Like scavengers extracting sustenance out of the discarded remains of capitalism, we sift through the flotsam and jetsam washed up by the winter storms. Much of it has been in the water for a long time. It has been reconfigured, eaten away, oxidised, twisted, battered and crushed on its elemental journey. It is edifying, this … More Business as Usual? Post Apocalyptic Sculptures
This is the monument to Wales’ first black head teacher, Betty Campbell. It is also the first named statue of a woman in Wales. On 29th September, in Cardiff’s Central Square, a large crowd gathered to celebrate this momentous occasion, made possible by the dedicated women behind the organisation Monumental Welsh Women. Since 2016, they … More Monumental Woman: A Beacon of Hope
Work from the Cynefin project is being exhibited in Llandough hospital until the end of August. The gallery co-ordinator, Molly Lewis and I arranged the paintings and photographs onto four boards and hung them in the corridor of the hospital where they can be seen by staff, patients and visitors as they pass through. It’s … More Cynefin: In the Gallery
A lovely day for a walk to Penllwyn Manor in Blackwood accompanied by three of the children’s fathers. Unfortunately, my attempts to gain access to the house proved unfruitful, though Douglas, the kind man at the council did his best to persuade the present owners of the building to let us have a look around. We … More Murals and Sculptures: Cynefin – Week Four
In the current circumstances, I am more grateful than ever to have a space to go to to be creative. I thought I would share with you some beach finds I picked up on Rhossili beach, before the lockdown. Some of them are enough in themselves – perfect examples of wabi-sabi art, like this block … More In the Studio
One participant of the Friday Creative Wellbeing group is a wonderful surrealist poet in the style of Gisèle Prassinos. From one of her poems, ‘Reasoning Remains a Wealth‘, everyone has chosen a line that resonates with them, and created their own print or artwork, taking inspiration from the words of the poem. We are always discovering … More Structure for a Poem
Recently, I have been asked to run a couple of taster sessions for YMCA Cardiff Design For Life. The learners were keen to work with clay, as this is something they hadn’t tried before. Clay is so tactile, soothing and grounding. Several learners commented that they had come reluctantly to the session, thinking it would … More Creative Sessions at the YMCA
This weekend, I travelled to Wakefield to see Human Landscapes, the first UK retrospective of the work of the much-overlooked Polish artist Alina Szapocznikow (1926–1973). Powerful, innovative, disturbing, these pieces have dark undertones, which isn’t surprising when you discover that Szapocznikow survived several of the Nazi camps as a teenager, and bouts of severe illness. … More Awkward Objects: The Work of Alina Szapocznikow
Sarah J Featherstone 