workshops

10 Ways Artists Use Sketchbooks Creatively

daily practice, painting, Sketchbooks, workshops

Firstly here are some artists I have found particularly inspirational with regard to sketchbooks. Following this are some suggestions for you to ponder as you use your sketchbook.

Inspirational Artists and their Sketchbooks

Kurt Jackson is a British artist who has been using sketchbooks for decades. He uses them to capture the natural beauty of the British Isles, and his work often features nature-inspired elements. He believes that sketchbooks can be used to create works of art that are both beautiful and meaningful. Jackson has said that sketchbooks are a great way for him to document his travels and explore his creative ideas. Jackson’s sketchbooks are vital to the development and completion of his paintings. The pages of his sketchbooks reveal how the hastily executed images can help him to work out what he wants to achieve on canvas, or simply capture a spontaneous image when there is not enough time to paint or draw properly. Insights into his domestic and professional life − not necessarily revealed in his exhibited works − abound from his continual routine of making drawings, marks, notes, poems and scribbles.

Grayson Perry is an artist who has garnered worldwide renown for his unique artwork and his use of sketchbooks to create it. Perry’s sketchbooks are filled with creative drawings, sketches, and ideas that have become the basis for many of his works. Perry uses his sketchbooks to capture his creative process and provide an insight into his thought process. He has said that he finds the practice of sketching and sketchbooking to be incredibly helpful in developing his ideas. Perry’s sketchbooks are full of vibrant images and playful doodles that reflect his unique style and creative vision. Bringing together his favourites for the first time and showing some of the finished works that result from these initial drawings, one result is a rich, beautiful book ‘Sketchbooks’, in print, perfect for those who want to know more about the artist’s creative process.

Grayson Perry

Anthony Gormley is a British sculptor and installation artist who has gained worldwide recognition for his unique and thought-provoking works. Gormley often uses his sketchbooks to explore new techniques and new materials, and to develop his ideas for future sculptures. His tiny passport sized Muji sketchbooks are filled with drawings of his sculptures in progress, as well as detailed notes and diagrams. He also uses his sketchbooks to document his travels and his interactions with other artists. Through his sketchbooks, Gormley is able to capture his creative process and the evolution of his works. His sketchbooks provide an insight into his creative journey and his artistic vision. The long glass cabinets filled with these books on view at his exhibition at the Royal Academy in London in 2019 certainly inspired me. Some examples can be found here and here.

Maya Lin is an American artist and designer who is best known for her iconic Vietnam War Memorial in Washington DC. Lin is also an avid sketchbook artist, using her sketchbooks as a form of creative expression and to document her ideas. She often uses her sketchbooks to explore her own creative process and to work out the details of her artwork. Lin uses her sketchbooks to capture her creative journey and to explore her own creative potential. Her sketchbooks are filled with drawings, sketches, and notes that capture her creative process, as well as her travels and experiences. By using her sketchbooks to document her creative journey, Lin has created some of the most iconic works of our time. Some of her work is in her book ‘Boundaries’.

Frida Kahlo is a renowned Mexican artist known for her vibrant self-portraits and her unique style of painting. Kahlo’s art was deeply personal and often explored her own identity and her Mexican heritage. In addition to her painting, Kahlo was also a prolific user of sketchbooks, some of which are in print in The Diary of Frida Kahlo

Frida’s journal

Baljinder Kaur is an artist and illustrator based in Wolverhampton, UK. Her sketchbooks provide a unique insight into her creative process and her thoughts on art, life, and the everyday. Her sketchbooks are filled with drawings, sketches, and notes that capture her creative journey, travels and her interactions with the world around her notably through explorations of Sikhism. Kaur often uses her sketchbooks to explore new techniques and materials, and to develop her ideas for future book illustrations – take a look here, and here is her wonderful Instagram account – do look at her children’s books.

sketchbook images by Baljinder Kaur of gardens and waterfalls
sketchbook image of a street in Singapore by Baljinder Kaur
Sketchbook painting of a temple in Singapore by Baljinder Kaur
Sketchbook page by Baljinder Kaur of a temple god in Singapore

How we can all benefit from a Sketchbook Practice

Sketchbooks are an essential tool for any artist, offering a convenient and portable workspace for creating, experimenting, and planning. Whether you’re a professional artist or a hobbyist, sketchbooks provide a great outlet for your creativity and help you explore a variety of techniques. Here are 10 different ways that artists use sketchbooks to their advantage:

