Elizabeth Hudson
Fine Art ~ Illustration ~ Photography
As a response to the amazing, inspiring and drop-to-the-floor-you’re-so-tired-by-the-end-of-the-day Glasgow International art festival, The Glue Factory is running their own fringe program of events. The star of the show is 85a’s (http://85a.org.uk/) “total cinema experience”, ‘Chernozem: Kino!’, however they’ve got plenty of other things going on exhibitions to a performance from Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra (http://www.glasgowimprovisersorchestra.com/) and most relevant to me, the SPRING BAZAAR!!! You see amongst the lovely music, food, art and vintage fashion I will be running my very own mask making workshop ABSOLUTELY FREE. All you have to do is pop round to the Glue Factory between 10 and 5 on Saturday 28th April and I’ll show you how to make whatever your heart/head/face desires, which you can then take away with you. There will also be some arty goodies of mine on sale, if you feel like parting with a little of your hard earned cash.
- Joanna Cave Jewellery by Elizabeth Hudson, 2012 ©
This is my latest contribution to Amelia’s Magazine online. The picture is to illustrate the work of Joanna Cave, a brilliant Jewellery designer whose creations I wish I could afford. Her intricate metal silhouettes were fun to play around and tesselate with to make the wallpaper design. I wanted an image as full with pattern and muted colours as possible; the only blank space is that of the model’s skin.
Read Miranda William’s interview with Joanna Cave here: http://www.ameliasmagazine.com/fashion/joanna-cave-london-fashion-week-aw-2012-collection-preview-interview/2012/03/07/
And/or explore Ms Cave’s own website: http://www.joannacave.com/home.aspx
James Levy by Elizabeth Hudson
A few weeks back now (yes my blog use is rather sporadic!) I created an illustration for Amelia’s Magazine on the talented duo ‘James Levy & The Blood Red Rose’. I’m greatly enamoured with their current single ‘Sneak into my room’ (have a listen and a look here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg_2n9iVAZk ) and decided to include elements of the song lyrics and video in my composition. I wanted to capture the vulnerability and defiance I see in this story of adultery and I think the detailed watercolour-pen faces manage that. Also some of my fine art work has fed into the use of pattern and found fabrics.
Read Amelia’s interview here, whilst viewing my picture in its original habitat:
The Fairy Godmother after Vania by Elizabeth Hudson
They say copying is the sincerest form of flattery, and so here’s my -ahem- flattery of The Fairy Godmother by Vania Zouravliov. I was trying to work out what sorts of lines he uses when he does his amazing drawings. I did the image in dip pen only, but I don’t think this is what he does as he includes tone as well as line (he probably also avoids wonky-face syndrome with the cunning use of a pencil!).
The real thing: http://www.bigactive.com/illustration/vania-zouravliov
The first of a series of paintings exploring pattern, portraiture and youth culture. Oils on found fabric. May do a little neatening up of it later, we’ll see. For the full thought process read on…
Recently I’ve been thinking about the role of artists in gentrification. Having lived in both Glasgow and Berlin, where gentrification is a big issue, I’ve seen first hand the way that areas linked with “artistic types” become first trendy and then increasingly expensive. Ultimately, despite being seemingly the catalyst for gentrification, artists lose out as they cannot afford the accompanying rent hikes. The phrase the ‘Avant-Gentry’ occurred to me as a good name for these people (a play on Avant-Garde/gentrification as you can hopefully guess). I find it interesting that artschool students/young artists are pretty much synonymous with ‘hipsters’- due no doubt to choice of clothes, bars/clubs and apple products. To me the hipster or cool art student makes a good parallel to the nobility of old- seen with a mixture of hatred, amusement and perhaps even envy (or incredulity: how can these vaguely alternative things make someone appear cool?).
In terms of art I’ve been wanting to create something that is visually seductive- beautiful, filled with colours and pattern and detail, but also faintly ridiculous. Something you find yourself liking but not quite wanting to like. Pretty much how I feel about so many of these things that go along with the hipster/art student tag- unusual cameras, unusual teas, animal masks and plastic chandeliers etc. I can’t help but love them because they are all so appealing and yet…
- Frankie Sees A Crocodile, © E.Hudson 2011
A drawing from just before Christmas. The title ‘Frankie Sees A Crocodile’ popped into my head and seems to have stuck. Here’s a run down of its vital stats:
20x20cm
pen on paper
dec 2011
inspired by a rug
- Thirty Thirty Out -E.Hudson
Last night was the opening of the Miniworks 2 exhibition/auction at Schillerpalais, Berlin (www.schillerpalais.de), in which I am showing ‘Thirty Thirty Out’ (bids can be made online or in person at the gallery). This piece follows on from ’12×12′, which also featured a girl with movable limbs and exaggerated proportions, attempting to escape the confines of a square. ‘Thirty Thirty Out’ is more explicit, more grotesque (in its exaggerations) and paradoxically more delicate than its wooden counterpart. The possibility of interaction combined with a composition that highlights the sexual nature of the image, makes experiencing the art almost furtive.
