Stories of sailing and the sea .. The Jolie Brise, a new stamp collage in progress

The Oxfam shop in Stroud has some great bargains! I picked up an interesting book last week called "Jolie Brise - A Tall Ship's tale" by Robin Bryer.
Briefly, she was launched in 1913 at Le Havre and was in her time a pilot boat, and carried the Royal Mail, rescued the crew of a burning ship and won the Fastnet race three times!

The very first chapter starts with a quote I love, "What people really like are stories about sailing and the sea!"  I have found this to be so true.  Over the years, I've made several stamp collages based on boats and ships of many types and although most of these have now sailed off to new homes, you can still see them on my website www.rachelmarkwick.co.uk  under the SHIPS heading!
I thought it was rather appropriate that Jolie Brise at one time carried the Royal Mail, as my version is of course made from stamps!

I hope to have the picture finished in time for the  Open Studios festival in May in which I will be taking part, opening my studio along with many others in the Stroud area on Saturday 6th - Sunday 7th and Saturday 13th - Sunday 14th  from 11 - 6 . Hope to see you!

Cotswold Essence (Summer edition) features my stamp collage work

I was delighted to be be invited to feature in Issue 39 of Cotswold Essence,  which came out at the end of May, for the June/July/August issue. It's a great free magazine which can be found in and around Gloucestershire and the Cotswolds. I've only recently become aware of this interesting and informative magazine through friends who recommended it and then just by chance Sue Smith, the editor, got in touch with me.
I've reproduced the article which appears on pages 66 and 67, and you can't find a hard copy of the magazine, you can  also read the magazine online  at www.cotswoldsessence.co.uk and click on the link for the latest issue with the pretty cover, by Gemma Dawks, a local photographer also featured in this month's issue.  So much to read in this lovely colourful magazine!

Balloons on stamps and over the Stroud valleys.

One thing that visitors to Open Studios like is visiting artists' homes as well as looking at the wide variety of art on show.  Like many of us who live in Stroud, we have the advantage of living in a wonderful area of the country and my own studio, attached to our house,  benefits from a wonderful view.

Yesterday morning, in preparation for the last week-end of this year's Open Studios, I got up early, woken by bird song and another fairly familiar sound, that of an air balloon inflating nearby! Looking out of the window I saw a brightly coloured balloon drifting gracefully across the valley in front of our house,  and then another, and another, and another!

 I grabbed my camera, flung the windows wide open and settled in to a chair to enjoy the spectacle!

Over the period of about an hour I watched them drift by, seeing  twelve following each other at one time.

I won't promise visitors here that they will see the air balloons, as it's often early in the morning that they are launched, but the scenery will always be here to admire!

Can't help thinking this would make a wonderful subject for a stamp collage.  Air balloons have indeed appeared on many stamps over the years and form a subject for thematic collectors. The USA have also recently issued this colourful set.

A Passage of Time - an exhibition by Millie Wood Swanepoel

I've said it before, but Stroud is such a great place to be if you are an artist or an art lover! We have the wonderful Site Festival and Open Studios to look forward to every May as well as regular art exhibitions in the Subscription rooms, Museum in the Park  and Lansdown art gallery.  Several local cafes and art shops also host exhibitions on their walls!
Currently showing  at Lansdown Art Gallery until 26th April is Millie Wood Swanepoel's, "Passage of Time".

It's an  exhibition of a wonderful collection of objects in a variety of media, including ceramics and found materials; an expression of her childhood in Zimbabwe.

If you don't manage to get there before it finishes, you can visit Millie's studio which is listed on Page 22 of the Open Studios Brochure (Venue 28). Unit G4 of The Old Convent, Stroud GL5 4BJ www.milliewoodswanepoel.com

Stamp Collecting is a great laugh ..

I've been a member of Stroud Businesswomen's Network, SBN, for almost two years now and I'm so glad I joined!  Each month I attend a meeting which takes place at The Old Lodge on Minchinhampton Common where members gather to network and promote our businesses, however big or small and it's always a pleasure to spend time with such a friendly  bunch of women as well as hearing inspirational  speakers who come in from time to time to help us on our way.

I had my greetings cards on display today and they were admired by a first time visitor, Kate Sharp or Vibrant Kate as she is known!  She runs Laughter workshops which must certainly be a great pick-me-up as we all know the old saying, Laughter is the best medicine. We exchanged business cards, and I was thrilled to receive hers, which she designed herself, having studied art and design at University. I love the postmark which reads:Eccentricity! She also told me that during her studies she had  designed a set of stamps featuring trees, so I'm looking forward to seeing those when we next meet up, hopefully during my forthcoming Christmas Open Studios event on the week-end of 23rd and 24th November.  Kate also possesses a stamp collection put together by her parents until she reached the age of 18, but has not continued with the hobby, although time may change all that!  I also made another new contact today among the group, and it turns out she is also a stamp collector.

