ARTIST IN RESIDENCE - SARA SCHNECKLOTH

A sample of recent work.

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE - BRITT SALT

A sample of recent work.

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE - POLLYXENIA JOANNOU

A sample of recent work.

Barrett Danes - a continuing tradition
Exhibition 31st July - 19 September 2010

The exhibition presents the work of Alan, Ruth and Jonathan Barrett-Danes referencing the fascinating connection with Upchurch Pottery and the major influences made on the next generation of potters, within an historical context of the development of 20th Century studio ceramics.
Barrett-Danes: A Continuing Tradition offers the viewer an opportunity to see the life and work of an artist who was able to take the story of ceramics apart and then put it together again in new and challenging ways.

From early boyhood onwards Alan Barrett-Danes was well aware of the possibility of a life working with clay. His grandfather was Edward Baker who, by the early 1950s, had bought the Upchurch Pottery in Kent where he had worked for various proprietors over the previous four decades.

Working jointly and individually, Alan and Ruth Barrett-Danes made a major contribution to the development of studio ceramics in Britain. For the
Barrett-Danes, ceramics has been a tradition spanning six generations and dating back to the early years of the nineteenth century. Over many decades Alan and Ruth Barrett-Danes passed on their skills and enthusiasm to generations of students, to an increasingly well-informed and
appreciative audience and also to their son Jonathan whose work shows evidence of their influence while at the same time having a life and direction of its own.

Alan’s experiences and training in the mid twentieth century meant that he was uniquely positioned to play a key role in developments in the field of studio ceramics in the later decades of the century. No one else was as well-equipped as he was to take advantage of that moment when ceramics opened itself up to its past and its future. In his life and work we see someone who was able to take the story of ceramics apart and then put it together again in new and challenging ways. Alan Barrett-Danes had felt it necessary to leave Upchurch and Stoke-on-Trent behind him and move on, but many people have cause to be grateful that he continued to wrestle with their legacies for the rest of his career.

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE - Margaret Brooks (AUS)- JULY 2010

PROCESS

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE - Megan Ehrhart (USA) July 2010

The inspiration for this installation unearthed itself when I began spending long months roaming around the French countryside and reflecting on life. Working in remote villages forced me to slow down and adapt, turning inconvenience into an opportunity for innovation and self reflection. Everything is transient. People come and go, emotions and personal attachments whirlwind around in a tornado of intimate international social interaction. “Grounded” is the result of having the chance to be truly removed from the world as I know it and the unshakeable whirling thoughts building strength and haunting my mind for the last thirteen years.

“Grounded” is a growing project, a body of work I am showing in stages, building up to a grand final installation complete with a full interactive sensory environment enhanced by five intertwined chapters of stop-motion media. For each exhibition of Grounded, new elements are added.

Using very tactile natural materials hand picked from the ground, the first execution of the “Grounded” series features the film entitled “Echoes of Abandonment.” In an attempt to feel a sense of belonging, we may imagine an idealized dream of humanity as part of a greater, singular whole. I explore the common desire to make lasting emotional connections, trading individual identity for the power and comfort of belonging to a larger community. Taking advantage of the unreliable perception of time, at a very primal level, the film provokes disillusionment caused by feelings of isolation and abandonment while questioning the audacity of the persistent, seemingly indestructible, “self”.

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE - Ruth Trotter June 2010

Works in progress

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE - Katherine Boland - May/June 2010

During my two-month residency at Drawinternational I was inspired to respond to the surrounding environment by using local materials. I discovered 300 year old oak beams, unrefined beeswax from a local honey farm, clay dug from a river bed on the edge of the village, 'brou de noix' - a stain distilled from walnuts - and 'la chaux', a powdered limestone used for centuries in the linen-coloured stone buildings of the region. The delicate balance existing between bees and flora is becoming increasingly tenuous, so the idea of melding these two together in sculpture very much appealed to me. 

