Exhibitions & events in March & April

After a relative quiet artistic period of time making, reading, navigating (our current new normal) I am delighted to have my work in a number of new exhibitions.

Here, (group) mixed media on japanese paper with collage and stitch. 2020

Restriction

an online group exhibition of miniature works in letterpress drawers.

Organised by Amanda Lynch and in partnership with Clayhill Arts, Somerset. A correspondence collective online exhibition which will be followed by associated events 23rd March - 6th April

All works are selected following an Open Call and are inspired by restrictions of the pandemic.

Here ii , iii

Responding to our multilayered and complex relationship with Dwelling and my experiences during Lockdown.

This online exhibition is viewable on the correspondence collective website. (Link above)

The Virus who came to tea

an online exhibition curated by Roisin projects. A showcase of 68 invited artists whose work explores ‘the nature and act of staying at home. You can also view selected works on the Roisin Projects Instagram page https://www.instagram.com/r_is_n.projects/

Dwelling, book work on Japanese paper. 2020

Artists Responding to…

I am chuffed to have my work from the Tracing Shadows project, exhibited last summer, featured in this monthly Zine.

Artists responding to …is a monthly publication ‘which uses creative depictions and literature to highlight current world issues, news and movements that aren't getting the attention that they deserve. A political and environmental platform to help ignite conversations and spread awareness through visual and written poetic responses.’.

In issue 7 / March my work featured uses alternative photographic processes, including photograms, chemigrams and photographic lithography. It incorporates words, articles and documents about ways to manage the coastline and the importance of the natural environments of the salt marshes to ‘hold back’ and help contain rising sea levels. Words that provide ways to mitigate a possible flooded future.

Time window, detail - digital print on Hannehuhle bamboo of photogram, 2020

Coming up - I’ve been invited to show some of my digital prints in a gallery showcase in Torquay, Devon. This exhibition starts in April and will include an opportunity to take a digital tour. More to follow : )

In our Garden

Supported by the Broadway Gallery, The Letchworth Culture Project and Digswell Arts, an exhibition by artists based at the Forge Studios, Digswell Arts. A celebration and reference to the Garden City Movement.

At 33 - 35 Station Road, Letchworth, Herts. SG6 3BB.

8th March - 11th April 2021. For enquiries about work please email  forgestudioswelwyn@gmail.com

Supported by the Broadway Gallery and The Letchworth Culture Project

Sue Jarman, (window illustration); Suman Gujral, Declan Hoare, Marian Hall, Mary Down (sculpture)

Poster design; Sue Jarman

Time Window, Mixed media on canvas. On show at 33 - 35 Station Road, Letchworth, Herts.

8th March - 11th April 2021.

Full list of artists - Caryl Beach, Fiona Chaney, Mary Down, Declan Hoare, Suman Gujral, Marian Hall, Sue Jarman, Dave Nelson, Sandra Smith, Sally Tyrie.

Due to Covid restrictions this work is installed and able to view as a Window Display.

Current examinations and inspiration

Digital print on Japanese paper, Book work. part of current investigations.

The light in winter is always quite special and when it’s not raining and overcast is wonderful to capture. Current work and studio experiments are being led by thoughts and ideas around place. Contrasts between outdoor and indoor space. Ideas around restriction, isolation and displacement.

Descending into the hush, digital print

Studio 6, Digswell Arts, work in progress

Right now I feel fortunate to feel like making and creating. Quite a few ideas are bubbling away and this is a time to explore, read, make and photograph. Studio explorations have involved collage, adding, subtracting and pulling apart. Quite cathartic activities in fact.

Tracing Shadows - Pond Gallery Sept 2020

The dust has well and truly settled since our show in September so high time to share some photos of the Exhibition Tracing Shadows - at Snape Maltings in Suffolk.

Pond Gallery, Snape Maltings, Sept 2020

We have both been busy navigating our uncertain and strange times during the current lockdown, so this has taken a little longer to share than hoped. Since the show I have been enjoying some immersive and reflective time in my new studio space at Digswell Arts.

The images in this post represent a highlight and overview of the exhibition. Very shortly I will be sharing some more images that take a closer look at the work we produced.

We had such a great week and were impressed with the space and location, sitting alongside reed beds and the River Alde in Suffolk. A creative atmospheric venue and event space.

Beyond the edges group, Photogram and stitch with etymology pins, Sally Tyrie, 2020

Emergent Occasions, Helen Terry, Pond Gallery, Sept 2020

Beyond the edges, photogram & mixed media in Archival boxes, Sally Tyrie, Sept 2020

Mixed media book work, Sally Tyrie, Pond Gallery, Sept 2020.

Mixed media Prints in display boxes, Sally Tyrie, Sept 2020.

Tabula Rasa group, Helen Terry, Sept 2020

Exhibition news

We have been delighted with the response to our exhibition and will be posting some images from the show just as soon as the dust settles and after I have finished lying down in a darkened room !!

On one day we had over 100 visitors so i’ts been mighty busy - a huge surprise given the strange times we are having.

Here is our Exhibition Statement.

“People may stand and stare and imagine what lies beneath that pool of water, behind the easy lapping of the insistent waves, with their steady rhythm.  Marking time and yet somehow timeless.”

Stephen Wade, “Lost to the Sea”

Tracing Shadows forms part of the ongoing collaborative partnership between artists, Sally Tyrie and Helen Terry.  Through the collaboration they have explored the process of observation, reflection and development that underpins the creation of artistic work.  While there are key differences between Helen’s and Sally’s work, there is significant common ground and a focus of their collaboration has been in exploring this crossover through dialogue and joint studio sessions.  

The work in this exhibition has been inspired by the fragile coastal margins of England’s east coast, particularly the eerie landscape of Bradwell-on-Sea and the Crouch estuary.  The landscape here has been shaped by water and continues to evolve, coming under increasing pressure in the face of climate change.  At the same time, traces of medieval to prehistoric human activity emerge from the mud at low tide and are re-submerged at every high tide – shadows of the past.  A chance find of a Victorian maritime map of the Thames Estuary also inspired an interest in the conventions of mapping and in the poignancy of the attempt to fix something that is constantly evolving.

Both artists are interested in themes of change; ambiguity; the idea of things being alternately buried, revealed and then concealed again; things coming in and out of focus.  Rather than a literal representation of landscape, the work in this exhibition is an exploration of these themes.  Print-making, photography, mixed media and stitch – both on paper and on cloth – are common to both artists’ work, with photographic elements being a significant part of both Helen’s and Sally’s process.  Helen has incorporated photographic imagery in digital and screen print on paper and cloth.   While Sally Tyrie has explored alternative photographic processes, including photograms, chemigrams and photographic lithography.  

Previous exhibitions:      Reflections & Revelations (Babylon Gallery, Ely and Wicken Fen) 2018

                                    Illuminations (Fenners Gallery, Letchworth) 2019

Tracing Shadows

We are thrilled that our exhibition at The Pond Gallery, Snape Maltings, planned for September, has the go ahead. At least one of us will be at the show each day to welcome visitors, and answer any questions.

The ‘Covid safe’ arrangements involve a one way system around the Gallery space, hand sanitisers on the way in and a perspex screen at our desk. There will also be a maximum of 4 people at a time In the gallery. Purchases are by card payment. The gallery is cleaned regularly.

Snape Maltings is a sublime location. Surrounded by reed beds and close to the Suffolk coast it’s in a perfect setting. I am looking forward to my week there but will have to avoid the temptation of spending too much money in the surrounding shops at Snape. Last time I was there I came away with an antique dining table :)

Snape Maltings, Suffolk. Near Aldeburgh.

Snape Maltings site map.

Close up of new work to be shown in the exhibition. Mixed media work that explores captured imagery from the East Coast landscape.

Helen and myself will be posting updates on our Instagram pages - such as Information about how to purchase our catalogue that accompanies this exhibition. Also news of how to view the show if you don’t get a chance to visit.

Good Days Quiet

I’ll own up that the title for this news post is taken from a book i’ve recently treated myself to. I can’t stop looking at it. It’s a catalogue of 31 black and white photographs by Robert Frank published in 2019. Mesmerising, peaceful, moving. This collection titled ‘Good Days Quiet’ and ‘Memories’ could be a visual diary of his own experience of ‘Lockdown’.  In fact this is 'Robert Frank’s final book and ‘organises Frank’s archives in the twilight of his career, alternating ‘photographs (interior and exterior) of his home in Mabou, Nova Scotia with portraits of family and friends’.

My own visual dialogue of this time could look a lot less focused. I’ve constantly found myself moving from one thing to another. I’ve probably always been a bit of a ‘flitter’ - is that even a word ? So, this unprecedented and surreal time seems to have heightened this tendency more.

