Curious Egg https://www.curiousegg.com/ Art First Interiors Wed, 18 May 2022 17:22:17 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.curiousegg.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Curious-Egg-Site-Logo-.svg Curious Egg https://www.curiousegg.com/ 32 32 86234094 Podcast Chat with Holly Drewett https://www.curiousegg.com/blog/podcast-chat-with-holly-drewett/ https://www.curiousegg.com/blog/podcast-chat-with-holly-drewett/#respond Sun, 06 Dec 2020 01:27:40 +0000 https://www.www.curiousegg.com/?p=52946 A study trip to Japan during her degree helped her to appreciate the value of craftsmanship and nature of materials more deeply and it was here that she discovered the lithographic

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Conceptual or representational? What kind or art makes your heart beat faster?  In this episode of the podcast I chat to artist Holly Drewett about this very topic and how her work in printmaking has changed over the years since graduating moving in a more experimental and conceptual direction. Holly’s work originally explored landscapes and our sense of place within these, often made up of textures and marks that described the terrain and atmosphere of a location.

A study trip to Japan during her degree helped her to appreciate the value of craftsmanship and nature of materials more deeply and it was here that she discovered the lithographic technique of Mokulito.  Practical issues of language however created some barriers to her experimenting with the printmaking equipment and chemicals more fully and she found herself instead exploring digital media and animation techniques which would come in useful in developing later works.

Holly talks about how travel has affected her practice and how a scary experience high up a mountain in a freak snow storm had a huge impact on her personally and her work thereafter. The thundering sound of the storm had such a profound effect on her physically and emotionally, that she felt compelled once back in her studio to explore the effects of sound in a visual way. She talks about how our relationship to sound is very personal and what may be positively stimulating to one person can be overwhelming to another. It’s the first sense we experience in life and it’s the last that we lose. Sound has a powerful effect on how we experience our environment. 

‘Soundscape’ print on voile, ink on paper Greenwich Tunnel

‘Decipher Sound Like’ – printed on voile

 

By recording sounds through gestural mark making in her drawings whilst blindfolded, Holly immersed herself in the physical experience of sound and how to make that visible. From abstract works through sculptural installations her exploration of soundscapes continues in her more recent experimental and collaborative work with underwater sound recordings studying the impact of mechanical sound on sea wildlife. 

‘ek-oh’ – Reclaimed wood, acrylic & vinyl. A collaborative work with artist Nemo Nonnenmacher ‘ The Same Tendency’, Summerhall Edinburgh

We discuss the reasons why representational art tends to be more seductive initially to people looking to buy art but how conceptual art can often have more longevity in terms of what it continues to gives back and how it leaves something different to be discovered every time you look at it.

Conceptual work tends to focus on ideas, personal perspectives, emotions, sensations and other intangible things that are an important part of our experience of this world. Making the unseen visible is a challenge. A conceptual piece of art may have as much if not more blood sweat and tears involved in the distillation of a concept to present it in a way that more of us can appreciate and identify with it than representational work where everything can be recognised in one glance. 

Sounding Space – acrylic and carving on wood

Holly’s work is not the sort of work that jumps out and grabs your attention immediately as you walk by. It doesn’t shock or make any loud political statement or present us with a story that’s easily readable. It’s quiet, meditative work. It’s the kind of work that if you try to connect the marks to make a ‘picture’ or recognisable image that makes sense to you, you may become further way from connecting with it. But clear your mind and allow your eye to make a journey over the peaks and troughs of the marks and scores and through the translucent misted tints of colour and you’ll find a different kind of sensory ‘scape’. The physical form that can be found in sound that takes you to a place you’ve never seen yet can feel intimately connected to.

‘Finding The Image Moving Shadows’

It’s not instant gratification that makes an artwork great and with the extended virtue of patience we’ve all gained this year, allowing time to sit with a conceptual piece and being open to the possibility of what is being presented in front of you could open a whole new world of art to discover!

Holly’s latest series of work ‘ Notes on Sound’ can be seen in our Winter Show ‘Emergence’.

You can listen to the full podcast here …. 

Holly working outside her new studio in Greece.

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Podcast Chat with Gill Walton https://www.curiousegg.com/blog/podcast-chat-with-gill-walton/ https://www.curiousegg.com/blog/podcast-chat-with-gill-walton/#comments Sun, 01 Nov 2020 19:04:59 +0000 https://www.www.curiousegg.com/?p=52285 From Shamanic journeys deep into the subconscious to the special properties of silver in protecting people from the great plague, this week I chat to artist Gill Walton about some of the intriguing processes and techniques that she uses in making her work. Gill talks about the DNA of an artists and the challenges of ... Read more

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From Shamanic journeys deep into the subconscious to the special properties of silver in protecting people from the great plague, this week I chat to artist Gill Walton about some of the intriguing processes and techniques that she uses in making her work.

Gill talks about the DNA of an artists and the challenges of balancing motherhood with being an artist and how she came back to art later in life finding a new love of painting through studying the work of the great masters such as Van Dyck, Caravaggio and Gentileschi – all great Baroque artists with a strong narrative in their work . By taking their work as inspiration and studying their use of light and colour, she finds new and contemporary ways to apply their processes to create a theatrical ‘stage’ within the canvas that has a current perspective yet keeps the dramatic and poetic overtones of their approach.

Colour features strongly in Gill’s work having studied closely the work of the Scottish colourists and how using bold, sometimes opposing colours can create tension or a striking sense of drama. Works such as ‘China Girl’ and ‘Willow’ that were inspired by performers in the Peking Opera with elaborate costume.

Ever wondered why things look better in odd numbers and how when decorating there’s a balance of shapes that just feels right? Gill reveals how she uses the sacred geometry of Fibonacci’s spiral to compose paintings and lead the viewer’s eye through the work. She talks about how she builds stories from her dreams into her work yet leaves room for the viewer to build their own story through the use of Jungian archetypal symbolism to embed messages within her work.