Stroud Businesswomen's Network : www.stroudbusinesswomen.org.uk

Cheltenham Open Studios - including venue No 49 at All Saints Church, All Saints Road

Rose window by Edward Burne-Jones

It's not often I get to exhibit my work in such as beautiful location as this! As part of the Artshape team, where I assist with classes on a regular basis, I was asked to take part in Cheltenham Open Studios for the first time this year. All Saints Church is a very welcoming place and we met some lovely people this morning!
It's always a pleasure to steward a mixed exhibition and see other artists' work but the added bonus today was to see the permanent works of art which belong to this church, and the beautiful stained glass windows, including one by Burne-Jones.  The exhibition includes work by tutors, volunteers, and students of Artshape and provides the opportunity to see their work in a very spacious setting. The exhibition is open every day from 10.00 until 16.00 and runs until Sunday 16th June. (There is a service on Sunday morning but the exhibition will be there until the afternoon.)

This is as tidy as it gets! Open Studios in Stroud this week-end and next. See Brochure.

Tomorrow is the first day of the first Open Studios week-end in Stroud and my studio will be open to the public.  The organisers of the event always say that people like to see us as we are and not to tidy up too much, but I don't think they realise just how untidy I can be, and it would be a job to get through the door some days.  So here it is ... pictures on the walls, cards on display and prints to browse through and the kettle and coffee at the ready! Since last year, I've made quite a lot of new work including more flags, famous buildings, ships and boats and gardens, all made from stamps. I've also made a quiz for children to do. As always, looking forward to meeting new visitors as well as old friends and answering questions about my love of making stamp collages!  Hope to see you if you're in Stroud either this week-end of next, and if not, and you'd like to come over, just get in touch! Details on my contacts link page.

Art in the Stroud Valleys

There's so much going on in and around Stroud in May and over the next two week-ends many artists will be opening their studios to the public in the annual Open Studios festival.  You will see yellow and black signs all over Stroud, Bisley, Naislworth and Painswick and routes in between.  The Subscription Rooms in the middle of Stroud has a Taster exhibition where one piece of work by each artist in the Open Studios Brochure can be viewed and you can then make your choice of studios to visit. All work is displayed in the order it appears in the brochure, according to the Route it is on.  The images in the brochure are not all the same as the ones in the Taster and you can pick up a brochure from the exhibition.
Taster is open during Sub Rooms opening hours 10-5 Monday to Saturday and also on Sundays until 19th May.  Artists' studios are open on 11-12-18-19th May from 11 - 6 pm or by arrangement with the individual artists - all details in brochure.

Cleo Mussi

"There's an article you may be interested in in the Telegraph Magazine - it's called A world in Pieces, and it's about mosaics!"  My mum handed me the open magazine and I immediately recognized Stroud artist Cleo Mussi, whose work has become so well know both locally and internationally. The article mentions Cleo's Stroud studio and forthcoming exhibitions in Edinburgh, but sadly fails to mention the Select Trail preview currently on at The Museum in the Park in Stroud which includes a showcase of her work alongside textile artists and other makers including Ingrid Hesling and Jenni Dutton. Cleo Mussi's  work will also be on show at Frogmarsh Mill, South woodchester, near Stroud soon together with that of other makers.  The Select Trail and Open Studios will be taking place on the week-ends of 11-12 and 18-19 May in and around the Stroud area.  Visit both their websites on www.sitefestival.org.uk and www.sitselect.org     So much to see and do in Stroud during May, it's worth coming here for a whole week-end  or two if you don't actually live here and I have had visitors to my studio who have done just that.!      My own studio will be open to visitors on the two May week-ends mentioned, and is listed on P.14 of the yellow Open Studios brochure.(Venue 15) at The Lawn, 132 Bisley Road, Stroud.

The Art of Shorthand Exhibition by Tracy Spiers

I first met Tracy Spiers when she called in to my studio in Stroud  during an  Open Studios week-end in June 2010.  Tracy was very interested in my pictures and we chatted easily about how it had all come about, and shared our experiences of the Access course at Stroud college, which she had just started and which I had completed 10 years before.  She asked if she could come back to do a proper interview and write an article about me for a future edition of Stroud Life.   Little did I know then how talented an artist Tracy is in her own right!  A journalist of 25 years, wife and mother of five daughters, Tracy  completed the Access course and is currently doing an HND in Fine Art.

As a journalist, she has used shorthand throughout her career and this has now combined with many of the other skills and art forms she has mastered to create a fascinating body of work.  The Art of Shorthand is  at Kendrick Street Gallery in Stroud until December 31st, and you can meet Tracy on Friday December 7th at the gallery between 6 - 7.30 pm,  at Stroud's  Goodwill Evening.

