Following on from my last post about Swansea Elysium’s open studio event this weekend, just gone. Elysium provides affordable studio space for artists. The building which also fronts onto the High Street used to be an Iceland freezer food shop downstairs. Today that’s where Volcano theatre hang out and perform. Upstairs there are two floors of over 50 artists’ studios.
Susan Evans and Lindsey Kent have written, designed, illustrated and are publishing their own storybook with Gomer Press. They have also produced their own merchandising and one-off figurines.
Tina Wisby’s Creatory for Crafts (email thecreatorywales@gmail.com)
Nazma Botanica
Unbelievably, the talented Nazma was only two days into a 2-month residency at Elysium. She has clearly relished the chance to make this space her own. I can’t wait to see what it looks like after 2 months.
Rhian Wyn Stone (rhianstone@gmail.com) I absolutely love her “wire” pieces. She does great figures but also these wonderful wirehouses. Sadly I didn’t get to met Rhian but I noticed a sign she put up that they are for sale and very reasonably priced too.
A great way to see art on your doorstep is to visit open studio events. Often these studios are in the artists’ homes. But not always. This weekend saw Swansea’s Elysium gallery’s 10th-anniversary celebrations. Elysium has grown steadily over the past decade and as well as running a Gallery and two international competitions its provides affordable studio space in 3 city-centre locations for up to 100 artists. This weekend there were open studio events throughout the day in the city centre. Today I am going to share photos from the studios in Mansel Street.
Winnie the lurcher was a very popular vistor
Mansel Street Studios – a set of studios on two floors above a mid-century parade of shops. There was a beautiful wooden staircase. It is home to painters, textile designers, painters and a gnome.
Ann Jordan – Photographs do not begin to do justice to her work. The wall hanging was fabulous – it was massive and luxurious. Originally made for an installation in a lighthouse at Portishead, the flowers were meant to evoke the flowers cast on waters for a sea burial. Very poignant.
Wall Hanging by Ann Jordan
The fleece work was also magnificent – the texture and depth of each piece just does not come across in a photo. They were wonderfully thick and woolly; being made up of raw Welsh fleeces from Brecon.
Felted fleece – Evoking the contours and rivers of the Beacons
Words that Burn
Still from Words that Burn: “The Crunch” podcast
The Crunch is a multimedia poetry magazine –Each issue features a single poet, who has three of their poems filmed and uploaded to our video archive, and joins us for a short podcast. We chatted with Richard James Jones, a very talented poet. Poets he tells us, need quiet places away from the humdrum cares of the home, to come and think and work.
Carys Evans – has a wonderful large studio with windows that reach from the ceiling to floor. She has an exhibition in Cardiff later this month at the Oriel Kooywood Gallery in Museum Place.
Carys Evans
Carys Evans
Graham Parker – Painter and campaigner. Graham is fascinated by the sea that skirts Swansea Bay but for some reason, it was his paintings of lemons that took my fancy.
Graham Parker – Still life with lemons
Amir A Nejad – his studio wasn’t participating, which is a shame but his stunning portraits lined the corridors.
Portrait by Amir A Nejad
My next blog will be about the High Street Studios.
