I’m participating in my first ever Open Studios event this September. No, I’m not organised yet, and yes, I’m very nervous. Luckily I have two good friends and talented makers to keep me on track.
Memory and Dream – a Northamptonshire Open Studios exhibition of original textiles, altered books, mixed media and 3D art by Bren Boardman, Fi Bowman and Michelle Stanswood
Michelle Stanswood, Bren Boardman & Fi Bowman
Three local textile artists will be demonstrating their skills and sharing their creative processes with the public from a garden studio in Silverstone village during the Northamptonshire Open Studios event from 5th to 20th September, 2009. Bren Boardman, Fi Bowman and Michelle Stanswood all normally work individually from their own bases, but have combined forces to present a diverse and colourful collection of work inspired by the theme “Memory and Dream”.
The three women have distinct and varied styles and will interpret the theme as it speaks to them individually.
Bren Boardman’s vibrant dimensional hangings move and sway in the garden breeze, and on closer inspection, hold beautiful phrases from poems by Rudyard Kipling, Norman Gale and Walter de la Mare. Memories of school days reciting Our England is a Garden and other poems inspire the printed, painted and heavily stitched garden wall-hangings that will be on display.
“Many great poems relating to memories and the garden, such as When the rose is faded, memory may still dwell on, by Walter de la Mare, inspire me to produce large scale pieces full of colour and text,” says Bren. “Hanging the work in the garden gives it a sense of place and offers the viewer the opportunity to evoke their own memories of youth, love and bygone days.”
Fi Bowman creates illustrative textile pictures that explore the stories we share – the folklore, myth, legend and literature of our English landscape and the half-remembered connections to the past we can experience through them. Stories of faerie, goblins, woodland nymphs and green men are translated into stitched and painted pictures that attempt to capture the sense of wonder our ancestors felt at the mystical world that surrounded them. Fi says, “I am fascinated by the idea of the little mysteries of our heritage, the stories we believed as children and the potential truths behind them. That face you saw in the woodland leaves when you were six – did you dream it or was it a memory?”
Michelle Stanswood’s work encompasses abstract mixed media hangings, framed textile pieces and altered books, all of which place a strong emphasis on pattern, colour and texture. With a keen interest in the human condition, she works with diverse inspiration including family histories, vintage and ethnic textiles, and her own life experiences. For this event she is particularly interested in exploring memory in terms of how we remember, what we retain and memory loss. “Recent experience of observing a family member suffer the onset of dementia and relating this to my own treasured memories had led me to consider the impact of memory loss more deeply.”
Between them, the artists use an impressive array of techniques in their work including hand-dyeing and painting, screen and mono printing, discharge, image transfer, collage, paper and foil lamination, embroidery and quilting by hand and machine, as well as more traditional drawing and painting.
Bren experiments with neo-textile materials that don’t have the same properties as everyday fabrics, and particularly enjoys using an unusual synthetic woven fabric that can be painted, stitched and melted to create beautifully organic patterns, yet holds its shape, colour and texture to make exciting artworks.
Fi merges a love of figure drawing and painting with stitching skills learned through quilting and embroidery to create her pictures. Backgrounds are hand-dyed and painted, while individual figures are drawn and painted on paper before being transferred to fabric and applied to the background, where they are further stitched, painted and embellished.
Michelle combines a variety of skills, bringing together printed and discharged textiles overlaid with papers, metallic foils and other found and created materials. These are then further embellished with machine and hand stitch resulting in a complex surface revealing layered textures and fragmented images.
They will be demonstrating some of these skills together on Sundays 6/13/20 September, and individually on other days. Also on display will be work in progress, sketchbooks, preparatory work and samples, original drawings, and altered books.
The artists are excited to be able to share their working processes with visitors through Open Studios Northamptonshire, the largest visual arts event in and around the county. During the first two weeks of September each year artists invite the public into their studios to witness at first hand the inspiration and motivation that drives them to create.
For Fi, whose first Open Studios this is, it is a great opportunity to talk to the public about her inspiration, answer their questions about her work, and show her techniques. “Normally at an exhibition, people only see the finished work and wonder how it was achieved. But art isn’t just a finished product; it’s also about the journey the artist takes to get there. You can describe it, but there’s really nothing better than sharing the whole process you went through to achieve the final piece. I’m fascinated by other artists’ creative journeys and I hope our visitors will find ours interesting too.”
Michelle, whose studio they will be using for the event, participated in Open Studios last year. “At last year’s event I had a wonderful time meeting a fabulous range of visitors. We drank tea, ate cake and enjoyed conversation about art, textiles and the meaning of life!”
For visitors in the east of the county who find Silverstone a bit far, there is still the opportunity to see some work by the artists as selected pieces will be featured as the same time at The Benefield Wheatsheaf in Upper Benefield, near Oundle. Carol Greed, their Marketing Manager, said, “We’re delighted to be participating in the 2009 Open Studios and to be displaying such original work. The Benefield Wheatsheaf dates back to the 17th century and will provide an impressive setting for the pieces being exhibited and an ideal location to stop for lunch or refreshments.”
Work will be available for sale at both venues, and with options ranging from postcards and small prints to large original works, there should be something to suit most budgets. The Benefield Wheatsheaf offers a full restaurant and bar, and free refreshments will also be available at the Silverstone studio.
“Sharing our work, techniques and inspiration with visitors is one of the most exciting parts of being an artist,” says Bren. “All three of us have a grounding in textiles but are each diverse in our own interests and methods of interpreting a theme. Open Studios is the key event in our calendar this summer and we hope many people will come along to make it a wonderful experience for everyone.”
The Open Studio will be at 30 High Street, Silverstone, NN12 8US, and will be open Thursdays through Sundays, 12pm – 6pm, from 5th to 20th September. Demonstrations from all three artists on Sundays, and individually on other days. If you are interested in speaking to a particular artist, please contact them for dates they will be attending.
The Benefield Wheatsheaf is offers bed and breakfast accommodation, and is open daily for lunch and dinner in the village of Upper Benefield, on the A427 halfway between Weldon (near Corby) and Oundle.
