, most of the Ditchling ones and a splattering of independents which happened to fall in those areas. We saw super pictures, wonderful ceramics, fascinating jewellery, great textiles particularly those by St Jude’s, hats, clothes and much much more! I think my highlight so far has been the Revelation pictures by Annelies Clarke at St John the Evangelist Church. This built on her show there last year and included wonderful female representations of cities mentioned in the book. These are really fine and thoughtful pictures. My main purchase, see the poor photo, were two bowls by Tanya Gomez although some cheap earrings were acquired as well in another house.

Lovely selling exhibition of modern jewellery at the Barbican. There were about 10 cases of beautifully tempting work by 23 jewellers. I loved Sarah Herriot’s sculptured work which made your eyes see different shapes as well as Jo McAllister’s plain textured work. Jan Truman had bright designs in a net design and Christine Kaltoft had delicate wire work. My favourite pieces were Petra Bishai’s paperclip cuff links.   

Nice little display at the ICA of work by the Granchester Pottery, a decorative arts company where the artists’ work under the name of the group not their own names in the tradition of the Omega Workshop. I did think a lot of the work had quite a feeling of Omega and could have sat quite happily in Charleston Farmhouse from the stencilled wall paper to the wonderful painted screen. The ceramics reminded me of Quentin Bell in utilitarian mode! I’d like to see more from this group!

In two days I did 29 of the open houses which are part of the Brighton Festival focusing on the Five Ways and Hove trails! I There were some lovely things but I must admit after about 10 some of the houses have merged in my head! Exhibits raged from jewellery made from old watches, lots of ceramics, stained glass, paintings, sculptures and a garden full of upside down heads! My favourite paintings were the seascapes by Dion Salvador Lloyd which had a slightly abstract quality but really showed how light plays on the sea. I succumbed to a vase with the crackle of the glaze at the bottom representing a pebbly beach and a blue tip with seagulls on it, very Brighton! Also some stained glass bunting for the balcony! Roll on next weekend!    

Small exhibition at High Cross House in Devon looking at the artistry and craft of basketry and organised by Basketry and Beyond, a not-for-profit organisation encouraging and furthering the craft and skills of basketry. There were examples of different basketry techniques and materials as well as a display of different types of objects. I was particularly taken by a pair of woven boots. On the day we went there were some of the basket weavers upstairs giving demonstrations and showing their work. There was also an area where you could try weaving a basket yourself. The smallest member of our party, aged 3, thought that was good fun, as did his parents!

Interesting exhibition at the V&A looking at role of making things in our lives. This exhibition was too busy when I went round it so it was hard to read the labels and I think I lost on what is was trying to do. There was an eclectic mix of objects which were fascinating but I just wasn’t sure how they fitted together. The moral of the story, don’t wait until the Christmas break to do free exhibitions! Reviews Times Daily Telegraph Independent

A nice small crafts exhibition at the Cornerstone in Didcot . There was a nice variation of crafts ranging from jewellery to ceramics. The best was a wood turner in the far corner, however I’m a bit biased as he’s a family friend, Richard Shock .

Exhibition at the Devon Guild of Craftsmen’s gallery at Bovey Tracey in Devon. This exhibition showed the work of five crafts people who won bursaries under the Contemporary Craft Fellowship Scheme. It shows experimental work and finished work. I didn’t note the name of the person but I like the small paintings on ceramic of views from windows.

Annual craft fair held in the courtyard of Somerset House . As my Mother would say “It’s clever but it’s not art” so not sure it should be in the blog but I decided it was a vaguely artistic event so I’d let it count! Also it cost £8 so I wanted to get my money’s worth. There were some beautiful things in the fair and if I win the lottery at the weekend there are a number of people I’d phone up to buy! I fell for a lovely silk stripped scarf but at £170 I think now. Instead I bought the cheapest item in the show, a small button badge with a bit of map and a press stud on it! It’s better than it sounds and was only £4!