When the lockdown started I was working on a small group of mixed media pieces, on Book covers, for a group exhibition titled In Our Garden - These unfinished pieces sat on my wall for quite some time. My intention was to use the sewing machine to work into them. To layer and collage. In the end it was using acrylic paint that helped resolve these 4 works to a conclusion that I felt reached their intention. I have popped them on to my shop page and will leave them there for a limited time.

Immersed

On reflection, although I intended to use these pieces to explore a general narrative about our relationships with garden spaces, In the end they are more personal than that. In fact they speak more about my own use of the garden space around me to escape. A refuge from Lockdown. A way to distract and control the situation. It seems to work that they are small and intimate.

My new Shed Studio surroundings, adapted whilst on lockdown, has provided some fresh inspiration and i’ve been working on a new group of paintings based on photos, drawings and small mixed media experiments. It’s proving to be invigorating doing something different. I did say at the start that I tend to move and shift focus. I think it’s oddly a way for me to be more productive.

Time Window - digital photographic exploration

The first couple of experiments just played around with the light and shapes. Also the surface. I didn’t have much In the way of board to work on so I just used some mount card to start with.

Then I moved on to thicker board. Exploring a more minimal approach. More space and less form.

Experiments on Board for Time Window

The larger paintings are on deep canvases. These are collages with thin painted layers of acrylic ink. I had been working on these at the previous studio at WaterHall Farm and when I saw the photos of the blind I realised how I could resolve these.

Time Window I , Mixed media on Canvas.

Next up, my plan is to explore and examine this imagery with some other approaches . I like the idea of a more 3 dimensional surface so Ive been building up and painting on a gesso board.

Work in progress, May 2020

Amongst the new ideas, and more experimental trials, I have also felt uneasy at leaving work unresolved from the Tracing Shadows Project I had been working on with Helen Terry. We have (Helen and myself) had some really good online conversations since lockdown, exchanging ideas and comparing how we are getting on. We were so close at finally getting to reveal our work, but will just have to wait a little longer. Our project Catalogue for Tracing Shadows was nearly completed and we love how it looks, and we have included lots of pictures from our studio sessions.

Photopolymer plate inked up at Digswell Arts print studio, SJT

With that weight of the ‘unresolved’ on my mind I managed last week to revisit some of the prints I made during the first phase of the project. Although they are quite varied they have in common a small intimate approach and they represent a stage where I was exploring new plates and methods. Now that I’ve finished them I feel pretty chuffed with how they look. I have popped a few of them on my shop page and will be adding more later on.

Managed, detail. Collagraph etching with collage, graphite and acrylic ink.

Last few weeks

The last few weeks have been bizarre, unsettling and transforming. Initially, like many of us, I felt ‘at sea’ emotionally and practically. It was very hard on Mothers day to not be able to give my mum a hug and in April not be able to celebrate my son’s 25th birthday with him, face to face. We have tried very hard to make the best of the new situation though. I’ll admit its been ‘up and down’ . The daily news continues to speak of heartbreak.

Shed interior

One of the first challenges was adapting to working from home instead of going along to the wonderful printing space at Digswell Arts.

In addition when we all went into Lockdown I had just joined the membership of Omega Printmakers in Portsmouth so it was gutting to miss out on my first visit, to begin using the spacious print rooms. Hopefully I won’t have long to wait before using the lovely etching press there.

There are however a few small morsels of positives from our current Lockdown. One is adapting our small garden shed, at the bottom of the garden, into a temporary Art Studio space. The lack of heating or electricity hasn’t stopped me from making good use of this cosy space. A lovely long dry and sunny spell helped.

Shed exterior

It’s especially good for photographing work. Ironically better than any space i’ve used before. It was fun converting the shed, though my husband is missing his den for dumping garden stuff. We did have to buy another small storage shed !

Book work in progress on desktop

A second key outcome from our ‘New Normal’ is that it’s finally given me the motivation and time I needed to set up an Online Shop. Squarespace make it very easy, which helps my non computer brain. Like many of my artist friends I am experiencing a sudden loss of income from exhibitions, events and workshops. For that reason I have joined the Artists Support Pledge Initiative set up by the Artist Matthew Burrows. This is a pledge to purchase another artists work when an artist reaches a target of sales. Its very straightforward and I have been eyeing up other Artist’s work, eager to purchase some pieces on my wish list.

