Hand printed scarves
I feel like I took a deep breath back in March to brace for what the pandemic might mean for me as a self-employed artist who gets her kicks (and most of my income) from face-to-face collaboration and teaching.
And I think I’ve been holding it ever since, which can’t go on, so as part of my exhalation I’m releasing all the products I had made and squirrelled away for The Big Event Which Didn’t Happen (my Residency show @artist_winterbournehg)
There are 3 scarves all designed and printed by me - Swifts, Hoya and Alyssum scarves, £18 each inc p&p in the UK ( postage quotes for other places) They are up in the Textile Art tab if you're at all interested.
Studio for two
It's been hard to ease back into a working pace this week because:
1) I have a post holiday, slow vibe,
2) My daughter Lucy has taken over my studio to do a print project of her own - which I love! - the project and accommodating her ;)
3) I've been shoved up in the corner under the roof while this happens :)))
West Wales
Just back from a lovely break surrounded by nature in West Wales.
We enjoyed lots of slow time - I love how waiting 10 mins for a kettle to boil on a gas stove really stops you in your tracks and makes you breathe.
We walked a lot - fields, beaches and nature reserves. Lottie enjoyed these to the utmost.
It was just an all round great embrace with nature, a change of pace and place.
Film exhibition of Artist in Residency work at Winterbourne House & Gardens
Back in May I finished my Artist in Residency at Winterbourne House & Gardens but was unable to hold an exhibition of all the work I’d completed due to the pandemic. Life is moving on and although Winterbourne is now open again, it has been reorganised and any possible exhibition still looks a long way off.
So I have set up the work at home and filmed it. It’s part exhibition of works (paintings, print, textiles and embroidery) and part artists talk where I tell you some stories behind the paintings or processes I have used.
I hope you might have a watch - it’s on YouTube here and it’s completely free to view.
I have updated my website to show all the work and a lot of the products I had made which were destined for sale in the shop during the run of my exhibition, if you fancy taking a look www.claireleggett.co.uk
Eleri Mills @ Ruskin Craft Center
Eleri Mills is one of wales most successful artists.
We swung by the Ruskin Craft Center on our home from Port Merion - I've got to say that seeing some real art in a real art gallery was so soul-filling after these many months of Lockdown.
I didn't realise how much I respond to seeing art in real life until we were walking around and I was literally soaking it up - I went around twice.
Apart from the recent denial of such pleasures, I enjoyed this so much because Eleris work really talks to me.
It is full of mark making and those marks translate to say something about the landscape which inspires her but also can be abstract and I like that.
She also develops those marks into stitches put directly through the canvas.
And these are often running stitches but can be a gorgeous hue or an eye catching luxe thread but they serve to continue to talk about the landscape in an even more tactile fashion.
It's an approach which really inspires me.
I also loved her use of scale and the way she played with diptych and triptych approaches to drawing over several sheets of paper either to expand the same scene or to make companion pieces.
It reminds me also to never stop drawing or dipping my soul into nature to feel grounded and alive.
Eleri Mills – Egni: a decade of creativity is running August – November 2020 at Ruthin Craft Centre, The Centre for the Applied Arts.
Port Merion-Wales
Last week, we originally we had a weeks camping planned in Wales but they cancelled us at the last minute (campsite was a mud-slide) so we condensed our holiday into the only two days that Port Merion could accommodate us.
But what a lovely two days it was!Â
Port Merion is is a village built in the style of an Italian village but in North Wales. It was designed and built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975.
It's quirky, pretty, tucked away from the rest of the world and you can stay in the houses you see or the hotels.Â
There is love and attention to architectural detail everywhere and that is matched by the abundant natural habitat and views - it's an all round winner in my opinion.Â
It's one of my all time favourite places to visit.
We did all the walks - (coastal, woodland and 'the other one') marvelling at wild Bee-Orchids, the range of colour and type of naturally growing Hydrangeas and the size of the sea (high after a stormy night) and size of the sky (BIG skies).
You can read a fuller history here if you're interested.