We discuss the challenges of following a career as an artist, how the time and energy needed to allow creative thought, for the trail and error it takes to develop creative ideas thoroughly, can’t be seen and often isn’t recognised or paid for.

In this difficult year of the Covid Pandemic, Gill talks about how this has affected her way or working, how there is a kind of subconscious connection to art from the time of the Black Death and that the confined physical and social space has changed the scale and shape of her work. She talks about how her usual baroque style and bright colours just didn’t seem to feel right and that she wasn’t even sure if she would be able to paint. She found herself going back to monochrome drawing in graphite pencil – smaller and simpler “just people and just emotion”

You can see more of Gill’s work in our Art Room and her latest work will be featured in our virtual Winter Show opening in mid November on the website.

You can listen to the full podcast here and  please do remember to leave a review if you enjoy it! 

*All images courtesy of Gill Walton.

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Podcast Chat with Jennifer Devaney https://www.curiousegg.com/blog/podcast-chat-with-jennifer-devaney/ https://www.curiousegg.com/blog/podcast-chat-with-jennifer-devaney/#respond Sat, 10 Oct 2020 23:58:20 +0000 https://www.www.curiousegg.com/?p=52134 Maximalist or minimalist, which one are you darling? Join me in this episode of The Art First Interiors as I chat to interior designer, surface artist and (she won’t mind me saying) unapologetic eccentric, Jennifer Devaney about her theatrical home and her ‘why not’ approach to home decorating. I discovered Jenni’s home on Instagram when ... Read more

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Maximalist or minimalist, which one are you darling? Join me in this episode of The Art First Interiors as I chat to interior designer, surface artist and (she won’t mind me saying) unapologetic eccentric, Jennifer Devaney about her theatrical home and her ‘why not’ approach to home decorating. I discovered Jenni’s home on Instagram when her wild and wonderful squares popped up on my feed. In the world of interiors, we often talk about the importance of a home reflecting your true personality and what you love and yet, too often we worry so much about what someone else might think that it ends up a weak, watered down version of our first raw creative thought. Not this home. Jenni’s mantra is “just do it and (cue rude hand gesture) * them all!”. She says about interiors what I say about good art, that whether you love it or loathe it, it should at least start a conversation. 

Like that iconic mine cart scene in the Indiana Jones film, you hold on tight as your eye is taken on a visual style journey through her little Instagram squares that’s fast, thrilling, changes direction frequently (often without warning resulting in spilt tea as you look on wide eyed) and sometimes teetering on the outer edges of decor danger but somehow managing to stay on the rails…phew! But somehow Jenni’s honest, wonderfully entertaining anecdotes and intriguing historical design facts draw you in close and you realise that if you just let go, relax and enjoy the ride, you can dust yourself off and emerge from those squares yes, a little stunned, possibly enlightened but utterly exhilarated.   

We’ve all marvelled as she’s taken on not small Lockdown room transformations in her home that are off the scale in terms of adventurousness and eccentricity. Her rich life experience includes time spent studying drama, music and costume design and this as well as her love of period homes and exotic travel have shaped a style that is bold, rule breaking and sometimes down right over the top fantasy!  Once you free fall further into her carefree style, thought process, experiments and boundless enthusiasm, they become absolutely infectious…. be warned! 

Listen to the full Podcast here…

Jenni was influenced at an early age by the awe and splendour of period homes and palaces. The magic of these places is something she tries to capture in every room she decorates. She makes sure there are always unexpected surprises and fun details – things that don’t make sense.  She talks about a maximalist style and how having a lot to look at in a room is actually more calming to the eye than a minimalist blank space which presumably in contrast, makes the eye panic and look for ‘the stuff’ – the familiar and comforting evidence of human presence. A room should have enough detail in it to feed the eye, making it pause, notice the layers down to the finest detail and while doing so stalling the mind. Mindfulness in maximalism, who knew?

Jenni’s grand sitting room with fabric mural ceiling

We talk about how artists use inspiration from all sorts of sources, from books and film set design to philosophy and even psychology. How you can have imagined worlds within your home by borrowing colours, pattern and texture from other cultures and faraway places.

The theatrical main bedroom complete with copper bath.

Her most recent home renovation was a guest loo that she didn’t know existed in the house! This became the canvas for a wild concoction of a river-pebble clad floor and wall, a gilded swan tap and … of course, an upper wall painted in Rorschach inspired inkblot test motifs. I rest my case.

Jenni’s ‘found’ loo with Rorschach inspired wall motif

Jenni by her own admission gets bored easily and so her mind is always on the go, looking for creative outlets and ‘impossible’ possibilities. Her home is an otherworldly labyrinth – a potent mix of styles, energy, colour and art with the ability to transport you to other eras and imaginary lives.

Of all the projects Jenni completed during Lockdown the most unexpected was the outdoor garden pagoda or ‘Gin Palace’ as she calls it. It’s truly a wonder, constructed in just two days, finished in the rudest red and adorned with paper lanterns and swaths of carnival coloured fabric and cushions. It’s warmth and charm matches Jenni’s personality perfectly. She has a child-like love (that I share) of magic and the pretend but without any pretentious undertones. 

Jenni’s fabulous garden pagoda or ‘gin palace’

The fact that this architectural fantastical creation is sitting in a garden in a quiet Scottish town makes it all the more spectacular and irreverent.  Slightly bonkers and absolutely fabulous all in one, it makes perfect sense to find her sitting inside it, draped in a kaftan with a silk turban on her head ready to read her tarots over a gin cocktail. She is a true free spirit who doesn’t take life too seriously and that’s a tonic for us all right now.