Seeds, Monoprint and stitch on Gampi Tissue; mounted on sketchbook page

To start with I have been going through some past sketchbooks and putting pages onto the shop site. I have also identified some ‘one off’ Prints, in my folder of recent work, that I will be photographing and putting on the site.

After a few weeks of not making much work, and the only creativity being in the form of baked food, it’s good to be in a studio (of sorts) again. I am currently working on some ideas around the theme of Navigating These Times.

Driven by a desire to work through a mix of responses to the current times caused by this Pandemic, I decided to start a new sketchbook documenting, writing, drawing and making. In essence a series of drawings and words that respond. Im trying to avoid over thinking and just go with more ‘gut’ responses and what works and feels good to do.

The idea for this theme was initiated by Fellow Forge Artist Fiona Chaney. As a group of artists we wanted to turn our current experiences into a group of work that we share and, at some future time, put on show at the studios. Posting regularly on Instagram with the hashtag ‘Forge Artists Navigating These Times’ - it’s lovely to see the work being made from their home environments.

New skills I have acquired during our ‘Lockdown’ have been plentiful and keep on coming. Including: how to send Internationally Tracked Parcels: how to apply loads of Thermal Insulation Foil to the shed interior and then hide said shiny foil; How to host our weekly artist Zoom meetings; How to teach my college students remotely using Whats App; How to make a video of myself showing my mum, (who has quite rightly shunned immersing herself in the overly online world ) how to use Zoom on her iPad ; a tricky manoeuvre that involved several devices, hubby as assistant cameraman, and several attempts, plus a very strong cup of coffee for both of us. :)

Blind and Olive Tree, shed interior.

Postponed to September

Our Exhibition Tracing Shadows has been postponed to September. Our new dates are 4th - 9th Sept 2020. at Snape Maltings

Helen and myself are pretty gutted to have to reschedule our exhibition to later In the year. We were so close to revealing the work from our shared project and were feeling very excited to show what we’ve been up to.

The Silver lining is that the organisers of Snape Maltings are able to offer us a week at the start of September 2020 in the same gallery space, The Pond Gallery.

We are crossing fingers our situation and current lock down in the Uk will have been relatively lifted by then.

Viable detail , Photopolymer etching with collage & stitch.

I shall continue to work on ideas and projects and of course we now have more time to ‘polish’ our Publication to accompany the exhibition. This publication will include a section devoted to text and images from a ‘conversation’ with Kailas Elmer. Kailas is the Publisher and Founder of Trebuchet Magazine and has been generously offering his time and knowledge to collaborate on a ‘conversation’ with both of us to help us ‘draw out’ some of the influences, methods and experience from this project. Its been a real pleasure working with Kailas.

I shall also be working from home for the foreseeable future and today I have been making some changes to my small flat to ensure it’s a bit more practical to continue my ‘making’ .

We all have some really difficult challenges in the weeks ahead. For now its ‘regroup’ and ‘chin up’ .

Stay safe everyone. x

Risk mapping, Current work in progress using Photo polymer etching, collage and stitch on paper.

Cyanotype print with photopolymer etching and stitch on paper.

and lastly.. Helen and myself will continue to collaborate and work on ideas and development. You can follow Helen’s Work on her Instagram Page.

Also… Determined to keep some sort of routine we at the Digswell Arts Forge Studios will be making and sharing a piece of work per week online.

We are calling this project Forge Artists Navigating These Times.

We hope to display all the work we make, at the Forge studios, when this is all over. You can follow this project on the Digswell Arts Instagram page

Tracing Shadows

I am delighted to announce that myself and Helen Terry will be showing the work from our collaborative project at Snape Maltings this Easter 2020.

Time - at the Highgate Gallery

Silent Cover has been selected for the upcoming Printmakers Council Exhibition at Highgate Gallery, based at the Highgate Scientific and Literary Institute in London.

This work was produced during a period of time spent studying Wicken Fen Nature Reserve and takes inspiration from ways at looking at this unique, magical wetlands landscape.

‘Time’ is an exhibition featuring work by members of The Printmakers Council and promises to be a showcase of contemporary printmaking. Many wonderful printmakers taking part.

