There was so much on one wall in our hall that it filled an entire post so I'm going to start this one with the rest of the pictures you'll find in our hallway, and then also our kitchen and bathroom.
You Are Enough
Wood cut from old church pew, Micah Purnell, 2018
Two Micah Purnells in one photo here! The first, a wood cut from old church pew, was a gift I bought for Dan a few years ago. Designed by Micah and cut from old church pews by members at Chapel-In-The-Fields; a charity supporting those with mental health vulnerabilities. You can still buy these on Micah's website but the latest batch are cut from old dining tables. We have this right by the front door - it's a great reminder as you come in and out of the house. You are enough.
The Finger
Printed beer mat, Micah Purnell
Deep wooden frame with red inner walls, Mike Spring
You probably can't see it in this photo but the words on the fingers read "Bless those who curse you" from Luke 6:28. Ours is another beer mat, but it's also available as a print. I love how clever this little graphic is. I'd seen it several times before I realised what the picture is. Dan took it to Mike for framing for my birthday one year. I wonder if we hold some sort of record for having the most framed beer mats in one house?
Barford's Ribbon Dying Factory
Print of lino print, Stephen Whiting, 2018
Framed by Mike Spring
Stephen is a local artist who combines a love of local history, a love of local now, a sharp wit, an eye for the unusual and a magpie-like knack of collecting and makes the most wonderful art. I first encountered it when I attended The Luton Tapestry at Uni Beds with a friend and loved it. You can see some of that here if you're interested. Recently, he compiled a series of photography essays about different aspects of Luton, presenting collections of his photography in old record boxes, with printed material about the images and a related screen print. When I left the Bear Club staff team (the first time round) Justin bought me one of these sets as a gift. The set I have details a visit Stephen made to Barford's Ribbon Dying Factory in North St, High Town. It's just off the road we live on, lived on and where you'll find St Matthew's Church. The factory was part of Luton's busy hat making industry and continues to operate to this day, even though many areas of the machinery and processes used date back several decades. It's fascinating to see. This is the screen print from that set, of the factory from the street.
Wednesday Night Dinner
Ink sketch in a Christmas Card, Konni Deppe, 2018
Wednesday Night Dinner has been a regular event in our house for a few years now. Three or four maybe? It's exactly what you'd expect - dinner on a Wednesday night. We just invite various members of our local community and they often invite others too. With guests ranging from 19-72 years old, you can expect to find anything from 10 to 25 people in our house on a Wednesday evening and we love it. A couple of years ago Konni (another previously featured artist on this blog!) drew this sketch of WND inside a Christmas card and we loved it so much, we framed it!
St James Clerkenwell Spire
Print, Evelyn Rowland, 2016
Framed by Mike Spring
St James Clerkenwell is another place of great significance for me. It was the church I went to as a student, Dan and I were married there and I've worked as Church Manager more than once! Quite by chance I spotted that Evelyn Rowland had drawn a series of sketches of church spires across London. At the time she was selling them as a large print of all the spires so I requested this one as a separate piece.
Paint print, Rosalind White, 2017
Ros is an old colleague and friend and as our art collection started to grow into a gallery of our friends' work, we knew we wanted to include something of hers. This piece is actually a study she was doing ahead of a larger piece but we loved the colours and shapes. More from Ros in a later post...
Share With Me
Prints, Mica and Myla Hendricks, 2014
Framed (and reframed when it fell off the wall and broke!) by Mike Spring
Apologies for the wonky photo - this one is above our kitchen door and it's too high to get a good angle! I was sure I'd blogged about this art before but I can't find it.
These are in that rare category of "art from artists we don't know!" but I discovered this project online a few years back and was captivated. Mica Hendricks is an artist who specialises in fine detailed portraits. Her work really is incredible. She wrote a wonderful blog post about her daughter Myla wanting to join in with the drawing and how she kept giving her her own paper and pencils. Myla wanted more, but Mica was afraid that letting her 4-year-old get involved might ruin the drawings. Eventually she did and the work the two of them produced together is just wonderful. Beautifully detailed faces, with childishly innocent animal bodies. For me, these pictures are a tiny glimpse into the ways that God allows us, as clumsy, well intentioned children, to get involved with his perfect, fine-art creation.
These are in that rare category of "art from artists we don't know!" but I discovered this project online a few years back and was captivated. Mica Hendricks is an artist who specialises in fine detailed portraits. Her work really is incredible. She wrote a wonderful blog post about her daughter Myla wanting to join in with the drawing and how she kept giving her her own paper and pencils. Myla wanted more, but Mica was afraid that letting her 4-year-old get involved might ruin the drawings. Eventually she did and the work the two of them produced together is just wonderful. Beautifully detailed faces, with childishly innocent animal bodies. For me, these pictures are a tiny glimpse into the ways that God allows us, as clumsy, well intentioned children, to get involved with his perfect, fine-art creation.
Zoophabet
Lino print on paper, Si Smith
Framed and mounted (including snails) by Mike Spring
These are the Zoophabet prints I mentioned in an earlier post. The comedic brilliance of Si Smith presents 26 animals choosing the less obvious creatures to represent each letter of the alphabet. This frame is HUGE - it's over 1m wide! I recommend clicking on the photo for a closer look.
Trevor
Wood carving, South Africa, 2008
Trevor the Warthog - a souvenir of our Durban adventures in 2008, named after David and Sue Trevor. I spotted Trevor at a roadside stall in Hluhluwe and regretted not buying him at the time. David and Sue kindly picked him up when they visited later and brought him back to London. For a while he was known as Trevor the Mouldy Warthog since travelling in a carrier bag didn't suit him particularly well and he grew mould all down his back. We left him in the sun to dry out and he now sports a long crack all down his spine. As you'll see from the second photograph, Trevor has developed a taste for tequila during lochdown.
Party Invitations
Self-modification of an original design by Green & Blacks
Framed by Mike Spring
Dan and I believe in celebrating wedding anniversaries. For our tenth we had a picnic in the park followed by a fun evening at the local golf club. We (re)designed these invites to send out to our friends (and printed too many so turned them into bunting on the night too!)
Green squares
Acrylic on canvas, Emma Owen, 2001ish
Emma is my sister in law and this is one of the pieces from her art degree final show, based on the pixellation of photographs. These days she works more in glass and fabric than paint, but we like the simple colour that these bring to a room.
Bead Art
Glass beads and wire, Durban, 2008/9
Two more souvenirs from our travels here. Everywhere you go in Durban, people are selling art, sculptures and jewellery made from wire and thousands of tiny glass beads. Both of these brighten our downstairs toilet. The dancing couple made us laugh at the time because Dan was renowned for always wearing orange trousers and playing the bass.
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Haha, I remember Dan's orange trousers!
ReplyDeleteI bought lots of wire and bead models for friends in SA when we went.
I remember that 2001 piece by Emma- I associate it with tasting Thai Green curry for the first time at your house in Southgate.
I love how thought-provoking your art is.
Your art is all very interesting to look at. I love the framed party invitations. Thanks for sharing your art.
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