  1. Drawing: Sketchbooks are an ideal platform for making quick sketches and getting your ideas down on paper. Many artists use sketchbooks to draw out their concepts, designs, and ideas before starting work on a larger piece.
  2. Painting: Just like drawing, sketchbooks allow artists to experiment with colour, composition, and other elements of painting. Most artists use sketchbooks to practice their painting techniques, or to make small paintings before tackling a larger project.
  3. Inspiration: Many artists use their sketchbooks as a source of inspiration, filling the pages with images, quotes, and other things that spark their creativity.
  4. Research: Researching new techniques and sources of inspiration is important for any artist. Sketchbooks provide a great way to collect images, ideas, and other research material in one place.
  5. Illustration: Artist often use sketchbooks to illustrate stories, create comic strips, or even design entire books.
  6. Collage: Sketchbooks can also be used as a canvas for creating interesting collages with a variety of materials.
  7. Journaling: Journaling is a great way to document your creative journey and track your progress. Sketchbooks make it easy to keep a record of your thoughts and ideas.
  8. Planning: Sketchbooks are a great place to plan out future projects. Artists can use sketchbooks to sketch out their ideas and plan out the steps they need to take to complete their projects.
  9. Brainstorming: Sketchbooks provide a great platform for brainstorming and coming up with new ideas.
  10. Reflection: Artists often use their sketchbooks as a place to reflect on past projects and take note of what worked and what didn’t. This helps them to grow as artists and become better at what they do.

From traditional drawing and painting to more experimental techniques, sketchbooks offer a great way for artists to explore their creativity. For any artist, having a sketchbook handy is essential. Using sketchbooks as a creative outlet is a great way for artists to express themselves and improve their artistic skills. They provide an easy and convenient way for artists to experiment with different techniques and materials, and to document their creative journey. With a sketchbook, artists can create unique works of art, record their ideas and explore their creative potential.

My own sketchbooks are part of a daily art practice

They are a repository for collected ephemera, a diary, a planning space and a portable studio for experiments, drawing practice, colour trials and lots of collage. I keep quite a lot of visual records now digitally, but nothing can beat the tactile experience of a nice fat and messy sketchbook! My sketchbook is my discipline and sometimes my obsession. I spend from 10 minutes to several hours a day most days in it.

Here’s a page from my cycling experience along the Llangollen canal in North Wales last week. I have been using the images to begin some larger paintings this week.

Viaducts and Aqueducts page
A large painting as a work in progress February 2023 in the studio – one of a series

I’m giving a talk about Sketchbook use, mine and others, on 7th September 2023 in Swindon near Wombourne, Staffordshire UK, in the afternoon, for Wolverhampton Creative Embroiderers. If you are interested do contact me. This will be followed by a workshop the following week.

Inspiration for you

This Library Has 46,681 SKETCHBOOKS!

This project, housed in Brooklyn, New York and founded in 2006, has now ended but I have seen this and also participated in it. You can find about it here. It’s also reproduced in its entirety digitally. What a resource!

And finally a workshop for you for free?

My date is March 14th 2023 from 9-12am, where we will combine fun self portraits, positivity, relaxation and letting go of what no longer serves us well. The venue is Wolverhampton Art Gallery. Please email rah-tr.fundraisingteam@nhs.net to book – not me!

April 2021

Art, exhibitions, painting, PhD, workshops

Well the lockdown is lifting and we are not sure what the future holds. Many people in shops and pub gardens enjoying themselves but I am wary. Not anxious, but more practising being in the field of the unknown and working on being OK with that.

Fortunately I have a happy hermit mentality for the most part and making art, writing in notebooks and growing plants and veg keep me fairly isolated. What I am looking forward to is a few visitors to the studio and chats in person about art and meaningful stuff. Meaningless babble welcome sometimes. 3D people would be a bonus. In moderation. Introverts unite (well, the unite bit can be tricky!).

So I have enjoyed working on the PhD – very in the head with that but I also need to get out in the air, move my body, practice yoga and sitting in total silence as a contrast. I am working on the balance.

Words Paint Myths #1

Pieces like this run daily at the moment alongside written thoughts.