Press release

Silent cover, Photopolymer etching, mono print, acrylic ink & machine stitch

Exhibition dates - February 7th - 20th , Highgate Gallery, Highgate Scientific and Literary Institute, 11 South Grove, Highgate, London, N6 6BS. Opening times; Tues - Friday 1 - 5pm / Sat 11 - 4 / Sunday 11- 5 / closed Mondays. Admission Free

Everyday Delight

Here is some news of current and upcoming events that I am involved with. Also a snippet about my recent experimentation.

Everyday Delight, 05/12/2019 – 28/02/2020, Free Space Project, Image by Karen Weik

Delighted to be taking part in this group Exhibition with a title that seems especially pertinent right now. An exhibition by Shutterhub Artists all about looking for the joy in the small things, finding the magic in what might at first appear mundane, and discovering the beauty in the everyday.

At Free Space Project, Kentish Town, London Kentish Town Health Centre, 2 Bartholomew Road, London, NW5 2BX. 05 December 2019 – 28 February 2020

Opening times: 8.30am – 6.30pm, Mon – Fri.
(Closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Years Day)
Exhibition Launch Event: 6.30-8.30pm, 05 December 2019
RSVP: info@shutterhub.org.uk

Flyer design; Jonathan Emmerson.

We will be holding a one day Open Studios event at the Forge Studios, Digswell Arts, on Sunday 1st December. Times are 11 to 4pm. Come along and meet the artists and see current work in progress. Festive Refreshments on sale. Free parking.

I will be there all day showing some of my recent mixed media work. Find out where we are and who else is here by checking out the Digswell Arts website

Boden Press, image from a day making a sugar lift etching plate with Helen Boden.

Last spring I attended a group of courses around the country led by some fascinating artists, to broaden my knowledge of traditional and contemporary printmaking processes. One plate I produced was an etching plate on copper, at Boden press, which involved markmaking with a sugar lift technique. Since then I have been mainly exploring ways to interpret these plates; I had made quite a few very different plates in the end but felt this was only a starting point. How you print with a plate can vary so much. In particular I have enjoyed layering imagery with different plates. Also cropping plates and adding to the resulting print with collage and ink. The fascination for me is with the exploration of the imagery and discovering different methods of translation. Other courses were at Ochre Print Studio, London Print Studio and Stoneman Press

Crossing I, etching and collage on Somerset satin.

Crossing i is one of the prints from this period of experimentation of method and context. This work is currently on show at the Ropewalk Gallery, Barton upon Humber till 1st December. A Printmakers Council selected group Exhibition.

Land Sea Sky, till 1st December,

Current Exhibitions this Autumn

I am very delighted to let you know about a group of exhibitions I am involved with this Autumn.

Home, Gallery at Home, Monmouthshire, Wales, 5th Oct - 19th October

I have 3 Digital prints selected for a group exhibition being organised by Shutterhub in aid of homeless charities.

“We’ve teamed up with the beautiful Gallery at Home in Monmouthshire, Wales to create an exhibition of photography called HOME, in support of homelessness charities across the UK. We asked photographers to donate images to raise money for in order to raise funds for Crisis, Shelter Cymru and Toiletries Amnesty, and help more people get the chance to know what home really feels like. Shutterhub press release

Photo Letchworth, Broadway Gallery, Letchworth, Hertfordshire, 21st September - 1st December,

I have had a Photogram print selected to be part of this exhibition showcasing artists, who are local to Letchworth, that use Photography in their work. This is accompanying “One day this glass will break’ , a Hayward Gallery touring exhibition ‘presenting ‘20 large scale photogravures by renowned artist Cornelia Parker’, ‘ also in the Main Gallery.

“Photo Letchworth, is a new photography competition and exhibition at the Broadway Gallery, showcasing the photographic talents from residents of Letchworth and the surrounding area. The 21 works currently on display were selected by a guest panel of judges from over 300 entries that were submitted over a 5 week period in Summer 2019”

“The guest panel consisted of award-winning photographer Chris Frazer Smith, curator Cassie Beadle (The Cob Gallery, London) and print sales specialist Anstice Oakeshott (The Photographer’s Gallery, London). Each entry was assessed against 3 criteria; experimentation, composition and subject matter. The public vote that will decide which photograph is awarded the 2019 Photo Letchworth prize is now open, visit the gallery to cast your vote.” Broadway Gallery press release.

Land Sea Sky, Printmakers Council, Barton upon Humber, 26 October - 1st December.

