Shellie Holden

Wall Paper - Mounted Paper Textile Approx. 60 x 115 cm

 

Q So who is Shellie Holden?

I am an artist/maker, wife and mother brought up in Lancashire, trained originally in embroidery at MMU, Manchester then later at Goldsmiths University, London. I lived in London for 11 years before relocating to Wales two years ago, having been drawn to living by the coast.

 

Behind Clouds - Framed Paper Textile - 41cm x37cm

 

Q How did you decide to become a maker?

Naturally progressed from a background steeped in creative and practical endeavours. It seemed the most obvious and fulfilling direction for me to take.

 

Text Book

 

Q What made you choose the materials that you work with?

Low cost/low key/reclaimed- freedom they gave to be experimental and non-precious with the opportunity to turn them into something unique and valuable because of the labour and investment of time spent in the making.

Extracted Teeth Book and Neckpiece

 

Q Are there any other materials you would like to explore and work in?

I have recently been producing a series of laser cut paper textiles and this has led to an interest in working with more precious materials such as silver and copper as this would enable me to produce more robust pieces hat could be used for both interior pieces and body adornment.

Bookworm

 

Q What are you currently working on

Several projects - one of which involves looking after my new-born! I’m catching moments in-between to work on pieces, including the project described above. I am also completing a piece for the ‘First Anniversary: Paper’ exhibition, 5th May- 31st July 2011, at Unit Twelve, Tixall Heath Farm, Tixal, Stafford, ST18 0XX and also for an exhibition at Newport Art Gallery and Museum, Wales, with Fibre Arts Wales, a textile group that I am affiliated, 30th April - 11th June.

 

Q Where do get your inspiration from?

Difficult to pinpoint exactly - my surroundings, attitude to life, experiences and chance occurrences. Perhaps something someone has said, or something I have seen that triggers a response or reaction.

 

Q What motivates you on a cold winter’s day?

Being in my home. I collect and acquire pieces of furniture, objects and textiles which I enjoy refurbishing, restyling and reinventing. This is an on-going project, which I see as part of my creative work. I like the idea that objects can evolve and change, but can also be timeless when mixed with traditional and contemporary styles.

Stitched and Constructed Textile Painting  - Dimensions 92cm x 92 cm each

 

Q Do you create your work in a studio base or a home base?

I have a studio from home in the loft of our Victorian property. It’s a unique space, which has slanted walls and an original fireplace. I have furnished this with tables and chairs I have acquired over the years, each which has its own story. They just happen to fit perfectly around the edge of the room leaving me a big open space in the middle. I love walking to the top of the staircase and entering the room. It is my sanctuary.

Q What is your working style?

It is very much about collecting and collating, reclaiming and reinventing. I approach my work with an idea, which I then aim to convert into visual objects/pieces through a process of experimentation with materials and techniques.

Q What does a typical day look like?

Varied - Some days/weeks I am able to devote entire periods to the production of new work, which I find deeply gratifying and inspiring. Other times I am distracted by domestic chores, and other projects, which perhaps take me away from the immediate task of making although give me the time and space to process ideas and consider new or different approaches, which are equally valuable to my work as a whole.

Stitched and Constructed Textile Painting 2 - Dimensions 50cm x 40 cm

 

Q Crafts in the 21^st Century – what does this mean to you?

Versatility, vitality, diversity - breaking the rules, revisiting traditional materials and techniques, experimenting with new technology. Less about trying to categorise, more about (effortless) originality.

Q How do you sell and promote your work?

I am a member of CAA, London, Fibre Arts Wales and Textile Forum South West (TFSW). I’ll be showing work at the two exhibitions due to open (mentioned above), and am hoping to sell work directly through my website soon.

Q 3 words of advice for an aspiring Craft artist/maker...

Perseverance, persistence and passion!

 

Corsages - hand made in fabric or paper. Approx. 10 cm circumference

 

Q Who is/are your favourite artist(s)/maker(s)?

