NEW WORK at FILLINGDON FINE ART

"Strandloper III" by Robyn Gordon

The daffodils are out just in time for the opening of  the "Primary Palette"exhibition at Fillingdon Fine Art. I'm delighted to have 3 pieces in this exhibition including the piece, Strandloper III, above.

The meaning of strandloper ....

1. a member of a Koisan people who lived on the southern shores of southern Africa from prehistoric times until the second millennium AD.

2. a person who collects items on the shore; a beachcomber.

warmly invites you to  "Primary Palette" an exhibition of original paintings, sculpture, ceramics, jewellery and craft from Saturday 11th - Saturday 25th April 2015 daily 10am- 4pm at Fillingdon Farm, Piddington, High Wycombe,  Bucks, HP14 3BL, UK Other times by appointment www.fillingdon.com This exhibition features work in the three primary colours of red, blue and yellow by new and regular artists from Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa; across the media of oils, pastels, bronze, stone, porcelain, silver, shell and many others.  Monochromatic balance is added with a new collection of drawings by master draftsman Arthur Azevedo.  As always there is a wide variety on display to appeal to all tastes and pockets, and each unique, handmade piece has been personally selected to ensure the ultimate in quality and originality.  Entry is free and refreshments are on offer.  A donation is appreciated for our chosen charity Farm Africa (reg. charity number 326901). The work is available to view on our website, which is constantly being updated.  We look forward to welcoming you, and please feel free to tell like-minded friends! For directions and a map visit our Contact Us page

A GATHERING WE WILL GO

 Penny  (Back Valley Seasons) commissioned one of my small niche carvings recently and asked me to do a post with  photos showing where I find the objects that go into them.

Many times it's a case of 'the early bird get's the worm' so we set off to weekend markets at the crack of dawn.....

.... to arrive there when stall holders have just set up their wares.
Our favourite market is just under an hour's drive away and begins at 6.00am.

Sometimes I find small or unusual pieces on street vendors tables...

.... at scrapyards and junk shops throughout KwaZulu Natal

Vintage furniture dealers out in the country...

Wherever we go we are on the look out for shops that sell old bits and pieces, though it's becoming harder and harder to find the bargains. We live in hope...

Beach gathering is my favourite pastime. Husband goes fishing on three coasts..... North, South and the most beautiful of all, the Wild Coast in the Transkei. When I can I will tag along and we holiday at the Wild Coast at least once a year.

Up at dawn to catch the ferry across the estuary ....

to the other side where I spend the whole day walking....

.... sifting through shells

searching for solitary cowries in sand hollows and pools

collecting driftwood 

... and pebbles.

TURNING OBJECTS INTO OBJETS D'ART

Wooden box with alarm bell and Kusu Knives. Under Construction Exhibition at the Hamill Gallery

I find it quite thrilling to see found objects transformed into objets d'art and the two pieces I found at the Hamill Gallery are no exception. Just look at that weathered wood! If anyone who loves me would like to tuck them into my christmas stocking, feel free to do so :-)

Dogon trough with spool of twine. Under Construction Exhibition at the Hamill Gallery

Its time to visit Lost Found Art again. The vintage collections displayed here make me extremely happy.

Carved articulated "limberjacks". Lost Found Art.

Mark Indursky, the owner of Lost Found Art, channels his artistic energy into creating assemblages and installations from the eyecatching pieces he finds in dumpsters or at flea markets and antique shows etc.

"When I see a dumpster, I'm right in there. A suit and tie don't faze me."

Antique caste iron road sign marker.

Mark started out displaying his collections at home for his own pleasure but when visitors asked him to help them find similar collections he and his wife Joy had the bright idea of creating a business out of finding and grouping vintage objects to sell and install in homes. Thus, Lost Found Art was born. Imagine making a living out of scrounging and assembling collections of your favourite objects!

Antique wire coat hanger collection.

" A lot of people don't have the time or instincts to search for this stuff and often they are not quite sure what to do with it when they get it." Mark says "I have a knack for doing both."

He has gathered old radio microphones for musicians, antique gavels for attorneys, a vintage abacus collection for an accounting firm, as well as installing an antique hypodermic syringe collection for a doctor.

Steel food chopper collection. Lost Found Art

Antique and vintage Abacus collection. Lost Found Art


Ruler by James Michael Starr

Wood type by Slowprint at Flickr, here.


Feral by Keith Long

Caged by John Outterbridge

NOOKS AND CRANNIES

Untitled (detail ) , fabric, wood, rust, 132 x 288 x 8 inches by Leonardo Drew

Discovering the imposing work of Leonardo Drew was a turning point for me. I couldn't believe what I was seeing .....

Huge wall mounted tableaux of stacked boxes, nooks and crannies stuffed with found objects ...... rusted debris, papers, fabric, discarded wood and domestic and industrial trash.


Installation by Leonardo Drew

In a way Leonardo Drew gave me permission to continue collecting junk. Afterall, collecting and making art can go hand in hand. I had already started creating my niche carvings but I was finicky about the objects I chose to put in them..... and paying through the snout for these objects too, I might add. Since discovering Leonardo's work the more junkier junk is creeping into my art and I do like it!


Detail of one of my niche carvings.

"To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk." - Thomas Edison


Assemblages by Romanowski

Swiss-born artist, Romanowski certainly knows how to fill his assemblage boxes with prime found objects. I imagine he spends many a blissful hour hunting the streets of San Francisco or there abouts. His work can be seen at Fabric8 Gallery, San Francisco. Click here and scroll to the bottom to see the rest of Roman's work on this exhibition. 


Turntable, assemblage by Romanowski

There are a few more nooks and crannies to explore at Musing Relics where Lynne Parks features her work......


Assemblage by Lynne Parks


"I am drawn to the discarded, forgotten, and obsolete which are by no means inert. I collect fragments found in the marginal spaces of alleys and abandoned buildings, trash heaps and flea market bins."


"As a child, I explored the unfamiliar and forgotten objects cluttered in my parents' drawers. Many afternoon hours were spent guessing at their practical usage, often as not imagining unlikely ones and imbuing them with life. The fountain pen nibs, defunct cigarette lighters, sewing machine parts and broken jewelry were my "plastic animals." My father's horological tools were especially evocative, later I was entranced with his beautiful landscape designs. My brother Bob and I read mythology together and I appropriated the notion of composite beasts." - Lynne Parks


I love Lynnes statement. It reminds me of my own childhood when squirreling found objects took up most of my day. The assemblage (below) by Kecia looks much like the boxes of treasures I kept in my "museum".....hoping that one day Gerald Durrell would stop by and be very impressed.

Typesetting Nature Box by Kecia Frazer Deveney at Lemoncholy

"We are left with objects that have a hollowness that we can fill with our own wonder and fantasy." - Thomas Moore

Shadow Box, lithograph by Clayton Thiel

Last but not least, little nooks with handmade treasures within.


White Pebble, (Ceramic) by Novie Trump

The Waiting by Novie Trump.

HELLO OWL!

A new day is dawning and I'm eager to continue work on my owl totem.

I decided that an owl with outstretched wings might be more interesting than my original plan. I try to be open to new ideas as I go along...unlike the early days when I followed my sketch to the nth degree. Something else I've learned along the way is that looking at photographs of one's work is a helpful technique to help one find any faults that need adjusting.

I have had the most fun creating the owl. As a teenager I hand reared two Spotted Eagle Owlets (see below) so I have quite a soft spot for them.