One of the things that I’m researching as part of my Masters degree is different materials, mediums, techniques and equipment for making sculpture. I explored many new things last term from needle felting and wet felting, wood carving, expanding foam, plaster moulds, ceramic construction and sculptural embroidery. And this term the adventures continue…

And I’m already lining up my next exploration which is chainsaw carving, having purchased the safety equipment and booked an introduction induction with a local expert - exciting times!

Life has been a bit of a whirlwind in this final year of my Masters Degree in fine art and I’m struggling to keep you updated with all the things I’m doing! One of the things keeping me busy is taking part in several exhibitions, which has been really exciting to get an opportunity to share my sculpture in public for the first time. Let me share a couple of these exhibitions with you.

Here is my Hidden Potential series as part of Cambridge School of Art installation hosted by Cambridge Art Fair in the fabulous ballroom at Cambridge University Arms Hotel

And here is the series developed further in an MA Collective Interim show called “This is not a shoe shop” situated in unit 15 of Grafton Centre Cambridge. Exhibiting midway through the final year of my Masters degree with 6 of my fellow students from Cambridge School of Art.

I have at least 2 more exhibitions booked in the next few months before my final degree show in September.... so watch this space!

Today I am celebrating - I have completed my assignments for my MA course this term, which means I can start getting ready for Christmas AND it means I can show you what I've been up to!

Because my assignment has to be handed in digitally it means it's super easy to share with you! Click on the images below to take a look.

I have really been in my element, following my dreams, and I'm just getting started!
What unfulfilled creative dreams are you sitting on that could maybe be unearthed in 2022 I wonder?!!

As the temperature drops and clocks have changed here in the UK, I’m starting to think about Christmas. 49 sleeps! (yes I have an app on my phone)! I love the family time, the festive food, giving pressies, lounging in PJs, the decorations!
Life has been super busy jumping back into my Masters degree course in Fine Art this term (after having taken a year off due to Covid) and I have to admit there are moments when thoughts of resting and doing nothing at Christmas are what’s keeping me going! That’s when all the academic stuff starts getting on top of me - and there sadly seems to be rather a lot of that this term - HOWEVER there has also been a lot of FUN as well and I thought you guys would like to see some of it!

I’m planning to use this last year of my MA to learn to create sculpture, so I’m trying lots of different mediums to see which ones I like and to make use of the equipment and technical support while I have it. I hope to work with clay, plaster, wood, felt, foam & textiles (almost all of which is new to me).
My work is inspired by seed pods where I'm focussing on creating contrast between the inside and outside (the life and potential within vs the rough exterior). Here is some of my experimentation thus far.

I’ve also done a whistle stop tour of many places trying to see as much sculpture as I can.

Things are moving at quite a pace and I’ll have much more to show you in a month’s time! For now, back to fun with expanding foam! See you soon!

My 2021 started with having Covid so it’s taken me a while to gather my thoughts this year to look ahead. Facing an uncertain year, whilst feeling ill, made me feel completely overwhelmed and anxious, if I’m honest, but this has actually proved to serve me well and as I worked through reviewing the year gone and beginning to plan the year ahead I’ve given priority to thinking of how to pace myself and to consider what things I would really enjoy doing. And I’m now feeling really inspired and hopeful.

Two key things have particularly stood out to me that my mentor has shared and have really made a difference for me as I plan ahead:
1. a quote by Alice Walker

I don’t know about you but I’ve realised that If I’m not careful I spend my life thinking “once I get there, THEN I will make time to …” (exercise, eat properly, sit down once in a while and stroke the dog, etc etc). I’m the kind of person who does the horrid jobs first to get them out the way and often don’t get round to doing the lovely stuff. Sometimes I worry that I plan my time too much. I’ve found that since emerging from the stay at home mum stage I’ve needed to prioritise and plan really carefully in order to make sure there’s room in life for me and for art as well as looking after everyone else, adding an MA into that mix (or at the moment homeschooling) has meant sometimes every single second is accounted for and there’s no room for flexibility.

Every year I decide on a word for the year, so my word for this year is REAL. I’m no longer living for tomorrow I’m going to enjoy my life right now! I've made myself a visual reminder of this here and also bought myself 100 sweatpea seeds to plant, as one of my 'future' dreams is to have a garden bursting with fragrance and colour.

