My Painting Holiday in Cornwall

My husband gave me a Cornish Landscape painting course as a special gift for my birthday. My dream has come true. 

I really love Cornwall. I have been there twice before, but this time it was different. I worked for 4 days, 6 hours a day, painting and drawing, mostly in extreme conditions, in the wind. It was brilliant! 

Our tutor was Maggie O'Brien, a teacher at the Newlyn School of Art and a great painter of wild landscapes. There were 9 of us on the course and the atmosphere was very supportive, with much freedom left to us. Maggie is a brilliant teacher and fun to be with. And, what is important, she was a good match for me and for what I wanted to achieve.

I just wanted to have fun while painting, to loosen up. Going on locations to paint can be tough. But I found out that this way of working suits me. There is no time to be precious, you have to work quickly, without judgement. You just get on with it. 

Here are some examples of my oil on board work. Some of them are finished and some need more detail.

On the last day we worked in the studio in the Newlyn School of Art.

These two little paintings made me very happy:

I have a feeling that my relationship with Cornwall is just beginning. I cannot wait to go back there and paint again.

My Painting Holiday in Cornwall

Building an art studio in the garden

My new art studio in the garden has finally arrived! 

Here are some photos documenting the building process. 

It took 3 weeks to produce the segments of the studio and 3 days to install it. The studio size is 6m x 3.5m (21m square) and 2.5m high. It feels amazing!

If you are interested in details of the company who built my studio, please contact me or comment on this post. I will be happy to recommend it to you. They are in England.

Yolanta

Building an art studio in the garden

Death and Transition exhibition update

'The Geographer' triptych is now finished (see my previous post) and the preparations for the 'Death and Transition' exhibition are almost finished. This is a group exhibition of South London Women Artists which I am co-curating with Melissa Budasz and Ilinca Cantacuzino.

Here is the poster for the exhibition, I hope that many of you who are in London will come to see it. It looks like it's going to be a very exciting and thought provoking art show, involving all art media.

I am still working on the catalogue and will be sending it to the printers just after Easter.

Have a wonderful Easter everyone!

Yolanta

Death and Transition exhibition update

Death and Transition exhibition - work in progress

The idea of the Death and Transition exhibition emerged when some of us from South London Women Artists group were chatting during the invigilation of another SLWA exhibition. 

We reflected on how the focus of life changes when our parents are getting old and vulnerable, or when people close to us go through a challenging illness. Several of us were in this situation and we thought it would be a good idea to address the concept of Death with an art exhibition. We also agreed that the Transition element in Death is very important: Death is not final, we are on the journey in which Death is just another station. In the end we are alone, each with our spiritual journey to go through. We might have different beliefs and cultural backgrounds, but Death unites us all, makes us all equal. 

We, the curators, invited the artists to take their own approach in expressing the concept of Death. We might treat it on a very personal, intimate level or go for a more abstract, universal expression. Death is as individual as it is universal and it is interesting so see what this means to different artists.

Personally, I assumed that my contribution to the exhibition will be one big, abstract painting. But something else emerged: a triptych of 3 very small mixed media pictures, titled ‘The Geographer’. The Geographer in question is my father who died in 1997, aged 69. He was a professor at the University of Lodz, in the department of Cartography. My father and I were very close. As a teenager, I remember spending many evening hours working on my photographs in the University’s dark room, while he was catching up on checking his students’ work.

During the war, when he was just 16 years old, he was taken to Germany and put in the work camp. He escaped and walked all the way back home, to a little village in central Poland. It took him many weeks. My brave father, a teenager, walked at night and slept during the day, always hidden from view, often in cemeteries. The place of the dead, the cemetery, gave him safety and comfort. 

I inherited many old maps from my father’s collection. In the ‘The Geographer’ triptych I used the fragments of an old German war time map of the area we come from, where the names of Polish villages are accompanied by German names. My work is still in progress. With it I hope to express that Death did not separate us. My father is still with me and he will always be in my heart.

Death and Transition exhibition - work in progress

Hatome Studio and Gallery

The moment has come for me to bite the bullet, to pick up my courage and follow my dream. If you have been reading my blog you probably know that I have been thinking about building my art studio in the garden. There were many stages in my thinking about it. I allowed the idea to mature and to fully form in my head. And here it is: I am committed to setting up Hatome Studio and Gallery.

