The Winner of 'Artist of the Week' is Adam Higton!

Congratulations!

Adam Higton is a BA Fine Art graduate from UWE, Bristol 2008

Adam Higton’s work is based around themes of revelry and mysticism.  He marries his innate passion for drawing with strong inspiration from his own personal spiritual experiences.  These are reconstructed and re-told through the creation of his woodland characters.

His interest in folk religions provides a key platform to further explore notions of everyday life by creating a sensation of magic from the mundane.

A night at the library

In 2008 Adam had his first solo exhibition at the Detroit Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden and his second in 2010 at Analogue Books in Edinburgh. 

He has also recently formed the Jovial Woods Artist Book Collection, with the intention of hosting one-night events, in small local environments such as village halls, libraries and bookshops. Here a special collection of limited edition artist’s books including artists,illustrators and musicians will be exhibited.

To see more of the artists work please visit:  www.yulebringer.blogspot.com

Interview with 'Artist of The Week' Georgina Hoar...

1- Why art?...

Why not? :) ... Since a VERY young child I have been really into art.  My mum always says that the first things that she bought me as a child were pens and paper.

I've always been into craft, painting and photography! It is a great way to express yourself, if you feel words cannot be used. It is also a great way to enjoy yourself! If I’m not having fun, then I’m not creating a piece of art!

2- Will you travel to space?

Depends how far!! And if I can get there and afford to get there! *laughs* I'm quite good at asking for help, so I’d get there some how!

3- Yellow makes you feel…

It does, well certain types of yellow, like baby sick yellow!! *EW*

4- What is your biggest artistic challenge?

Doing my (half an) 'art car' last year. And this year I aim do a whole car… that will definitely be a challenge!

5- What can't you imagine?

I always can ;)

6- What is your most inspirational day of the week?

Sunday! My only day off! 

 7- Can you give 3 objects that come to mind with the word ‘delicate’

Feather, Leaf, Life.

 8- If you could be a fruit what would you be and why?

An Apple- shiny on the outside, sweet and sometimes sour on the inside! 

9- What causes artistic blocks? What do you do to solve them?

When you ask people to talk about your work, or to look at your work and describe it! (It makes me think too hard!) .. How do I solve them? Go home, relax, watch some TV, and start again for another day!!! 

10- What do you wish for tomorrow?

That my Triumph Spitfire passes its MOT so I can finally insure and tax it, and then get PAINTING! 

Good luck to Georgina and her artistic future!

This weeks winner of 'Artist of The Week' is Georgina Hoar

Congratulations!

Georgina Hoar is a 22 year old Art Student from Cambridge School of Art.

Georgina's artwork started off by looking at texture, colour/lack of colour and the use of old and recycled materials.  In doing so, she discovered a particular interest in used old tyres.

In June last year, a trip to the Le Mans 24 hour race in France provided another discovery...her love for the BMW art car.  Once back at home, this encouraged her to research and delve deeper into the production of art cars.

Summer last year granted the time to experiment and work on her own VW Beetle.  In the middle of restoration, Georgina decided to paint sections of the car panels and was deeply inspired by the outcome.

After this creative process, Georgina decided to further explore the significance of old car parts, and bought 3 VW camper dials, a feature that is not typically sought after by your everyday car part collector.  This extended her mode of creative production where she then implanted the redundant objects into Glasswax.

Working with a variety of materials including Vinynamold, Georgina has artistically transformed the existence of the diffused objects into delicate Glasswax sculptures. 

Interview with the artist of the week - Miss Annabel Dee!

1-What excites you most about creating ceramic pieces?

I suppose its the fact that in the back of my mind, I think they're gonna be around a lot longer than an ephemeral photograph or piece of paper - you see alot of ceramics on the Antiques Roadshow don't you?  It's the idea that they can be enjoyed long after I'm gone - because I use photographs and illustrations to perhaps portray a story or an event, its nice to think these memories will live on. 

2-Are they ever intended to be fully functional?

Yes! They are fully glazed inside and out, so if you wanted to you could shove a bunch of flowers in there, or put them by your door as an umbrella stand perhaps?!  The function intended is decorative, but its up to your imagination how to use them!

3-How do you come up with your playful titles? 

Once I've decided on a theme, and usually after I've made the actual collection, I'll pick my mum, dad and boyfriend's brains and between us we always manage to come up with something which relates to the theme!  I like to use titles which are catchy and easy to remember.  With 'Slugs, Snails & Puppy dog Tails' I thought it was appropriate, because its an old traditional nursery rhyme about boys and girls and the surface decoration was suggesting how quickly children grow up

4-What value do you think your art offers the artworld?

I think there's alot of emotional attachment that comes with my work, because I use photographs they tend to evoke memories of certain eras etc which are relevant and affect everyone.  As I said before, my aim is to keep memories alive burnt into the surface of the ceramic forever, so to the owner, I'd think the vessel would be extremely valuable.

5-If you were a shape which would you be?

I think I’d have to be a crescent.. because I like sleeping, and that’s kinda a sleeping kinda shape…no?

6-Can you quickly list five words that rhyme with blind?

