Today I have been at the framers working on some lovely floating frames for some very small works. I wanted to have some affordable art pieces for my Open Studios coming up on October 14th and 15th.
This will be part of many Open Studios throughout Wolverhampton that weekend. More details to follow soon.
Here’s what are being framed as we speak:
Shropshire Hare – 7″x5″ acrylic on canvas
The Deer Who Came To Dinner – 7″ x 5″ acrylic on canvas
Moonlight Becomes You – 7″x5″ acrylic on canvas
We’ve had some wonderful art making this summer … a small group here and a few “outsiders” have worked away at a month of a landscape a day and then a collage a day for another month.
So ….. what’s next? Who’s joining in with “A Sense of Place”? The idea is to produce a little piece of art a day along the theme. It’s a broad title and a sense of place can be anything it means to you.
Ideas:
Where you are now
Something from your history
Your ancestors
Your homeland
A story setting
Landscapes you love
Ideas of places you’d love to go
Your community
An imaginary landscape
Places you have visited that day
Holiday destinations
Around your home and garden
Your town
Your country
The World (!) zzz ….
I could go on.
Let us know what your thoughts are as you produce each piece. Please post on Instagram or Facebook 
and anywhere else on social media you want to and please tag #asenseofplace17
That way we can search the tag and see what we are up to.
This begins on September 6th and the aim is to produce one a day but it doesn’t matter if it’s less frequent. Who’s up for it?
Challenges give rise to Growth
My Instagram is clare_wassermann_art
Are you?
I have just come back from a research trip to Italy. I am looking for a venue near Pisa to host an art, storytelling and photography retreat where people can explore the senses of Italy in a creative way. The art aspect may not be the whole point in fact.
Although myself and my two colleagues walked a lot and discussed a lot, packing in a medieval town and a rustic village where another workshop leader, Rona Barbour, lives we still made time for a little artistic dabble. They wrote and photographed whereas I sketched and painted. For me this activity seals the day, imprinting memories indelibly.
More importantly it allows me to breathe in the situation and process it.
In whatever way is right for us I firmly believe that we all need to make time. Stop. Use our senses. Breathe. Live fully.
#creativity #breathe #now #workshops #mindfulness #art #photography #storytelling #Pisa #Italy
Sketch from a café in Pisa
We picked wild walnuts near Pontremoli – delicious peeled and fresh like this.
| August 21st and 22nd | Bread breaking and Peace Event for women – two separate evening events. Bring bread and a cushion / blanket. Meditation and peace evenings.
Hosted by Rachel Arnold
Contact for info waterprophetarts@gmail.com |
£10 or concessions |
| Monday August 14th | Studio also open at selected times in the day | FREE
|
| Sunday September 3rd | Art making as a response to stories told by International Storyteller Ana Lines – theme “Autumn” – no experience necessary. Age 15+ 10.30am – 4pm | £3o |
| Thursday September 14th | Oil Painting with Wayne Attwood RBSA 10.30am – 4pm |
£25 or £30 using our materials |
| Thursday 22nd September | Meeting The Beloved – details to follow – evening | |
| Thursday September 28th | Sound Bath with Liz Pritchard – a beautiful way to relax and immerse yourself in singing bowls, crystal bowls and gongs. 8 – 9.15pm early booking essential – very popular! |
£8 |
| Saturday September 30th | “Painting With Fibres” – Autumn Offerings 11am-4pm all materials included | £55 |
| Sunday October 1st | Sketchbook Club. Come and enjoy tea/coffee and make work in your sketchbook with a group of like-minded people. Untaught / bring your own materials / have fun 10.30 – 12.30 | £5 |
| Friday October 6th | Medgel-‘Portrait of a Witch’ is a collaborative piece between visual artist Anne Marie Lagram and storyteller which will entice an audience to become involved in exploring the landscape and components that make someone be identified as a witch. Pagan festival downstairs on Saturday |
FREE – but please let us know you are coming |
| Saturday October 14th – Sunday October 15th OPEN STUDIOS | In association with Wolverhampton Society of Artists
11 – 2.30pm |
FREE |
| Thursday 12th October | Sound Bath with Liz Pritchard – a beautiful way to relax and immerse yourself in singing bowls, crystal bowls and gongs. 8 – 9.15pm early booking essential – very popular! |
£8 |
| Wednesday October 18th | “Sacred Earth” Gentle movement to inspire painting on the theme of Harvest and Abundance – with Sarah Vernon and Clare Wassermann – no experience necessary | £35 |
| Sunday November 5th | Sketchbook Club. Come and enjoy tea/coffee and make work in your sketchbook with a group of like-minded people. Untaught / bring your own materials / have fun 10.30 – 12.30 | £5 |
| Thursday 9th November | Sound Bath with Liz Pritchard – a beautiful way to relax and immerse yourself in singing bowls, crystal bowls and gongs. 8 – 9.15pm early booking essential – very popular! |
£8 |
| Saturday 12th November | Keith Hackwood – psychotherapist and Mindfulness trainer “Mindfulness For Self-Compassion” explore ways of applying mindfulness to caring for ourselves |
£25 |
| Friday 17th November | Batik on Rice Paper Workshop with Jacky Fellows – materials provided except please bring watercolours and brushes. 10am – 4pm | £25 |
| Saturday 18th November | Textile Workshop with Clare Wassermann in Association with Wolverhampton Society of Artisits | £25 |
| Sunday December 3rd | Art making as a response to stories told by International Storyteller Ana Lines – theme “Winter” – no experience necessary. Age 15+ 10.30am – 4pm | £30 |
| Thursday December 7th | Sound Bath with Liz Pritchard – a beautiful way to relax and immerse yourself in singing bowls, crystal bowls and gongs. 8 – 9.15pm early booking essential – very popular! |
£8 |
|
Setting up 'Open Studio' for tonight's exhibition
Downstairs is a wonderful exhibition curated by Komlaish Achall to commemorate the Partition of India 70 years ago.