All images belong to Jennifer Devaney and you can also find more images and follow her @onealchemyhouse on Instagram

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Podcast Chat With Dee Campling https://www.curiousegg.com/blog/podcast-chat-with-dee-campling/ https://www.curiousegg.com/blog/podcast-chat-with-dee-campling/#respond Sun, 27 Sep 2020 03:41:16 +0000 https://www.www.curiousegg.com/?p=51914 To kick off series 2 of the Art First Interiors podcast, I chat to the lovely Dee Campling whose creative and relaxed ‘Boho-Scandi’ style has become iconic on Instagram. Her home has a beautiful and intriguing air of nomadic living, where objects collected on past travels rest casually against walls or by the door hinting ... Read more

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To kick off series 2 of the Art First Interiors podcast, I chat to the lovely Dee Campling whose creative and relaxed ‘Boho-Scandi’ style has become iconic on Instagram. Her home has a beautiful and intriguing air of nomadic living, where objects collected on past travels rest casually against walls or by the door hinting at journeys or adventures to be continued. The timeless romance of ditzy florals and faded washed walls are balanced with edgy contemporary art prints and quirky details that bring just a touch of enchantment to make you smile. 

Listen to the full podcast episode here and let me know what you think!…

The art of display -vintage and foraged treasures… Images: Dee Campling

We chat about the style ‘evolution’ of a home – how slow, considered decor wins the race – building a story in layers with special pieces that you really love and how the soft edges of old things with all their imperfections are the perfect partner to the clean crisp lines of contemporary pieces. 

Clean lines balanced with rich warm textures … Images: Dee Campling

Dee shares tips on the art of display, the relationships of objects, materials and styles and how to create vintage arrangements that avoid your home looking like a musty, dusty mess. As we head into autumn, she talks about the character of plants and flowers and gives tips on what stems* to look out for on a forest walk that will create a beautiful dried display. 

*Just a note of caution on the Hogweed, it’s not one to be picked unless dead and dried but even then use gloves see advice from the Woodland Trust here

She talks about her life long love of nature and how biophilic design can help us create a home environment that is good for our mental and physical health as well as the planet. Dee’s year round festival spirit blurs the boundaries of indoors and out, she believes they are one whole connected experience that should enhance everyday living. Her vision as we head into autumn living in the time of a pandemic is that our gardens will become the new socialising room in our home – that gives us a whole new decorating project to get excited about! 

You can read Dee’s blog post on how she created her outdoor living space here and you can find lots more inspiration from Dee on Instagram @deecampling and on her website www.dee-campling.com

Bringing the indoors out and the outdoors in… Images : Dee Campling

 

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Monumental Truths https://www.curiousegg.com/blog/monumental-truths/ https://www.curiousegg.com/blog/monumental-truths/#respond Sat, 20 Jun 2020 23:49:56 +0000 https://www.www.curiousegg.com/?p=51181 So many major events have hit the world hard in the last few months, it’s been hard to concentrate on the day to day when life as we know it is in flux. The most recent and highly charged of these events has been a series of horrific incidents of racism and in response, protests ... Read more

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So many major events have hit the world hard in the last few months, it’s been hard to concentrate on the day to day when life as we know it is in flux. The most recent and highly charged of these events has been a series of horrific incidents of racism and in response, protests resulting in the dismantling of certain commemorative statues.  When passions runs high, they ignite so many interesting debates and I’ve spent the last couple of weeks reading, listening and chatting (ok sometimes arguing) with people on social media from all walks of life from around the world. Amongst many other things, we’ve debated how something as inanimate as a statue can bring out so much anger and hatred, the toppling of which is even considered by some to be vandalism or an ‘erasing’ of history. That the space that these statues take up in our public areas and consciousness is now so controversial makes perfect sense to me. I thought I’d share my perspective having worked for many years in the field of public art; how these objects come into existence and how our built environment is shaped by our thinking, structure as a society and cultural status.

For the last couple of decades I’ve been immersed in this world, surrounded by fellow artists, all of us trying to observe and make visual comments on the world around us because that’s what artists do. The way you articulate your ideas and what you want other people to think about or see in your work is done through choice of material, construction method, subject matter and possibly most importantly how you display or present it. At art school we were taught to be very conscious of all of these things when coming up with a proposal for an artwork.

To set some context, I graduated in the mid nineties at a time when life-like figurative sculpture was not at all in fashion and more conceptual work (where ‘it’s all about the idea darling!’) was all the rage. We called it the ‘scratchy drawers’movement – put a smudge on the wall, stand back, look thoughtful and call it art – easy (I jest – well kind of). Meanwhile there was a tug of war going on about the role and scope of art in public places that I found a bit more intriguing. I’d just come back from Florence, Italy – completely inspired by the art filled squares and streets. The intricate buildings with powdery painted frescoes, glowing in the Italian sun captured my heart. I loved that the local people lived so casually beside such incredible and accomplished art and although of course they were proud of it, it wasn’t a big deal  -just their heritage wrapped around their buildings in the most comforting and meaningful way.

The reason this was a revelation to me is that at the time there was a strong undercurrent amongst artists in the UK that reeled against the traditional sense of public art (more specifically statues and monuments). If the seventies had brought us abstract blobs in city centres, the late nineties through late noughties brought a massive wave of urban regeneration projects to supposedly improve neglected areas of our cities. These vast developments relied on planning permission that could be granted on the condition that some sort of environmental ‘green token’ was given back to ‘the people’. A flurry of public art commissioning began to emerge, appearing in the small print of legal agreements for urban development with the required promise of community consultation and involvement. Everyone would win.

