I’ve just arrived back from a trip to Madrid with Cambridge School of Art and wanted to share with you some of my highlights - I will try to limit this so as not to overwhelm (I took a million photos), but you want a good look at all the art, right?!
First some obligatory tourist shots of food, flags and fantastic graffiti!

The great thing about not being in charge of the itinerary is that I got to go to places and see art that I would never have chosen to see - a bredth of styles, medium and ages that has filled many gaps in my art knowledge and provided me with a whole new pool of research and inspiration for my own art. From the weird and wonderful 14th century triptychs of Museo del Prado to the quirky, vibrant lego pieces of the Contemporary Art Fair.
Let me take you through each gallery, sharing my highlights and name dropping the key famous art pieces - click each gallery and artists for more info.

A renovated power station with a vertical garden and awesome staircase! An exhibition called 'Painting, an ongoing challenge', with themes of Aura, Monochrome, Enigmatic, Expressive geometry and Mutations, I really enjoyed the curation of this show. I was especially impacted by thse size of a lot of the art and Gerhard Richter has always been a favourite.

It was the variety of sculptures, and the eyes painted by Vincente Lopez Portana that drew me in this exhibition. There might have been some famous artists I could name drop but these were the stand out pieces for me in this place.

Goya, Velazquez and Rubens would be the names to drop in this gallery (to mention but a few) but my highlight was Hieronymus Bosch from the 14th Century. Who I had never met before and despite their age surprised me with how contemporary and modern they were.

Many names to drop in this place - ones even I had heard of: Picasso, Miro, Mondrian, Kandinsky, Delauney, Degas, Toulouse Lautrec, Van Gogh, Renoir, Rauschenberg, Lichtenstein, Pollock, de Kooning, Ernst, not to mention the 2 solo shows of Joan Jonas and Rembrandt, and the whole floor I didn't even get to see.
I realised that I was significantly drawn to a number of pieces not because of what they were about but because of how they made me feel (an important point to remember wrt my own art work) - with a few surprises like a Renoir, which would normally be too chocolate boxy for my taste but had an atmosphere it created that I found really special. Here are details of my top favourites - as my week in Madrid unfolded I was drawn to photograph close ups of pieces more than the whole as I felt it helped me identify with the artist and their artwork on a different level.

I've never been much of a fan of video art, either too weird and 'arty' (meaning low quality) or like a documentary, I don't want to sit in a dark room with headphones on wondering how long it's going to take! But the Joan Jonas exhibition above had begun to change my mind and I could see there was some potential that I might want to think about tapping into for my own work. This Bill Viola exhibition took things to a whole new level for me.
Yes some of it was weird, yes it was in the dark and it was painfully slow - but that was the whole point, it was about the passage of time. As I applied a bit of patience, adjusted, left a piece and came back to see how it had changed, I found it really inspiring and profound.

This was an absolutely massive place full to the brim of a wide variety of modern artists and mediums. Being so large allowed for art work to really have space to breath, room for the gigantic and whole areas given over to installation art - from tails protruding from cupboard doors, to huge blocks of metal.

I was most impacted by art with texture - several pieces made with concrete and plaster.

Again this gallery could brag about exhibiting all the key names, including hosting Picasso's 'Guernica' which was kept under careful guard! But my favourite artist was the Spaniard Miguel Angel Campano who I'd not heard of before and was in a temporary exhibition. I found his scale and expression really exciting!

This was a solo show by Mario Merz (sculptor & painter) - pretty quirky with neon tubes and a variety of igloos. The most interesting part of this exhibition for me was that I learnt about the Fibonacci sequence (which his work was based on) - linked to the golden ratio maths equation that creates patterns found in nature (such as the fir cone, pineapple, curled fern leaves etc).

The last day of our week in Madrid was spent exploring the art of 1350+ artists at this massive art fair and what a wonderful source of inspiration I found this! I had thought by this point in the week that I would have exhibition fatigue but not a bit of it, I'd just learnt to search out the work relevant and exciting to me and not worry about the rest! Of course for me colour and gesture were the biggest draws.

Let me finish with a mash up movie of all the little videos I took, as sometimes photos just don't do the job!