  • Burgeoning #1
  • Burgeoning #2

Studio Work

I am working on some larger oil paintings and small pieces for a solo exhibition in July in Much Wenlock, Shropshire. Some are inspired by new myths created for changed times for we are sorely in need of new narrative.

The exhibition is part of the ‘Word In Edgeways’ storytelling festival which covers July in the town. The paintings can be viewed at The Guildhall, Much Wenlock. More details when I know them.

12″x12″ oil on canvas
  • in progress 30″x30″ oil on canvas

Art Club

I am still running Wolf Town Art Club online once a month on a Sunday lunchtime – if you fancy a bit of art fun do join us for the cheaper than chips price of £5.80.

Next session is Sunday April 18th 11am-1pm – no experience necessary – the theme is birds this time – read all about it and book here:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wolf-town-art-club-sketchbook-art-club-online-april-18th-tickets-147603926317?aff=erelexpmlt

Meditation and Wellness Sessions

Something else I love to do – the practice is my total foundation. I am qualified and overjoyed to share. Please find sessions on the Boundary Way Project events pages and also Gatis Community Centre’s Eventbrite listings. These sessions are competitively priced or free.

Wolverhampton Art Gallery has re-opened

If you are visiting and would like to visit the studio please drop me an email clare.wassermann@gmail.com or call 07976 350062 to see if I am in and covered in paint!

Stay well and safe

Best wishes

Clare Wassermann

birds in paint and crayon for Folktale week 2020

December Catch Up

Art, christmas, workshops

‘Tis the season

Not sure whether we are really finding it a season to be jolly this year. There has been so much pain and suffering that it’s hard to think of Christmas parties, gathering families and carol singing without feeling whistful and sometimes quite sad.
We have, I suppose, to find our own way through and find things which give us pleasure in a deepening winter and a confusing world. We may need to rephrase and instead say: ” ‘Tis the season to be grateful.”

Gratitude can go a long way towards finding some kind of contentment in small moments. I am finding ways to celebrate what I have. In the words of Dr. Andy Cope, (doctor of happiness at Loughborough University) I wake up each day and say to myself “my teeth don’t hurt and my pancreas is glowing with health.” Try it – it’s a good way to start the day!



Ways that have helped

As you may know I am moving from my huge studio where I had held lots of wonderful classes in creativity with groups of fun loving and eager art makers. In the time that we have been keeping ourselves to ourselves I have worked from home and therefore smaller.

For me, spending time drawing and painting, is great – it is fully absorbing and is time away from the news and social media which only serve to fuel fear and mistrust. I have also enjoyed taking photos on my long tramps around the streets and along our urban canal network. With more time it is amazing what you can notice right under your nose – particularly small details. Documenting shifting light through photography has been absorbing.

Last week I undertook a little online challenge – Folktale Week 2020 which involved prompt words and in my case paints, pencils and pastels working just to A5 size. I liked the discipline and sometimes only finished my daily prompt just before midnight by the skin of my teeth!

Here are my images …. along side them a story emerged quite natually, of a kestrel on Dartmoor! More of that to come maybe but here are the images:

An event for you – how to have a little fun and calm time with me online

On December 13th I will be hosting the second of my Wolf Town Art Club sessions online. I used to have open house at the studio once a month on Sunday lunch time for people to come and work on their art and meet like minded folk. We can’t do that for now so art club is online … do come and join us – no experience and limited resources needed.
This time we will do a mindful drawing exercise and look also at colour palettes – read all the details here – there are a few places left at the moment.

Register on Eventbrite

Special offer for art materials

If you need to buy art materials in a hurry Jacksons is brilliant – if you don’t have an account at the moment click the banner below and you will get 10% off and even if you DO have an account click on the banner anyway because you will still get 5% off – I get all the materials I can’t get locally from them.

I am currently loving Caran D’Ache Luminance pencil crayons which layer up beautifully and Faber Castell Pitt pastel pencils which sit on top of every other media. Yum! Oh yes and gouache paint by Turner – handy for travelling!

All the above links will give you a 10% or 5% discount. Think Christmas!!!!

So … to the future

We don’t really know what it holds do we but I have invested in a new space to work from – it is pregnant with possibility! And when events can safely go ahead I will look for venues to hold our workshops. We will survive!

Stuck for Christmas?

