Marvelous Margate!

My Birthday plans were scuppered by my faithful car 'Tankie' having a wobble so too make sure I made the best of it I took myself off to sunny Margate to see the Emin exhibition : )

Tracey talks about the beautiful colours of Margate's horizon

This is the view from the new Turner Contemporary Gallery.  I forgot to take a photo of the gallery, which looks like it has landed from space!  On the train I was faffing around trying to workout how I actually use maps on my Blackberry (there is lingering Luddite in me) because I realized I didn't know where the gallery was!  I laughed out loud when I turned out of the station. There is this typical British slightly worn seaside town with this bling city construction landed on one side. I do wonder what the average Margatian feels about it?? 

Anyway it is a beautiful gallery with a stunning foyer that frames the sea perfectly.

Emin's new work She Lay Down Beneath the Sea is calmer and somehow more resigned. 

 I was (like many) a bit skeptical about her before I went to see Love Is What You Want last year at the Hayward Gallery.  I went twice and read everything and watch every video, I fell in love with her honesty and how fearless she is about exposing her human side.  This exhibition is less raw because she is established, comfortable and rich!  But it was good to see what a mature Emin is concentration on and I felt its was worth a trip. 

You may want to have a nose through her lovely website Tracey Emin.

I then went off for an explore of Margate and found this Tudor House,.

What I was looking for was this, the Shell Grotto. It is an amazing labour of love that was a secret for many years. A chamber and tunnels under ground covered in wall to wall shells. There are photos of it being used for a seance in the early 1800. A real bonus to my visit! 

This does not demonstrate how many people were on the beach, it was packed!

So nice to feel sand beneath my feet, I have got use to Brighton pebbles!  I think it was my birthday two years ago when we visited friends in Dorset when I last walked on sand!!

My 40th year!

It is my birthday dear friends and I am going to share 3 things you

 may not know about me and my reason for doing what I do : ) 

no.1. I am 39 years old

Today I am 39 and proud! Cannot wait for the big one next year : )

 I am planning to go to India and show my boyfriend why I love that crazy 

country so much! 

But for this year there is much to focus on right here in sunny Rotherhithe!

My 1st birthday.
This little girl never liked being told what to do and still doesn't -
 I was born to run my own business : )

People rarely get my age right and I did get ID 'd in Tescos last month! This may sound fantastic to you but I get a bit frustrated by comments like 'so are you a student?' 

 I feel like I ve already lived two lives in one and I am hopefully only half way through!

The secret to looking  younger than your true years...
regular shoulder or head stands and a veggie diet.

no.2. I used to have a skin-head

I knew I would be an artist from as early as I can remember, as soon as I could escape from school I went to art college. The path was not smooth and I deviated several times.

Me,18 years old and carving breeze blocks.

no.3. I used to sell pasties for a living

My 9 year gap and business training.
 While at Uni in Falmouth I accidentally got in to PASTIES!
First as the person who shoveled them in to a bag and took your holiday cash. Then helping to set up and run franchises and eventually owned my own Pasty takeaway and coffee-shop.

                             

I really loved setting up these shops. Starting with viewing the premises, planning the layout, shop fitting, finding a team and training them. All these things having come flooding back to me over the last two weeks with the new new studio. 

But after a few years of running my own shop boredom set in. My artistic side became restless and I started looking around for ceramics classes.  For several years I attended various local classes and built up a body of work. One brave day, I set in motion the application process for Universities.  I was under-qualified but as determined as hell.

My life changed beyond recognition.  I swapped my juicy income and mortgage

 for student digs and a matching loan!

Me and my peers at our Degree show 2003 - 9 years ago!

My Anagama fired degree show pieces.

And now I enjoy sharing with other people the skills I learned.
 It only recently dawned on me that that is why I feel so passionate about accessible
 adult classes because I could 'nt have changed my life without them.

If you feel stuck and want to change your life click here for inspiration!

V22 Communal Ceramics Studio: Stage 1

In case you don't know (almost impossible because this is all I talk about!!)

