Falmouth Jumble Trail

Recently we had a flyer through the door advertising a Falmouth Jumble trail.  As we love to hear about anything going on in the local community and this looked interesting, we met up with the organiser Amy Cook and asked her a few questions;

So, what exactly is a jumble trail (what kind of stalls do you have)?

A Jumble Trail is like a car boot sale but on your street. Communities co-ordinate to set up stalls outside their houses to sell anything and everything! Bric-a-brac, furniture, toys, clothes, cakes, plants, artwork. It’s the perfect opportunity for a clear out, or to sell your creations. The best part is, as a stallholder you don’t have to lug all your stuff around – you just set up outside your house, what’s easier than that?!

The whole thing is coordinated online at jumbletrail.com providing visitors with a colour coded map to explore the treasure on sale in your neighbourhood. On the website, stall holders can write a description of their stall and add pictures of various items they will be selling too. 

Do they happen anywhere else?

Jumble Trail was set up in 2013, since then the idea has really caught on and now they happen all over the country at any time of year.  Clapton, London are in their 3^rd year this year and already have over 180 stalls confirmed!
 

How did you get involved with them?

Last year I was a stall holder at the Montpelier Jumble Trail in Bristol. It was their first year and they racked up 65 stalls in total. It was a really fun day, I met lots of new people and it was lovely to see Montpelier come alive! They are holding another one this year on 21^st June.

I moved to Falmouth at the end of last year. I didn’t know anyone and didn’t know the community. I wanted to feel involved in Falmouth so thought the Jumble Trail was a good place to start.
Anyone can set up a Jumble Trail! I registered on the website and the rest has been all about promotion.

How can I get involved/ How can someone get involved?

If you want to get involved as a stall holder in Falmouth then go to the website Here
Its £4 to register which covers the cost of promotion (printing flyer/posters etc). Any extra money raised will be donated to the British Heart Foundation. 

Talk to your neighbours and get them involved too. It’s good fun when you all get out there together!

Studio Snoop: Patrick Woodroffe (Falmouth Art Gallery)

Last month Falmouth Art Gallery had an interesting exhibition on about Patrick Woodroffe, an artist with strong links to the gallery and Falmouth.  Within the exhibition the curators had re-created Woodroffe's studio.  They invited us to come and have a snoop, however we've decided (as we couldn't ask Patrick himself about his work) to let the pictures do the talking.  

Following the path of the exhibition, here begins our strangest studio snoop to date.... 

Welcome to the wonderful world of Patrick Woodroffe.

How his desk would have looked on a working day. You may not be able to see in this image the ultra fine points of the pencils.

Woodroffe made his easil himself as he couldn't find one that suited his needs

To do lists are an interesting insight into his organisational process

There is a lot of wit and humour in Wodroffe's work

Woodroffe was perhaps the first painter to make use of the 'tomograph' process 

Believe  it or not, the picture on the right is a painting; Woodroffe was well known for his intensly detailed work

Close up of a larger work (and quite possibly our favourite from the exhibition)

He also created a lot of etchings, drawing everything, including text, in reverse 

An artist through and through, his wife came home one day to find her trainers preserved in resin

Woodroffe would have displays of interesting objects (that often appeared in his paintings) in his studio

A doll from one of the displays

Another interesting insight into the mind of Patrick Woodroffe, collecting found coins

If you've enjoyed this post, let us know by commenting below.  For more information on Falmouth Art Gallery or Patrick Woodroffe click on the links at the top of this post.

Studio Snoop: Emily Hankins

A few weeks ago we got the opportunity to snoop around Emily Hankins studio and have a chat with the lady herself.  We've become pretty hungry writing this up so you may want to grab yourself a cup of tea and settle down for an interesting read...

Emily working on a cake

The Dream Kitchen

So, what do you do, and how did you come to do it?

I am a wedding cake designer and I specialise in bespoke, hand painted cakes. Weddings are the main foundation of my business but I am very lucky to also have the chance to create show cakes for photo shoots and magazines.

I have always painted and art is definitely my first love. After studying at Falmouth College of Arts and struggling to find a job in the saturated design world I fell into catering and discovered a huge passion for baking.

After many years pursuing this as a hobby my 'eureka' moment happened whilst creating an epic cake centre piece for my best friends wedding – 120 individual hand painted and completely edible teacups and saucers. I knew that what I was creating was individual and unique, using my strengths as an artist and my cakes as a canvas seemed to catch peoples imagination!

