This month I went back to BRIGHTON!!! I spent four years living in Brighton and whenever I return it always feels like home. I decided to take my boyfriend Matthew with me to show him around where I spent my student years!! Here Matt is experiencing the stones that are Brighton Beach!
Obviously, I timed our visit perfectly so we could also visit Brighton Open Houses!! With only a limited amount of time I decided to focus on one trail – Fiveways !
First up was ‘Upfunt House’ on Ditching Road. This house was home to probably one of my favourite finds of Brighton Open Houses. ‘Mug Shots’ by Ray Dennis – http://www.raydennisart.com. As you can see these portraits were all drawn on takeaway paper cups; a simple yet extremely effective idea.
I also supported the Nepal Earthquake by entering a raffle to win this print by Patrick Kennedy, ‘Walrus in a bathtub.’ Fingers crossed I win as I have the perfect spot on my bath room wall ready and waiting. Visit Patrick’s website: www.upfunt.com
Next up was ‘Polly Raynes and Friends’ house. This home was absolutely filled with all sorts of surprises from metalwork and jewelry to ceramics and illustrations. My main reason however was to see these stunning cactus planters. Whilst in France last month I was lucky enough to witness the creator, Chris, crafting his planters from scratch, so of course I had to go and check out the final project.
Also at Polly’s house I spotted one of these cute little badgers in the garden created by Helen Hodson. Helen creates many other quirky adaptations of animals all just as adorable as these badgers. Website: www.helenhodson.com
Finally, last but certainly not least was Frances Doherty’s house. Those of you that follow me know I spent some time last month at Fran’s home in France helping to create work for her exhibitions and commissions this year. It was amazing to see this work all glazed and finished out of a studio setting.
You might also remember us creating some 3D sketches; a useful exercise to get the creative juices flowing. These were also on display and created a buzz with visitors.
Whilst at Fran’s house she advised we take a sneak peak at another house just down the road. Being told it was a performance piece, I looked forward to going back to my roots of conceptual art. Unfortunately, we had missed all performances for the day but luckily whilst still bound up in a strait jacket, Brain Mander gave us a private performance.
Being a huge fan of multiples I loved this concrete ‘ghost heads’ as I would describe them. To me it seemed like each individual one was alerted by presence and crept up all over the place as if they were watching me… Spooky! It was very clear a lot of thought and effort had gone into his work. Visit Brian’s website: http://www.brianmander.co.uk.
Later on this month I also had a quick peak at a pop up ‘DIY Market’ down in Stoke Newington, Hackney Flea Market, London with my lovely friend Emma.
Here I found some super interesting figures. Figurative clay forms inspired by the human form always seem to catch my eye. After visiting amyworrall.co.uk/, I found and fell in love with Amy Worrall’s fun and playful work. Who wouldn’t enjoy these?
STUDIO UPDATE: As well as visiting lots of art and exhibitions this month I have also been researching ideas for my studio layout including storage, kilns and other machinery, basically everything involved in creating the perfect studio space. This is proving to be a time consuming yet an exciting task.
ARTICLE OF THE MONTH: ” According To Science, You’ve Probably Been Pooping Wrong Your Whole Life”
May 27, 2015 | by Caroline Reid http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/western-pooping-bad-your-booty
PLACENTA PHOTO FRAME UPDATE: This month I have spent time catching up with myself, working through each order one by one. As well as organising the collection of placentas from future mothers. I’ll have more news and hopefully some images for you next month.
Thanks for reading!
Amanda Cotton Ceramics & Composites 