Find

Kind

Mind 

Orange rind

Dined 

Phew, that was actually quite hard!

7-Name 3 artists whose work you find most captivating

Martin Parr – there’s just something about the colours and the subjects he uses, I love how the dreariness of the subjects just doesnt seem to matter and the photographs come alive!  I particularly like his seaside photos, maybe because I live by the sea and his 'Bored Couple' collection - brilliant!

David LaChapelle - I love the colours he uses, I love his sense of humour, all be it slightly dark, I heard somewhere that he actually builds all his sets in his New York studio, everything you see in the photograph is there - nothing is photoshopped in.

Barnaby Barford - He was one of my tutors at university, but I still find his ceramic pieces.. bizarre! But in a good way! 

8- Are there any particular songs that stimulate your creativity?

Hmm.. I wouldn't say any one song stimulates my creativity, but I do like listening to music while I work, especially whilst in the studio doing the manual stuff like slipcasting and glazing, it keeps me upbeat and keeps me going - I'll perhaps have a mix by Fake Blood on or if that gets a bit hectic I'll find something else I can (guilt free) sing along to.

9-What is your wish for tomorrow?

That it is as sunny as it was today and not rainy like it was yesterday.. and maybe a little bit warmer.  Oh! Or perhaps that some famous agent is reading this interview and thinks my work is amazing and snaps me up! Can dream ey?

10-Ask yourself a question and answer it....

Could 2011 be the year of miss annabel dee*

ABSO-BLOOMIN-LUTLY!

Good Luck to Annabel! 
Check out her website on www.missannabeldee.co.uk

This week's Winner of 'Artist of the Week' is Miss Annabel Dee

Congratulations Annabel Dee!

Annabel graduated in 2009 from Central St. Martins with a First Class with Honours degree in Ceramic Design.


In 2008 Annabel received an Ethos Housewares Design Award for her surface designs and was dubbed 'the next Grayson Perry' by the Evening Standard magazine.  She has exhibited in London to New York.


The mould making, slipcasting and the decoration are all done by Annabel, Her vessels feature a range of creative mediums combining surface, graphic design and photography along with ceramic qualities - relief and own recipe glazes which produce unique and thought provoking collectibles.

Slugs snails 2

Having come from a graphic design background, Annabel loves merging old ephemeral photographs and illustrations with her own pen and ink drawings.

Slugs Snails Group

They Grow Up So Quick

Records Insteada Bands alternate view

Fancy A Quickie

Banana King 2nd Edition

Creating a narrative is highly important for Annabel when she is creating a piece.  She wants people to look at her work, and each time find something new which they hadn't noticed before.

Her inspiration lies in her past.  She believes it is more important than ever nowadays to remember our heritage and our background.  We are beginning to forget our 'roots' and our own personal histories and forget that it is these that shaped the world in which we live in today.

Other inspiration includes wandering around London for example - by the time Annabel has meandered down avenues and alleyways she finds that she has gathered a wealth of ideas, captured by photographs or little doodles or perhaps flicking through old family photo albums, embarking on nostalgic journeys, providing a narrative to the good old days.

Interview with Artist of the Week winner, Henry Jackson Newcomb.

1) When did it first dawn on you that you wanted to become an artist
or have you always known?

I was brought up in a very artistically rich environment, my mum and granny are both painters and my dad runs a 2nd hand bookshop aswell as painting a bit himself. I have always had an interest in the arts but growing up I tried to shun away from painting and 'fine art' and immersed myself in music and sound instead.

After my foundation year I went to Middlesex to study a BA in Sonic Arts but realised it was more suited for music tech and production, rather than the 'art + sound' work i was interested in. I finished the first year then moved to Norwich and started a Fine Art course here which i'm now in the final year of. It took me a while to get back into making work, but in the last 18 months I've become increasingly active and now am stuck with thinking about not much else except my practice.

2) Do you have any other passions other than art?

I have a solid passion for music, I DJ, produce and have run club nights in Norwich for the last two and a half years, this has become my job whilst at uni and imagine it will continue after. Its an amazing thing to be able to get paid for, although its taken my up until the end of 2010 to work out how to balance the late nights with uni.

I'm also part of the Hush House collective (www.hush-house.blogspot.com) which is mainly a music blog but has branched off to clothing and now we're launching a couple of club nights in Brighton and Barcelona, the blog has brought us many opportunities and we plan to take it as far as we can.

3) What did you get up to on the weekend?

Was working on my Research Report (dissertation) on Friday, then gave over saturday for a nice reunion of old housemates and people i met on foundation, went for a meal and darted round a fair few bars in town, sunday was recovery.

4) Have you made some New Years resolutions?

Read more, have a large list of books i'm slowly working through. Despite being brought up in a bookshop I havn't read that much for the last few years, maybe it was a book overload in my childhood.

Turn down DJ set offers, have been playing once or twice a week for the past 6 months and should probably cut down a bit and focus on uni work. i enjoy it too much though.

5) Do you have any excitable plans that you're looking forward to in 2011?

I'm currently working on a project called SAVORR which i plan to launch in March and then run as a monthly event from May onwards after I graduate. Savorr will be a one-night-only event made up of an open submission exhibition alongside a show of a selected artist or collectives work. 