'Thirty Thirty Out' installed in Miniworks 2 exhibition
Part of the charm of Miniworks 2 is down to their innovative idea of a ‘live Aufbau’ -where the artists install their work during the opening, in front of the visitors. After half an hour all the art was up and the gluhwein started flowing! A computerised list of current bids on all artworks was projected on a gallery wall, and will run for the duration of the show. In parallel to Miniworks 2, Cornelia Bördlein’s ‘Haarspende’ exhibition came to a close, with visitors able to choose and keep a paintbrush handmade from various artists hair. Haunting and unusual live music came from ‘Kiseki knüpft’ -a violin and stone playing duo!
Kiseki knüpft playing in Schillerpalais
Cave (Vanessa Brown's paintings in Background)
‘Cave’ is my most recent piece of studio work, and is at present still a work in progress. I find myself increasingly drawn to participatory art (Carsten Höller’s Slides, Tomás Saraceno’s installations) and ‘Cave’ follows on from that. I wanted to create a space to be explored, so the soft interiour, unthreatening size and warm glow aim to entice the viewer to venture inside. It is in many ways familiar -a childhood den, a woodland shelter, a theatrical prop -yet it is not quite any of these. On exploration the fabric is found to be rigid, not soft, and the inside holds colourful semi-abstract images (these are projected, creating a source of light, but are also beautiful pictures in their own right). I plan to experiment with painting the inside, combining the tradition of painting on to canvas with a three dimensional object. Modern-day cave painting perhaps?
Cave Exhibition View (background paintings by Vanessa Brown, sculptures my own)
Cave inner view, detail
‘Mask’ is another new work of mine. It is a simple piece in that the image of how it should look appeared in my head one day and I decided to make it. Again, like ‘Cave’, it is familiar without quite being any of the things it takes after. Although it is shown here in an exhibition context, its purpose is to be worn. I have tried a little filming with it, however I am not sure if this is where its future lies.
Mask
I am taking part in ‘Miniworks 2′, an exhibition of small-scale works at Schillerpalais, in Berlin. The exhibition functions as a 2 week long auction, with all works for sale. At the opening (1st December, 7pm) us artists will be hanging the work, with visitors free to watch… and bid! Mulled wine and live music will of course be provided.
Art on The Wing Exhibition- Art Work Inspired by the Natural World
I’ve taken my sweet time in getting round to blogging about the Art on The Wing exhibition that I’m exhibiting in (partly due to stewarding at the wonderful End Of The Road Festival- www.endoftheroadfestival.com -a blog about which should follow shortly), so here it finally is:
The Art on The Wing Exhibition, held in the Maclaurin Galleries in Ayr (www.themaclaurin.org.uk), is spread across 3 rooms (I have work in each, for anyone who fancies having a look!) The opening was very busy with artists, general members of the public and members of the RSPB- which had organised the exhibition (the gallery is donating all profits from sales to the charity). The work varied immensely in media, though the subject matter ‘inspired by the natural world’ was the same.
I think it’s fair to say that my work was the most unusual there! Though certainly inspired by the natural world, my work tends to take this only as a starting point, before veering off in all manner of bizarre (and I like to think wonderful) directions. As one person described my prints (below) “they’re very kooky”. Though the term ‘kooky’ is often used to describe mildly unusual/irritating characters in American RomComs, generally played by Jennifer Aniston, I decided to take this as a compliment.
Above: the prints in question! A series of 4 etchings entitled ‘Places Lost To Me- Bedroom/Mantlepiece/Bathroom/Staircase’ respectively. As mentioned in a previous post, these were inspired jointly by the idea of buildings being reclaimed by nature and the experience of leaving my very beautiful 150 year old flat.
Below are the pair of paintings (I hesitate to call them a diptych as I think they probably could be separated) ‘Continuing Education: Jannick and the Fawn’. The fawn was painted from the taxidermied baby deer in the Kelvingrove Gallery, Glasgow. I found it a confusing object; all curled up as if asleep it looked so vulnerable and in need of protection, yet protecting it is impossible as it has been dead probably longer than I’ve been alive. If I were to protect it, then from what? Us presumably. It is for our education that it has been killed and stuffed, although I can’t help feeling it teaches more about death than it does about the lives of deer. So that might go some way to explaining the complicated title of the piece. The title however also refers to the words written on each board (Continuing Education), as they originally started out in a life drawing room. As for ‘Jannick’, she/he/it is based on a friend of mine who once dressed in a paper bear mask. Jannick was one of the many (wrong) attempts by strangers to pronounce her name!
And finally, up high on a plinth of his own ‘Not All Bears Have Russian Names’. Taking ‘Mouse’ (a piece I made several years ago from string) as a starting point, along with a name I rather liked, I came up with this little fella:
If I’ve inspired you to go and visit this exhibition (which you should!), or indeed buy any of the work (which would be nice!), then get yourself over to Ayr by Sunday 25th September.