I was pretty daunted about going to Madrid, if I'm honest. I didn’t really know people booked on the trip (a cross section of different fine art courses) and am always a bit out of my comfort zone travelling (which my trip to America in October hasn't helped with!). However it was totally worth me facing my fears. I’ve made new artist friends and come home with a list of things to action just from the conversations and networking that took place. Madrid is a treasure trove of art - if you ever get a chance to visit, I highly recommend it!

I’m just heading into week 4 of the 2nd term of my Masters Degree in Fine Art at Cambridge School of Art, and thought it was time to check in with you guys and share what I’ve been up to.

After a much needed break over Christmas I started the year feeling quite nervous about going back to college. I guess it’s quite normal feeling daunted at the start of a 2nd term, when the adrenalin and newness of being a beginner gets replaced with an awareness of the work and challenges that lie ahead - I’m much happier when I’m busy ‘doing’, rather than contemplating something from a distance.

I have decided to fully embrace milking this opportunity for all it’s worth, and for me that means I’m seeking to make full use of the facilities and expertise, rather than sticking with what I know. Of course this makes things more scary and is a risky strategy when at the end of each 12 week block I have to hand in a ‘final piece’ at postgrad level, when working in a medium I’ve never tried, but it means I’m learning a lot! I spent my 1st term printmaking for the 1st time, this term I’m diving into sculpture, ceramics and maybe textiles!

Module 2 is called ‘Acts and discourses’ - I have to admit I have no idea what that means! But the brief I've been given is to “develop a body of work intended for a place/site in particular of your own choosing.” Basically to create any work for a specific space, anywhere (as long as it’s not a gallery) - so extremely open ended again! Site-specific is the buzz word - work that relates to a space by theme and also physically to it’s locality.

I’ve just completed my written proposal - here’s a link (3rd one down) if you fancy a read, including my reading list, for those who like that sort of thing!

Let me try to summarise - my work will be a celebration of what makes us who we are (the physical & psychological etc that makes up each unique individual). I've called it 'More than the sum of our parts - you matter'. I’m going to focus on body matter for inspiration for the pattern element of my work and contrast that with an expressive gestural part representing our personality. I’ve decided to choose a site for display, where people need their sense of worth and identity boosting, and am hoping to link with ‘Women in Prison’ charity and particularly their women’s centre in Lambeth, London, to share my work.

My bibliography is centred on things like human genetics, art & science, rehabilitation, site-specific art, sculpture, ceramics and textiles. For someone with dyslexia, who hates books and reading, I’m actually quite excited about the reading list I’ve created for myself!

I plan to create 3D versions of body cells in clay (on the potters wheel and by hand), in screen printed fabric and in plastic, to explore which materials work best. I then intend to represent fingerprints and DNA with stripes on one side of the piece and splash the other half with something (?) to provide the pattern and gestural elements.
It feels like quite a bit of this project is beyond my control. The kiln is only fired when there is enough work to fill it, and  each piece needs 2 firings. Also I can contact places I'm interested in as sites for displaying my work, but how they respond and how soon they respond is out of my hands.

Another part of this module is that we are given the task of organising our own group exhibition, and altering our work to fit with the group and this alternative site! I'm actually really looking forward to this as it will give more chance for overlap with others on my course.


So there you have it. My hand in day is 7th May, although there is no timetabled lectures, we’re expected to work through Easter). My plan is to continue a monthly update for you, so you can follow my MA journey with me. Click here to see my past blogs about it, or on the 3 images below.

By the way, I got my results for my last module, a couple of weeks ago, and got 65% (equivalent to 2:1, with ‘good’ written in each box) - not bad for a medium I’ve not tried before, and to hear that my research and writing were matching up to post grad level, despite my dyslexia, was a real encouragement!
Thank you for your interest and support!

Before jumping into all that 2020 has to offer, I feel it only right to take time to reflect on the year that has just been. Some wonderful things, some major challenges and some dreams come true. Thank you for inspiring me, encouraging me and walking with me on this journey.

I created 35 pieces of art this year. 7 painted live at a variety of events.

click for more details

I have taken part in 12 exhibitions, including two solo shows.