‘The Spirit of St Kentigern’ by Neil Livingstone Glasgow 1977
Image: Scottish Media Newspapers
Various works by David F.Wilson Overgate Shopping Centre, Dundee 1999 Image D.F Wilson

But commissioning public art has always been a cumbersome process for both commissioner and artist. The client or commissioner (usually a council, trust or private developer, unless they have the foresight to use a good public art consultant) has to come up with a brief, budget and location, then find the right artist through a fair and inclusive selection process – onerous and time consuming but very necessary for good results.

Consultation itself has to be understood as not a ‘design by committee’ approach but the opportunity for the local community to input into the brief given to the artist so that he or she can then build these parameters into his or her research and design process. Like the ingredients of a good cake. The more time spent on this preparation, the better the outcome. It’s no surprise then, that as deadlines press and budgets diminish, creative thinking goes out of the window.

With regeneration moving fast, consultation with local communities was often shelved and ‘open’ calls to an inclusive mix of artists was more often than not substituted with a well-worn shortlist of reliable will-come-up-with-the-expected-goods-and-not-be-controversial public artists. Artist briefs were often scrambled together by project managers (out of touch with the community issues, values or aspirations) given a strict set of rules by their boss for the types of acceptable art that should be encouraged to show off the ’vision’ for a new kind of place.

Roundabout sculpture for a housing Development in Banbury Image: Paul Margetts

As a result, quite odd looking objects began to pop up on roundabouts, town squares and yes, on plinths. These ‘decorative baubles’ parachuted in at the end of a regeneration project with all the forced pomp and ceremony of a medieval public hanging became the norm. Aftercare plans were rarely thought about and at best these sculptural objects, statues and monuments became worn and unkept, cloaked in graffiti or at worst, ignored completely as meaningless trinkets plonked on the urban landscape.

Communities and artists alike began to reject the whole process and so called ‘public’ art was frequently branded a waste of public money and even a dirty word amongst us artists. We’d joke about how long it would take before a recently so called ‘public’ artwork would be vandalised. I think the record was three hours after the last nut and bolt was tightened.  It was a truly unimaginative masterclass in gagging creative expression that completely annihilated the role of the artist and disassociated the local community.

‘Flying Geese’ by Aedeas Architects 2004 Image: Lennox Herald

There were exceptions of course. Artists and commissioners who managed to introduce public art that challenged the whole process and concept. Some artists navigating their way through the bureaucracy and red tape, some commissioners putting in the time and effort to put something really worthwhile and thought provoking out there.

One that comes to mind for me is Kenny Hunter, a Scottish artist whose smooth, perfectly formed sculptures play on the formality of nineteenth century classical statues and monuments but embody a cryptic edge that explores modern society current affairs. His statue of Margaret Thatcher, cast in fibreglass resin with coal dust embedded in it and set on top of an oil drum was an especially charged piece of work.

Hunter’s ‘Citizen Firefighter’ erected outside Central station in Glasgow was the result of an intense research period by the artist in collaboration with the commissioner ( the Scottish Fire And Rescue Service) – many weeks of going out on shifts with real fire-fighters, listening to their stories and physically experiencing what it was like to wear the heavy gear while, climbing stairs in a burning building. His final artwork has no visible face – hidden behind a helmet and visor with breathing apparatus – it could be a man or woman and of any race. Erected not on a plinth, but at ground level, presented as any and every one of us. It commemorates the family of firefighters and those who have died in service, a really powerful piece and well accepted by the people of Glasgow. You can see here it’s sometimes used for messages of community support and solidarity.

‘Citizen firefighter’ by Kenny hunter 2001 Image: Glasgow Live

Another  truly inspirational example of challenging the space taken up by public monuments  is ‘The fourth Plinth’ project in Trafalgar Square, London. This was a plinth originally intended for a public statue of William IV and his horse in the early 1800’s but the funds weren’t found and it lay empty for over a century. In 1998, in a new wave of public art fever, Prue Leith, then chair of the Royal Society of Arts came up with the inspired idea to have a changing display of commissioned provocative public art beginning in 1999 with a giant sculpture by Mark Wallinger, ‘ Ecce Homo’. The sculpture presented a modern day figure of Jesus Christ – a small man standing on the giant plinth intended by the artist to appear exposed and vulnerable. It represented any person facing hostility for speaking out about what they believe in. 

‘Ecce Homo’ by Mark Wallinger 1999. Image Peter White

This was followed by other works such as Marc Quinn’s  ‘Alison Lapper Pregnant’, questioning ideas of beauty, the form of the human body. On his approach to making the sculpture of Alison – an English artist with phocomelia ( born without arms and shortened legs) – Marc commented, ‘Marble is the material used to commemorate heroes, and these people seem to me to be a new kind of hero – people who instead of conquering the outside world have conquered their own inner world and gone on to live fulfilled lives. To me, they celebrate the diversity of humanity. Most monuments are commemorating past events; because Alison is pregnant it’s a sculpture about the future possibilities of humanity.” – Marc Quinn, Recent Sculptures Catalogue, Groninger Museum, 2006 .

‘Alison Lapper Pregnant’ by Marc Quinn 2005 image: Greater London Authority

Another artist Yinka Shonibare created ‘Nelson’s Ship In A Bottle in 2010 – to commemorate the battle of Trafalgar and was the first black artist to be commissioned to produce a piece of public art for the plinth. This piece made references to Britain’s colonial past with African print fabric used on the sales of the ship, officially to celebrate Nelson’s expansion of the British Empire but possibly to remind us of the cost of this imperialist journey. This was a hugely respected piece and after much public fundraising to avoid private sale, it’s now in the Maritime museum in London. The commissioning of temporary public art for the Fourth Plinth continues to this day.

‘Nelson’s Ship In A Bottle’ by Yinka Shonibare 2010 Image: Greater London Authority

Art and buildings have always had a strong relationship in shaping city identities and forms. Buildings have historically signalled their purpose by their form and grandeur or lack of – think farm buildings, government headquarters, civic halls and the ever-rocketing gleaming skyscrapers that celebrate financial power.