Opening at 6.30 there's music and refreshments.
Venue Newhampton Arts Centre Gallery Hall, Dunkley St., Wolverhampton WV1
I'm upstairs in room 103. Looking forward to seeing lots of friends.
Please share
Sometimes it’s a good idea to have a personal obligation to yourself to show up to a challenge every day. As a self employed artist who is selling internationally it’s easy to stay within the style your clients see as you.
It is important though to continue to develop and exercise the creative muscle out of the normal zone. Hence today I have finished a personal challenge to paint a small landscape every day for thirty days. I set the challenge publicly so that I was accountable. Some days it was uncomfortable to show up to the easel. Some days I had to paint at 5am to get it done. But I did it.
Today is the last day. I can truly say I have developed over the short time and experimented in ways I may not normally when working on commissions.
….and funnily enough I have sold three of them completely unintentionally. I wouldn’t have guessed that would happen.
Here’s to setting slightly uncomfortable goals!
“Stiper Stones, Shropshire- at dawn”
11″x6.5″ acrylic paint, Quink ink, Noodler’s Ink, Indian Ink
I have been very lucky to have had a rare opportunity to paint with David Tress this weekend.
He is one of Britain’s foremost landscape artists. David paints the rugged scenery of his beloved Pembrokeshire where he lives.
We went sketching up in the hills of South Shropshire and cane back to the lovely studio of Bobby Britnell to paint big pieces which concentrated on the feeling of ‘space’.
Extraordinary views and wonderful mentoring. I’m feeling very refreshed and inspired.
“Bury Ditches” 34×24 inches acrylic on paper
“Betwsy Crun” 34 x 24 inches. Acrylic on paper
The desire for development is the force that pulls along change in my art from time to time. After a spell of this I can work without that so much in mind. Development is a constant wish for me in probably all aspects of life even. Sometimes I feel I am over motivated. The opposite of most people’s problem? I’m not sure if it’s a good or bad thing or even if it needs judging as such…maybe, if it gets in the way.
Anyway with development in mind I set myself a challenge to paint a little landscape every day. A commitment for 30 days. No excuses. So far so good over 10 days. I am tagging the pieces #landscapeadaychallenge so I can find them amongst other social media clutter. Now there are some other people doing the same and we are forming a merry band.
Encouraging painting and development is my goal.
So, the thing is:
A real or imagined landscape
Keep it small
Don’t overthink
Switch off brain chatter as far as possible
Don’t spend too long
Work quickly and intuitively
Respond to the materials, whatever they are
Experiment
If you would like to join in tag #landscapeadaychallenge on Facebook or Instagram … you will see development and that’s a promise !
The power of nature is what captures me. It is healing and inspiring to be amongst trees.
Today I begin work in a new arts project set in an allotment plot in Wolverhampton where I live. How lucky to be able to combine two great loves of mine. I will keep this blog posted as a diary of what develops there.
The painting below is called “Now, In This Moment” and measures 11″x 15″ in acrylic paint and ink.
Just to let you know what’s on in my room, Studio 103, at Newhampton Arts Centre for the next few months – please go to the Workshops page to see more details:
Enjoying working on layers in oil on this painting based on recent travels in Saudi Arabia – oil is not my number one medium but I love it and am grateful to Wayne Attwood (RBSA) for his guidance – he runs workshops regularly at my studio – see the Workshops tab at the top of this page for further info.
Clare Wassermann Art 