February 15th, 2019

Its been a quiet start to the new year and a few application rejections from opportunities, but a chance for me to re-evaluate and get into the studio to play around with 'creating' My ice work continues but I've felt the need to 'draw' (in the broadest sense!) and produce work that remains in a physical way has been something I've been tackling. Limiting myself to ice as a drawing tool and refined clay and ground down charcoal as the drawing materials has produced interesting work. Much inspiration has come from the flowing of water within  streams and becks and trying to capture the natural flow and rhythm of this continued regeneration. The 'other worlds' created by natural sediment, stone and sand within rivers and streams have always been something I have wanted to play around with. As a child the physicality of wild water swimming, messing about in streams and building dams are activities that remain tangible to me know. The feel of the moss under my bare feet while running over the waterfall, opening my eyes underwater and experiencing the murky waters of the river while the sun penetrated the rivers surface have become special moments and memories I carry through my creativity today. Limiting myself to ice as a drawing tool and refined clay and ground down charcoal as the drawing materials has produced some interesting work. A lot of this work is a return to original aspects of my proposal for my MA and the innate  prehistoric need to express through the use of basic organic materials. Initially I wanted to try and produce work that visually remained 'barely there' but as the work has evolved more emphasis has been on the actual aesthetic physicality of the marks produced. Its been quiet a medative and enjoyable process enabling me to really loose myself in the motion and movement of these experimental pieces as they are made.
Our TCL exhibition has been extended at Coffee on the Crescent and continues until 28th February. This venture has been such  a success seeing all of us sell work as well as facilitated much conversation with customers and visitors. Plans for a residency between us on the East Coast of Yorkshire are being discussed for this year so something to look forward to in the coming months.
As I said previously, my Ice project continues developing with new works and ideas with every session of making. A recent possible opportunity to have my work as an album cover (which subsequently didn't work out :( )  confirms the value of these works; to have a piece considered has been a great honour. 
As I write this the sun is shining through the studio and there is a real hint that spring is on its way. The days are getting longer and I'm so looking forward to the energy the longer days generate and the chance to do work in the natural light of the day! 




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