Todays News!!!
I’ve moved studios, I am now in larger studio, STUDIO 2
Come and say Hi, on Open Studio Day which is on each Wednesday from 1pm to 3.30pm. The address is :
Retford Arts Hub, Churchgate, Retford, DN22 3PA
Check out our Christmas Fayre which is presently running at The Retford Art Hub
Open six days a week, Monday – Saturday and half day closing on a Tuesday.
2020 is at the beginning of the year which hopefully is going to be fabulous. I have lots of ideas floating around with new drawings of a different style alongside some new maps. Connecting with nature, the past and present making our journey memorable with our #memorymaps of which I usually add one or two more each year as we discover new waterways. 2019 saw the London Waterways Map come into print, this year we are hoping to travel down the Oxford Canal and onto the Thames during the summer, thus making our way once more through London.
The new maps will have a Steampunk twist to them, alongside some steampunk birds which have already begun to take a little shape. The journey continues to take its twist and turns just like it has done from the beginning.
We hope to see you along the way once our plans which often are quite loose plans, come into being.
We love to meet the boats we read about.
The sights and sounds of London Town, today we met the Kinder Transport
July saw the hosting of a music event, hosted by the Record Deck at Mile End, London
The opening at The National Waterways Museum in Ellesmere Port on the 20th of July. It runs till the 4th of November, I have some pieces of work in there as part of the group exhibition Canal Art… not what you might expect.
I have been travelling on the canals and rivers of England and Wales on the ‘never ending journey’ on the ‘Wrong Way Round’ since January 2014. As it says on the tin… so to speak it is a journey of ‘Art & Travel’ recording, writing, drawing the things we see and the routes we take on that journey. I exhibit those findings as and when possible… in this case it is maps and wildlife which are influenced by milestones, time and scale.
Milestones, boundaries and maps.
Wildlife & maps
Instruments for measuring distances… old mapping equipment still in use today.
Boundary Stones
It is an eclectic exhibition with contributions from the Guild of Waterway Artists of which I am a member. Here are a few photos taken on the opening night.
Opening night 19th July 2018
A charming exhibition of the Waterways
18th March – 14th April 2018 10am to 5pm daily – Audlem Mill Limited, The Wharf, AUDLEM, Cheshire CW3 0DX
What’s On! Where we are today! I have 4 Illustrated maps in the Canal Art Exhibition at Audlem Mill over this Easter. It runs daily with the exception of the 23rd of March : noted closed for the day. Over the last two years I have been adding to an ever increasing collection of my illustrated maps. They feature history alongside our journey thus marking the extent of where we have been.
As a travelling artist, I am making a story of where we have been, it is a small selection of the routes we have made from Birmingham to Liverpool each one has their own journey to show.
The Four Counties Ring
The Cheshire Ring
The Back Country Canals
Pennines West
It is the first exhibition of the year with the Guild of Waterway Artists, and the first time showing of some new maps. The maps are Illustrated drawings, framed and are of varying sizes. All are for sale at Audlem Mill over the Easter period.
Over the year there will be new additions with some wildlife versions, if you keep an eye on my facebook page or my diary dates for new venues as they unfold.
Where we are at… January…. we are currently on the River Witham in Lincolnshire with rather a lot of twitchers about. We are sharing our stretch with a rare bird from Norway. The White Billed Diving Duck… no less. See link for more information on the sightings.
http://tinyurl.com/h8xfmj6
The weather is rather cold and blustery with white horses racing along… the river which has prevented us from moving today. Winter is a slower time of year with no boats to be had; except for us and the wildlife. The pontoon moorings rising up and down as the river levels change. So far so good the new moon saw us racing to higher ground due to the flood warnings; which in actual fact didn’t come, but better safe than sorry. I love being on the river, the wildlife can be so intriguing, we have a resident kingfisher which sits on the pontoon waiting for his opportunity.
This slower pace of life gives me time to start working on more drawings and maps. Currently on the drawing board is a Mandarin Duck, they are not native to the UK but all the same a spectacular resident which deserves its place on my memory boards. Hoping they will be finished in time for Audlem this Easter… a Mr & Mrs Mandarin as seen in Market Drayton last year. A bit late in coming but hey ho.. I do get there eventually. Which brings me on to maps… I make them whilst we travel; a recording of a journey, our journey. I call them ‘memory maps’ as that is exactly what they are; memories of a journey. The Plan : This year we are undecided on our route, we are hoping once we leave the river Witham to make our way to the Chesterfield Canal, then on back down the river Trent to Keadby, and onwards to Sheffield. My City of Culture where I studied for a Fine Art Degree. We haven’t been there by boat yet, so it is on the list of places to visit this year. Moving onwards over the Rochdale Canal and then the diary is open only to Braunston and the map is therefore uncharted as yet, with no dates for the diary except for the last weekend in June… where I hope there will be more maps to add to the Summer Exhibition at Braunston Wharf with the Guild of Waterway Artists. See link for more information of our current maps… for sale or for viewing. The little video / slide show is a little introduction to some maps which have sold as copies over the last few months.
The International Postcard Show 2017 – 13th January – 11th February
This is an annual exhibition which I enjoy being part of. As part of our journey I have produced a series of maps, of which I have used as part of this project. Producing 3 post cards specially for the Postcard Show 2017. My cards are for sale during the exhibition, with the unsold cards taking part in the international exchange. Which will be another part of their journey… International meaning they could be exchanged to anywhere in the world to participating exhibitors.
Photographs from the opening night on the 13th January 2017.
Surface Gallery
16 Southwell Road
Nottingham
NG1 1DL
Web: http://www.surfacegallery.org
Telephone: +44 (0) 115 947 0793
Mail: info@surfacegallery.org