Hand-made edible cupcakes

What are the main inspirations in your work?

I am hugely inspired by colour and pattern and also nature and horticulture particularly. I grew up around flowers and from a very early age could be found sitting in the garden drawing the detailed faces of pansies and petunias. I even considered a career as a florist at one point during childhood but was brought back own to earth with a bump after realising that severe hayfever and flowers just did not mix!

Inspiration and planning

Flowers are often such a huge part of a wedding celebration and it seems only fitting to include them in the cake design. My floral designs are by far my most popular!

I also take inspiration directly from my clients. I find that the brides and grooms who come to me tend to have a specific creative vision and are looking fro someone to work with them to create this. I really enjoy bringing together all of their ideas into one cohesive design in my signature style.

Happy couples enjoying Emily's creations

How do you use  your studio?

My studio is not only a beautiful and inspiring place where I meet with my clients but it is also a fully functioning kitchen were I bake and create my wedding cakes.

After my initial contact with potential clients we meet together in person to discuss their ideas and requirements face to face. We sit around my lovely dining table and chat over tea and cake served on my vintage china tea sets. My clients enjoy this experience and it gives them a chance to see more of my work and to understand a little bit more about me as well as me understanding their ideas!

'Love'

My studio kitchen is a wonderful place to work. I designed and fitted it myself (with a lot of help from my husband) so it is tailor made to suit my needs perfectly. I have cupboards full of cake tins and ingredients and super organised drawers full of brushes and paints so everything has its proper place and can be kept squeaky clean!

Everything has a place

When I am not with clients or busy baking I can be found sitting at my little desk listening to Spotify, drinking tea and sketching out my new cake designs or answering emails!

Working on a cake

What have you got coming up?

This year is shaping up to be my busiest to date and I have lots of exciting wedding cakes to look forward too! I am also really excited to be demoing my skills in front of an audience and writing all about cake for a new national online magazine!

Often the show cakes I create for photo shoots tend to become my favourites to work on as I can push the boundaries of bridal design a little further to create something inspirational! 

If you are a fan of Emily's work, check out her website here.  

Or to make your newsfeed that bit more beautiful follow her Facebook and Twitter.

Studio Snoop: Merryn Tresidder

We are back snopping around and in this installment we are introducing you to Cornish artist Merryn Tresidder. Here are some images from when we went exploring around his lovely studio.

How did you get involved in art?

My involvement in art stems from my mothers bohemian background. Listening to her stories about her aunt, Pip Benveniste, and her mums 'Pink House' in Newlyn, kept an early interest in art alive for me, dad wanted me to study history.

 
Where did you study art?
 
Locally to begin with, my B-Tech teacher Liz Dickenson put me on some programs at the Tate St Ives. This was my informal introduction to the modernists that flourished in Kernow. After that I studied for a BA in Mixed Media Fine Art at The University of Westminster. I loved being in the big city, as a kid I visited regularly, but living there was a very different experience.

What are your main inspirations in your work? 

The overall inspiration behind my paintings is just to explore the medium of paint, using tools and devices that, say, a poet, might use with words, metaphor for example, or maybe even irony. However, since moving back to Kernow, it'd be rude to ignore the countryside and its unique colours. I've defiantly moved away from the inorganic palette I used in the city. Beyond that my inspiration can stem from almost anything. Recently a friend and I have been turning animals into contemporary caricatures, things like chavs and the internet seem to be a common theme at the moment, just because I think the arts (generally) are are good at ignoring them. Maybe deliberately, but I suspect its more to do with the controversy that surrounds them and their lack of aesthetic. I think its fair to say my paintings aren't safe in that respect. 

Are there any new areas of art you wish to explore?
 
Yeah, plenty, I'm just not sure what they are yet. It seems I've always got more ideas to pursue than time or money to pursue them.

How do you find having your own studio?
 
After the small space allotted to me at university, having a space the same size as one I used to share with another 6 people, all to myself is just great. I had a studio in Brent in London for a similar price in my first year after my degree, but it was tiny by comparison. So yeah, to have a view like the one I've got here and to be so close to home is perfect really.
 

How do you tend to use the space?
 
