from left
Hazel Dormer - paintings, Daniel Richardson - ceramics, Josie Purcell - photography & cyanotypes, Maria Bowers - etchings and refurbished chair, Jenny Gracie of Making Space to Make - basketry
Flotsam at the Malthouse Gallery
With ten artists and makers and featuring a wide variety of techniques and disciplines, Flotsam was popular with holiday makers and locals. Using themes around what is left behind, detritus, recycling, eco-crafting, various pieces around the gallery prompted conversations and interest. The 1960s mincer that Sam Isaacs of Reworked used as a base for one of the lamps was identical to my mum's, and Maria Bower's etchings of worn out chairs were very popular and flew (or creaked) off the walls (below).
My wearable art pieces featuring sea-twine and beach detritus floated nicely above Sam's Flotsam lamps and car jacks.
In the nature corner, Jenny Gracie's beautiful willow baskets nestled alongside Jess Strain's textile wall hanging and cushions which feature natural plant dyes found walking on Dartmoor. The stripped stick on which the baskets hang is a willow branch which goats have delicately nibbled off all the bark.
Robin Shelton's eco-printed plant images using coffee ground developer intrigued visitors; the natural chemicals from the petals react with out of date developing paper leaving a ghost of the plant and a unique result. On the feature table in the foreground is a Sam Isaacs lobster float lamp, Daniel Richardson thrown pink / black clay bowl and a wobble of Jenny's wonky woven hazel platter! To the right is Jonathan Mulvaney's painting of an idyllic Branscombe scene just down the coast from Lyme Regis.
A wonderful week in a delightfully buzzing seaside town. I'm looking forward to going back next year and introducing some more makers and artists to Lyme.
Until then
Flotsam will drift slowly down the coast until it washes up at Teignmouth where Robin and I are taking over Beachcomers from TAAG for a week starting Saturday 10 September right on the seafront. There we will spend time taking inspiration from a different location on the south coast, experiment with new materials and make new work. We will also bring some of the pieces from Lyme Regis to sell there as well including Hazel's paintings of sea birds and some of Daniel's domestic thrown ware. I'm hoping to find a different selection of detritus and get drawing big, while Robin is keeping his mind open to possibilities but we will probably bring the eco-printing and cyanotype paper with us.
More on this later.
Links:
Maria Bowers - printmaking
Jonathan Mulvaney - painting
Making Space to Make - basketry
Reworked - lighting
Daniel Richardson - ceramics
Josie Purcell - eco-photography & cyanotypes
Jess Strain - textiles
Hazel Dormer - painting
Robin Shelton - eco-photography & jewellery
Alison Shelton Brown - wearable art and ceramics