Wide and varied including photography, sculpture, painting, textiles, mixed media….. Includes Jeff Wall, Cy Trowbly, Sarah Sze, Jonathan Callen, Louise Hopkins, Joseph Cornels….My husband recently brought me an exhibition catalogue featuring photographs by Robert Polidori which I am currently looking at.

 

Q What music are you listening to at the moment?

Wintermusik by Nils Frahm, The Blue Notebooks by Max Richter, Music for Egon Schiele, by Rachel’s, Found Songs by Olafur Arnalds……

 

Q What do you do to relax?

Fresh sea air (and a swim in the sea in summer) always helps.

 

Ordnance survey of England, Kingsbridge and District (third edition) sheet 150, 1908-9 - updated in London 2006 Dimensions and Ordnance survey of England, Cornwall and Devonshire 1919 - updated in London 2006 - Framed Stitched Drawing 75cm x 87cm

Senufa Salley

   Fine Silver Pendant - Afro Goddess Series

 

Q. How did you decide to become a maker?
It was my early twenties (20?) and with the moral support of my husband and with his fabulous sales skills, I found the courage to stand in my truth and try my hand at this craft. We couldn’t afford to send me to school so I sent myself to the library, unleashing a beast. Since I had no idea what I was doing, I did whatever I wanted, learning by making lots of mistakes. I had very low self esteem and many body issues. Creating the work that I did, helped to heal me in a way and helped me to love me exactly the way that I was.

I attracted clients who delighted to see my ‘real women’ earrings and necklaces, and wanted to celebrate ‘woman’ and who wanted to support me as an artist. I also attracted artists who mentored me and loved me like family.

Q. What country do you live in?
Living in Austin, I would say the “country I live in is TEXAS...” (Editors Note: Just in case you don’t know - Austin is in the USA)
 

Silver, Leather and Turquoise Ring

“totally a work in progress”

 

Q. Do you have a studio base or a home base?
Currently, my living room serves as my studio....and actually, any flat surface in my house ends up becoming “my studio” I’ve enjoyed studio spaces in a few Art Centres in South Miami and in South Beach for years and years. Being in those environments and having amazing, creative energy around me from the public and from the other artists, plus having my kids, (and me!!) grow up in that environment was priceless.

Sadly, like most run down areas in a city where the artists move in, the people come, the restaurants come, fancy boutiques come, the gap comes, then, viola....rents go through the roof!
 

 Bronze Faces - works in progress

 

Q. What made you choose the materials that you work with?
I’ve transitioned from using only a metal (silver and gold) to working with more organic and softer materials. My love of nature draws me to these materials...woods like ebony, driftwood and cocobolo: seeds and seed pods like tagua and mahogany pods: shells of slow moving snails and turtles.
Now, when I work with metals, I choose to deeply antique silver and bronze, wishing the wearer to feel like they were found in an ancient burial site.

I pick up lots of things on the side of the road (rocks, leaves, twigs, shells, bones, rusted metal). Some things I hunt up sit for years in my studio, staring at me, telling me their secrets and answers to things I’ve known only inside dreams. Sounds super weird, I know, but for me it’s natural. I want there to be some magic now in the materials I choose. Sometimes it’s hard breaking old patterns of work but it’s been extremely rewarding.
 

 Bronze Face – Work in progress

“the face is sitting on a vertebrae  ...don't know how it will end”

 

Q. Crafts in the 21st Century – what does this mean to you?
More and more I see people all over the world taking their craft and showing this passion to the world in their own, unique way. When I was a pup, it was the rare bird that became a success without the help, support, and backing from a gallery. Now the only thing preventing a person to publish and sell directly to their public would be the loss of an internet connection. Not only can you sell your works over the world wide web, but you can connect with your “people” and sell, or just find your like minded people, just as crazy as you, and find connections and support that money (sales) alone cannot buy.

Someone telling me that my work touches them is my wish.