A recent print titled ‘Crossing I’ has been selected to be part of this group show happening at Ropewalk Gallery in Barton upon Humber. Especially chuffed that my print has been used in the publicity. Whoop de do.

This recent work is part of a series for an ongoing project with Artist Helen Terry titled ‘Tracing shadows’ I will be showing a larger group of unique works in Suffolk in Spring 2020.

Crossing I , sugar lift etching with collage.

Time to think - at Festival Pil'Ours in France - extended

I’m very delighted to hear that Shutterhub has been asked to extend the exhibition ‘Time to Think’ currently at Festival Pil’Ours in France, until the end of November 2019.

I love lots of the photos in this show, which is based at the seaside location of St Gilles Croix de Vie, and very proud to have had three photos selected for this event.

These 3 photos are all from a project based at Wicken Fen Nature Reserve which examine alternative ways of seeing and attempt to highlight the delicate and fragile landscape at this unique Fenland. These images were collected during a two year residency I undertook with Artist Helen Terry; 2016 - 2018.

Hide ii , Digital Photo

Time To Think includes the work of 145 female photographers from across 15 different countries, and a total of 435 images. The beautiful and sleepy seaside town of St Gilles Croix de Vie wakes up each summer for this vibrant and inclusive festival of female photographers, and this year Shutter Hub had the privilege of being be invited to curate the main festival exhibition. We’re proud to share powerful work, and to do it en masse – showing the strength in community and collaboration, and bringing photographers together in a sharing and supportive environment. excerpt from news post on Shutterhub

Exhibitions coming up

This weekend at Digswell Arts Forge Studios

Open Weekend 11 - 4

Sat 11 / Sun 12 May

Displays, workshops, demonstrations, tea and cake, Artists open studios.

Digswell Arts Print Studio set up for Open Studios May 11/12

Work by Jonathan Emmerson, Mary Down, Jane Glynn

Print room hanging day - lunch break

work by Mary Down

Also, coming up

Contemporary Art + Ritual

Crypt Gallery, St. Pancras Church, Euston Road, London, NW1 2BA

Dates; 16 - 21 st May

Times; 10 - 6 each day.

Encompassing sound, light, paint, dust, wood, thread and more, the group show reveals ritual to be an expression of human life that is undergoing a process of constant reinvention. The Crypt’s atmospheric brick vaulted passageways add to the theme and will take you on a fascinating and unique artistic journey

More details about the Contemporary Art + Ritual exhibition:
https://artandritual.wixsite.com/mysite/artists + http://cryptgallery.org/events/
Accessibility: Regrettably there is no wheelchair access to the Crypt Gallery. There are steep uneven steps with a handrail leading down to the gallery. The floor of the gallery is uneven stone.

Rust print and Dye on Fabric

Photography and ink in Tin Light Box

Meditative, demanding, repetitive - Ad Reinhardt on Rituals.

Using photography, drawing and installation my recent work takes inspiration from investigation into the fragile and splintered shoreline of the Essex East Coast. In particular I am interested in how the rituals of mark making and process can create a dialogue about these transient and enigmatic margins.

Excerpt from Exhibition catalogue, April 2019

Illuminations at Fenners Gallery & Project Space

Our exhibition in Letchworth is under way and will evolve over the week.

One or both of us will be there during the coming week and we have our Meet the Artists event this Saturday 27th April. A kind of closing event, although we are open one more day after this. We take the work down on Sunday 28th April at 4pm. A lovely steady trickle of visitors so far and with some meaningful conversations. We’ve been managing to get a few photos from the show and will be continuing the record the show as it evolves.

Helen has put together a statement which wonderfully captures our project.

Beyond the edges,

Contemporary Art + Ritual

Excited and chuffed to be invited to exhibit with a fantastic group of contemporary artists this May.

At Crypt Gallery, St. Pancras Church, Euston Road, London. 16 - 21 May

Private view and opening event with all the Artists is on 16th May from 6 - 9pm.

Illuminations - Exhibition at Fenners Gallery & Project Space this Easter

This April Helen Terry and myself will be revealing current investigative and exploratory work in an Art Installation at the Fenners Gallery in Letchworth.

Illuminations will be part installation and part work in progress and will reveal current themes and lines of interest from our collaborative and ongoing project.

Our current work is drawn from a collective interest in ideas to do with fragility and transience in the landscape. In particular the fragile balance that exists between land and water.