More sinister examples are the Nazi facist architecture of the 1900’s designed as overwhelming symbols of dominance, uniformity and oppressive ideologies aimed to crush the independent thinker. Buildings change the shape of our cities and tell much about the people that live there. Sculpture can contribute greatly but statues take up quite a different space in our shared environment.

Early ancient cultures created large scale buildings and sculptures for gods they worshipped or important religious icons and made them prominent in the landscape or their city. It was seen as a symbol of their culture, common values and human spirit. Later the Greeks and Romans with strong hierarchical societal structures, had life-like statues made of prominent political leaders and businessmen and put them on plinths to honour them with the highest status – that people should look up at them in admiration.

There is a reason for monumental plinths, they add scale and height. The feeling of being small and insignificant next to them and looking up to them is not accidental. This approach to public monuments influenced many of the nineteenth and twentieth century classical statues that have come into question in recent weeks against a very different cultural and social backdrop.

We may have been oblivious to some, as their meaning got lost along the way but now in a time when we are more mindful than ever of the nuances of human nature, culture and lifestyle, it’s dawning on us that there are many sub-histories clearly excluded from the mainstream school curriculum. The singular viewpoint or mono-story presented in the grand display of these statues today is coming under scrutiny and rightly so.

Most would agree that figures of oppression or those that have had a hand in atrocities don’t belong as idolised icons in a ‘civilised’ twenty first century society but destroying them completely some feel, would be erasing a past that did exist. If these key figureheads of our albeit flawed past, bound in stone or bronze are to remain in our shared public spaces where we have no choice but to walk past them everyday staring down at us apathetically, then surely we have a social and cultural responsibility to ensure we present publicly, the full story, good and bad, in order to preserve history – if that’s what we’re worried about.  Or, and it’s a difficult but practical question, if we remove them, what can we do with them aside from flinging them to the bottom of a river – not the most environmentally responsible action. 

One possibility comes to mind. Just before we set up Curious Egg, we spent a whole summer travelling around Europe exploring cities and villages. One of my most vivid memories is of a special and unique site in Budapest Hungary – Memento Park.  I would describe it as an outdoor museum or ‘statue graveyard’ set in the outskirts of the city within easy reach but not in the main civic spaces. They have created a small park with a maze-like path winding around a mapped route. Here you’ll discover all the toppled and decommissioned statues dismantled and removed from public plinths around the city, mostly key figures from the Communist era and Red Army occupation.

Statues at Memento Park, Budapest Hungary. Images: Curious Egg

It’s a haunting and yet slightly magical experience, a little like going to an amusement park without the rides but with all the theatre. It’s not overly styled or explained, not many other props or amenities, just the statues – some poignant, some downright malevolent looking.  You pay a small fee to go in and with that, you know you will be presented with a city’s true past, warts and all. As with an art gallery, you can’t object as there should be no censorship as long as the museum isn’t pushing any particular agenda and you’ve chosen to go in. Each statue displays a fragment of history – the attitudes and values of a city’s people at a particular moment in time and I think that allows for proper refection, discussion and learning.

“This Park is about dictatorship and at the same time, because it can be talked about, described and built up, this Park is about democracy. After all, only democracy can provide an opportunity to think freely about dictatorship or about democracy, come to that! Or about anything!” Architect Ákos Eleőd, conceptual designer of Memento Park

Memento Park Budapest, Hungary. Image via jndtravelog.com

Our most personal space is that within our home – a place that houses objects that tell a story of our past and present identity. Just as our personal story changes as we mature, our homes change to reflect our current tastes, values, habits, outlook and memories. We may cringe at (or truly regret) past behaviour and actions so probably wouldn’t choose to have it all on display as an everyday reminder but few of us would destroy all of those mementos completely… however shameful they may be. We might place them in a box for occasional reference so that we don’t let ourselves forget who we once were and did and what we learned from those experiences and mistakes -hopefully becoming better people as a result.

Maybe if we think of our cities as our outdoor homes, the same applies. If we agree that culture is fluid, then as humanity matures, can our cities and shared public spaces reflect this fluidity too?  Do monuments and statues have a place at all and if so, if we are to look up at them in pride and admiration, could they represent more timeless virtues that we, as a forward looking society can all feel good about – virtues such as equality, tolerance, mutual care, kinship and curiosity those elements of human life that tap into our collective soul?

Could we then use the most significant outdoor public spaces for temporary displays – strong, intelligent and complex artworks in all mediums – that question and explore the controversial or challenging within our communities as initiated in the ‘Fourth Plinth’ Commission. This kind of approach could ensure that public space is preserved for open and equal opportunity ( in proposing new works) and for inclusive public comment and debate – they would be cultural sentinels of our times, documented… but fluid. 

The art of life lies in a constant readjustment to our surroundings” – Kakuzo Okakura, The Book of Tea.

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Podcast Chat With Karenina Fabrizzi https://www.curiousegg.com/blog/podcast-chat-with-karenina-fabrizzi/ https://www.curiousegg.com/blog/podcast-chat-with-karenina-fabrizzi/#respond Sun, 17 Nov 2019 00:57:47 +0000 https://www.www.curiousegg.com/?p=45710 This week on the podcast I chat to artist Karenina Fabrizzi directly from her studio in Barcelona! We chat about her life as a professional artist and how her practice has evolved over the years and why she always like to stay open to new challenges and experiences. We discuss the artists who have made ... Read more

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This week on the podcast I chat to artist Karenina Fabrizzi directly from her studio in Barcelona! We chat about her life as a professional artist and how her practice has evolved over the years and why she always like to stay open to new challenges and experiences.

