Metamorphosis No 2

Happy New Year one and all - Christmas is officially over so it's back to work. As much as I have enjoyed relaxing over the Christmas period, I did find the time to start some new work. After the positive feedback I received from the "Journeys and Cells" exhibition - I have wanted to explore making larger sculptures using the same newspaper rolling technique.

Metamorphosis No 2 is a larger scale sculpture of one of the pieces from the previous exhibition - with some changes. A podium has been added to the base of the sculpture made from a cluster of rolled newspaper bonded together and then painted with white acrylic paint to unify them. I am thinking about adding some text to the horizontal bands but have not decided whether that is the right direction for this piece yet!

The tree form at the top has been made from rolled newspaper to create the "trunk" and then surrounded by stamped out butterflies from printed papers.  Taking the papers previous history and voiding this from the viewer - The process of providing new life to old paper, I find really exciting . Below are the results.

 Close up of Metamorphosis No 2

The cluster of newspapers at the base of the sculpture are reminiscent of a barrel.

 Reverse view of the sculpture

Close up of the reverse of the sculpture

Why not take a few minutes to have a look at my new look website www.lisasmith.uk.com I still have some work to do on the gallery but the site is looking very good thanks to James Ferguson

Christmas Craft 4 - Paper Wreath

For day 4 I have made a fabulous sparkly paperwreath, ready to adorn any household this Christmas. This is a slightly more complex project that the previous three, but once you have worked out your measurements and made your first cone shape the piece will start to take shape.

For this project you will need: A cutting mat, double sided tape, jingle bells, small gems, patterned paper, contrasting coloured paper, glitter glue, ribbon, glue, thread and needle.

 How to make a cone - Glue a piece of contrasting paper to the back of a piece of patterned paper. Cut out a circle about the size of a paper plate. Mark the circle into quarters. Cut along the lines so that you are left with 4 quarters all of the same size. Along one of the straight edges of the quarter piece place a strip of double sided tape. Carefully line this up with the opposite straight edge. This will form your cone shape. If you want to cut a shape out of your cone for additional detail (see picture above) you will need to do this prior to making the cone. Lay the quarter piece on the cutting mat and mark you shape you want to cut roughly in the centre. Using a sharp cutting knife, cut the shape out. Once you have cut out you can join the cone together in the same way mentioned above.

You will need between 12-16 cones to make your wreath, pending on how tightly you want the cones packed together. In the wreath pictured I have used 14 cone shapes.

 Inside the cones with circle shapes cut out of the them I have attached a jingle bell. This has been done by threading a needle with embroidery silk and stitching the bell to the back of the cone - see the picture below.

 To assemble your paperwreath cut out another circle the same size as the circle you cut to make the cones. Glue the paper to a piece of card cut to the same size. Spread plenty of glue onto the circle and carefully lay the cones around the edge of the circle. Gentle push the cones to secure to the circle but be careful not to dent them.

For finishing touches I added some glitter glue around the cut out shapes, and added some small gems and a single bell in the centre of the circle. Once again I have cut a piece of ribbon which has been secured to the back of the wreath to enable the piece to be hung up on display.

The small bell I purchased from Paperchase http://www.paperchase.co.uk/ £4.95 for a box of 72 and the patterned paper I purchased from hobby craft http://www.hobbycraft.co.uk for £4.99

Journeys and Cells

Last month I held my first solo show at Glass from the Past at Barleylands craft village as part of the A127 art trail. In the exhibition I showed a selection of my paper 'cell' sculptures and crayon 'journey' drawings.

The `cell’ sculptures in this exhibition portray my love of paper. I enjoy reclaiming old papers, newspapers, found images etc giving them a new life and a new form. My working process explores manipulating the use of paper as a sculptural medium, expressing the aesthetic quality of nature.

My drawings reflect observations of places and happenings I have come across on various journeys. I use oil pastels and crayons to create accessible images provoking the viewer to contemplate their own journeys, memories and thoughts of everyday life.

For those of you that missed out on seeing the show, here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

 Gallery View showing Eclipse, and 9 Cells, Paper sculptures made from newspaper and painted with acrylic paint

 9 Cells, newspaper and acrylic paint

 Metamorphose 1, newspaper, printed paper and acrylic paint

 Shapes that go together, newspaper and acrylic paint

 Nothings gonna stop us now, newspaper and acrylic paint

 Unknown Journey, newspaper and acrylic paint

 I'll do my crying in the rain (detail), newspaper and acrylic paint

 I'll do my crying in the rain , newspaper and acrylic paint

 My cup runneth Over (detail), newspaper and acrylic paint

 I'll do my crying in the rain, newspaper and acrylic paint

 Cell, newspaper and acrylic paint

 Live, Love Laugh, newspaper and acrylic paint

 Me

 My Journey Drawings on Display

 Paris in the Rain, Pastels, Water soluble Crayons and pencil

 London Calling, Pastels, Water soluble Crayons and pencil

 Brandenberg Gate, Pastels, Water soluble Crayons and pencil

 Bubble Girl, Pastels, Water soluble Crayons and pencil

 Wellies, Pastels, Water soluble Crayons and pencil

 Frothy Spoon, Pastels, Water soluble Crayons and pencil

 Norwegian skies, Pastels, Water soluble Crayons and pencil

 Elizabeth, Pastels, Water soluble Crayons and pencil

Going Nowhere, Pastels, Water soluble Crayons and pencil

I am happy to undertake any commissions and have some of the drawings and sculptures shown above still available for sale. If you would like to make an enquiry please contact me on lisamart@hotmail.co.uk

Thank you to Caroline Wieldman for graciously allowing me to exhibit my art work at Glass From The Past at Barleylands Craft Village www.glassfromthepast.co.uk and Matt from Root red photography www.rootredphotography.co.uk for the amazing photos of my sculptures.

A127 Art Trail Brochure

Welcome to the A127 Trail 2011. Following on from the success of the Basildon District Art Trail last year, the newly retitled A127 Trail was established and is now recognised as a community event of some magnitude to the borough, which aims to bring the arts and business together.

Over 60 artists are taking part in the Art Trail this year between the 9th - 18th September. I am lucky enough to be exhibiting my drawings and paper sculptures at Glass From the Past, based at Barleylands Craft Village and will be posting pictures of my work over the next week.

You can pick up a copy of the brochure from any of the art venues including Dean Smith art at Barleylands Craft Village, Basildon Eastgate Art Gallery, Starbucks, Gateway 97.8, Eastgate Shopping centre, Past Times, Basildon Library, Towngate Theatre, The Fold in Billericay and Summerhill Garden Centre.

Whether you are a serious art collector, or just enjoy browsing there is something to suite everyone's taste on this years trail from drawings, painting, illustrations, photography, contemporary sculpture, textile work, mosaic and much more.

 The glorious Brochure

 And here I am Number 12, based at Glass From the Past at Barleylands Craft Village. To find out more about Glass From the Past have a look at their website www.glassfromthepast.co.uk

 The Trail at Barleylands

The trail at Basildon, Make sure you take some time to look in the Basildon Eastgate Art Gallery to see artwork by amateurs, professional artists and local children. A fabulous venue that illustrates how important art is to the local community. Since opening a couple of months ago the gallery has had 12000 visitors!

For more information about the trail have a look on the website http://www.a127trail.com/ or follow on Facebook A127 Trail - 2011