 Avocado Seeds that i Gourded

“my idea is to have a whole bunch of them cascading as a neck piece...we shall see! “

 

Q. How do you sell your work?
Word of mouth and referrals to my website, http://www.senufa.com/ and on my etsy shop, www.etsy.com/shop/senufa


Q. What is your working style?
To be honest, I’m a bit of a mess and very undisciplined in my working style....a bit of a scatter brain! I can be easily distracted by the way something on my bench lays on top of something else, sending me away from what I originally started out to do. That, and being a perfectionist but NOT anal, makes for a very interesting blend of styles! Because I have been happy with pieces made in this falling down the rabbit hole way, I’ve come to just accept the way that I work and have stopped comparing myself to others!

Knowing that some of the ladies and gents who own my work, literally, never take it off, helps me. It helps me while I work, in having that piece NOT be, not about me, but about the person sleeping or showering and cooking with this on, or their lovers or kids associating that jingling sound to their love.

 Bronze and Silver Earrings - from the Pieces of Prayers Series

“ for my brothers and sisters who believe in the  power of their prayers as they pray for peace for all of us “

 

Q. 3 words of advice for an aspiring Craft artist/maker...
Work is problem solving. Love your mistakes. Don’t think you will always know the outcome, and don’t be married to that outcome. Magic happens when you are the channel for whatever has decided to use you to manifest it.

People don’t have to ‘like’ your work for you to have done your job....you can elicit fear and anger and still be a great success/good artist. Plus, not defining yourself by one piece you’ve made has been good advice for me. YOU are the collection of everything you have made and everything you will make. Plus, you are more than your art/craft. You can be a ‘great painter’, but if you beat your wife, I’ll add that tag...this is a great painter/singer/glassblower, that beat his wife”.

Teach and give away what you have learned to someone who wants to learn something from you. Study humans and animals that attract you. Writers and painters and birds and whales...lots of interesting stories in those lives....lots of inspiration too.

Is that more than 3 words?

Sterling Silver Links

“I solder together about 1/2 inch jump rings, then form and hammer them into the heart shapes I like to leave in all the markings from the old anvil I use, making each one unique....like love, a little rough around the edges...”

Q. What inspires you?
Honesty
Generosity.
Humility.
Transformation.
A sky full of stars.
 

Wood, Bone and Something from the Sea (Coral?)

“this is one of the pieces that has looked at me, while i contemplate it since as

long as i can remember...”

 

Q. Who is/are your favourite artist(s)/maker(s)?
That’s a hard one to answer! I’ve fallen inside many a painting, photograph, sculpture, song, movie or a poem...and have been deeply moved.

I love ancient arts from all over the globe. The Africans Arts take my breath away when I see the pyramids and anything carved by those royal hands. I love exploring the jewellery arts made the world over especially b4 electricity came along. For some reason, this intrigues me...cutting stones and bezel settings, polishing gold, casting....smithing and raising metal...all these with no power tools always blows my mind.

I love artists (including writers and musically) who stand outside of their time frame, making something fresh. A small taste of these lovelies would include Virginia Wolf, Julia Cameron, Paul Robeson, Frida Kahlo, Georgia O’Keefe, James Baldwin, Eugene O’Neil, Zora Neal Hurston, Josephine Baker, Henry Theroux, Dale Chihuly, Saul Williams, Salvador Dali, Jenny Holzer, Guillermo Gonzalez, Brother Bob Marley, Nil Lara, Charles Loloma, Patty Smith, Stanislaw Szukalski, Buelah Ecton Woodard, Audre Lorde and Andy Goldsworthy.

One of the features I do love on etsy is their hearts/favourites page. There are lots’ of fresh new artists there that I have hearted. When I see artists that I like and then see their favs, it’s the dance that goes on and on. I am in the process of adding more artists’ web sites to my links page too.

I have to add my parents to this list. I grew up with my mom’s sculptures all around me. To this day, I can look at one of her pieces and still be deeply moved by its power.

My dad  is one of the most amazing painters I have ever seen. That said, he still gets the wife beater tag. It always amazes me how some the world’s most creative and talented people can swim inside dark deep waters and still create works to make us and help us, the viewer, see and feel something new and even wondrous.