I’m still going to plan I’m seeing my planning as more like a support grid you use for protecting tall flowers (structures that help me blossom and bloom! - see the image) As I’ve been planning, I’ve made sure there is ‘wiggle room’ and I’ve highlighted the things I’m most looking forward to, to make sure these aren’t always the first things to be taken off my list when things get too busy.

So here’s to 2021 and to staying real!

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This December I was commissioned to create a painting and to make a video, to be broadcast as part of my church Christmas carol service - and I thought you might like to see it too! It's called 'A moment in time'.
Set to the beautiful harp and voice of my talented friend Lucy Bunce, a track called ‘In Dulci Jubilo’ from her Christmas Album.

THANK YOU for all your interest and encouragement in my art through 2020! This was the year I turned my hand to the potters wheel and ceramics, to screen printing, lithography, the risograph and linocutting, to machine embroidery and textile installations. I did my first live demo, live Q&A and live video tour on social media, coordinated the Cambridge Open Windows event and redesigned my website.
I don’t know about you, I usually find the end of a year and start of a new one quite exciting, the potential, the fresh start. To be honest this year, currently weakened by Covid it’s easy to feel a little daunted about what lies ahead. I’m sure I will bounce back soon and enjoy making all sorts of plans and schemes. In the mean time tomorrow is just another day isn’t it? One step at a time.
Much love to you for this new year! K x

At the start of December I had fun doing a 12 days of Christmas giveaway. Every day from 1st December I shared either a print or on of my fine art products on my social media and people entered to win.

Each morning my daughter pulled a name out of a Christmas hat and I announced the lucky winner from the day before. I had winners in Germany, Canada, across the UK and a few just round the corner in Cambridge too. It was a lovely way to spread a bit of Christmas cheer whilst also sharing with my followers what products I have available that would make great stocking fillers!

To take a look at these Fine Art Products and Accessories click HERE

Instead of sharing recent work this time I decided to do a bit of a spring clean, as my storage space for art is full. So my focus for this was on pieces that were created a few years ago.
I decided to still have an art exhibition in my home and studio, despite, not being allowed to invite anyone in and I created a live video tour to share my work.

For the first time, I thought I would try running this exhibition as a secret auction, where people could pay whatever they wished, with no reserve prices (although I did reserve the right to refuse bids for any reason). I set up an auction page on my website with the 12 pieces I’d selected and another page explaining how it all worked. I showed the normal prices that these paintings sold for and details about their size etc. I even offered free shipping and gift wrapping! Each painting had a ‘place a bid’ button which took people through to a google form where they placed their bids.

Then I shared images of each painting in the auction during the week on social media and drew attention to the final day with a live art demo and chat. See above for the art I made in the demo.

I think the biggest thing I’ve learnt is that having an event to work towards, gives you something positive to focus on and to talk about! I ended up reaching SO many more people through doing this on line than I would have done doing it just locally - in fact I will make sure that I include an online element in my future events even once Covid has gone.
I will probably do an auction again at some point but not for a number of years, I feel this type of thing works best as a one off special. But I will definitely be using all the things I learnt through this experience as I look to plan what’s next.

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What adjusts and learning curves has 2020 brought for you?

This week I painted a triptych called AUTUMN SONG. This was part of my monthly project ‘Paint me a picture’ where I ask my social media audience to choose what colours they would like to see me paint with and then I share the process in a video.

The colour options I gave were taken straight from a colour and design course that I did with Mark Eanes back in August - all the secondaries this time. The greens and purples got a fair number of votes but the fall colours were the favourites.

I worked with warm Cadmium Red Hue and Cadmium Yellow Hue (for those who like technical details) and only allowed myself white & black in addition. It’s not monochrome but is a more limited palette than I’m used to, a welcome challenge to stretch me. No fluorescents, no blues or complimentary greens!

Here is my movie of the creative process behind this fiery trio

My subscribers receive exclusive early access to purchasing these beauties.
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These paintings will become available for sale to the general public from 1st November - when you will able to click on each picture above for further details.

I’ve really enjoyed the nudge to paint with a colour combination that I wouldn’t normally use.
What do these colours make you think of? Falling leaves, pumpkins, cosy fires?

I love inviting you into my process and my studio. Use the comments below, I’d love to hear your questions or thoughts about my process and this project.