Here’s a little link to my Etsy store

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ClareWassermann

Unfortunately the robin Christmas cards have all sold out.
In addition to this I have some original artwork getting ready for exhibitions next year – drop me an email if you are interested in viewing sooner….clare.wassermann@gmail.com

Wishing you peace and joy into 2021

Thank you for reading

love Clare

Autumn Preparations for a new kind of Winter

Art, daily practice, Sketchbooks, workshops

This Autumn, more than ever, is a time to gather resources for what seems a more hunkered down hibernation than ever before. Covid-19 means we will all need to protect each other and restrict our movements out of the home.


My resources include:

Restarting a particular art practice
Investing in Pranayama as a daily nutrient
Eating well
Daily exercising. Meditation. Yoga. Taking in only healthy things wherever possible, particularly with regard to through my eyeballs – this too counts as nutrition.
Caring for my garden …. singing a lot!

I would be interested to know what are your preparations for this ultra-isolated winter?

My new daily practice will be returning to Intuitive Art making. I will write a post shortly about this soon but it is based on deep meditation and opening to creative prompts which feel as though they come from a place within which connects to the connectivity of us all without.

Here are a few recent examples:

Daily practice examples

Eventually these may translate into larger paintings but for now I will work smallish for convenience. It feels good to be working back this way again and my method will contribute towards the PhD I’m working on.

Out and about

I am always working in sketchbooks though – it doesn’t matter what it is really I try to draw every day – sometimes waiting in the car, for an appointment or sometimes deliberately setting out to sketch. All of it contributes in some way to the recurring theme that is ‘fear of getting started’ – most people experience it!

Last week I was lucky enough to spend some time in Wales and enjoyed drawing in harbours, hills and beautiful beaches. Sometimes the weather was quite moody – always good for atmosphere and Wales specialises in it!!

Sketching in Wales

Plans

As this constrained winter approaches I am thinking about running my Sketchbook and Art Club online – let me know if you’d like to come. It used to be in the studio but restrictions will not allow for that to happen easily so I am working my head around adapting. We can share what we have all been making and I can lead some fun exercises!

Maybe wine would help????

Back soon – I am going to try to keep this blog more regualar so sign up below if you would like to see my journey and develop yours perhaps too.

Autumn Preparations for a new kind of Winter – blog post.

Related posts:

Meditation Opportunity and News

Art, PhD, workshops

Meditation is the perfect balance between alertness and relaxation. It doesn’t matter if you practice in a chair or sitting cross-legged on the floor; it’s all about quieting the mind and stilling the body. It is about finding a still point from which you can look at the world in a different way and discover a fresh new perspective on your life. I am teaching a session to introduce people to meditation on Sunday March 15th. It will involve gentle relaxation and movements all designed to still the mind and to give you the chance to take some of these skills away with you. If you are interested it will be at my studio at 10:30. We will be finished by lunchtime and the link is HERE Please book in advance if you’d like a place.

Details and booking

Creativity Boosting Workshop

A workshop to help you open up your creative soul and find a voice with paint in sketchbooks and on paper. This would be ideal if you have never painted before or you have plenty of art experience but suffer creative block and don’t know where to start.
It’s also a great way to learn to get into the zone – almost like meditation – and out of the chatter in your head!

A relaxed and introspective day to fire up your creative mojo. This is on Wednesday May 13th from 10.30 – 4pm. Investment £37 – tickets and lots more information HERE

There are other workshops including oil painting here on this site.

Please do come back and look again as I do update regularly – there will be another Travel Journals Workshop posted soon.

Meanwhile:

Since the beginning of the year I have been working in almost monochrome – it seems to suit the time and simplifies for value and composition.

working in January February 2020

Some of this work will probably emerge in future paintings I have no doubt.

I have also gone back, after quite a break to working in stitch which I have been enjoying since the weather is so dire and I can happily mix using the sewing machine and hand stitch.

The red thread of soul, soul mate and mate connections

…and finally

As if I’m not already a busy person, I have embarked on a PhD where my focus is the field of “art and meditation”. It’s a massive challenge, undertaken part time, with all my other work and commitments but I’m giving it my best shot and stepping into another world.
So far I like all the academic help available at Wolverhampton University and I have two great supervisors in Professor Ross Prior and Dr. Louise Fenton. I look forward to working with them and others over the next few years! #PhD

You can find more on my Facebook Page HERE

and on instagram HERE

2019 Round Up and Onwards to 2020

Art, exhibitions, PhD, workshops

Well here it is – the blog post that is there because I haven’t yet written all my Christmas cards – who else uses displacement activities?