Bronze and Silver Earrings - from the Pieces of Prayers Series

“for my brothers and sisters who believe in the power of their prayers as they pray for peace for all of us”

 
Q. You walk into your bathroom and see a crocodile in the bath tub....what would you do?
Because I would probably shit myself, I’ll choose another question, thank you!!!! I grew up in south Florida, and these buggers were in your tubs, and lawns, eating little Muffie the Poodle.....

…….OK here is another question  - What do you do to relax?
I re-read books that I love. Right now I’m reading Keri Holmes, the Bone People.

 

Senufa Salley

“me in my studio in the early 90s on south beach...oh the days!!! “

Shirley-Anne Murdoch of Shymerge

Shirley-Anne & Shymerge are based in Scotland,UK


Q. How did you decide to become a maker?

It just happened. Wendy Walker and myself had already produced a collection of mixed media artworks together as Shymerge. We were in the midst of producing a new body of work on the theme of ‘Tempus Fugit’ for a solo show at the 3 Harbours Arts Festival when we decided to expand our media into the third dimension. It just made conceptual sense to make our assemblages fully functional clocks - we liked the idea of making art assemblage works which had a utilitarian functionality.

Connect Tiempo  (Assemblages of Time Collection)

Q. What made you choose the materials that you work with?

Our canvas-based mixed media works had significant amounts of ‘found’ ephemera worked into them already. We were both diligent hoarders and collectors of what we considered ‘true’ junk. We raided not just junk yards- but the skips and bins of junk yards- fascinated with materials regarded as having absolutely no value or being at the end of their life cycle. We combed urban streets and nature spots equally. Only the quartz digital clock mechanisms, paints and glues are bought in the production of our works. Rusty metals, environmentally-worn woods and used paper and textiles are currently the main components of our assemblages - but it will always depend on what we find, the forms we are working towards and the workability of the materials- so we’re open to choosing any material that has the feasibility of usage!

'Tray of Infinity' (Tempus Fugit Collection)

Q. Crafts in the 21^st Century – what does this mean to you?

Mass consumerism and the market appetite for low cost, low quality copycat craft has put the original designer-maker in a very precarious position. As creatives we are increasingly producing for a very reduced but discerning market which looks to well-made, original and unique products. The ease of using the internet has opened up the global market for us - but virtual galleries still have limits in showing three-dimensional works effectively enough. There’s many challenges out there, but this only forces us to develop further in what we produce and how this can reach expanding markets. There’s a very positive move to ‘cross-over’ works, with design, art and craft all being re-defined as they break out of their respective pigeon-holes – I find this the exciting part of the potential future.

Leaning Tower (Assemblages of Time Collection)

Q. How do you sell your work?

We’re just at the beginning of looking at the commercial viability of our works. We’ve tended to specifically produce bodies of work and sell them through solo shows at the 3 Harbours Arts Festival (annually in May/June) and individual works through our http://www.shymerge.com/ website. We’ve just completed a new set of twelve works currently on show at Howden Park Centre - a great new gallery/theatre/café space in Livingston, West Lothian. Smaller galleries In our localised areas of The Lothians and in Norfolk are starting to show interest- particularly in smaller collections of three/four pieces, and we’re just about to launch a Facebook group page to increase interest.

Justice (Assemblages of Time Collection)

Q. What is your working style?

Each individual work has it’s own form and scale. All works are initially constructed using ‘found’ ephemera, which are then layered, painted and built on using typographic or image narrative to convey unique messages. All works go through a variety of phases- passing from one to the other until both of us are completely happy that it has been completed. I tend to take care of sculptural form, composition and narratives, with Wendy concentrating on colour, texture and additions for the finalisation of visual balance.

Q. Three words of advice for an aspiring Craft maker...

Determination
Quality
Originality

Q. What inspires you?

Life.

Temple of Fire (Assemblages of Time Collection)

Q. Who is your favourite artist/maker?  (click name for more detail)

Kurt Schwitters

Q. You walk into your bathroom and see a crocodile in the bath tub .... what would you do?

Wake up in a cold sweat.

Fuji Temple  (Assemblages of Time)

Assemblages of Time can be seen at Howden Park Centre, West Lothian, Scotland

http://www.howdenparkcentre.co.uk/