I get up to all sorts of nonsense in my studio. I've had to do small bits of woodwork and painting for my dads windows, build plinths and shelves, I pretend to be a framer sometimes, drawing/doodling happens a lot there, I dance there, cry there and eventually, after walking the dog, get round to some painting there.

You are getting involved with an upcoming exhibition, Can you tell us more about that?
 
Yeah, so my two up coming shows are sort of linked together with the same ridiculous theme of '...throwing traditional ideas of modernity in the rear view mirror of a metaphorical transit van.' that phrase popped up in a brain storming session at the studio with some fellow artists. We liked the idea of 'Transit' as it relates to how we all felt about moving from '...the daunting void of a blank canvas...' to our own unique final products. The shows, named Transit Pt.1 and Pt.2, are both in Kernow, and are my debut shows in the Duchy. Pt.1 will be at the Porthleven Life Boat Gallery on March the 21/22nd, and Pt2 will be at CMR Gallery on Back Lane West in Redruth July 11th to the 14th.

To check out more of Merryn's work visit http://merryntresidder.weebly.com

Studio Snoop: Zoe Howarth

It's that time of year again, when the nights are still long and dark, and the rain somehow always manages to soak through even the most waterproof of coats.  Christmas and New Year seem like distant memories, and you've forgotten all about Summer.

Before Christmas we got the opportunity to sneak around Zoe Howarth's kitchen Studio in Porthleven and her bright, beautiful and happy textile designs will bring a smile to your face, and the glow of Summer back into your hearts.

This series is so interesting as it lets us into artists personal spaces, from purpose built studio spaces, converted schools, barns and now kitchens!

Zoe, on her studios very own balcony

Since our 'artist introduction' blog post about you what have you been up to in your professional practice?

I felt this year I really needed to get out there and sell face to face and really connect with my customers which has actually helped all aspects of my business. I have spent the summer selling my work at the Porthleven artisan harbour market. Getting customer feedback is invaluable. It has also been a fantastic place to test new products and gauge what's working and which products need tweeking so that they really fit what the customer is looking for.

We were very interested in (and jealous of) Zoe's book collection

Positive notes and unique storage 

Have your inspirations changed at all?

My work has come on leaps and bounds but if anything this passed year has re-reaffirmed my inspiration of the Cornish coast. I have expanded on my original concept which is now more focused as my work has expanded into jewellery design as well as textiles my concept embraces the coast as the blurred boundary where the sea meets land; water vs rock; dyed textiles vs jewellery!

Experimenting with jewellery making is really therapeutic for me. Having trained as a weaver I am used to working with fine fiddley processes involved in making with my hands so this suits me perfectly. I love the challenge of working with an entirely new medium and am really excited to see where this is heading!

Experimenting in jewellery

Zoe's studio is small, but bright and welcoming

How do you tend to use this studio space in a typical day? 

I tend to always have several projects on the go at once. Im such a scatter brain and my throught process really doesn’t work in an organised linear fashion so I tend to hop from one thing to the next. This works well for me as it helps to stimulate my creative ideas.

My 2 year old is always around somewhere. He loves to paint so I will often get out the big mat to cover the floor space so that we can have a painting session. Working from home fits perfectly with family life.  When he is busy playing with his cars I get a chance to get some making done! I wont usually get a solid chunk of time in the studio so having several projects on the go at once works perfectly for me as it means I can literally dip in and out, even if its just for 10mins to get some bits and pieces made.

Her work is beautiful and mesmerising 

How have you found working with midsummer nights?

The Storm Front exhibition was a really turning point for me. I really felt like I had begun to find my creative direction and since then it has moved from strength to strength with my hand dyed textile pieces. Working large scale was a refreshing change for me and I felt this project really helped to free up my creativity in ways I hadn't envisaged before. Since then I have been more focused on my textile art pieces and have developed new processes for my hand dyed pieces.

Samples and work are hung everywhere

We love nosing at peoples mood boards!

Plants

If you're interested in finding out more about Zoe and her work, here are the links to her website and Facebook:

Website

Facebook

Krowji Christmas Open Studios

Last night we were invited to attend the Krowji Christmas Open Studios, and as you know we can't resist snooping around artists studios so we bundled into our coats and headed over to Redruth.  There was a festive feel to the air with carol singers, mince pies and mulled wine. Take a look through our photos and if you like what you see the studios are open all weekend!

Bethany Robinson

Amy Albright

Kerry Harding

Kathryn Watson

A link to their website can be found here.