Alex McIntyre features in an article on the future of collaborative practice
Alex McIntyre: Our Place/Your Place
Alex McIntyre together with poet Vicky Wilson, offer one example of artists initiating partnership projects. From November 2011 to January 2012 at Brent Museum, they produced an exhibition: ‘Our Place/Your Place’ and used it as stimulus for conversations and creative workshops with members of the local community.
Martin Heaney looks to new collaborative projects run by artists, to examine the legacy of its practice.
Great Review of Jo Howe’s Liverpool Show: ‘For the Love of Books’
For the Love of Books, Huyton Gallery, Liverpool receives a good review courtesy of ArtInLiverpool.com.
Reviewer Vicki Maguire writes about Jo Howe’s (Digswell Arts Trust Alumni) work:
‘Jo Howe deconstructs and reimagines the formal components of the book itself, challenging its physical permanence by the removal of text and page in order to generate new layers of meaning – a visceral response based upon form as opposed to content, or to words which frustratingly remain unspoken in a broken chain of communication.’
Link to full review here, Show ongoing until 30th June 2012.
Print Workshop in June
print-workshop
Mono print and mark making techniques workshop
Saturday 23rd June 10.30 – 4pm cost; £45
A one day workshop which will cover a wide range of monoprint and markmaking techniques and media using the etching press.
Mono printing is an expressive and very versatile print process which is especially interesting when creating layered imagery. During the day you will have the opportunity to explore a range of ways to create a print using found objects, direct mark making and stencils. You will use oil based litho inks and have the opportunity to use a variety of artist quality paper surfaces. This day is an invaluable opportunity to familiarise yourself with the Digswell print studio as well as a fun way to learn techniques using this lively and expressive method of multi layered printmaking.
You can view some examples of prints achieved using mono print processes on Sally Tyrie’s website; www.sallytyrie.wordpress.com
For further details please contact sally tyrie on sally.tyrie@ntlworld.com
Testimonials
“We weren’t really sure what to expect but pleased that you had a very professional but relaxed approach. We weren’t apprehensive before hand as we both had various art related experiences and we are sure that even a total novice would have felt comfortable with the workshop. We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the day to anyone”. Pip and Paul Howe 10/02/12
“thoroughly enjoyed the day. The taster day was an excellent introduction to print techniques…Thanks Sally again, I was impressed by your organisation of the day and your teaching- relaxed but to the point and informative”. Caryl Beach 16/04/11
“Been to other workshops, thought facilities at Digswell were excellent ” Jill Taylor 21/04/11
Digswell Arts Trust Potters to demonstrate at Living Crafts
Living Crafts poster
Jo Atherton, Patrick Joyce and Marlene Tanti will be joining other Hertfordshire based ceramic artists at Hatfield House on Friday 11th May, 2012 as part of Living Crafts.
The three Digswell Arts Trust potters, based at Fairlands Valley Farmhouse in Stevenage will be demonstrating their craft and displaying artwork in the Herts Visual Arts tent.
Living Crafts is the largest show of its kind in Europe, attracting thousands of visitors each day and is an event not to be missed. The range of crafts is enormous with literally hundreds of designer-makers from across the British Isles.
Whether you are a crafts connoisseur or simply looking for a great family day out, Living Crafts is an experience not to be missed.
Please visit the Living Crafts website for more information and to book advance tickets. Also, don’t miss out on the chance to win free tickets to this wonderful celebration of crafts.
‘The World’s Wife’ featuring the work of Fellow, Suzy Drake
"dark tangled thorny place, lit by the eyes of owls,", Suzy Drake
Digswell Arts Trust Fellow, Suzy Drake is exhibiting in “The World’s Wife”, an exhibition being held at Obsidian Art until 30th April, 2012.
As part of World Book Night last 2011, artists and makers were invited to create work inspired by Carol Ann Duffy’s poetry anthology, “The World’s Wife” – poems based on history, myth & fairy tale retelling the tales from the female perspective – both humorous and irreverant.
The exhibition features over 50 artists, all inspired to create work in a wide mixture of styles and media, featuring paintings, printmaking, glass, textiles and ceramics.
Suzy is based at Fairlands Valley Farmhouse in Stevenage.
For more information on this exhibition, please visit the Obsidian Art website.
Digswell Fellow Jo Howe to exhibit at The Huyton Gallery in Liverpool 30th April – 30th June.
See recent article in Design Week about the up coming show. Link here in which three out of the six images selected for the article are Jo’s work.
Jo Howe distortion of time
The usual understanding of the term ‘artists’ books’ is influenced and typically known by popular works illustrated by artists. Books by artists today provide a challenge to great works of the past, as well as being an increasingly popular way in which artists explore the fusion between image and text, graphics and physical form.
Review of Exhibition by three Digswell Artists at Courtyard Arts in Hertford
Hertford’s unique history was the subject of a recent exhibition by Digswell Fellow Veronica Grassi, Digswell Printmaker Sally Tyrie and former Fellow Caryl Beach at Courtyard Arts in Hertford. The show ran for 10 days at the end of March and, according to Courtyard administrator Julie Scarr, “was very well received and appreciated with an estimated visitor number of 200 plus”. The private view was well attended with members of the Hertford Civic society and Digswell Chairman Tony Gaughan amongst the invited guests.
