Inside my Studio

While it's (relatively!) tidy I thought I'd show you around my studio, so welcome, come on in!

I've been at Cuckoo Farm Studios for five and a half years now and I've changed studio a few times as my work has grown. I'm now settled and I've been resident in studio 22 for two and a half years. It's a light and bright little room, upstairs in what was a bedroom in the farm workers cottage (Cuckoo Farm was once a Pig Farm). 

I'm not a very tidy person but it's a working space and it works very well for me. Although I don't get to spend as much time here as I'd like, it does really help me to have a dedicated working space away from the distractions of home and I enjoy being part of an artist community (there are thirty other artists working here in the converted farm buildings). 

 Here's a little look around!

My desk is an old school desk left by a previous tenant, complete with graffiti in the drawers! 

My knitting Machine, a Brother model KH890 Punchcard machine. 

I've just started making a blind for my window and I'll show you when it's done!

Open Studios time!

I'm currently getting ready for Open Studios weekend at Cuckoo Farm Studios on the 7th and 8th September. There will be around thirty of us Opening our doors for the weekend and it's a great opportunity to see how Artists of varying disciplines work and to buy or commission unique pieces of art and craft work. There will also be exhibitions and events taking place in the grounds and the all important tea and cake stall! Find out more here. Hope to see you there!

Pieces I've finished today

Here are some new knitted brooches I've finished this afternoon, between taking photos of Cuckoo Farm Studios in the sun (I'll share these with you later in the week) and drinking tea on the bench outside my studio (it's so lovely it has to be done!) Remember all of my pieces are available to buy, please get in touch!

My other train of thought

I'd like to share with you some previous work to give some background to my working process.

I love to have the freedom to develop ideas without the constraints of making a functional piece and it is mostly through working in this way that the ideas for my jewellery are formed and developed.

"Curiosity"

As you will know by now, my obsessions are knitting and felting and my main objective through my work is to explore the possibilities of these crafts and subvert wool as much as I can! For my last main big project "Curiosity" I was lucky enough to have a month long residency in the Benham Gallery at Cuckoo Farm Studios, which was essentially an exploration into the sculptural and textural possibilities of knit and felt. This subject is something I want to continue to return to in order to explore the infinite possibilities surrounding this subject and I hope that one day I will have the time and the organisational skills (!) to work the two strands of my work, being the conceptual pieces and jewellery, side by side. Ultimately, in everything I make I want to ensure that there is integrity in the thought processes behind the pieces.

I made this piece from two separate knitted tubes and Shibori felting experiments.


The bobbles run all the way through the middle of the piece! The pieces were hung from the ceiling using invisible thread, creating an ethereal presentation.





Many visitors to the exhibition said the pieces reminded them of sea creatures

Knit and crochet piece- I added my Crocheted strings by hooking them into the knitting machine needles when constructing the tube 

Once I get the Gallery section of my site up and running I can share more, but for now I hope this gives you some insight into how my work and my thoughts develop!

Open Studios

Cuckoo Farm Studios Open Studios event is taking place this weekend 11-6pm- there are thirty artists in all, including me, and it's always a great weekend. Come along and enjoy a look inside the studios and have a chat with the artists, and maybe even buy yourself some artwork or something beautifully hand crafted and lovely! The weather is promising to be very Summery (fingers crossed!) so make a day of it, bring a picnic or take advantage of our tea, cake and sandwich stall! (I'll definitely be doing a bit of that myself!)

There will also be an exhibition in the studios gallery (The Benham Gallery) entitled "Documenting Memories," which celebrates the 20th anniversary of Cuckoo Farm Studios and gives a great insight into how it all began and how CFS has grown throughout the years.

Hope to see you there!

Here is a little look at what you can expect to see over the weekend

Some of my brooches and rings in progress

Artist Amy Turnbull's piece for the "Outside" exhibition

Artist Jean Muir's piece for the "Outside" exhibition. We  have a unique setting within our  beautiful grounds at CFS
and the Outside exhibition highlights this very well

Please visit cuckoofarmstudios.org.uk for details on how to find us

Cuckoo Farm Studios

Today I'd like to give you a little look inside my studio! I'm very lucky to have such a nice place to work in, and such a unique place too. There are about thirty Artists working in our community at Cuckoo Farm, Colchester, and it's really helpful to me to be working surrounded by like minded people.

When the inside of my studio is looking a bit tidier I'll post some more images!

Cuckoo Farm itself was once a working pig farm, and all of the studios are converted farm buildings (my studio is in the old farm cottage!) and because of this we are lucky enough to have lovely grounds around the studios (really nice in the summer, very cold but pretty in the winter snow!)

We have lots of arty things around the grounds at the studios

I'm very grateful for the opportunities Cuckoo Farm has given me since leaving college, and my studio is an integral part in the process of making my work.