I’m keeping it brief but just to say it has been a busy year. The first part was taken up with the Japan Exhibition in Ironbridge which then ran from August to November and was really successful.

In between I have had a lot of illustration projects, some commissions and some lovely workshop teaching as well as pursuing development of my own painting techniques and ideas.

Apart from this I have very much enjoyed completing a two year meditation teacher training course which has in itself furthered a meditation practice which I have had for over thirty years.

Zen Garden by Clare Wassermann

So, on to 2020… In relation to the above, I am teaching a morning workshop on January 8th called “A Practical Introduction to Effective Meditation” which will be a lovely taster session to some ongoing sessions throughout the year. Several techniques for meditation will be used plus some easy movement and deep relaxation. These will be held in my beautiful studio in Wolverhampton. Details and booking here: on Eventbrite

Looking ahead to 2020 I am pleased to announce that I am undertaking a PhD starting at the beginning of the year and work is already hotting up for that. I am really excited to be joining a research environment in an art context to develop ideas related to art and meditation.

Other workshops so far planned are my popular “Clare Wassermann’s Journaling and Travel Sketchbook Workshop” – back by request on February 1st – information here and it’s again in Wolverhampton at Newhampton Arts Centre.

The Arabian Deer from Clare Wassermann’s Travel Journals


Ongoing will be Wayne Attwood’s oil painting workshops every 8 weeks or so according to his availability. He’s a busy man as he is now President of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists and his painting career is burgeoning. Our next session is on January 23rd and you can find out ore here – beginners and experienced folk all welcome – he’s a great teacher.

Finally I would like to draw your attention to an exhibition. It is in Wolverhampton at the Art Gallery. It is the Centenary Year of the Wolverhampton Society of Artists and this year’s exhibition is very special.

It runs from now until February 16th and has three sections – one for work by very highly regarded alumni, which has been gathered from around the country and national collections, one is a collection of work loaned by the Courtauld Gallery in London (Courtauld was an avid collector of fine art and of course had a rayon factory here in Wolverhampton before taking it further as an internationally strong textile industry).

The third room is this year’s entry for the exhibition which is carefully selected and beautifully curated by the Art Gallery. I am very honoured to have two large pieces in this especially as it is my first time of entering. Here is novelist and Times journalist Sathnam Sanghera with my work when he was guest of honour to open the exhibition last Saturday. Do pop in. Our Art Gallery is one of the finest in the country and is internationally known for it’s collection of Pop Art.

Photo credit: David Hamilton, Express and Star December 2019
…and here is me in matching scarf and painting
a salon hang – nice way to display work here at Wolverhampton At Gallery, Society of Artists’ Show

So here’s to a very Happy Christmas to all of you and to more art and developments in 2020. Thank you to all who have supported and believed in me – you know who you are and it is very much appreciated.

Stay creative in whatever you do!

Comments and suggestions welcomed below.

Best wishes Clare Wassermann

Japanese Exhibition etc.

Art, exhibitions, sales, workshops

Notoriously bad at keeping up this blog….must try harder (usual end of term report)!

Anyway here is a bit of news about my solo exhibition at Café 86’d in Ironbridge. It opens on August 7th and as I am away then we are holding a meet the artist evening on September 6th so do come if you can.

The café is my fave place to eat in the area…fresh and healthy food. All home cooked and mostly local ingredients. Well worth a visit any day. All the work is available to purchase and depicts peaceful memories of temples and still places in Japan on my travels. I hope the feeling of calm is transmitted through these works which are multilayered, stitched and drawn or painted.

Here are just a few examples:

  • If you miss this I am open as part of Wolverhampton Open Studios on the weekend of October 12/13 2019 at my studio at Newhampton Arts Centre, Dunkley Street, Wolverhampton UK

For YOU

there are all sorts of opportunities to MAKE ART at the studio

  • Friday 2nd August – all day 10am – 4pm. Like our Sunday club but longer! More time for chat, working and supping. Bring your own lunch – this session is to be booked in advance here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/clare-wassermanns-sketchbook-and-art-making-day-tickets-64466336548  Currently 9 places left. You can pay me direct instead but place is only held on payment. Cost £10
     
  • Thursday 15th August Women’s Wellness Circle: 7 – 8.30pm not art but a lovely way of staying healthy of mind £5 – let me know if you are coming – pay on the night.
     