COLOURSONGS - Click for more details                                                                               COLOURSTORIES - Click for more details

At the start of 2019 one of the big dreams I wrote down for the year ahead was to have my art in the window of a gallery for the first time. It actually happened 3 times!!

Believe it or not (considering I trained as a teacher 25 years ago) this was my first year to run paid art workshops.

Some were local, one was for nearly 150 people in one go and some were taught internationally via the internet!
I was also booked as guest tutor for classes in a gallery in Colchester for 2020 which were sold out before I was able to advertise them, which was rather exciting!

Please message me, if you would like me to add your name to my workshop waiting list for future dates.

And last be not least, I finished this year starting a Masters Degree in Fine Art. Learning new techniques within printmaking. I’m doing this over 2 years and write a monthly blog update which you can see here.

So… what does 2020 hold? I have a number of dreams and ambitions for the year ahead, but mainly plan to put one foot in front of the other and give it my best shot.

How about you?

On Tuesday I handed in my portfolio, sketchbook, final piece and summary essay for my first module: Critical Practice in Fine Art, at Cambridge School of Art. This was meant to be the product of 300 hours of research but I managed to tot up 510 hours (with 158 of those being work in the studio)!
I thought you’d like to take a little look at what I’ve produced. I’ll also seek to answer your questions of why I’m doing a Masters Degree at all, and whether it’s living up to expectations!

Read back through my previous 2 blogs (month 1 & month 2) to see the outline of what my course entails and what my project has been about. But basically I’ve been seeking to transfer what I do with paint as an artist into printmaking, aiming to produce prints with impact that feel alive.

The theme I’ve worked towards is ‘What Matters’ and is concerned with giving our attention to the things that matter in the midst of a busy life full of distraction and demands. I’ve looked to use vibrant pattern to symbolise busyness and detail, and expressive gesture to represent focus and attention to the moment.

To conclude my body of work I first created a triptych, each piece on 70x100cm paper and tissue, collaged screen print & lithography.

My final piece was A0 (84 × 119cm) - paper, drafting film and plastic, collaged screen print & lithography.

Here is the summary report of my project, for those of you who like all the details!

To finish I handed in a portfolio of my body of work, showing all that has led up to my concluding pieces. Here’s a little video to take you through it.

Seeing as this is my first module I feel rather clueless as to what type of grade and feedback I will receive. I know I’ve worked hard and I’ve handed in a lot. But whether it ticks the right boxes for the examiners still waits to be seen! I’ve not had a massive amount of feedback but think I’ve got the general feeling that they would say if I wasn’t heading in the right direction!

I have reached a stage in my fledgling art business and career where I feel, before I go any further, I want to go deeper. The entrepreneurial side of being an artist can overwhelm and I was finding the admin of the business was consuming the creating side, with me spending less and less time in my studio. Some areas of my career have snowballed, especially the live art side, and I felt I needed time to catch up a little, realising I was painting more in front of an audience, than I was in private where I could experiment and develop. I was hungry to learn and hungry to play and desperate to set some clearer boundaries to my life. I see this as a rest of my life thing and want to establish some good patterns of behaviour.
I had originally looked at doing an art degree but because I’ve done a teaching degree I wouldn’t receive any funding. I’d never considered an MA as I thought it would be too academic, although I didn’t officially know I had dyslexia back then, I knew I found it hard to read and write and hated that side of education, but after investigation I discovered that the course at Cambridge School of Art was practice based and that the leader thought my work of the appropriate standard, the government were ‘happy’ to fund a postgraduate degree and it actually would fit much better with family life.

I would like to receive good grades that reflect all the work I’ve put in this term BUT actually I already feel that this MA has ticked all the boxes for me and as long as I’m allowed to keep going for the full 2 years, then that’s what really matters.
I started the term with practically no experience of printmaking or collage and, although I’m just getting started, I have learnt and grown so much in these areas, and in a way that compliments and enhances my current art practice.
My past experience of art history had completely put me off any type of proper research but being forced to consider theories within the art world and artists relevant to my practice has expanded my mind and developed in me a new passion to learn.
I’ve established some boundaries to studio, research, business and family life that feel a lot healthier and much more fulfilling. To be honest I feel like I’ve finally burst out of the housewife/‘stay at home mum’ bubble I’ve uneasily inhabited for the past 18 years and I’m feeling more alive than I’ve felt in a long time!!
As an aside I’ve been diagnosed with dyslexia (discovered I share a super power with some seriously impressive individuals!) - which is providing me with support and technology and insight into myself that can only serve to enhance my life.