We discuss the artists who have made the most impact on her, from working alongside American Pop artist Jeff Koons in his studio to her love of the work of troubled Austrian artist Egon Schiele and her ongoing quest to capture the elusive traits of Irish -born artist Francis Bacon in her work! She describes how she uses unexpected subject matter, layering of colour, textures and the materials to reference different aspects of human nature.

paitnings by Karenina Fabrizzi
Dripping Flowers and Pink Ensemble mixed media layered paintings by Karenina Fabrizzi
mixed media paintings by Karenina Fabrizzi
The Body As A Container “The Mask” and The Body As A Container ” Pride”

She talks about how it’s vital for an artist develop their unique voice and be clear on the message they want to put across with their work and the responsibility she feels towards every project and client, ensuring professionalism in every aspect of her work.

Karenina Fabrizzi working in her studio
Karenina working on layers on a commissioned canvas

Environment and context affect how an artist works and she has recently moved studio to one in the arts quarter of the city where her studio is just below her apartment.

Karenina is a prolific artist who doesn’t shy away from a challenge. From paintings to murals to original paintings on furniture, we discuss the notoriously tricky commissioning process – whether it’s a curse or a blessing from the perspective of the artist and the importance of a good brief in making or breaking the success of a project.

You can see more of her work in our Art Room here.

artist's apartment in Barcelona
Karenina’s apartment in the city above her studio
another voew of Karenina's studio
One of Karenina’s work zones in her studio

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Podcast chat with Lou Watkins https://www.curiousegg.com/blog/podcast-chat-with-lou-watkins/ https://www.curiousegg.com/blog/podcast-chat-with-lou-watkins/#respond Sun, 03 Nov 2019 00:56:31 +0000 https://www.www.curiousegg.com/?p=44660 Do you risk assess your art before buying? Do you consider ‘recycling’ pieces you no longer want on eBay? Join me in this episode of the Art First Interiors Podcast as I chat to creative home maker, home library styling queen and vintage art lover Lou Watkins on how she chooses art she loves for ... Read more

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Do you risk assess your art before buying? Do you consider ‘recycling’ pieces you no longer want on eBay? Join me in this episode of the Art First Interiors Podcast as I chat to creative home maker, home library styling queen and vintage art lover Lou Watkins on how she chooses art she loves for her home.

Lou Watkins mid century art filled home
Lou’s creative placement of artworks create ambience in every corner : Image Lou Watkins

We talk about how instagram has become a valuable way of connecting artists with new buyers and Lou shares tips for emerging artists wanting to promote their work for the first time. She reveals some secrets behind collaborating with artists as an influencer and how if you have the right partnership it can work for both parties in incredibly rewarding ways.

Home of Lou Watkins with original art displayed on the library
Lou’s collaborations with artists result in some with stunning displays around her home.

From buying original artworks via Instagram to bidding furiously for that perfect vintage piece on eBay, Lou shares her advice for nabbing the piece you want in a way that’s affordable. Whether you choose to save up gradually and buy in one go or take advantage of affordable finance schemes to allow you to pay for higher value pieces in instalments, we talk through the possibilities that are out there.

gallery wall with prints and paintings and home library
Contemporary prints make up a gallery wall in the bedroom and spot our very own Rachel Louise Lee print taking pride of place on the famous home library!

As a self confessed lover of a home party, Lou has art displayed in every corner of her home arranged to create just the right vibe and mood for each space.  Hear how she plans the purchase of a really special artwork carefully around the seasons ( ! ) and how, wait for it……sometimes it’s ok to not buy a piece if it won’t match the sofa…gasp!!

Listen to the full podcast episode here and please do come and leave a comment if you enjoyed it!…

 

 

You can also see more of Lou’s home on Instagram @lou_a_watkins. 

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Podcast chat with Rachel Louise Lee https://www.curiousegg.com/blog/podcast-chat-with-rachel-louise-lee/ https://www.curiousegg.com/blog/podcast-chat-with-rachel-louise-lee/#respond Fri, 18 Oct 2019 00:25:30 +0000 https://www.www.curiousegg.com/?p=44657 This week I visit the studio of Rachel Louise Lee, one of our Art Room Artists to chat about life beyond art school and her creative process. Rachel Graduated in 2015 and has since set up studio in her home to continue her practice. We chat about the importance of environment when creating and how ... Read more

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This week I visit the studio of Rachel Louise Lee, one of our Art Room Artists to chat about life beyond art school and her creative process. Rachel Graduated in 2015 and has since set up studio in her home to continue her practice. We chat about the importance of environment when creating and how a studio location and set up can affect your productivity and mindset.

Rachel talks about her journey through art school and how being surrounded by other creatives led her to explore techniques of making in a more experimental way. She progressed onto printmaking which gave her the hands on tools and graphic technique she craved to express herself through a  layering of thoughts written in text, photographic images and painted textures to build up surreal landscapes and portraits. Inspired by artists such as Anselm Kiefer , she uses spontaneous mark making on paper to work over screen printed images resulting in fresh exciting images that have movement and gesture ‘woven’ into their surface.

We chat about the challenges of leaving the comfort of an artschool where a lot of the technical equipment is provided and how to keep the creative juices flowing when you’re faced with the everyday reality of earning a living out in the world; how to maintain quality and integrity in your work  when dealing with the pressures of selling.

Rachel is one of our most popular artists and we have sold many of artworks around the world, she talks about how travel and a change of environment feeds her creativity and the inspiration behind many of her pieces. I was interested how she feels about her work being displayed in people’s homes, from the moment it leaves her studio to sometimes seeing it for the first time on someone’s wall on Instagram!

You can listen to the full podcast here:

Enjoy!

