A GENTLE REVOLUTION

Last year I was invited to be involved in World Turned Upside Down, an exhibition in Leeds curated by illustrator Si Smith with support from Leeds Inspired. Artists and poets were asked to make work in response to the Beatitudes – the 8 statements from the Sermon on the Mount.

Initially I found it hard to see how these words relate to us at this time.  They are words that invert our power structures.  The opposite of the power-hungry, greedy and ruthless values we often see in the people that run our countries, who don’t seem to consider the meek and those without a voice; the poor, the very young, the sick and the elderly – the most vulnerable in society.  This is particularly marked at a time of fallout from Brexit, which seemed to bring out an openness in racial hatred and the USA voting for a person as self-serving and prejudiced as Donald Trump to become their leader – both are shocking and depressing.

Si Smith’s inspiration for the exhibition came from an unlikely source:

'At Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony, the Beatitudes were read.  That struck me as a truly dissonant moment and – whether deliberate or not – a pretty direct rebuke to the values that he represents.  Because whilst we’ve succumbed to the belief that it’s the richest, the strongest and the most powerful who’ll always and inevitably triumph, the message of the Beatitudes is that in the end, it is actually the meek who’ll inherit the earth.’

The idea of re-imagining a world turned on its head is a refreshing starting point for making new work.  Using the classic visual style from revolution posters from the past as an influence, I was drawn to the Beatitude about meekness;

Blessed are the meek, 
for they shall inherit the earth.

The idea of meekness, or gentleness, being of greater value than power, status and riches is alien in our society, but at the same time I can’t help thinking people need to know the bullies don’t have to always win.  I’ve never considered myself a particularly political person and am naturally quite shy, but last year I felt compelled to join marches and rallies to support change.  I am supporting a gentle revolution with kindness at its centre.  A rise in gentleness, thoughtfulness and compassion for our fellow humans.  It is important not to confuse gentleness with passiveness or apathy, it is just a different way to communicate – meekness can be very powerful.  Making this piece of work has made me mindful of the fact that we don’t always have to make big showy gestures to make a difference.  The small act I can make each day to show an individual some kindness is equally as powerful and important.

I have never made a piece of work that has received responses like this print.  I have been encouraged by the passionate and inspiring conversations it has provoked in people of all ages.  Some people felt compelled to buy the print to share these values with their family every day.  Other people may not have found the print to their aesthetic taste, but have told me that it made them cry. When I hear things like this it makes me feel quite emotional, I think this is due to a feeling of solidarity, the idea that my values resonate with someone else.  That maybe we really are having a gentle revolution.

You can buy one of these limited edition 'Gentle Revolution' lino prints from myonline shop.

Tidy desk, tidy mind

I have blogged before about the process of a cathartic declutter in my studio and lately I had been feeling like something similar was brewing.  My studio was the visual representation of how my head has been feeling recently – messy and chaotic.

I am in the hugely fortunate position to use a room in the shared studio of my parent's house; both creatives, they set up the basement studio space when they moved in 14 years ago. 

 

Recently, the scale of my prints and the different areas and way I work has changed.  I felt like my studio and I had grown apart – I wasn’t working efficiently or effectively.  It was time for a change, time to find a new studio.  I admit to feeling a little anxious about not wanting to seem ungrateful when talking to my Folks about the change, but they were brilliant and rather than moving studio they were willing for me to update my part of the studio space in order for it to work better for me and the way I work now.

The first change I needed to make was to get a plan chest to store large prints away – giving me more table top space, but also making it easier to keep the prints organised, clean and safe [these were previously taking up a large amount of space on my worktop, being shunted about from surface to surface in order to work around them].  I looked for second-hand chests and couldn’t find anything that would work in my space, so I decided to build one into an alcove.  My husband helped me to construct a framework for drawers to slot into – this was tricky as the alcove walls were far from square or straight!  I then set about constructing drawers and shelves.  I purchased new storage crates that would fit into the shelf unit we had created.  I have to say I am delighted with results.

My second issue was work space and a  lack of permanent storage, rather than items stored in plastic boxes, then stowed under my desk.  I acquired upright shelf units and storage boxes which took up less floor space.  The desktop that I had been using was brilliantly ‘multi-use’; office space/printing bench/jewellery making station/mounting and framing surface, I felt it was time to compartmentalise these different areas of my work so I removed the large built-in desk and created a separate office.  I purchased two extendable tables so that I could have as much or as little work surface depending on the requirements of my current project, but also meaning I can have two separate projects on the go [as is often the way].

Lastly, I made the decision to include an armchair into my new work environment – not as you might think for tea breaks [though this is a bonus], but actually a fair amount of my work I make on my knee in the comfort of my sofa at home in the evenings and it struck me that this simple addition to my studio might help me alter my perspective on saving the less 'heavy-weight' work for my ‘down time’ and treat it as equally significant to the running of my business as other areas of my work.  Embracing the work that encourages me to nestle down rather than only valuing the work that means I'm hurtling around feeling like I'm 'getting things done'.   Now that the chair is in and the desk has been taken out from below the window I can now sit in good daylight to work on stitching, making and writing.  I love it!