I’m happy to have reached the Christmas holidays, I’ve been working really hard and need a break. But I’m already looking forward to starting the next module and scheming of what things I can get my teeth into next!

Here's a little video of tour of my Christmas Open Studio event, for those of you who weren't able to make it.

Wow, it feels like much longer than 2 months, I’m packing SO much in and learning SO much! Would you like to hear what I’ve been up to at Cambridge School of Art this month?

My 1st month was full of inductions, demonstrations, generally finding my way round (not an easy task!), getting to know my lovely fellow course members a little and finding out what was expected of me. Pop back and see my last blog if you’ve not done so already (for a little tour and more).

My second month has been all about getting really stuck in! My work is pretty much all self directed, so I’ve set myself the challenge of seeing how well my art translates into printmaking (a brand new medium for me). Aiming to create ‘prints with impact, that feel alive’.

I’ve dabbled a little in mono print and risograph but have now honed in mostly on screen print and lithography.
With screen I love the variety of colour I can use (basically any acrylic paint mixed with screenprinting medium), the precision possible, that I can reproduce messy marks as well as neat ones and that I can work big. What I don’t like is that I have to clean up thoroughly every time I want to change colour (I’ve done more cleaning than printing!) And I keep finding new ways of messing up my screen preparation. I over cleaned one screen last week until it split, in addition to blowing all the electrical equipment in the studio due to the excess moisture I’d created!

With lithography I love that it picks up tonal qualities of an image and the more subtle details, and it’s fun to use the equipment! What I don’t enjoy is that it uses oil based ink - 1. It limits my colour choices (unless I mix and it’s really hard getting the right turquoise, although there is a fluorescent pink!) 2. It takes more than a day to dry between layers 3. It’s horrible to clean up (which again has to be done between every colour)

I’m really enjoying printmaking but it’s definitely utilising the more organised side of my personality! It’s the opposite experience to how I paint, being anything but immediate and needing intricate planning and preparation.

This month included some tutorials and a mid point ‘silent crit’ where we displayed our work so far, for our tutor and peers to critique while we stood in silence, not allowed to make comment, response or explanation! Here is a little video of my display:

I actually found it a really helpful opportunity to stop and reflect on things and consider where to take things next. It was a little daunting to realise that my 2nd ever go at printmaking would need to be my ‘final piece’ to hand in at Christmas, due to time constraints. It certainly helps to bring focus and pushes you to aim further than you might otherwise go. I’m learning (I think I’m right in this!) that they are more interested in you experimenting and taking risks and learning through error and changing your plans, than they are in you having a good idea at the start that you complete with perfection and ease. This is pretty releasing really, as long as I leave behind my perfectionism and my need to see things through to completion. I’m needing to make a mental note every so often of things I would like to have more of a play with when I have more time once my MA has finished!

Dyslexia - I have an official diagnosis now and have been granted a disabled student allowance. This feels a really positive thing on so many levels after all these years of academic struggle.

Charlotte Cornish - I had the amazing privilege of interviewing my artist hero last week. She was so generous in sharing her story, process and studio with me, and I came away feeling really encouraged and inspired. Check out her work it is utterly stunning: www.CharlotteCornish.co.uk

Let me finish by sharing some of my most recent pieces. I’m now taking my current prints into a collage direction, which is fun, and a stepping stone towards my plans to take them proper 3 dimensional after Christmas! Click on them to see them properly.