  • Friday 16th August –  Nature Inspired Sketchbooks (SOLD OUT)
     
  • Sunday 16th August – 2.30 – 5pm – Self Care Sunday – Yoga and Intention Setting – let me know if you want to book via Marie who runs this lovely session. £20
     
  • Sunday 8th September – Sketchbook and Art Club 11.30 – 1.30  please let me know if you are coming. £5 Bring your own work as usual.
     
  • Thursday 19th September  10.30 – 3.30 Oil Painting with Wayne Attwood – President RBSA – details and booking  here  £34 Beginners or experienced painters welcome.
     
  • Sunday 22nd September – Sketchbook and Art Club 11.30 – 1.30  please let me know if you are coming. £5. Bring your own work as usual.
     
  • Saturday 28th September – Travel Journal and Sketchbooks Workshop with Clare 10.30 – 4 £35 details and bookings here
     
  • Thursday 10th October – 10.30 – 3.30 Oil Painting with Wayne Attwood – President RBSA – details and booking here. £34 Beginners or experienced painters welcome.
     
  • Saturday and Sunday 12th & 13th October – Clare Wassermann Open Studios – Studio Sale. Paintings, Textiles, etc. plus Jeweller Mojo and The Maker sharing my studio – lots of other artists exhibiting at the NAC this weekend – and all round Wolverhampton. Xmas gift ideas?!
     
  • Saturday November 9th – Travel Journal and Sketchbooks Workshop with Clare 10.30 – 4pm £35 details and bookings here.
     
  • Sunday November 10th – Sketchbook and Art Club 11.30 – 1.30  please let me know if you are coming. £5. Bring your own work as usual.
     
  • Looking forward to inviting Helen Hallows to come and run a workshop early next year – look her up!

Lotus Sanctuary

This is a small charity in Wolverhampton providing housing and a route into a better life and work for women in the city who have suffered trauma and homelessness.

Lotus Sanctuary is a community interest company with the pure and simple intention of housing and empowering vulnerable women suffering a range of complex issues; from rough sleepers to domestic violence victims, sexually exploited women and those seeking to get free from drug and alcohol addictions.

I have really enjoyed starting fortnightly art sessions for residents recently and am pleased to be continuing in this rewarding work. Some of their pieces will feature in an exhibition called ‘Recovery’ at The Lighthouse in September. More info another time, but this is how art can heal. You can donate to them here

Summer Sunshine

Art, exhibitions, Outdoor life, workshops

At last it is truly here! The British Summer. Time to throw the studio windows open and get out and about in the garden and plein air sketching.

I have just had an enjoyable time in Wales discovering the area between Cwmtydu and Cardigan. Unspoilt and rugged, the cliffs inspired some sketching and the beaches and hedgerows inspired some walking. Waterfalls on beaches and quiet roads have made this place a new favourite for me.

Tresaith Sketch
Plwmp Tart, Penbryn sketch

Japan Work

This year has mostly been taken up with a consolidation of two visits to Japan. I cannot begin to describe how this country appeals to me so much. The people, the countryside, the efficiency and ethos captivate and of course the temples are an utter sanctuary. In these tranquil places every angle seems to be a perfectly framed view.

I kept several travel sketchbooks whilst there and have been invited to make an exhibition on the theme this summer. Here is a glimpse but there are about twenty works in total. The date is to be confirmed but it will be at Cafe 86’d in Ironbridge, Shropshire for a couple of months. This is one of my very favourite eating establishments in the UK – my go to for lunch when in the vicinity.

These pieces feature many, many layers of collected papers, stitch, pencil and ink. Others are painted but layered in the same way. It has been a definite labour of total love.

