PARTICIPATING ARTISTS OF THE 100 SQUARE FEET EXHIBITION

Experiences and ideas of some Artists who participated in the 'Hundred Square Feet' Exhibition- on till Sept the 7th.

   

    The 15x15cm 100 Installation... of 101 artists works and the 101 Boxes in the Halesworth Gallery Space 2016

                 

'Creative collaboration is awesome!.' Alicia Silverstone (1)

I thought it might be interesting to share the works, experiences and ideas of some of the artists who participated in the Halesworth Gallery's '100 Square Feet' exhibition, which was instigated and curated by the gallery's Paul Cope. I asked a number of artists to share and describe the creative ideas of their journeys... here are a few to start with, hopefully more will follow...

Artist: Ceri Thomson.

Oil Pastel and acrylic on panel.
By Ceri Thomson 2016.

This was a very interesting collaboration. It suited my recent practice which has involved making and re-making many versions of one photographic image to investigate its narrative qualities. I used a ciné film frame of a man proudly remodelling an old doorway as my subject - after all, I was re-modelling the panel of an actual door. I made my panel version of the frame using oil pastel on acrylic, which incorporated variations in the panel's texture.
The box works were printed individually by hand on tracing paper using acetate inked from a scanned copy of my watercolour painting of the same frame. I already know a few of the participating artists, and the panel unites my piece with the work of all the others. I am looking forward to seeing them all hung in the same space and finding out what they did with their panels, and how they made their 101 box works, when I make it over to the gallery in the next few days.


Artist: Peta Hillier.                              

The herald moth, depicted on the board, was chosen for its beautiful colours
and its ability to live in deep, dark and hostile environments.

Herald Moth Mixed Media on panel.
By Peta Hillier 2016.

It began a series of moth paintings that led to a world of curious names that provides a link to the past.
Whoever named these moths in the English
language observed closely and often with humour.
The herald moth is richly apparelled, a representative of a powerful ruler.
For contemporary times it is a barely seen creature, emblematic of climate changes and our lost connections.
So I see this moth as a potent symbol of the edge of extinction and also of beauty in dark times!

Artist: Lois Joy Thurstun.

The idea of recycling the door panels really appealed to me when I heard of the 100 Square Feet exhibition. I had no idea what I was going to do until my panel arrived in the post. Lying in my studio was an etching I had done of the Officers’ Room at Languard Fort.

Officers' Room, Acrylic on panel.

By Lois Joy Thurstun 2016.

It was a close up of the door leading into the room - so it seemed very apt to me - the door referencing the panel itself.I decided on layers of  bright bold colours which I could scrape away, showing the underlying colours - like the patina and layers of colour on the walls and doors at Languard Fort itself. The whole area of the panel was painted with white gesso first to hold the acrylic paints and the bevels made a natural frame for the painting so I left them white.

The 101 artworks were more daunting - there was a limit to just how much time ! wanted to spend, but in the end I decided to do batches of prints from an inked up chocolate box tray and then hand paint with watercolour three of the shapes on each print. Seeing all the prints lying on my studio floor gave me some good ideas for further work.

The entire experience of being part of this exhibition has been very rewarding!

Artist: Val Jones.

Looking at Another Place
When Sarah Bale invited me to submit work for the 100 Squares exhibition, I 
was at first a little reluctant as Halesworth is not exactly on my doorstop. But
when I looked into it online it did seem quite an interesting idea so I applied.

Looking At Another Place Mixed Media,on panel
By Val Jones 2016.

My rather beaten up piece of wood arrived with a big split in it…we had been warned that they were scrap pieces of wood. I decided that I wouldn’t try to fill the crack or sand the surface but would use it exactly as it was. It lay on the table for several days untouched as I couldn’t think how I could use it. Eventually I started playing around with the grain and used the flat reverse side as the grain was more pronounced there. 

I began by just washing over the surface with white watered down acrylic to seal the roughness. It immediately took on the appearance of the sea so I next used shades of greenish grey, soft blues and white. 

Then having established a scene I wanted to give it some scale by adding some detail. I remembered seeing Anthony Gormley’s mysterious figures on the beach and in the sea near Liverpool. He called it  ‘Another Place’. I thought the memory of these figures would give a sense of distance as well as scale so I proceeded to put five figures in with a fairly neutral tone of acrylic. I used water-based pens to denote shadows on the water and to outline the figures a little more sharply. 