A few weeks ago I arrived in North Carolina. I was about to meet some special friends face to face for the 1st time, explore a new country and attend a fabulous conference of artists, where I was excited to be teaching 3 days of workshops. It’s something I’ve dreamt about and been working towards for a couple years and had finally arrived.
However, this dream didn’t become a reality and actually quickly turned into a pretty nasty experience. On arriving at the airport my passport was confiscated, I was ushered into the immigration department, interrogated, several fingerprints and mug shots taken, searched rather invasively by a scary lady, held in custody and sent back to the UK on the next flight home. I wasn’t allowed my passport until I was on UK soil and its now stamped with ‘refused entry to the USA’.

I had enquired about visas before making plans and booking my flight, way back in February. Following all the advice I was given I applied for an ESTA Visa Waiver. I stated that I was going to America on business as an artist. My application was ACCEPTED and I thought I’d done all I needed to do.
It was only on arriving in America that I was informed that this wasn’t the right visa requirement.

Then why was my application accepted in the first place? Why didn’t they reject it and tell me the right type of visa I needed, while I had enough time to do something about it? Why is this in any way my fault or fair?

A baffling, traumatic & exhausting experience. 17hrs flying in a 22hr window. 40hr traveling with a diversion to the American embassy who wouldn’t let me in the door to plead my case. Gutted doesn’t cover it!

Since returning I have heard of a multitude of other creatives that this has happened to and here is an article explaining something of the issue: 'Why are artists being denied entry into the US? How did it come to this and who do we blame?'

But the story does not and must not end there!
The amazing thing was that I was able to still teach my workshops at this conference in America via Zoom, from my back garden in the UK! AND I was paid as planned, so my expenses were covered after all!

I learnt how to teach using Zoom and was thrilled that it actually worked - a new tool in my tool bag! I had a fantastic facilitator in the room to be my hands and feet for each session - they set everything up and reassured people, we dialogued through Facebook messenger with photos and ideas of alterations as the days when on. My face was beamed into the room larger than life on the big screen where I was able to share my powerpoint slides and videos and do demonstrations as planned. We were even able to have a roaming camera so I could be ‘taken’ close to people and art work and join in with group discussion as if I was there in the room.
It was an interesting experience straddling 2 continents for the week - they are 5 hours behind us in the UK, so their 9-5 was my 2 - 10pm but it was fine. I’m still receiving feedback from my students on what they’ve learnt and are now putting into practice from what I taught them in those classes.

This was an ordeal that knocked the stuffing out of me, it was costly and I was robbed of the incredible week in America that I had planned, but this whole experience has actually put a fire in me to not accept this as a dead end. I’m more passionate than ever to travel the world as an artist - sharing my art and inspiring creativity in others.

As many of you know, a month ago I started a Master degree in Fine Art at Anglia Ruskin University, here in Cambridge. Well it’s already been over a month and I thought you’d like to know how it’s going.

Firstly let me give you a little look round!

I am doing the part time option over 2 years, not planning to actually do it part time (!) but to allow myself access to all the benefits of the place for 2 years rather than 1, and to space my assignments out a bit more than they would be! Most people do the course part time unless they are from overseas.
I purposefully chose this particular course because there is an emphasis on the practical stuff. Things are pretty much self directed, with a slight emphasis each module/trimester to work towards, we work according to where we want out art to develop.

My first module is called ‘Critical Practice’ and (as far as I understand it!) is just about relating what we are working on to the wider art world, developing a body of work with a purpose and evaluating/adapting as you go. We are expected to give 300 hours to research (academic and studio based), with a 1000 word proposal to say what we’re aiming at (which I handed in last week) and 1000 word summary to say where you’ve got to. You also hand in a sketchbook showing your research and a portfolio of work created.
Timetabled teaching is on Wednesdays which includes seminars, crits, talks, visits, tutoring etc, plus optional demonstrations, workshops and talks on other days.
We have a 6000 word dissertation to hand in at the end of year 1 and we work towards an exhibition at the end of year 2.

Click here to read my full proposal for this module
My art, in a nutshell, is aimed at doing people good through the use of colour, gesture and pattern. Thus far in my career I’ve focussed on painting but with all the teaching and equipment available I’ve decided to start my course by embracing printmaking and to explore how to translate the essence of my artwork into this new medium.
So far I have done inductions and demonstrations in monoprint, screen print, lithography, relief print, risograph and laser cutting. I feel like I’m learning lots of new things, not only the art processes but my artistic vocabulary now includes words like gestural, painterly, autographic, rastoring, registration tabs and proofs (all new to me) not to mention from last week’s essay - exigency, philologist, anachronism, privative, caesura, primordial, contiguousness and dishomogeneity! I think I might use the 1st list more than the 2nd!