There will also be music and it'll hopefully give em a chance to push music i'm interested in thats not suitable for playing out in Norwich, (the more chilled out experimental stuff).

Finally i can merge my event running in with my art practice and my producing of work with my interest in the curatorial role. I'm getting excited.

6) If you could be anywhere right now where would it be?

Probably back in the studio, they close the uni at 7:30 and I'm very much a night time worker and am always getting going from 5:00-7:30.. there isn't many other people around then so can understand why they close up..

but its nice and i can turn all the other lights off and pace around and put music on.. it works for me.

7) Who has influenced you the most when you are making art?

Roman Signer is my all time favourite artist, his work made me think that my broad and odd practice wasn't quite as odd as it was starting to seem. He's a creative genius and i strongly advise anyone to check him out.

Also a few close friends have given me alot of push and feedback over the last couple of years that i will be always grateful for.

Apart from that.. mainly coffee and the music i listen to when making art, it changes the way i think and work dramatically.

8) Any plans for after you graduate yet?

I pulled my main club night in November which i had been running for 2 years, was a big move but i needed to spend less time promoting and more time working.. so i'm looking forward to relaunching that as a monthly event as well as launching the Savorr monthly event.

I've also put my name down for a studio at Gildengate House in Norwich which is run by Outpost gallery. I had a studio there over the summer to let myself carry on working on a larger scale and for the time i was there it was amazing and gave me somewhere to look forward to working at when i graduate.

9) What are you listening to at the moment on your i-tunes?

too much...

James Blake, TV On The Radio, Mount Kimbie, Soom T, Deadboy, Koop, Velour, Lady Chann, Gorillaz, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Starkey, Dark Sky, Juilo Bashmore, Ramadanman, Buckshot LeFonque, Cat Power, Antony & The Johnsons, Portishead....... 

my taste varies..

10) Where will your next project be taking you?

I'm currently working on Eclipse 1, 2 & 3, which I'm hoping to exhibit before I graduate. Also trying to find a brand new bath that fits my criteria and doesn't empty my bank account, which i can use to make Plethora; a bath that is almost overflowing but continues to empty at the same amount it fills up at.

Thank you Henry, it's been very nice getting to know you a bit. 

Do keep us updated with all your successes and keep up the great work.

If you're ever in London during the first week of the month - pop down for First Wednesdays!

Take care and all the best

- team at Salon Contemporary

Winner is Henry Jackson Newcomb

Congratulations Henry!
Henry is in his 3rd year studying at Norwich University.

"I want the viewer to experience the experience of art".

'I aim to escalate the opportunity for my art to be experienced in a way that is personal and memorable to the viewer, whilst also developing the creative concepts contained in the work'.

'I also have a keen interest in the roles of the artist and the curator in relation to the displaying of art, and how the creative possibilities introduced to the curatorial character have enhanced the development of the artist as a curator.'

Newcomb's work results from a 'high paced stage of studio experimentation, toying with an encyclopaedic array of materials, new relationships and reactions appear between objects, materials and notes of ideas and concepts.' 

'Producing work through an interdisciplinary selection of mediums encourages me to keep myself fresh with ideas, bending concepts and designs through different materials nd areas of artistic practice'.

Check out Henry's blog:

www.henryjacksonnewcomb.tumblr.com

Interview with Daniel Bourke..

1) Which artist or artists have inspired you the most in your aesthetic/medium?

At the moment I have been really inspired by Carlos Daniel Donjuan his mix of painterly styles in his portraiture has helped me to develop the way in which I build up my own still life paintings. 

2) If you didn't have to have a job to survive, what do you think you would be doing instead?

Painting in the cote d'azur. 

3) Is art you're biggest passion?

Yes 

4) What music are you listening to at the moment?

Audioslave, Bon Iver, and Brett Dennen

5) What's your fondest memory as a child?

Visiting MOMA in new york.

6) If you were prime minister for the day what would you change?

Make the Tate Modern dedicate an entire floor to showcasing emerging new artistic talent.

7) Where would you live if not in Britain?

Somewhere warm and sunny.

8) Did Santa bring you anything particularly cool this year?

A funky new scarf.

9) If you could give the same advice to anyone, what would that be?

Follow what you believe in no matter what other people say.

10) Do you have any New Years Resolutions? if so, what are they?

To live for the moment. 

Many thanks 

Daniel Bourke

This Week's Artist of The Week Winner is Daniel Bourke




London based recent graduate artist Daniel Bourke is a contemporary painter with imaginative works that play on geometric pattern, interior and exterior space and are dream-like and illusive. His paintings deal with a range of formal elements from abstract expressionism to classical still life painting and remind us a little of Karen Kilimnik or Matthias Weischer. It is important for Bourke that his paintings demonstrate his formal skills as an oil painter as well as his love of the chaotic and abstract.  

Still Life 1 recently won Bourke the Celeste Prize (www.celesteprize.com) and is about the relationship between object and self. It explores both abstract and gestural mark making as well as traditionally painted objects built up in glazes of oil paint.