Events in the Studio

As ever there are plenty of things going on in my lovely studio at Newhampton Arts Centre, Wolverhampton. Tonight there is a Women’s Circle which will also happen on July 2nd, the next New Moon. Only £5 – a chance to connect in peace. Let me know if you would like to come. Info here although the second date is wrong – it should read Tuesday 2nd July
https://www.facebook.com/events/673197123130651/

Otherwise there are more events on the Workshops page

Boundary Way

Boundary Way Allotments Project has had a new round of funding and this year some of the focus is on the role of fungi in nature. We had a superb visit from Rich Wright of Kew Gardens. He is a Mycologist and told us so many interesting facts about mushrooms and the amazing mycelium layer below the ground connecting plants and trees that we were all really inspired.

Hannah Boyd and myself had a lovely afternoon sketching fungi and making folding books from abstracted mushroom related art with a group of Bpoundary Way artists. More events are to come for the public in the Summer. One is here but I think it is sold out – watch this space for more.

Wolverhampton Society of Artists

I have recently joined this Society which is 100 years old this year. There has recently been an exhibition for new members to exhibit in. I was pleased to have sold these two pieces and look forward to spending more time with the society.

  • Holcome Pink Foot – oil on canvas 12″x12″
In The Womb Of The Earth – Hare – oil on canvas 20″ x 12″

There is one other available in the series:

In The Womb Of The Earth – Foxes- oil on canvas 20″ x 12″

and a sketch for a badgers piece is waiting!


I am sure there is a lot more to say – but it is time to go and enjoy the sunshine! See you soon.

Clare xxx

Christmas card Image

Workshops 2019 and other news

Art, christmas, exhibitions, sales, workshops

2019 Plans

Journal and Travel Books workshop with Clare Wassermann

Plans are afoot in Studio 103 for lots of new workshops both hosted and delivered by me. Please let me know if there is anything you would like to see here other than what I have put in so far. I can do my best to accommodate requests and it’s good to know what art folks would like to participate in next year. I don’t know if you don’t tell me!! 

There’s art jewellery making, felting, lino printing, poetry, journaling with me and more ….

Here is the link

Art jewellery workshop by guest artist Linda Alton

Current Work

I am currently starting a series of new large oil paintings influenced by Hundertwasser depicting Gaia as the Goddess of the Earth. Working as an artist last year at Boundary Way Allotment Project has been hugely influential. Thank you to the Arts Council and Heritage Lottery Fund from the artists- we are hoping to receive more funding to continue this wonderful work in the community next year. 

The piece I am currently working on is Gaia under the Wrekin spreading her rays through the allotment site. The Wrekin is a large hill surrounded by flat land and is very much a landmark all around the area. You can see it from our site and the sun setting behind it is a wonderful thing.

very early stages of Gaia and the Wrekin

The site is wonderful and has a camera obscura, a community garden, sensory garden, a wildlife pond and an orchard. It also has a large polytunnel where we have held art workshops. There are several open days a year and the public are welcome. Here is the link. It’ a beautiful website.

Christmas Cards

I have the new 2018 Christmas cards available in my studio – please come and visit if you are local. Profits go to Compton Hospice (Compton Care) in Wolverhampton where my father was looked after wonderfully over Christmas just before his death last year.

You can buy these cards here on Etsy. 

This is the 2018 design:

The cards are £4 for six cards with envelopes A6 size.

There is another design to choose from too.

Peace Dove – Syria

Saatchi Gallery Visit

Yesterday I happened to be in London so I took myself off to Sloane Square for a snoop around the gallery – I haven’t been for ages. I was waylaid for ages though in the beautiful Taschen Bookshop next door. A whole shop of the most beautifully printed art books – it was a must.

Anyway eventually I made it into the gallery and it was certainly enjoyable even if some of the art was a little difficult to look at.

A major exhibition there currently is  BLACK MIRROR: ART AS SOCIAL SATIRE featuring the work of 26 contemporary artists, open until 13th January 2019.

Black Mirror explores art’s role in social satire, and how political uncertainty has influenced art of recent years.

Using media such as collage, caricatures, photography and installation, the exhibition shows how satire can provide both light relief as well as unsettling commentary on the tumultuous, divisive climate of modern-day politics.

Black Mirror features some of the world’s most exciting contemporary artists making work about the world we live in, exposing anxieties our modern obsessions create. Artists featured include Turner prize nominee Richard Billingham, whose photography series of his parents Ray’s A Laugh pioneered “squalid realism” as he confronted the art world with the reality of poverty; Polish artist Aleksandra Mir who parodies newspapers by crudely drawing them with childlike tools – bringing new meaning to “fake news”; and Chilean sculptor Alejandra Prieto, who transforms rejected lumps of coal into a beautiful, desirable object of opulence, confronting class disparity and the commodification of luxury over function.