Hatome Studio and Gallery will be an Art Studio and a Gallery Shop selling Art and locally created hand made products.

The name Hatome came from the name of this blog: Happy To Make.

I created a new page on Facebook and placed this post on a local forum' Facebook page:

"I am building a business in Penge. It is called Hatome Studio and Gallery, to be open in Spring 2016. I am at the stage of planning the garden studio (2 studios) and garage extension (gallery), getting building permission etc. It will be located in Maple Road, London SE20. I hope that the building work starts in 1 year time. Next year I will be doing a Crowd Funding Campaign, so I am doing lot's of networking now.
If you would like to see the progress of this project, or would like to be part of it when it opens, please like this page: Hatome Studio and Gallery in Penge "

I had 62 new likes in the first 2 days and lots of encouraging comments! I take it as a sign that Penge, the area of London I live in, is ready for the kind of business that I want to set up. I will be writing about this project here on the blog. Wish me luck! And please like my Facebook page !

Hatome Studio and Gallery

The Montage - Art Gallery, Coffee Shop and Vintage Store

About 9 years ago I used to live in Forest Hill, a South East district of London, with the postcode SE23. While I was living in a small apartment in a Victorian house, Forest Hill, although an affluent area in the nineteenth century, was then still quite neglected "up and coming" area, with just a few independent shops, a couple of not so interesting coffee shops and a new branch of Sainsbury supermarket (not counting the magnificent Horniman Museum and Gardens of course).

But the area was full of artists. And it didn't take long for the creative and enterprising spirit to assert itself, in the form of new art galleries, art cafes, and designer and vintage shops. Well established Havelock Walk Studios have been already there for many years, but now the whole area is buzzing with creative activity.

The Montage arrived on the scene last year, after a group of Polish artists got a lease on the dilapidated house and spent several months renovating it. And they did it in a true spirit of environmental friendliness. The place is the upcycling galore!

The Montage is an Art Gallery upstairs, and a Coffee Shop / Gallery / Vintage Store downstairs. It is a very nice combination. The owners' passion for art and all things old shows in every corner.  

The coffee shop was recently extended into the back garden. The old doors are not for sale, but almost everything else is.

The Montage is a very children friendly place. There is a room downstairs, full of toys, where kids can play, while parents catch up with friends over coffee and cake.

And the cakes are delicious! As a person with a wheat intolerance, I could even find several yummy options for myself.

The paintings seen on the walls here are by Agnieszka Handzel and Pawel Wasek.
For more information on The Montage click here.

The Montage - Art Gallery, Coffee Shop and Vintage Store

My linocuts are ready

My little series of linocuts dedicated to my mother Zofia is now ready. It looks different to what I initially imagined it to be, but it is often the case with my work. It's like the images have a life of their own and I follow where they want me to go.

This image is based on my memory of a photograph taken when my mother was a girl scout.

This one is inspired by another photograph, taken when my sister and I were playing in the park, with our mother watching us. I am the one busy drawing in the sand. An early indication of what my work would be.

The next image is about the moon, but also about the transition from this life to the one beyond, to our true home. We are on a journey...

I wish you all a Wonderful Christmas. See you next year.

My linocuts are ready

Studio work: Making linocuts

The time I spent with my mum in Poland somehow filtered through into my work. Staying in the apartment where I lived as a child also affected me. Looking at the old photographs fixed the images in my head.

I wanted to dedicate some of my work to my mother. I have been working on a series of small linocuts called Zofia. That is my mother's name. Here is the working progress of 'Zofia 1' and 'Zofia 3'.

There will be 4 limited edition lino prints, each made of 3 colors: black, red and grey. Altogether I will have to cut 12 plates.

It's been a long time since I have done any printmaking. It feels good to do it again. I think printmaking suits my temperament. I like doing the work in stages. It takes the restlessness away, I just carry on.

I will post the finished images here shortly.

Studio work: Making linocuts

Street Art in Lodz

I have been away for many weeks, hence my absence here on the blog. I think the time has come for me to get an iPad...  I spent this time in Lodz, Poland, where I was born and where the big part of my family lives. My mum is getting older and more fragile and I need and want to spend time with her, sharing the care with my sister.

