Monochrome Set - a turning point

Pat and Hanz, who I met at Core Blimey Arts, two amazing people who work hard and  with sincerity.
They saved me really as I was wallowing in a rut, it was time to make something different!
It felt like a holiday from myself but at the same time it put me back in touch with why I work as I do. 


Freedom, spontaneity, raw and honest.... oh and black and white?! A first for me, I worship colour but this gave me an uninterrupted look at the form.

'Adam's Peak'

This was a period of change, a fresh look at my work, my studio situation and those nagging questions of 'what is it all for...?'

Core Gallery - Monochrome Set 




Similarly when I did 'throw a pot' at the open studios, I felt like I had made a valuable contribution instead of sitting there feeling slightly uncomfortable about my work........

Monochrome Set

Seeking inspiration from the work of Pat and Hanz helped me draw deep in to the character of my own work and put me back in touch with the reasons for my choice of material and process. Using their work as a mirror, I found the rhythm that I admire in their work in my process rather than the end result.

For nearly a decade I have worked solely with the potter's wheel, using this tool to provide speed and flow in the creation of dynamic forms. When restricted (by choice) to only my bare hands, a few simple tools and the clay I found myself creating the same immediacy and spontaneity.

Monochrome has been a reawakening and a reassuring journey, I feel truly in touch with

my practice and believe I am on the right path.

Pat and Hanz - Setting Up

I had been feeling quite detached from the 'Cor Blimey' set up but setting this up made me feel at home.  The same applied when we set up 'Bleedin' Heart' in Brighton.  You really only ever feel on the outside when you put yourself there.

The Journey So Far

'Bleedin' Heart' 

So this is what I ve been making. Ornaments I guess. They mean more to me than that but that is another story for later.... my dear friend Emily Wilson and I are working on a written piece which will hopefully help me shed some light in that direction.  

'Death- Not as bad as you may think'

For me these ceramic objects are beautiful because they are free and energetic. They are as sincere as I can be in clay and with the skills I learned at college.  I have enjoyed every minuet of my clay quest, but I feel it's time to move on.....

Leyla Folwell. 'My work so far'. June 2010

My practice as an artist has become holistic. I am learning to look at my life as the art rather than the reverse. This body of work is the result of my need for a physical element of my self expression, but this is not a need exclusive to artists but to all people. Children feel free to express themselves through play and crafts but sadly at some point most of us loose this unselfconscious liberation. Laying dormant for years, being satisfied with the endless supply of 'dummies' our consumer society lays in front of us, we often reawaken half way through our life as the reality of our mortality starts to murmur.

What concerns me, is what do we miss in the mean time? And what are the consequences of our absence?

'Sanctuary'


 All these beautiful photographs were taken by the Italian Master Daniele Longo 

     http://www.danielelongo.co.uk/

Freedom on the Water

Leyla has a blog!

Hello here I am with all my glory!

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