the seed is splitting there’s still time to climb the spiral staircase just breathe transformation happens ready or not I find the liminal times around twilight and dawn good for automatic work. I let my hand loose, and try to stay out of the way of whatever wants to emerge, sometimes with eyes closed. Then … More Liminal I
Here are some of my asemic experiments. I often use asemic writing as a way in to abstract works. I create a mysterious script that transcends semantics. It is like a complex future language, a child’s first attempts at writing, an ancient script or an undecipherable code. Asemic works place the viewer somewhere between reading … More Writing as Art/Art as Writing
Two important exhibitions in London last weekend: Natalia Goncharova Retrospective at Tate Modern, and Lee Krasner: Living Colour at Barbican. In Goncharova’s famous painting, The Cyclist, the figure is willfully heading in the opposite direction to that indicated by the pointing authoritarian finger. It suitably sums up Goncharova’s spirit. A leading figure of the new … More Palingenesis, and the Art of Everythingism
Two exhibitions in Swansea this weekend: Sarah Poland who has a residency in GS Gallery, and Frances Richards at the Glynn Vivian. Sarah Poland’s mark making using inks made from oak galls has a zen-like quality. I love how she combines this with photographic images she calls ‘moon-drawings’, made by using a long exposure on … More Artists Apart
Our workshop ‘Close Your Eyes and Sing: Expressive Painting,’ for the community arts festival, Made in Roath was a great success. More than fifty abstract works of art were created by individuals using the backs of old carpet tiles, and Picasso’s advice that ‘to draw you must close your eyes and sing’. Our first participants … More Close Your Eyes and Sing
The exhibition Surface Work (11 April – 16 June 2018 at the Victoria Miro, Mayfair) was a rich feast, with abstract work by more than 50 artists, all women, from five continents, spanning every decade between 1918 and 2018. I knew of some of the artists who have “shaped and transformed, and continue to influence … More Exhibition: Pioneering Abstract Artists
The sessions that I am running at the lovely new mental health unit Hafan Y Coed have evolved into a combination of writing and art. As this is a new venture for me, it has been interesting to see how the planning of the course translates into practice. We have taken a generic theme for … More Whatever the Weather
A wonderful day with lots of visitors taking up our expressive drawing challenge for Made in Roath festival. We rolled out long sheets of paper, and invited participants to use paint, charcoal and pastels to experiment and have fun.
Georgina Peach and I are running an Expressive Drawing Workshop on Sunday 22nd as part of the fabulous madeinroath festival – see here for details. Expect scrunched up paper, paint flicking, drawing with eyes closed, and other fun ways of drawing/not-drawing. “Expressive, or automatic drawing was used by the Surrealists to express the subconscious … More Upcoming Exhibition and Workshop
Automatic drawing or painting can be described as “expressing the subconscious” using any technique that eliminates conscious control and replaces it with chance. The basic techniques originate from spiritualism, practiced by artists such as Georgiana Houghton and Hilma Af Klint, both of whom have recently had their work exhibited in a revival of interest and … More Making a Mark: The Art of Automatism
Sarah J Featherstone 