I usually like to paint on much larger canvases or paper – even walls, so this restricted area was quite a challenge for me. I decided not to overwork it and anyway I had also to tackle the 101 squares as part of the deal. I called it ‘Looking at another Place’
101 Squares.

For this challenge I looked through a lot of old work on paper and realized I could reuse this by selecting small areas and cutting these to the correct size. Once I started I found this very therapeutic. I had a lot of A1 prints and water colour and acrylic paintings on good quality paper which proved ideal. Some of the work had been just stored away with no real purpose ….things which hadn’t quite worked and yet I hadn’t felt able to throw away as parts of them were OK. Once I got started I thoroughly enjoyed the process of editing and discarding bad work. It turned into quite a spring-cleaning occupation. 

When I’d finished all 101 I tied them up like a present and drove to Halesworth to visit the Gallery. I was very pleasantly surprised with the lovely old building and also enjoyed seeing the current exhibition by Margot Noyes. Shall definitely visit again.

Artist: Sarah Bale.

The prospect of being part of a new exhibition is always exciting but what made the 100 Square Feet show especially interesting is that 100 other artists were taking part. Each artist was sent a panel of wood and was then left to let their imaginations do what they wish with the wooden square.

The Blue Hour, Acrylic on panel.
By Sarah Bale 2016

I had only just finished my Fine Art degree at UCS in June, so I knew this was going to be a challenge. My mind had been focused on the uncanny and crime in the home. There’s No Place Like Home (my degree show) had been a dark exploration of female criminals and the home. For 100 Square Feet, I wanted to try something completely different but when you have been so focused on a particular subject for the last two years it can be tricky to adjust.

The first part of the show was to produce 101 small squares. Each square was to go in a box for every artist. The 101th box is going to be raffled off for the Sightsavers charity – a fantastic collector’s item with the money going to a great charity.

At first I tried drawing 101 images but I wasn’t happy with my pieces, so it was back to the drawing board! I decided to work in Photoshop as I often work digitally to come up with ideas. The great thing about Photoshop and similar apps is that you can manipulate and distort images. At a click of a button, lines, colour and a whole image can be changed.

My digital images are from looking at a photograph of Frida Kahlo. She is an artist that I find inspiring and her face is such a beauty. I layered and blurred Frida with poppies and textures. The end result is not Frida, as I have completely transformed the image, unless you want it to be Frida, of course. I made lots of different versions of my original digital art work and printed them for the 101 artist squares. It is from these works I created my panel design ‘The Blue Hour’.

I missed the private view as I was on holiday but yesterday I drove to Halesworth to see the exhibition. It really is wonderful to see a show which features 100 artists, all interpreting a wooden panel in a unique way. Whilst looking around I was struck by the diversity of styles, imagery and colour. If you do have time - go and visit the exhibition, it’s an excellent show in a beautiful gallery.                          

Artist: Rose Voutsas.

I came across 100 Square Feet when I emailed Paul Cope about finding venues around the coast to exhibit in. Paul invited me to take part in the exhibition and we agreed for me to send the work from Greece. I had met Paul in 2012 when I had my degree show at Norwich University of the Arts. He invited me to show at the gallery in 2013 where I partook in the show 'Conversations'.               

Yogis Playing, Acrylic on panel.

By Rose Voutsas 2016

For this exhibition I created 101 pieces 15x15cm which relate to my work which focuses onUtopias and Dystopias. I spray painted the background whilst others were created either by scanning spray painted objects or by drawing with wax crayons. The drawings are of little worlds and were made with felt-tip pens. The wooden panel that we also had to create was inspired by my recent preoccupation into yoga. I chose to use metallic and florescent colours for the background and the figures. I wanted the background to look tranquil and the figures to stand out thus I painted them in red. The title of the painting is 'Yogis Playing' and denotes how playful and creative my yoga instructors have been the past year and how much I love it as a practice. 

Partaking in the exhibition was very interesting as it challenged me to create and innovate. Travelling from Greece for the exhibition and viewing others work at the exhibition was very inspirational and something I wish to do more often. 

 

           Works on the Gallery wall by Sarah Bale, LJ Thurstun & Ceri Thomson.

The installation of 101 boxes holding a 101 artist's works.

With much appreciation for their contributions, and a big 'Thank you' to these artists who have shared their memorable experiences...now onto the next artistic encounter with art!

(Further information can be found on-www.100squarefeet.co.uk By Paul Cope)


Quote...

'As you navigate through the rest of your life, be open to collaboration...(  ).. Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life'. Amy Poehler (2)

Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/collaboration.html (1)(2)