Towards the end of July I had a message from a friend telling me about a call-out for local artists she had spotted regarding a music festival, held only 20 minutes away from where I live. I enquired and I'm so glad I did!
Strawberry Fields Festival is a relatively young, independent music event which has previously provided performances by the likes of Catfish and the Bottlemen, Labrinth, and Example. As well as showcasing an eclectic mix of well established artists SFF also offers a platform for emerging local talent, displaying a mix of genres from folk to reggae! As well as this, the festival also offers a wide range of non-musical activities including live art by local graffiti artists, a shisha lounge, and Strawberry Fields traders selling a wide range of bohemian clothing, crafts and jewellery - which was right up my street!
The call-out, however, was requesting for local artists to submit some of their work to be displayed in the artists' dressing rooms backstage; again providing an opportunity for local talent, as well as brightening up the dressing rooms! I created 4 papercuts for the event - 2 were exploring techniques I hadn't tried yet, and 2 were of the 'Strawberry Fields Festival' text - and I got some great feedback! In exchange for my artwork submission I was given a couple of weekend passes for the festival so my brother and I camped overnight in the VIP area, and despite the rubbish weather we had a great time! The festival is certainly one to look out for in the future as its reputation continues to soar!
It was a great chance for me to showcase some of my work with a wider circle of creatives including some well established, and very talented people, and I'd like to thank Emma Higgins for the opportunity - the tickets were an added bonus!
Incidentally, I am now selling one of the pieces I submitted! It's the first piece I've sold as an 'open bid' as all of my other work have been commissioned pieces, so I'm excited (and a little nervous) to see how it does! For anyone interested, here is the link, the auction is open over the next 4 days and ends on Sunday (21st) evening.
I've admired Rob Ryan's work for a while now and the other month I was fortunate enough to visit his exhibition 'There Is Only Time', which was timed to coincide with the launch of the British artist's new children's book 'The Invisible Kingdom'.
Displayed in the Sims Reed gallery, the exhibition featured some of Ryan's largest papercuts to date alongside some smaller scale pieces and limited edition screen prints of selected designs. His entire new body of artwork was aesthetically captivating, filling the open-plan space with an aura of peace, warmth, and contemplation.
Silhouetted within the paper and print works were beautifully crafted words, as is typical of Rob Ryan, which were incorporated into the lace-like designs contemplating themes of love, life, the universe, and our place in it. The poetic text pondered the enormity of life and how liberating it is to consider our significance in the world; the impact we make on others' lives, and the main thing that we all strive to experience during our short time on this earth is to simply love and be loved -which in itself is a remarkable thing.
It was breath-taking to see his intricate silhouetted designs up close and since viewing Ryan's collection of artwork I have been inspired to pursue my fondness and admiration for papercut art further as well as explore the possibilities of screen printing, a technique I have wanted to try and experiment with for some time now.
After viewing the exhibit, my mum and I also managed to squeeze in some Christmas shopping on (a very festive looking) Oxford Street and was the perfect way to end a great day!
I hope you all had a great weekend! Just a quick post to say that my facebook page 'Hannah Webb Illustration' is currently down, but it will be back up and running in the next couple of weeks - my apologies! In the meantime please feel free to follow me on instagram and twitter for other updates; @hw_illustration
On a different note, I'm finally going to visit Rob Ryan's exhibition at the Sims Reed Gallery in London tomorrow! I've been wanting to go for weeks now so I'm really looking forward to it. My mum is accompanying me this time which will be great, I hope she enjoys it as much as I will; but I dare say we'll squeeze in a bit of Christmas shopping on Oxford Street whilst we're there, which I know she'll enjoy!
Afternoon! It's all hands on deck at the minute trying to catch up on the past few months, but I'm making steady progress! My Twitter account is up and running (@hw_illustration) and I've already gained quite a few followers, which looks promising! I've also had a wonderful opportunity come my way as a result, which I'll update you of as soon as I can.
I'm also planning one or two trips to London as there are lots of exciting exhibitions lined up over the coming months, two in particular I'm thrilled about! The first is already open; 'Nothing To See Here' held at the Lazarides Gallery in London by none other than my favourite artist & illustrator - Oliver Jeffers. It runs until Thursday 3rd October and shows a series of new works questionning human behaviour and ignorance. I've been observing the progress of the oil paintings and exhibition preparation via Jeffers' instagram & twitter accounts (@OliverJeffers) and it looks fantastic, really thought provoking! For more information, opening times and directions, click here.
Secondly is an exhibition by Rob Ryan, an outstanding papercut artist, entitled 'There Is Only Time' at the Sims Reed Gallery, London. The show runs from the 23rd October til the 8th November. I can't wait to check out the intricacy of his work first-hand! The gallery is also holding a book signing for his new book 'The Invisible Kingdom' on Saturday 26th October between 1-2pm, so I'm hoping to coincide the two. For further information and a few sneak peaks at the work to be shown, click here.
Busy and exciting times all round!