Stroud Site Festival 2012

So much going on in Stroud at the moment - just wish the rain would stop though!
Site Festival 2012 opened last week-end and as I was stewarding at the Brunel Goods shed during the afternoon I was priveleged to be able to see Darren Almond's six-screen HD video Sometimes Still - shown for the first time in the UK.  This 25 minute film follows a Buddhist monk on a nightly journey through the forest, returning to the temple at dawn.  Full details in the Site Festival Programme p.04.  Last screening on Thursday 10th May 11 am to 9pm.  It's extremely dark in there, but adds to the atmosphere!  Well worth seeing.  http://www.sitefestival.org.uk/

Also a reminder that Open Studios starts this week-end with 88 artists opening their studios, in 50 different venues.  See Open Studios brochure, also accessed from same website http://www.sitefestival.org.uk/ 
My own studio is listed on Page 20, venue 35 and full directions and contact details given there if you require further information.  Studios are open from 11 am - 6pm 12th,13th,19th,20th May and may also be open at other times - contact the artists individually for other dates.

Stroud Open Studios June 2011

My studio was open to the public for two week-ends and in spite of the rain many people came here to see my work. It was great to meet so many visitors, some local and some from much further away. It's lovely to hear that visitors are now coming to Stroud in June specially to visit artists' studios during this well established event.

My stamp collages created a great deal of interest and I received some amazing comments in my visitors' book. Children enjoyed doing the quiz which I think made their visit a memorable event and helped them and their parents examine the work even more closely.

The great thing about it is that I think there is something for eveyone and it also seems to appeal to people's love of nostalgia. Many have collected stamps at some time of their lives and have memories of certain stamps. The Blue Peter competition Christmas stamp, which features on the Union Jack collaged flag was commented on more than once and I was reminded of the actual programme where they showed post office staff checking sheets of stamps for errors. I found an error on the stamp in my own collection when I was nine years old, so it must have been a fairly common error!

Visitors' comments: "I didn't know stamps could be so gorgeous"

"Ingenious" "Fascinating"

"So inventive! Always interesting to see what you're up to!"

"Delightfully original! Great!

"Rachel's artwork is phenomenal. I love the style and think it is a really
great idea for recycling stamps and turning them into artwork. "

".. a really great body of work .."

"Lovely exhibition and you have been so helpful and cheerful. Thanks"


And thanks to all who came to see it!

Catching up after a busy couple of weeks. The studio is looking a bit more like it's normal untidy self after the transformation for Open Studios, and I've been making more cards to take into Made in Stroud, and now also my new contact, M.A.D.E., a shop I've recently found in Cirencester.
Lots of interest in the Stamp collages and the canvas prints of the Union Jack and Stars and Stripes are now available to buy through both these great shops. Made in Stroud shop in Kendrick Street, Stroud,is a wonderful place to visit, with a wide variety of wonderful items made by local artists and craftspeople. The stock is ever changing and includes greetings cards, postcards, prints and pictures, soaps, ceramics, wooden utensils, textiles, books and many more exciting things.
I recently discovered M.A.D.E. (Makers and Designers Emporium) at 9 Silver Street, (www.made-gallery.com) and it's another lovely little gem of a shop well worth a visit next time you're in Cirencester.
Had a great day out visiting my eldest daughter who's just moved to Bristol, only to find that there's a collectors shop near where she lives! Came home with two large bags of stamps on paper which have taken me days to sort out and soak ready to be
turned into collages at some stage when inspiration strikes! I have to say that many of them are recent GB stamps which I have now put into my own collection, which had been slightly neglected over the last few years, so any stamp collectors will be relieved to know that I do have great respect for the hobby of philately as well as putting the more common items to good use in my collages!

Here is a, hopefully, slighly better reproduction of the Union Jack "Love" Canvas print, mentioned above.

Art is a lie that tells the truth

This morning I had the pleasure of stewarding the Drawing show in Stroud Subscription rooms. It was a great opportunity for me to spend some time looking at the work of other artists taking part in the Stroud Site 10 Festival. Michelle Ohlson and Kerry Phippen have done a great job in putting together an interesting and though provoking selection of work by local artists. I found the piece by Carlos Ordonez particularly moving and was glad that I was able to watch the slide projection through several times. (It takes just a few minutes). Other visitors to the show were very appreciative of the explanations provided by the artists which are available to view in the sub rooms, and I would encourage others to go along to see this exhibition. It is on until 30th June. Monday - Sat. 10-5 pm and Sunday 20th only 10 - 4.
If visiting on 19th or 20th June, why not visit other Open Studios artists in Stroud and make a great day out? Brochures are available online. www.sva.org.uk