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Podcast chat with Jasmine Edwards https://www.curiousegg.com/blog/podcast-chat-with-jasmine-edwards/ https://www.curiousegg.com/blog/podcast-chat-with-jasmine-edwards/#comments Sun, 06 Oct 2019 00:41:49 +0000 https://www.www.curiousegg.com/?p=44490 In this episode of the Art First Interiors podcast, I chat to creative homemaker and online gallery owner, Jasmine Edwards about her art filled home. We talk about her favourite places to source art, making a considered purchase versus an impulsive one and the dreaded, what if my tastes change and I don’t like it ... Read more

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In this episode of the Art First Interiors podcast, I chat to creative homemaker and online gallery owner, Jasmine Edwards about her art filled home. We talk about her favourite places to source art, making a considered purchase versus an impulsive one and the dreaded, what if my tastes change and I don’t like it in a few years time? doubts.

We delve into the practical considerations in bringing art into your home such as framing and hanging heights, where to place pieces in relation to light and layout of the room and how it can change the way you feel in a space.

Jasmine talks about how art communicates the most intimates part of life and how the art we choose captures and preserves memories and becomes a record of our personal history presenting a strong emotional connection in the home.

So why it is that art and creativity seems to be valued less after the early years of childhood – that academic subjects seem to hold more importance at school and beyond?  Art will always polarize opinion and we hear just what Jasmine’s house guests really think about some of the art in her home – Brace! Brace!

Listen to the full podcast episode here and let me know what you think!…

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Style Warrior Secrets – Helma Bongenaar https://www.curiousegg.com/blog/style-warrior-secrets-helma-bongenaar/ https://www.curiousegg.com/blog/style-warrior-secrets-helma-bongenaar/#respond Sun, 25 Nov 2018 01:15:31 +0000 https://www.www.curiousegg.com/?p=38906 My grandmother didn’t walk she glided. I rarely saw her feet because they were hidden beneath that most beautiful shimmering silk saris sometimes detailed with real gold thread and beautiful peacock blues and greens. She was small like me and used to seemingly float along to wherever she was going slowly so gracefully (unlike me) ... Read more

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My grandmother didn’t walk she glided. I rarely saw her feet because they were hidden beneath that most beautiful shimmering silk saris sometimes detailed with real gold thread and beautiful peacock blues and greens. She was small like me and used to seemingly float along to wherever she was going slowly so gracefully (unlike me) in fact her name was Grace and that’s my middle name which I have probably yet to live up to.

My sister and I would sometimes stay with her on a Saturday night if my parents were out. She would cook all day before we came taking her time to prepare a special meal for us, adjusting the spices carefully for our little palates. I loved bedtime the most. She’d tuck us up in single beds that you practically needed ladders to climb into and would start to speak in an even lower, quieter voice than usual so that our thoughts would unwittingly slow down and our little eyelids would start to droop.

The room was a cool teal blue with tiny pictures placed randomly on the wall and small collected objects from her travels were dotted about -to be picked up and examined if you were interested- along with old battered books on shelves and dark wood furniture. It wasn’t cluttered though, things quietly had their place and had been kept well. Above the bed was an oval picture of a ‘glowing’ Jesus with long glossy hair and airbrushed face (she and my grandad who died before I could meet him, had been missionaries in India before moving over to Scotland where my grandfather became minister of a beautiful little church for years. My dad didn’t followed suit and so the religious side was somewhat lost on us!

I loved this hazy time just before we drifted off to sleep as she would stop talking to us completely but would stand near us at the old dressing table and silently start to dismantle the bun in her hair. No one I knew had a bun like hers, it had it’s own beautifully crocheted black silk cotton ‘cover’ and this defined her silhouette. A crocheted bun cover – just let that sink in and tell me you knew such things existed. She would carefully unpick every hairpin and remove the little cover to reveal a neatly coiled pleat of silver and black hair – I remember it being revelation to me that my grandmother actually had super long silky hair! I also remember feeling slightly guilty about being awake to see this ‘naked’ bun- a bit like catching a parent doing the Santa present drop on Christmas eve.

My grandmother taught me many valuable things but the two most important have been the simple magic in smiling at someone you don’t know and also having patience in every aspect of life.

This week’s style warrior is someone whose whole styling approach is wholly based on patience -from making photo-worthy delicious looking food to placing collected objects in such a way that she releases new life in them. Her beautiful images on instagram , like little stills from a vintage home movie about seeing the beauty in old things and putting them together with great care to create something wonderful are hugely inspirational. Let me take you to Amsterdam to hear the very talented Helma Bongenaar sharing her style secrets…
Hi I’m Helma. We ( my husband, our two children and I) live in an old building in the centre of Amsterdam. 

Helma Bongenaar standing phot taken by Renee Frinking
Style Warrior Helma Bongenaar Photo: Renee Frinking

The neighbourhood was built in the 19th century for the dockers, at the time the harbour was just around the corner with all the steamships and warehouses. Our house used to be a bar in those days and we made a cabinet with liquor in the kitchen as a tribute to the pub it once was. 

My husband is an artist traveling through Europe during the summertime with a very successful act (delinus 03) and in wintertime he constructs places like our place for other people. He operates with only used materials like old panel doors or old cabinets, everything made of real wood.

Our son (20) is studying history and Russian language at the university of Amsterdam. Our daughter (17) just finished high school, currently cycling to Paris with two friends while thinking what education she might do next school year.

Years ago, I finished art school as a photographer, had a career as a photographer but when the digital era arrived, I stopped. I missed working with my hands so I started making curtains and other fabric wallhangings.

Progressively people asked me to decorate their homes or workspaces and later on I worked for interior magazines in Holland as a stylist. 
Cooking is also a big part of my life now; running a home restaurant for special occasions and doing some catering.

Currently I’m working on a cookbook where my skills come together; styling and cooking.

1. How would you describe your interiors style and how has this changed over the years?
It’s quite a mix. There are elements of French brocante, dutch design, vintage and fleamarket style, bohemian, upcycled chic, art, I guess they call it eclectic? Collecting is in my blood, I collect many different items so the interior is literally growing every year.