 I am setting up and amazing communal ceramics studio in  V22, Bermonsey. This is the brain child of Tara Cranswick and the ball was set rolling by James Wright. 

The space has so much potential! Here is the plan:

 We are going to have 4 permanent artists spaces and 2 residential spaces. These can be hired by the day or week. Between us we have 4 kilns, a spray booth, a ball mill, a sand blaster, five wheels and an extruder. 

We will run regular classes and tuition and also be on hand for technical advise. 

The added bonus for me is that I have a much more appropriate space to run my classes previously run at Surrey Docks Farm. Which means I will have more to offer my students and is going to save me the long set up I had previously.

It is possible to work from there already and we want to have it fully functional by the 1st September.  I have LOTS to do so I called in my dream team! (Russell & Son)

Jerry believes in regular breaks and regular sandwiches : )

Yesterday Jerry helped me haul 6 car loads from the farm to V22, he was a hero! It would have taken me 3 days on my own! It s great to have that bit out of the way. But before we moved it we had to put in some structure to store all the materials.

Fortunately James had collected lots of tables and shelves so it didn't take a lot to
 organize a space for all my stock and materials.

I stubbled over V22 a couple of moths ago when I was searching for a space of my own to do my own work. Mindful of the original desire I've opted to build myself a private space inside the huge studio. Somewhere I can get away from it all : )

The frame for my beach hut studio.

The right hand side of the space before I tided it!

The left hand side.

The skin going on my studio.

Can't do all this work without a cuppa 

Nearly done : )

It s changing every week so I ll keep you posted! : ) 

Paint Machines at Danson Festival in Bexley

Artwork made on Bill Hudson Painting Machines

At the weekend I worked with William Micheal Hudson at Danson Festival this made a great change from all the things I am juggling and it made a nice change not being in charge! Ironically I was mostly assisting on the 'spinning machine' lol!

Artwork made on Bill Hudson Painting Machines

The Paint Machines are a fabulous invention, they help people make art

 without the pressure to be 'artistic'.  They take away a lot of the control that in my 

opinion often ruins the experience of making art. 

They are a lot of fun and the results are amazing.

Artwork made on Bill Hudson Painting Machines

Weird though... I just cant get away from those squares!??

Head-Space by Leyla Folwell

'Head Space' at Nolia's Gallery

GAMES PEOPLE PLAY

Private View:Tuesday, 10 July 2012: 5pm - 9pm.

Dates: 10th - 31st July.

Opening hours: 12 - 6, Wed - Fri, Sat 12 - 4

Gallery: Nolias - Core @ Nolias Gallery, http://coreatnolias.wordpress.com/

Address: 60 Gt Suffolk, London SE1 OBL

Nearest tube: Southwark on Jubilee line (near Tate Modern),

 between Waterloo and London Bridge 

'Head Space' - Leyla Folwell, Paper Sculpture

A big part of the new studio move is to give me the space I need to expand my work. 

It s fairly limiting working from a narrow-boat living room! Time to stretch my wings : )

Although, I really have enjoyed working on a tiny scale, all my recent drawings have been 15 x 15cm and now I am making origami sculptures from 15cm squares.  I really have fallen in love with the square recently.

The last exhibition I took part in was Monochrome Set at Core Gallery

Much has passed and Core has moved to Nolia's in Southwark and it is going to fantastic working with my old friends from my 'Cor Blimey' studio days.

Section from  'Head-Space' Leyla Folwell

My game is the pursuit of happiness.

These cubes started as three dimensional collages.

They symbolize my search to feel complete.

Made mostly from my waste paper, sketches, printed photographs and my morning writing practice; they were an exercise in bringing order to what often feels like chaos.

The making process became a mediation as it often does when I use craft to express myself. The interior space has become representational of the 'head space' I require to be creative.

Section from  'Head-Space' Leyla Folwell

Please join me for the private view and show your support for

 my awakening from hibernation! : ) x