On Saturday 25^th November the artists at the Fenners Building (near The Wynd, Letchworth) will be holding an open studios event, scheduled to coincide with the Letchworth Christmas lights switch on. 

Several new artists have joined recently and the open studios are a unique opportunity to explore this usually hidden creative corner of Letchworth. You will be able to meet and buy work direct from some of the artists and gain an insight into the various artistic practices in the studios ranging from painting, textiles, weaving, glass, ceramics and photography. An exhibition of the artists’ work will also be on show in the gallery. 

Please join us throughout the day on Saturday 25^th November, between 10am-6pm.

Find us: Fenners Building, 7 Openshaw Way (just off The Wynd), Letchworth SG6 3EN

If you have any questions regarding accessibility at this venue or event or would like to make us aware of any access requirements that you have in advance of visiting, please email info@digswellarts.org

The Artists: Fiona Booy, Cherry Campbell, Carl Cashman, Abi Freckleton, Liz Harrington, Stuart Jones, Tim Mitchell, Nade Simmons, Amy Wilson, Kate Windibank, Muna Zuberi.

Fiona Booy is a ceramic artist whose work is inspired by mountains and valleys, erosion and craters, and the inconceivable force and time required in their formation – and the dramatic results.  Having travelled extensively and fascinated by the power and majesty of the physicalworld around us, Fiona’s work is informed by the feeling of standing next to mountains and emersed in the valleys, which reminds her that we are “tiny little humans” who “scream and shout and fret and scurry and argue and stress and worry”. In addition to making and selling her ceramic art, Fiona also runs a variety of classes, workshops and demonstrations for special occasions. 

https://www.instagram.com/fionabooyceramics

Cash Cashman is a contemporary artist who creates stunning, vibrant geometric-based optical art. Some of Carl’s art is painted using UV reactive paint, which adds further visual element to the pieces when seen in the right environment. Influenced by music and moments in his daily life, Carl depicts striking patterns generally with a neon based palette and refers to this as ‘Neometry’ or Neometric Art. Carl’s artworks are hypnotic, at times bordering on the hallucinatory and blur the distinction between digital and analogue forms. While the works are executed entirely by hand, the paintings are crisp, precise and graphically decisive, giving the impression that these are digital creations.

http://www.instagram.com/carlcashman

Stuart Jones‘ work is informed by the urban and rural landscape and ideas of utopia, dystopia and the sublime. The environment and how humans experience the landscape interests Stuart and informs his practice. Stuart’s work explores the human relationship with the landscape and how this is in flux, becoming increasingly disconnected from the environment due to technological advancement. Alongside the themes of utopia, dystopia, heterotopia and the sublime, the Anthropocene and the climate crisis, plus current social and political issues feed into Stuart’s work. The human figure is missing from his paintings, enabling the viewer to become the missing human presence within the work: the spaces becoming portals that the viewer has to negotiate into an alternative world, space or time.

http://www.instagram.com/stujonesartist

Cherry Campbell’s functional ceramic work focuses on simplicity, using minimal embellishment and a limited pallet to decorate her work.  Cherry is drawn to the mineral qualities of ceramics, from the geometric shapes formed on the wheel to the bare, fired clay and the metallic oxides used for decoration. Strong contrasts are evident while each piece remains connected to the elemental nature of the materials. Cherry strives to present a coherent and cohesive body of work through a process of repetition and reduction, allowing the work’s narrative to emerge independently of constructed thought.

http://www.instagram.com/cherryoriginals

Muna Zuberi‘s practice is centred around creating contemporary art pieces using, and revitalising, the old-school art form of stained glass. Muna’s work always starts with drawing and develops over many iterations to fully formed colour visualisations. These are then built into either 2D or 3D pieces in glass; created using techniques including mosaic, glass fusing and glass painting. Muna is inspired by the process of Dalle de verre, a popular technique used in the 50-60s, which is why she often works in mosaic. This technique is more accessible than Dalle de verre in size, portability and cost and also allows a freer and more dynamic approach than other traditional glass techniques. The ‘race’ issue has been a persistent presence in Muna’s life and this has led her to think more about what makes other people tick. Her practice focuses on understanding the ‘person’, their influences and crucially, what has led them to their thinking and understanding of the world.

http://www.instagram.com/munazuberi

Abi Freckleton uses experimental ceramic making to reflect on how we inhabit time and place alongside other living and non-living things. Her sculptures are created using found materials that are transformed and reaggregated in the kiln.  Partially contained by smooth edges but revealing wild disorder in their chaotic interiors, they bare the marks of human constraint and construction alongside the entropic forces of nature. Each work is a monument to a specific moment but also a monument to time and space and matter, and their ongoing entanglement.

http://www.instagram.com/abifreckleton

Liz Harrington is a photographic artist working primarily with analogue, alternative photographic processes and camera-less techniques. Her practice focuses on transience and traces of the past, finding beauty in the often unseen or overlooked. Recent subject matter includes the natural landscape, built environment and archival/found materials. The photograph as an object is also an important feature of her work, along with the production of handmade artist books. 

http://www.instagram.com/_lizharrington

Kate Windibank’s practice involves an exploration of form and surface encompassing ceramic materials, fragmentation and natural processes. Drawing inspiration from the structure and textures of nature, she uses concepts of geological formation and erosion to suggest the transformational nature of time on the foundations of human experience and identity. Kate’s ceramic artworks are objects that can be investigated and reappraised as each viewing reveals new juxtapositions of detail, process, form and event.

http://www.instagram.com/firedthings

Nade Simmons’ work is centred around the theme of florals & landscapes, influenced by her village childhood. The focus of her work is to convey a light-hearted, playful attitude with bold brushwork and vibrant palette. Nade is also a contemporary freestyle embroidery artist creating bold, bright abstract art using crewelwork stitching, beads, paint, jewellery and reclaimed materials.  Her work is a vibrant fusion of graffiti-inspired art blended with traditional hand stitched embroidery techniques.

http://www.instagram.com/whatnademade

Amy Wilson is passionate about design and finds endless inspiration in the natural world. Her cloth collections are often inspired by landscapes and the elements. She works with a range of natural fibres and often hand dyes ranges of yarn to incorporate within her work and all cloth sampling is carried out on traditional weaving looms. Amy is the owner of Liliane Textiles, a design studio developing concept woven cloth designs, selling bespoke items, and making small collections of accessories.

http://www.instagram.com/lilianeboutique

Tim Mitchell is a potter with a deep connection to the traditional methods of producing functional wear. Tim allows the substantive nature of the clay to be the primary focus of his work, using texture and applying glaze in a loose style to amplify the clay body rather than obscure it.  There is a clear Asian influence in Tim’s ceramics, echoing the authenticity of this ancient, solitary craft and the mediative, mindful practice that inhabits the making process.  

http://www.instagram.com/timmitchellceramics