Vanessa Stone : November 2012

Tuesday 20 November 2012

"Artisan" exhibition at Tunbridge Wells Museum and Art Gallery

Here is some more of the new pieces I prepared for "Artisan" - an exhibition of artist makers works at Tunbridge Wells Museum and Art Gallery. I travelled down on a bright Friday, getting up at the crack of dawn to avoid too much traffic on the Dartford Crossing. I have wanted to go to Tunbridge Wells for a very long time, to see the very famous Pantiles. It's such a beautiful town, and on a day like this, it was magical.

The pieces below are all A4 in size.You can see some fantastic photos of the show HERE - on David Hodgkinson's Photography website. There really is some excellent work on show in the exhibition, a real celebration of the hand-made...

You will see that these new pieces have a different feel... I have been bolder in the images.... and a bit quirkier too. That's my legs in the stripey one...

"Warrior Woman" ©Vanessa Stone

"Being in Love" © Vanessa Stone

"Stripey Tights" © Vanessa Stone

"Dahlia and the Cambridge Bicycle" © Vanessa Stone

To visit the museum and art gallery, here are the details:

Tunbridge Wells
Museum and Art Gallery
Civic Centre
Mount Pleasant
Royal Tunbridge Wells
Kent
TN1 1JN
Telephone: 01892 554171
e-mail: museum@tunbridgewells.gov.uk

Monday - Saturday: 9.30am - 5.00pm
Sunday: 10.00am - 4.00pm

Closed Bank Holidays and Easter Saturday

Admission free

Take one paper witches hat and a tail - Stonehill School Art Club, Hallow e'en drawings

At Stonehill School Art Club I have been trying some new approaches to get the students to be more creative and have a little more freedom for their imagination to be lose. For Hallow e'en I simply gave them each a cut out paper witches hat and tail. It was for the children to work out what to do with them. We had a little discussion... and made some plans, and then the children got sticking and drawing. Only one child got stuck... she didn't want to do a cat, so I suggested the witch was part witch-part cat, and that went down well. Children often like absurd things....

Wire and Tissue creatures and sculptures - Art Skills Club, Letchworth Art Centre

This week at Art Skills Club at Letchworth Art Centre, the students worked with wire and tissue to make little mini sculptures and creatures. The wire we used was very flexible, easy to cut with scissors and had real challenges in making it look like something realistic! The students did so well.

Wire and tissue sculptures and creatures

Pigment and eggs!! - Egg tempera session at Art Skills Club at Letchworth Art Centre

At Art Skills Club, the club I run for 11 - 16 year olds at Letchworth Art Centre, I have been on a quest for the students to work with the best materials I can get my hands on. I brought in my own pigments for this session, along with eggs, vinegar and emulsion sized paper. The students had never seen real pigments before, let alone painted with them, so there was a lot of oooh's! and aaah's! at seeing just how strong and intense the colours are.

The students got to split the eggs to get the yolks, mix in water and vinegar and start to work in the dark layers up, egg tempera is all about dark tones to light. It's a naturally streaky paint to use, and needs a great many layers to build up to get the richness of egg tempera, but at least the students got to experience the feel of self made paint. It was a great session to run....

Monday 19 November 2012

Affordable Art Fair Hampstead - new works on show with Byard Art

For the first time, Byard Art took my work to Hampstead Affordable Art Fair and it was a chance to make some new Cambridge pieces as well as some quirkier ones... can you see my legs cut as paper? I was so pleased when I made these... they made me smile so much. I must do some more, and gets tights shopping!

Working like a demon....new smaller, affordable pieces

I have been working like a demon in the last few weeks. There was all the new work for Affordable Art Fair Hampstead, then 12 new pieces for the "Artisan" exhibition at Tunbridge Wells Museum and Art Gallery that runs until 6th January....and now I am making new smaller, affordable pieces which will be sold on my website.