2. What’s a ‘typical’ week in the life of Helma Bongenaar?
There’s not one week that looks similar to the other. Sometimes I have to cook for my home restaurant, the other week I have to work as a stylist for a Dutch magazine, then I have to give advice about interiors, sometimes I need to make a design for a client. I’ve been very busy with my cookbook which has just been published in November.

Maybe for others my life looks chaotic and disorganised but for me it’s all the same. It’s all about taste in the broadest sense of the word, making everything more beautiful. The children are grown up, living their own life, leaving me with a lot of time left!
Instagram works for me! It’s about beautiful pictures, looking for soulmates and making new contacts in an easy way.

 interior and food styling Helma Bongenaar
A snap shot of Helma’s projects which include food styling, a chandelier she made for a bar in Amsterdam and the last remaining phone booth in Amsterdam which she decorated inside!

 

3. Can you describe for us what role art plays within your home?
We are surrounded by art, mostly made by artistic friends. For me art must bring some emotion especially joy and laughter. Some people say that we are living in a piece of art! That’s too much of a compliment but our home is our life, our work, our test patch.

4. What’s your favourite piece of art in your home and why?
My parents had a small country home in the south of France and for me as a child it was like paradise. We travelled as much as possible between Holland and France so I spent a lot of time in a car. This painting of a French highway symbolises these journeys. I bought it from a painter (Helcia Cino) some years back but still love it!

Helma’s favourite painting of a French highway hanging above her faux drawn fireplace.

 

5. What’s your creative process for coming up with interior décor ideas?
All my life I have been fond of painters like Matisse, Bonnard, Van Dongen, Vuillard and Valadon. The colours they use, the topics, the way they paint, all very inspiring. But also contemporary artists like Michaël Borremans or Marlene Dumas are inspirational painters.
I like to visit European heritage like castles, country houses, farmhouses, townhouses like the canal houses in my own city, Amsterdam. Doesn’t matter if they are richly decorated or furnished soberly, old interiors show craftsmanship which I admire. Time was never an issue in the old days, the result was the only thing that counted. The items I design take a lot of time too; everything starts with collecting, then a lot of thinking and trying, after that the assembling and a lot of refining till perfect.

6. Tell us about your favourite creative interiors project within your home…and to make us all feel better, what was your biggest interiors mistake?
Definitely the kitchen! We live in a historic building in the centre of Amsterdam in a former bar. After a big renovation (the whole neighbourhood needed to be renovated) we came back in a hull house. Old from the outside, modern inside. We managed to get back the feeling of an old and cosy tavern and having a modern kitchen at the same time.The biggest mistakes I make are when there is not enough time, fine ideas and good design need time!

7. Can you share your best DIY Style Warrior ‘secret’ tip from your creative projects?
A good collection of old or vintage stuff, whatever you like, combined with something that fits in but is unexpected. Or the other way around, an unexpected collection with a classic touch like my chandelier made with Chinese spoons.

Those spoons are cheap, you can find them everywhere and so they’re easily ignored. And yet still this lamp in our kitchen looks old, chic and is really an eye catcher! My secret is to collect till it feels ridiculous and make something out of what makes you smile, humour is important. Collections are also handy when decorating a house, it looks as though it’s been there for ages, almost random.

collected antique objects
Just some of Helma’s beautifully displayed collections

 

8. Can you give any gems of advice for those looking to create an individual look in their homes?
Don’t throw away that old cabinet of Grandma’s, it brings history, stories and therefore character into your home. Just add a new item which makes it more your style.

9. If you threw the ultimate house party who would be your surprise star guest (dead or alive!) and what would you ask them to bring?
That would be Julia Child arm in arm with Henri Matisse. Julia bringing a good French dish to feed all the guests and Henri bringing me a tiny, tiny little piece of art, a scratch, to accompany my other art on the wall.

10. What’s your best trait and worst vice that we should know about before we move in?
My best trait is patience, I can wait for years to find that one thing I need to complete a design or a collection.

My worst vice is that I cannot stand the sight of people eating microwave meals and not even bothering to put the food on a proper plate!

Well, please do come in and make yourself comfortable!
I’ll make you a good meal, we shall talk about DIY, interiors and many other things and have a good laugh!

I am totally enamoured with Helma’s approach to styling her home- it’s not about buying a complete ‘look’ that she’s seen in some magazine and wants to copy… and it’s also not static. It’s a slowly evolving personal ‘master piece’ where not everything is revealed in one glance. Things are added to and removed just as an artist might approach a work in progress -leaving it alone for a while, revisiting it when the time is right. Like a master chef perfecting a culinary delight, Helma’s home styling is slow, considered and creative to the core.

As your eyes wander through her instagram feed, you’ll find quietly theatrical corners with humorous and imaginative little decor surprises. Her home has a classic authentic old world feel that is both decadent and homely. Collecting is an art form. To see the value in old things, to select them carefully and then, by ‘re-presenting’ these objects from a bygone era out of context, she lets us experience them in an unexpected contemporary way.
It’s easy to become impatient when it comes to decorating and to want a quick fix, to ‘just get it done’. But all that newness and the quick fixes tend to leave a little emptiness – let’s admit it. Mixing in old, good things that aren’t perfect but that are soulful and well made brings integrity to a space – a sense of belonging to something bigger.

Fast decor like fast food is ok for a while but our homes like us, need nourishment through love and care. Well marinated ideas that mature over time allow the layering of stories that will create future memories.

With a little patience and individual thinking, we can even enjoy taking time out to ‘crochet our bun covers’ and in the process maybe time will pause for a wee while… I think this is truly the art of slow living.
Photos courtesy of Helma Bongenaar – thank you!

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