At a time of collective unease, Black Mirror emphasises the importance of art and satire in dissecting power structures, questioning societal norms, and visualising political unrest, providing light relief to life’s uncertainties.

The Saatchi Gallery was founded in 1985 with the aim of bringing contemporary art to as wide an audience as possible by providing an innovative platform for emerging artists to show their work. Over the last five years the Saatchi Gallery has hosted ten out of the top 15 most visited exhibitions in London, according to The Art Newspaper’s survey of international museum attendance, and also has more followers on social media than any other museum in the world. Entry to all the Saatchi Gallery’s exhibitions is free.

More info:

Saachi Gallery
Duke of York’s HQ
King’s Road
London
SW3 4RY

OPENING HOURS
10am-6pm, 7 days a week, last entry 5:30pm
Admission free.

I love the spaciousness of Saatchi



Open Studios and Other News

Art, exhibitions, workshops

Blackberry-Hare-clare-wassermann

“Blackberry Hare” above celebrates the Autumn Equinox – greetings cards available at Open Studios

I’m not very good at keeping up with my blog so I think it’s about time I filled you in with what’s happening with exhibitions and workshops as the Autumn progresses and we look to the bright colours of art to cheer us through the Winter.

I had a wonderful start to the year preparing for a solo exhibition which was really successful in terms of footfall, scores of lovely comments in the visitors book and sales. It took a huge amount of dedication and hard work to fill the space with thirty-two paintings for an exhibition spanning nearly two months but it certainly paid off. Thank you so much  to The Museum of Cannock Chase and all who attended to support me. Thank you too to everyone who cheered me on along the way!

So now to the future:
Wolverhampton Open Studios are nearly upon us
October 13/14th
This weekend sees many artists fling open the doors of their workspaces and homes to display their work and for you to see behind the scenes. This has been organised by Wolverhampton Society of Artists and there is a beautiful website here for information www.wolverhamptonopenstudios.co.uk
I will be open along with several artists exhibiting at Newhampton Arts Centre from 10am-3pm both days that weekend. Come and see my lovely Victorian room and see what’s in the studio sale. I also have my lovely friend and jeweller Sarah-Jane Whittaker with me with some of her beautiful work. We will probably be giggling and possibly eating cake.

Breathe 50 x 40 inches Clare Wassermann copyright 2018

“Breathe” 50 x 40 inches Clare Wassermann copyright 2018

Exhibition News
Wolverhampton is currently having a surge ahead with art. There have been some fabulous exhibitions at Wolverhampton Art Gallery recently. Smaller venues are also showing art. The Lighthouse really need our support to stay open and there is an exhibition called “Transformation” on at the moment, so please think about attending – much of the proceeds of sales are going to the venue to help it to stay open. The exhibition runs until October 30th.  I have three pieces in this exhibition.

At Boundary Way Allotments there will be a lovely exhibition in the polytunnel on October 13th as part of the Open Studios and I have some textile work here along with some books made on a workshop I ran as part of the Arts Council and Heritage Lottery Fund project that I have been part of. Do go and have a look – it is quite an extraordinary site with lots of things going on for the public throughout the year. More details in the Open Studios website and on the wonderful Boundary Way website.

Autumn-hare-clare-wassermann

“Autumn Hare” Clare Wassermann – oil on canvas Copyright 2018

Workshops
Plenty of lovely workshops happening in my studio into the new year both hosted by myself and other visiting artists – it’s always good to make art together. Here are the dates so far – but do keep checking back as I update often.

Garden homemade book page 1

“Garden” handmade book Clare Wassermann Copyright 2018

Other
Otherwise I am still out and about sketching in nature when I can, preparing for more exhibitions and hanging offers (more exciting news on that another time), painting and learning and enjoying a Yoga and Meditation two year teacher training course. I’m always looking to develop and learn – that is for me the joy of life.

You can follow some of my travels this year in my sketchbook blog here.

I hope you feel the same about whatever you are doing. Do come and have a cup of tea with me some time or better still see us over at Open Studios.

That’s all for now

Clare xx

PS Did I mention I love hares and birds?