The body of work I created in France is entitled 'Beyond The Black Stump'. The origin of this Australian expression derives from the use of fire-blackened tree-stumps as markers when giving directions to travellers unfamiliar with the terrain. In it’s evolved usage it describes an imaginary marker in the landscape beyond which the country is considered remote or unknown. It taps into the sense of distance and dislocation one can feel when far from home. I have used fire to char the oak beams whilst scraping the residual charcoal with hand tools to sculpt the desired shape. The charred wood is further blackened and preserved with 'poudre d'asphalte' - the blackness enhancing the sense of age and time. The treatment of the timber respects the natural form and tendencies of the grain as I consciously restrain from imposing my will upon it to any large extent. It seems almost sacrilegious or disrespectful to compete with nature and the artisans who originally fashioned the beams so long ago. The finished surface has a subtle lustre which, when combined with the encaustic medium, is seductively tactile, contrasting with the solidity of the geometric forms. In the process of making these works the pungent smell produced by the burning wood and the melted beeswax reminds me of both my days in the Australian bush and the hushed atmosphere of a French medieval church.

On returning to Australia I intend to develop this work on a much larger scale using Australian hardwood and local bees wax. In keeping with my enduring passion for black and white - which began as a child watching my father, a professional photographer, develop photographs in his darkroom - I will also produce a white series using bleached driftwood.

This residency has allowed me to step outside my normal art practice and take the time to respond to the local environment and explore different creative possibilities. I know I will be influenced by the work I began here for many years to come.

(22 June 2010)

'Timescapes' - Paul Beauchamp

‘Timescape’ opposes itself to the notion of landscape and in so doing questions the significance of the visual.

Paul Beauchamp’s photographs take this notion of timescape as their starting point. Although many of the photographs are beautifully composed and rendered, they are arranged to ask questions about the visible world; they are an investigation of the site rather a simple representation of it. The quarries themselves are places that are usually out of sight, but here they are made visible and connections are drawn between the quarry and the society that made them. The quarry itself belongs both to the natural order and the civilized world: its terraces are both parallel and uneven.
The photographs are mostly presented as triptychs and this format allows Beauchamp to intervene in the tradition of landscape photography and painting and question some of its conventions. Perhaps the most important effect that it has is to fragment the perspectival unity of the scene. The intervals between the photographs introduce a principle of discontinuity into the images that is quite unlike the spectacular totality that many landscapes pursue. They function as a pictorial form of non-resolution. The space between the images is like a cinematic jump-cut that reminds the viewer with a jolt that these photographs are material objects. Through the use of reflection, fragmentation and juxtaposition these photographs allow us, as viewers, to bring an important aspect of our relation to the land into focus.

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE ANOOK CLÉONNE (NL)

'Fragments of Landscape'.

Drawings made by Anook Cléonne during February 2010.

JOHN MCNORTON

‘Something about embryonic stem cells’ 2010

I have not painted pictures for some years as other responsibilities have taken priority. I have, however, continued to study, make and teach drawing to foster ideas in order to keep me focussed upon potential creative action. A process, one could say, of soliloquy and ‘indirect language’.

The methods in these paintings on show are consciously linked to the processes employed in drawing, both past and present. The subject matter, however, is different. The overall title of these works in progress is : ‘Something about embryonic stem cells’ a project which endeavours to make open and diverse connections with current scientific/medical research, as I understand it. May I add that it does not take any political or ethical position per se. It merely uses thoughts in a free flowing way to hopefully reach a position, yes, often paradoxical, and contradictory, but dare I say, beyond dogma.

This recent work has been fun and liberating to produce and particularly challeging when trying to play with such disparate ideas as they relate to content , method and aestheics. The outcomes, I see as, awkward never quite arriving and always in a state of becoming.

‘Something about embryonic stem cells’ continues to test me and I hope that it might instigate some form of collision in the minds and bodies of those who have time to look and contemplate other possible worlds.

John McNorton

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE - BAHARADDIN ADAM (SUDAN)

Work produced during a three week residency

E-DRAWINGS

An interactive digital drawing collaboration between three artists:
Darren William(Wales) Jason Davies(Wales) John McNorton(France).

EXHIBITION: 'UNTITLED' LOUIS PERRIN
7th August - 5th September 2009

The title ‘untitled’ refers to an exhibition held at the Contemporary Art Centre ‘La lune en parachute’ which took place in Epinal in 2001 and also to my initial selection of works for this exhibition space which had no titles.

The pieces have been chosen because they are essentially made of metal and wood. They play a role as a kind of story that one could tell around the fire-place, or more precisely the wood burner, situated in the gallery space like a sculpture waiting for the winter to arrive, when it once again becomes a source of warmth.

The works presented in this show are from various periods. Some have not been exhibited for a long time: for example, the ‘microcosme’ made up of 20 wooden logs dates from 1982; the large steel sculpture outside is from 1990; the 4 ovoid pieces in steel are from 2001, the Zep K from 2009…

I wanted to avoid organising the show on plinths in order to use the realness of the space - stone – and propose an installation that is in resonance with the space.

The passer by is invited to look in through the metal gates and join the exhibition as a spectator, or push open the wooden doors, enter and participate…



Louis, August 2009.

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE- ALLEGRA DENTON - July/August 2009

Before I flew over here, I found this book in an antique store in Minnesota. It’s one book from an American James Bond-type adventure series, which are called “Killmaster Spy Thrillers”, and they all feature this one man, Nick Carter who travels the world completing adventure-filled missions assigned to him by the agency he works for. I decided to use this paperback— which was published in 1964— as the base medium for my project, which has come to be known, appropriately, as Safari for Spies.
I began by making one collage a day, each one corresponding to a chapter in the book. As I was making the collages, I found some images that seemed to lend themselves to the theme of the project, and began keeping them with the collages.
I choose a page based on the narrative— I choose part of the narrative of the chapter that sticks out to me. I then, take pieces of photographs that I’ve taken here in Caylus, and also pieces of images from books and magazines I’ve acquired since I’ve been here, and fit them together to create a sort of abstract narrative within the existing one in the text.
Along with the collages on pages from the book, and the found images from books I got here, I have included some of the photographs I’ve taken while I’ve been in Caylus.
Part of how I am relating to the protagonist in Safari for Spies, is that I am an outside observer in a foreign location. I observe the city and my surroundings within it quietly, taking in as much as I can, and noting my observations, representing them with the combination of image and the narrative that has become somewhat of an alias for my own, that of Nick Carter, in the book.
It makes more sense to me to display them in a non-hierarchical and non-linear way, as together they represent the whole of my experience thus far.

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE - WILL ZAJAC - April/May/June 2009.

The past 2.5 months have been dedicated toward developing drawings that begin to record Caylus’ unique architectural habitat. I have selected several components, which I believe are essential for a sustainable and ecological co-existence with the environment.

The components [things] that I have studied are all typical of Medieval and Romanesque architecture. The village of Caylus contains both, as well as characteristics of a bastide. My understanding of a bastide is that it is a medieval urban village built as a single unit for the purposes of defense and sustainability. The elements of a bastide include the core: La Place, Halle/Marche, lavoirs, couverts, rues, portals, clocher, fontains, esplanades;…all of these are enveloped by an agricultural landscape of terraces, gardens, pigeonniers, pierre seche, cabanes, etc. These elements are organized around a centralized plan similar to a roman castrum, which has a grid layout of intersecting streets, with wide thoroughfares that divide the town plan into insulae, or blocks, through which public passageways run. The central market square/halle is at the urban center and it usually acts as the module into which the bastide is subdivided. It’s an interesting organizational pattern because it is an efficient model for self-sustainability. A core urban habitat interwoven with essential systems of water, food, vegetation, etc.

What I find interesting about Caylus is how its form is more organic and sympathetic to the landscape than others. It reminds me of a quote by the historian A. Randolph: "The block geometry of some bastides was not always a rigid framework into which a town was squeezed; sometimes it resembles more closely a net, thrown upon the site and adapting to its nuances."

And, therefore, I’ve started a series of drawings that try to communicate these components. The first drawing that I’ll present is based on the central square of Caylus [the heart of the village].

Weekly Life Drawing Workshops

Life Drawing 29/04/09

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE - NADEZDA TSERNOBAI (ESTONIA)

Work in progress.

JOHN MCNORTON

Unsettled landscapes 1 - 7

A set of seven mixed media paintings from 1998.

Exhibition 'PORCELAIN : RITUAL AND PROCESS' five artists working in porcelain with photographs by Toril Brancher

This summer the centre 'DRAW' hosts a touring show from Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre , Wales.'Porcelain : Ritual and Process'

This exhibition aims to present a pictoral essay that charts the rituals and processes that occur within the studios of the five artists:

SAM BAKEWELL, JENNY BEAVAN, MELANIE BROWN,
JOANNA HOWELLS & VICKY SHAW

We open the studio door and take a peek inside at what goes on behind the making of the work - to gain insight into the processes and the rituals tha artists force themselves through to produce objects that stir our senses.

Hywel Pontin/Hannah Kelly 2007

Drawing/Construction Workshops April, 2008 - West Island College, Montréal, Canada.

Nine students : Gabby, Sydney, Alexandre, Philippe, Nick, Dimitri, Kaelan, Anthony, and David, and two staff :V. Caldareri & A. Garneau, followed a course of drawing/construction workshops and cultural visits. They were joined by local students for part of the course and participated in a spot on the local radio station, CFM Caylus.

CERAMIC FUTURES
1st - 31st August 2007
DRAWinternational - ArtHouseCaylus

A selection of contemporary ceramics by 15 artists from Wales, UK.

Maggie Andrews, Pete Castle, Natasha Mayo, Graham Williamson,
Duncan Ayscough, Melanie Brown, Caroline Taylor, Pauline Monkom,
Sally Bradborn, Alison Graham, Sara Moorhouse,
Matthew Thompson, Jin Eui Kim,
Claire Curneen, Jake Bodilly

A collaboration between the centre Drawinternational, Caylus, and the Centre of Ceramic Studies, Cardiff.

CERAMIC FUTURES
Artist in Residence - Jacob Bodilly -1st - 31st August 2007
DRAWinternational, ArtHouseCaylus

Jacob Bodilly, a student at the Centre of Ceramic Studies, Cardiff, was invited this summer by GA2C and DRAWinternational as resident artist .

JOHN MCNORTON 'Le lieu du geste'

Drawing as Vital Practice 19 january - 3 March 2007
THE CENTRAL LINE, PM Gallery, London.

Exhibition - Reflective Interventions - John McNorton
7th October - 5th November 2006
Abbaye de Beaulieu en Rouergue

'Reflective Interventions' alterations and modifications - John McNorton

This project considers the dimension of collaborative drawing, taking place in three and four dimensional space and relating to the two dimensional space of a drawing.

The drawing activity therefore consciously explores the dynamic relationship between participants in a site specific situation.

These works have been instigated on a horizontal plane as an interactive performative event and further realised in a studio situation on a vertical plane.

The attempt therefore, is to explore the relationship of subject and world, embracing the self with others. Merleau-Ponty, 1964, has referred to this as the primary source of expression in his essay 'Indirect Language', the area where the embodied self is slightly out of focus but situated where it may collide with new possibilities...

The whole process of drawing and reflection for the project embraces ambition and intentions for development, which may enhance comprehension, performance, and communication skills in and about drawing.

This dimension relies upon observation, insight, reflection and interpretation from a multitude of viewpoints.

I am reminded of Jean Baudrillard (1996,p174)
'The Transparency of Evil - Essays on Extreme Phenomena', where he states:
'The other is what allows me not to repeat myself for ever'

John McNorton.

'Drawing Inside Out'
March 2006
West Island College, Montreal, Canada

Drawing activities and cultural visits.

Reflective Interventions
11-13 November 2005
Abbaye de Beaulieu en Rouergue

Drawing Performance Installation - avec 10 european artists.

Choreographique dessinateur - John McNorton
Sonic artist - David Handford

Patrik Brigo
Nathalie Céré
Olivier Gentilin
David Handford
Grete Hayward
John McNorton
Bernard Niemietz
Seth Oliver
Alice Popelin
Heather Reid

September 2005
Power Drawing/NSEAD National Drawing Conference

A series of workshops, lectures and key note speeches delivered by John McNorton at Glasgow School of Art and Bath Spa University on the subject, 'The Corporeal Space of Drawing'.

Nest Shelter Column
Sculpture, Installation, Performance.
15-31 July 2005

Contemporary artists create site specific works at 'Lac de Labarthe, Caylus.
DRAWinternational and ACE (Art-Culture-Education) selected a group of international contemporary artists to participate in a two week residency/exchange project.
This project was supported by the European Community programme Leader+ Midi-Quercy.

MA Fine Art students

May 2005

Intensive drawing programme.
MA Fine Art students, UWIC

MA Fine Art - Drawing Course

October 2004

Intensive Drawing Course for MA Fine Art students, UWIC

'FACE TO FACE'

16th and 17th October 2004
rue droite Caylus

100 metres of drawing/performance in a medieval street
in association with Power Drawing UK

TOM BARNETT

Firing Project