Press

Were in the press again, Bar Lane Studios are hitting the headlines!

Take a look here.

http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/leisure/exhibitions/8731712.Hugo_Boss_exhibition__Bar_Lane_Studios__York__until_December_18_and_January_4_to_7/

Update Hugo Boss

Work by Susanne Davies, Jade Blood, Tom Hodgson, Matt Durrant and Catherine Scriven

Artwork by Susanne Davies

We have all been really busy lately with the exhibition in Manchester at the second largest Hugo Boss store launch in the world. The launch, usually a catwalk fashion show was this time (deemed by those at HB) to be a gallery, or rather ‘The Gallery’. All five interns were selected and three of our fellow resident artists exhibited work. The opening was a who’s who of Manchester including footballers from Man City/Man United, actors/actresses from Hollyoaks and Coronation Street’. Those of us from Barlane rubbed proverbial shoulders with David Hockney, Bob Dylan, Henry Moore and many more well known artists who were also exhibiting at the show. Matt Durrant and Jade Blood were particularly successful both selling work at the show. Most of the work is now down and will be shown at our very own Bar Lane Gallery (dates on the main webpage). We each had a particular experience with this exhibition, which we will more than likely share here. For now we are all looking forward to some busy creative times ahead.

Susanne

H E L L O FOLKS!

I would like to say HI!

I am Jade Blood

Prints from Print Workshop

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As part of the internship at Barlane studios, we have access to two workshops to develop our artistic skills.  Some have chosen website design, woodcarving, life drawing and a variety of printing workshops.  I have been experimenting with at the open print workshop on a Friday morning with Jon and John as duo act tutor and technician.  It is a friendly atmosphere with all participants bringing a variety of skills with them, so that it is interesting watching each others styles and work develop into colour.  As the print room is still being set up, we started with lino printing.  It wouldn’t have been my first choice but I actually enjoyed discovering a new way of working with blocks of colour as opposed to my favourite line work.  I feel that this can become a good addition to the line work.  Subsequently we also worked with some drypoint printing, where technical help was useful to continue improving the quality of the prints.  I also tried printing the image of ballet shoes onto different paper with mixed results:  the music score paper started to disintegrate when dampened.

Still, I have submitted two of the more successful prints to the Miniprint exhibition at Artlink in Hull, together with some prints I did earlier in the year.   It is always a juggling act deciding what to send,  judging the right price including materials used, time spent, commission for gallery, submission and postage costs.  At this stage in my career I don’t feel I can command what I would call a fair price covering all my real costs, as my skills are still developing.  However, the work is made to be seen, and for it to sit in a drawer doesn’t make sense either.  I would rather it be displayed on someone’s wall and have a visible presence.  So let’s hope that 1. the works gets accepted and 2. some sells.

Catherine.

The Big Draw – National campaign for drawing

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The Milton Rooms in Malton, are a place earmarked for becoming a contemporary arts centre and hub but a different model to Bar Lane.  Milton Rooms have a theatre stage, bar/cafe, large assembly room which needs specialist attention as the building is listed, and last but not least of all space for some artist studios.  So it can become a venue for all the arts: music, drama, visual and performance as examples.  To inform the public about the progression on the development, we ‘redecorated’ the entrance hall as part of the Big Draw national campaign for drawing.   This had been organised by Lyn Wait and Sally Taylor both on the Milton Rooms Committee.  I have invited them to come and visit Bar Lane in the New Year to observe this working model.

The Entrance Hall was clad in lining paper and 5 artists (Lyn Wait, Sally Taylor, Sue Weaver, Serena Partidge and my humble self Catherine Scriven) with the help of numerous enthusiastic children, young people and adults drew patterns of all shapes and sizes so the building could be viewed in a new light – that of possibility.  The participation in this project was on a volunteer basis.  I agreed to participate because I love drawing, want to encourage others to draw and love the Big Draw National Campaign for drawing.  I had wanted to organise something at BarLane Studios but ran out of time, so that is still the plan for next year!

However out of the volunteering came the (paid!) opportunity to run workshops at Ryedale Folk Museum who have been working in conjunction with the Milton Rooms in Malton to develop arts facilities in the Ryedale Region.  So all 5 artists lead a drawing workshop at the Hutton-le-Hole Museum drawing life size figures and populating the Mansion House with dancing people.  It was fantastic to see so much enthusiasm and variety including Ebony the dog, who kindly laid down on the board to be drawn and undergo a design change!

Catherine

Some press coverage can be found on:

http://www.gazetteherald.co.uk/whatson/8492341.Malton_art_event_proves_a_big_draw/

Professional development

Our professional development has begun, today was exciting and a dawning of  new challenges ahead. It’s always difficult to define your own practice, ask me to define others….great, but not so easy when digging around to explain and communicate one’s own practice. But it is these challenges that will feed our personal development. Today was diagnostic and defining, another day tomorrow…lets see what it brings!

Susanne

What a wash out.

Ok so today was a bit of a wash out, in fact it was dire. The rain kept everyone indoors I think. Too wet for a sofa and when we thought we had a gazebo to shelter under it was taken over by a steel band. Oh well you can’t have it all ways, a few hours spent at BLS’s lovely mac suite made up for it.

Micklegate car free day!

Micklegate is car free tomorrow, an exciting opportunity for us all to engage with passers by about art theatre or anything else that may take our creative fancy!
reviewthecube will be on the sofa and will be engaging in conversation. Everyone is welcome to come along and join in the banter.

BARLANESTUDIOS ARTIST INTERNSHIP

Our blog has arrived, incubating businesses at BARLANESTUDIOS. Its an exciting time for all of us interns at BLS. Keep up with us here and watch what were up to, hopefully lots of interesting and diverse projects between all six artists, Catherine Scriven, Jade Blood, Matt Durrant, Six Lips, Susanne Davies and Tom Hodgson.