One of the things I’ve been wondering about is how much do I just enjoy the chance to try lots of the new things and use the facilities available now and how much do I let myself be steered by what is translatable into working in my studio beyond these 2 years - what if I fall in love with screen printing?!
I’m also trying to work out how much to just play and let myself learn, when I have to try and produce something of quality in a medium I’ve never used by the end of December! I was reminded the other day by an artists friend that actually focussing on quantity rather than quality tends to produce better results, as there is less pressure on the individual piece - so I’m going to let that lead me for a bit.

I’m learning loads and thoroughly enjoying myself! The people in my group are so lovely, with a wide range of ages, experience and nationalities, I already feel like I’ve made some brilliant friends.
I’m taking advantage of everything that’s on offer, including the study skills support - which I’m really impressed with. I’ve always struggled academically, I find reading and writing a massive challenge - I promised myself that I would never have to go back to school or write another essay - and yet here I am! I’ve actually been screened for dyslexia and am told it looks very likely - I have a 3 hour formal assessment this week. I now have a lovely blue overlay to help the letters on a page to be less uncomfortable to look at.
Although this is a ‘part time’ course I have decided to go into college every day and treat this as a job. The separation from the demands and distractions of family life is really helping me to work more efficiently and to set clearer boundaries of when work ends and family fits in. I’m working on MA work 4 days a week and giving 1 day to my art business. I’m busy but am really happy with how things are working and actually feel less stressed than usual.

I aim to do a monthly update blog, sharing with you what’s happening. If you want to make sure you don’t miss my blogs why not subscribe here.

Many of you may have been following my various posts on social media documenting the restyle of my garden studio. Well I’m finally ready to show you the results!

Once upon a time, 8 years ago... the thing is, as with most things, you have to start where you are. Originally my studio was built when I was pregnant with our youngest daughter 8 years ago - we were needing to create a bedroom in our loft and to create a storage space. We replaced the dilapidated ancient shed in the garden with a new structure and filled it will ‘stuff’.
4 years later my daughter started school and I started to work full-time as an artist - I cleared the space and set it up as a studio... Voila!

Now 4 years on from that, my art and business needs have changed. I’m working larger, I need a clearer space to work and a larger space to store finished art. I was looking into the idea of renting a 2nd studio for storage but after brainstorming with an artists community I’m a member of, I realised that there were creative ways to restyle what I already had and make it work better.

I’ve added a few new bits and pieces to help the space function better. I’ve put castor wheels on a unit, so it can be pulled in and out of the storage area, I’ve bought a cheap chest of drawers on wheels to store all my little bits and to double up as a moveable trolley for my paints and palette. I’ve bought some Ikea drawer inserts for my Expedit unit, I’ve turned one of these Expedit cubes into a filing cabinet by remodelling a free standing filing box from Amazon and I had a some brackets put into the ceiling to hold all my long rolled canvases and pieces of wood etc

And I videoed the whole thing, cos I knew you’d want to see it all happen! Here is a time-lapse of the transformation from my old art studio into my beautiful new one.

And here is a little tour talking you through the space, the storage and the decisions I’ve made.

And now for the fun part - get in there and use it, and get it messy!

Currently my art is on display in a one woman show at The Locker Cafe called COLOUR STORIES - the exhibition runs from the 19th August until 26th September 2019 and I thought you’d like to take a look.

Last Friday I hosted a Private View evening at the cafe which involved me painting live to beautiful live harp music from the super talented Lucy Bunce. It was a really lovely evening with very positive response from those who came. One lady exclaimed “heaven must be a bit like this”!

Here is a movie that I’ve put together which includes a tour of the exhibition as well as some clips of the live art and harp.

If you’re local to Cambridge, do make a visit to the Locker Cafe, it’s a lovely setting and the art looks even better in real life!