Using photography, combined with assemblage and mixed media we will be installing, and working on , current work during the duration of the show. The Installation will evolve during the 8 day event and the closing event on Saturday the 27th April will be an opportunity to see completed work.

Visitors are very welcome to pop in at any time during the duration of the show from Friday 19 to Sunday 28th April and one / or both of us , will be there each day to welcome visitors.

The Fenners Gallery and project space is managed by Digswell Arts and located just behind the Broadway Gallery in Letchworth, a few minutes walk from the main shopping centre of the town and next door to a short stay car park.

Digital photograph on acetate with acrylic ink

This show throws a spotlight on our ways of working and collaborative process and we will have sketchbooks in the gallery space for visitors to see. Over the past 6 months or so we have been taking it In turns to work at each others studios, with the objective of encouraging more breadth to our work by sharing methods and approaches and thereby helping to instigate discussion on collective lines of interest.

Helen’s Studio July 2018

Although we were keen to avoid using a specific landscape location for this project we have enjoyed collecting imagery and inspiration from the coastline near to Helen’s studio. The many creeks and margins of Essex in particular have provided us with some dramatic and thought provoking sources and context for our developing ideas.

Helen at Bradwell, march 2019

Old Hide, Bradwell by sea, March 2019

The culmination to our project collaboration will form the basis for a travelling show of work in 2020, beginning at Snape Maltings Easter 2020.

For updated news on our work and project see our Instagram posts.

https://www.instagram.com/sally.tyrie

https://www.instagram.com/_helenterry

January reflections & Artist of the Month Feature

Its a very healthy and useful thing to occasionally reflect and ‘step back’ in order to check on the journey you are making with your work. I have been fortunate recently to have had that chance with the Digswell Arts Artist of the Month Feature

Current Sketchbook page - Photogram on matt paper

reinterpreting imagery from last years Installation at Wicken Fen nature reserve.

As part of this feature I got to reflect on, and highlight, some of the work i’ve been beavering away at over the past few months.

Small Photogram collages using machine stitch

These collages combine darkroom based photograms, that I have produced at Digswell Arts Forge Studios in Hertfordshire with machine stitch. Myself and a handful of other artists there were keen to explore our photography skills further and with a little bit of jigging we’ve been able to adapt a small space at the studios into a temporary darkroom space. I was also lucky to have lots of equipment donated by 2 very kind local artists who had collected an amazing stash of photographic supplies. It’s good to put it to use.

Photogram glue and tracing paper

Digital Photo, Leigh on Sea, December 2018

Digital image, near Burnham on Crouch, East Coast

Taking this exploration forward - my current work is being shaped by some new sources of inspiration.

On a recent photography trip with Artist Helen Terry, I collected a group of images that record the fragile and transient environment of the mudflats and creeks that splinter the coastal regions of the East of England.

We have also since followed this day up with a shared studio day. Helen and myself have been keen to follow up our exhibition and residency last year with more practical studio days so we have tried hard to squeeze in some time collaborating and working together in ‘the studio’

One of the drawings I produced from the day - ‘ghost’ mono print from carborundum plate , on paper

Coming Up

• Myself and Helen plan to have an exhibition of our studio work in the coming year. More to follow

• Open Studios at Digswell Arts - May 11/12 2019

Waterhall Studios - WINTER OPEN

I am delighted to announce 2 Open Studios events coming up in December

Waterhall farm, Whitwell. Photo credit - Graham Matthews 2018

Sunday 2nd Dec at 10 - 4

Saturday 15th Dec at 2 - 5

Studio view, Waterhall Farm, June 2018.

A rare opportunity to view inside the studios, see work in progress and meet the Artists at Waterhall Farm in Whitwell, Hertfordshire. SG4 8AF

Map Link

entrance to the farm via the B651 ; Whitwell to Hitchin Road

Free parking opposite the paddock / disabled parking next to Waterhall Joinery in the yard

I will be delighted if you can join me at our very special seasonal event. Please do come along if you can make it and enjoy a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie. You can also purchase hot or cold drinks and snacks at Emily’s Teashop which is open from 10 - 4 on Saturdays and Sundays.

Looking towards Whitwell, Winter 2016, Digital Photo

Also view the work and studios of;

Alex McIntyre, Fine Artist

Graham Matthews, Torus Photographic

Sarah Baylis, Textiles

Miriam Fraser, Fine Artist

also on site - The Linen Chest and Emilys Teashop