While in Lodz, I took some photos of the local street art. Lodz is fast becoming a center for exciting Street Art by many international artists. I am sorry I cannot provide the names. The murals are the projects of the Gallery of Urban Forms.

This crazy colorful piece was just being created while I was in Lodz. It's close to my mum's home. The artist is Spanish.

I love this elegant painting of a girl, which is round the corner from Teatr Wielki (the Opera House).

And this one has a connection with the name of the city. Lodz means 'the boat' in Polish. I know it's a pretty absurd name for a city, but here you are. You can see Lodz's landmarks here, together with an old red tram (now the trams are in various colors).

It's a nice feeling to have come from a place so vibrant and saturated with creativity.

To see more examples of street art in Lodz click here. And for a personal story of one visitor experiencing Lodz go here.  Facebook page of Street Art in Lodz can be found here.

Till the next time.
Yolanta

Street Art in Lodz

My art studio at home

I work from my studio at home. It is not an ideal situation I must admit, as I get distracted all too easily by the things that need to be done at home and in the garden. Even more important, the internet is calling me and instead of working solidly on the painting I am on Facebook or checking my Etsy shop.  I work better under pressure, when the deadline of the forthcoming exhibition is approaching.

Here are some photos from my studio. I have been preparing for the solo exhibition titled "Boats and Transmitters" in Googies Art Cafe in Folkestone, on the South East coast of England.

The exhibition is now closed and I am off to new projects.

Next thing on the agenda is The Islington Art Fair. I will have a stand there on the 5th and 6th of October this year. I hope to see you there. Please come over and say hello.

Back to work then..
Do you also work in your studio at home? I wonder what is your experience of it?

My art studio at home

My dream art studio in the garden

I must confess I have been dreaming about building an art studio in my garden. Actually, I've been quite obsessed with the idea.
I am still hesitating whether to convert and extend our garage or knock the garage down and replace it with a ready made, purpose built, insulated garden room. The options are unlimited, but I am restricted by my limited budget. So let's see....

Option no 1 - low budget

Converting the garage by installing recycled windows in the walls.

Recently I came across a place called The Shed Gallery/Studio in Tunbridge Wells. It looks like their place is a converted garage or a garden shed. My studio could look similar.

Option no 2 - mid budget

I could cover our existing big garage with a new roof, with lots of skylights.

While researching I came across a company called VELUX®. They produce a top range of skylights and compatible VELUX blinds which can be opened with a remote-control, which sounds like an ideal solution for roof windows.

My new roof windows could look something like this (photo from VELUX website):

Option no 3 - the most expensive

To demolish the garage and to build something bigger from scratch. There are many companies out there offering to build insulated garden rooms. Or I could employ an architect and a builder and have my ideal studio built to my specifications. And I could still use VELUX skylights, with better effect.

I haven't decided yet. I am still in the dreaming stage. But they say everything starts from a dream.

This blog post was sponsored by VELUX

My dream art studio in the garden

Mebloteka Yellow - design cafe shop in Lodz

I spent Christmas time in Lodz, Poland. It is my home town. It's the third biggest city in Poland. It used to be a textile industry centre, a bit like Manchester in the UK, but now most of the factories are closed. I call Lodz a city of factories and palaces. The palaces used to belong to the owners of the factories and some of them are beautifully preserved and open to the public.

Most of the factories however stood empty for a long time and few of them were in a very bad shape. Until recently, when things started to change. Now Lodz is getting to be a very exciting place to be. More and more factories are being restored. Some became loft style apartments, some offices and some shopping centres.

'OFF Piotrkowska' became the hub of design studios and creative businesses. One of them is Mebloteka Yellow - a gallery, a cafe and a shop selling handmade products with a vintage feel, mostly fashion and homewares.

A friend of mine told me about this place, and as soon as it opened after Christmas, I was there.

The atmosphere of Yellow is amazing. You can feel the creativity buzzing. It is a meeting place for local creatives and more and more people are now discovering it. You can learn more about it here.

OFF Piotrkowska was one of the venues for annual Design Festival in Lodz.

If you come to Lodz, put it on your list of places to visit. I really recommend it.

Mebloteka Yellow - design cafe shop in Lodz