The exhibition received financial support from Digswell Arts Trust, Hertford Civic Society and Dicker Mill Investments. It was the result of a 5 month-long project undertaken by the artists who researched Hertford’s cultural heritage. Work on show featured video and photography by Caryl Beach inspired by the abandoned Dicker Mill and the importance of the waterways to Hertford’s past prosperity; a collection of 100 Miniature sculptures by Veronica Grassi combining textiles and found objects, referencing the influence of Alfred Wallace; A series of framed collaged prints by Sally Tyrie inspired by archival maps and the process of urban transition focusing on some of Hertford’s ‘Lost’ buildings.
The three artists, collectively called Praesentia, studied together on the MA Fine and Applied Arts at The University of Hertfordshire in 2008 and are now in the process of gathering ideas and locations for a similar show of work next year. ‘This was a very rewarding if somewhat challenging experience and we would like to find another context / location in the south-east where we will undertake a similar research based exhibition in 2013′.
Visitor comments:
‘A beautiful exhibition – really strong work ‘
‘Beautiful work – organic textures and surfaces; intriguing objects and patterns with depth reflecting the complexities of the ‘real’ world’
‘lovely quality work on a coherent theme. I really like the organic nature of it’
For more information on Praesentia exhibitions see the group’s website: www.praesentiadotorg.wordpress.com
May Day Open day at the Forge
Poster for Forge Open Day
Artists Studios at The Forge in Digswell will be open to the public on Sunday May 27th from 11am – 4pm.
Eleven artists will be displaying a variety of work including painting, sculpture, textile work and printmaking during the Open Day.
It’s a unique opportunity for people to come and have a look around, to see professional artists’ working in their studios and to buy original art works directly from the artists themselves.
Refreshments will also be available on the day.
Up coming exhibition ‘A Sense of Self’ at Letchworth Arts Centre
Exhibition Tuesday 22nd May – Thu 31st May at Letchworth Arts Centre
A Sense of Self uses visual arts practice to celebrate the ways in which we understand ourselves through metaphor, mark making, colour and form. It is a conversation on creativity, individuality and our experience of living. It presents the idea that every human being can access and express profound, beautiful and humbling works that reveal a commonality of human experience, desire and emotion.
Digswell Arts Trust artists Jo Howe (lead artist) and Alex Mclntyre (agent and artist) have joined forces in this exciting project with the Hertfordshire Creative Learning Programme and Lonsdale School, Stevenage. They seek to democratise the creative process by exhibiting work from pupils and staff at the school alongside work by Artist Fellows at Digswell Arts Trust.
The exhibition evolved as Jo Howe worked with pupils and staff at the school on a Hertfordshire Creative Learning project. She has inspired participants to develop personal works encouraging reflection and experimentation with a broad range of media. Participants engaged in professional arts practice through making and refinement of art works and group discussion, including visiting and talking to Artist Fellows at Digswell Arts Trust. The pupils subsequently invited fellows to exhibit with them in a mutual celebration of the diversity of creative practice.
We invite visitors to reflect on their own sense of self and access their individual creativity. Visitors are encouraged to share their experience with us by connecting with our exhibition during viewing and scheduled workshops, and by leaving drawings and comments in our interactive space.
Lonsdale School is a special educational needs school for young people with severe physical and neurological impairment.
The Hertfordshire Creative Learning Programme works with professional artists on creative projects using creativity to engage children and young people in learning.
Digswell Arts Trust is an innovative charity that for over 50 years has focused on artists in the early phases of their careers. Through its studios in Letchworth, Stevenage and Welwyn it provides studios for approximately 40 emerging artists or fellows.
Jo Howe works independently and within education. She specialises in working with children and young people with special educational needs. Her priority is to enable the personal voice and as much independent choice and action as possible. Mark making, personal expression, the finding of a voice and sharing of voices within a group context are seen as immensely powerful and valuable. Jo is keen that the curatorial style reflects accessibility of viewing for wheelchair users.
Jo’s personal art practice explores a frustration in communication. Her book works seek to express the difficulty of speaking without being heard, to listen either actively or ineffectively. This project and exhibition can be seen as an extension of key concerns: how do we explore and express notions of self through visual arts practice as an act of conversation?
Alex McIntyre works as an artist, creative facilitator, and project coordinator both independently and within arts organizations, the community and in education. She is passionate about demystifying the creative process, making it visible and therefore accessible to new and diverse audiences. Her personal practice is concerned with communication, exploring intuitive moments of interaction between individuals through gesture and movement in drawing, painting and sculpture. More recently, she has begun to use her own work as a stimulus for audience engagement within exhibitions. She is working with an evolving exhibition model so that the space lives and changes through audience interaction.
The Fenners Building, Letchworth
Work on our new studios is now well underway with plumbing, electrical and heating services currently being installed. We feel very good about the building which has excellent qualities of light and it’s location at the heart of Letchworth will be valued by all Fellows working there.
Applications for studio space at Letchworth continue to be welcome.
