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.

Studio Snoop: Laura Menzies

If you've been following  our blog you would have seen our 'Artist Introduction' series for our Storm Front exhibition.  Well, we've revisited one of our artists from that show to see what she's up to now (and to have a good old nosey around her new studio!)  If you want to read a bit about how Laura got into art and her processes, click here before you read on!

Laura in her studio

Lauras Studio is located in the Troubador building on Falmouth Wharves.  We climbed four flights of cold concrete stairs to a dim corridor but once inside Laura's studio we could see why she chose it, so read on to find out what Laura's been up to, and to have a glimpse inside the studio...

 

Another Space on the Warf

What have you been up to in your artistic practice since we last spoke to you?

I moved into my studio at Falmouth wharf in Feburary and have started work on a new body of paintings which are slowly taking shape. I have also been involved with several exhibitions and in July I completed my first residency at TAP project space in Southend, which was a fantastic experience that I learnt a lot from. 

Laura's Desk

Have your inspirations changed at all?

The paintings I make are abstract works that reference my surroundings, my personal life and my everyday experiences.  I have recently been introduced to Japanese aesthetics and the concept of Wabi Sabi which I am excited by, as it directly relates to some of the principles I strive to achieve in my paintings such as simplicity, suggestion and incompleteness. 

New work

Laura uses layers in her work

Are there any other areas of art you want to explore within your practice?

As a painter I feel I have just scratched the surface on what I hope to achieve artistically and want to keep challenging and extending my painting practice.  Having said that I would like to incorporate some printmaking back into my practice, to see how another element would change the dynamics of my paintings and open up new possibilities for different formal and narrative relationships to become evident. I am also becoming increasingly interested in poetry and text and would like to experiment with these in some way in the future. 

  

Stacked work

You are doing a talk as part of your week in the 'limelight' at Falmouth Art Gallery.  Can you tell us a bit more about that?

I approached Falmouth Gallery several months ago now enquiring about their Limelight space and was told that I could have the space for a week in October and could do a talk to coincide with my work being in the space. I thought that doing a talk on my work would allow me to engage with a new audience, would push me out of my comfort zone (which I feel is important)  and would also be a good opportunity for me to reflect on my practice and review where I current am. 

Work on an easel 

Could you tell us a bit about how you use your studio? 

When I am working I am very messy and have lots of paints, pallets, tools and paintings all around me. I do however always make sure that I leave the studio clean and tidy so that when next go in everything is in its correct place and I can start working straight away. 

Ready for work!

In these posts we like to give you a taster of the artists work environment but if you want to see more of Laura's work, head to her website:

lauramenzies.co.uk

And if you want to keep up to date with her work here's a link to her Facebook, and the event page for her talk at Falmouth Art Gallery tomorrow:

facebook.com/laurajmenzies

Click here for the event page

We hope you've enjoyed this post.  If you are an artist and you are interested in having us snoop around your studio comment below, or drop us an e-mail!

midsummernights21@gmail.com

Fannie & Fox Private View

On a wild and blustery Friday night, we braved the elements to visit Fannie & Fox's Autumn show private view.  

 

After stopping to admire the beautiful window display of Autumn leaves by Julie Howe we entered a fantastic world of Cornish art, buzzing with people.  




Pam Tongue (Middle) set up Fannie & Fox as a collectively run art Gallery with between 7 and 12 artists participating at any one time.

"We offer an eclectic mix of fine and applied arts, all created locally.
As an artist led initiative we offer very affordable prices and
the opportunity to meet the makers in a friendly, vibrant setting. 
Fannie & Fox is also a great space to discuss projects and commissions 
or just browse."

We love the idea of creating a space which encourages the creation of affordable art and having met many of the artists at the private view we can attest they are indeed very friendly and more than willing to talk about their work and processes! The gallery changes displays with the seasons and after feeling completely Autumnal after visiting this time, we have decided that Fannie & Fox is our new barometer on seasonal changes!

So, have a little look around;

Fannie & Fox Co-operative Society

Buying cards

Close up of the Window display

The most amazing popcorn!

Autumn is definitely here now!

All the pieces on display worked together to give an atmospheric reflection on Autumn. Here are a few pieces that we loved from the event (if you want to find out more information about the artists, we've put links under the images).



These badges were made by Artist and printmaker Julie Howe, there's something striking about the design of these pieces.   

Click here for Julie Howe's blog




Anyone who follows the blog will know our love of Laura Menzies work and she's been busy creating new pieces that we were instantly drawn to. (Also, look out for a 'Studio Snoop' post about Laura soon!)

Laura's website is just one click away!




Rebecca Sims intricate and dream-like crown was a central attraction in the gallery.

To see more of Rebeccas work, click here!

 

Zenna Tagney exhibited the most hauntingly beautiful sculptures like the one above.

Zennas website


We loved the private view (and the popcorn!) and would definitely recommend going down to see it for yourself, have a browse and chat to the artists as they each take it in turn to man the shop on different days throughout the month.  And if you can't make it to Penryn, here's a link to their website.

Summer Blog and Upcoming Plans

North America Summer 2014

This summer has been extremely exciting for us. Both having finished university this summer we decided to travel to North America to celebrate. Our trip was very inspiring and has started a lot of wheels turning for us in how we plan to take midsummer nights forward. Now that we are back we are pleased to say we have lots of really exciting opportunities on the horizon and will be keeping this blog up to date with all the development.


Here are some photographs from our trip to give you a little taster of what kept us so busy over this summer: