An Art To It

Colour is at the very heart of Ruth Shelley’s creative life.  Growing up in rural Wales with limited external entertainment, making and domestic creativity were at the heart of her childhood, and inspired her move to study textiles at art college.  Travel and finding inspiration in the colours and patterns of south east Asia continued to influence her textile work but stumbling on an evening class in stained glass opened up a whole new creative adventure for Ruth. In our chat Ruth reflects on her creative path as well as her travels and inspirations - both overseas and closer to home; discusses how experimenting with glass is a source of endless fascination for her - and that a tip from her Physicist brother made all the difference to finessing her work; and how being an award winner at the 2015 Glass Biennale in Stourbridge made a huge difference to her career. Ruth’s work can be seen this winter at: London Glass Blowing Gallery  https://londonglassblowing.co.uk/ Contemporary Applied Arts  https://www.caagallery.org.uk/ And other venues, please check Ruth’s website for stockists and events:  https://www.ruthshelley.co.uk/  

A love of making - and of maps - has taken ceramic artist Loraine Rutt on an unusual but very successful creative journey. Loraine began her career as a cartographer at London’s Birkbeck College https://www.bbk.ac.uk/ but when digitalisation of maps meant that she would be using a computer rather than the more physical approach of a pencil and tracing paper, she decided to pursue her earlier dream of going to art college. A degree in ceramics from London’s Central School for Art and Design (later Central St Martins https://www.arts.ac.uk/colleges/central-saint-martins) began her creative career which now sees her specialising in ceramic maps and globes with her own art-lead practice and her pocket globes which she produces limited editions of via her Little Globe co. In our chat Loraine shares her journey from her Kent and London childhood, through her cartography career and joy at finally attending art college and getting to ‘play with clay.’ Her work mapping our world in ceramic form has recently won Loraine recognition from the Royal Geographical Society where she is now a Fellow. You can read about her recent exhibition here: The Royal Geographical Society https://www.rgs.org/about-us/our-work/latest-news/pocket-globes-and-porcelain-maps-new-exhibition-combines-cartography-and-ceramics In our chat Loraine also shares her chat about her connection with a real life space man: Apollo 15 Astronaut Col Al Worden - her work in homage and some recordings of her talking to Al Worden about the view of Earth from space can be heard here: http://www.lorainerutt.com/portal Loraine also recently took part in an exhibition in Venice with the prestigious Homo Faber organisation - you can see the catalogue here:  https://2024.homofaber.com/ecatalogue For all Loraine’s other work please visit her website: www.lorainerutt.com

Growing up as part of a creative family - and a keen painter from an early age - it was no surprise that Sophie Harding decided to attend art college. But inspired by a documentary she watched as a teenager it was the Fashion course at St Martin’s college that Sophie enrolled on.  In my chat with Sophie - whose stunning paintings I’m fortunate to exhibit regularly at the Byre Gallery - we discuss how a deciding that a fashion career wasn’t for her, lead her to a full time career as a painter, via a foray into illustration. You can see Sophie’s work on her website: www.Sophie-Harding.co.uk  where you will also find details of all the galleries she shows with - and where you can buy from her directly - and follow her on Instagram at @harding_sophie  

This is a cheeky little extra session where I talk about my online course ‘An Insider’s Guide to Gallery Success’ and explain why with a number of alternatives to learn about how to best approach - and develop a relationship - with galleries, mine might be the right one for you. There are three reasons that this course fits the bill for you: The Byre Gallery, which I founded in 2014, is a welcoming and elegant space with carefully curated exhibitions of lovely work in contemporary craft and fine art; it’s the sort of gallery any art or interiors lover wants to spend time. It’s not a scary and unapproachable gallery; we’re not in a snooty street in London where you have to ring a bell and be met by either a ridiculously skinny young woman dressed all in black clutching her phone to her ear and looking you up and down; or an old bloke in pink cords who glares over his specs at you. I’m as approachable as my gallery, and I care about all my artists and makers - those I show and those I work with as a coach and mentor. I’m over 50! I may think I’m still 28… or 38 on a day when I feel like a grown up, but the calendar cannot lie. And that means I’ve got a lot of experience behind me: as well as in the gallery world, I’m a qualified business coach, plus I have a background in PR and communications.  But most importantly, if you’re looking at developing your creative career later in life, I talk your language and won’t (unless I feel its right for your work and business) suggest you do Tik Tok. This course isn’t just for ALL artists and makers.  Some courses are strongly geared towards visual artists, but not this. I’ve worked with every kind of maker and a huge range of visual artists so I understand the specific needs of each. What will you get out of the course: I wish I could say I would wave a magic wand and you would suddenly be the most in demand artist or maker in the country.  I can’t do that, but I can take you be the hand and get you in the best possible shape to be ready to approach the right galleries for you.   No one likes rejection and I want to make sure you’re confident in what you’re offering - and you’re offering it to the right galleries so that you increase your chance of being successful. All galleries have a set of criteria when they make a selection and I want to help you really understand what your offer is and recognise who might be your match.   There are six modules, plus some super useful handouts, a live zoom - and the potential to add on a 1:1 session.   We’ll cover: Why work with galleries  Getting you, your work, your business and your brand ready The tools you need to make your approach  Where to find the right galleries  How to make the most effective approach  How to deal with the responses, and how to get your relationship off to the best start.   You can book here:   https://courses.thebyregallery.co.uk/courses/an-insiders-guide-to-gallery-success   And read our FAQs and find out more about me and the Byre Gallery here:    https://thebyregallery.co.uk/pages/courses-and-coaching