I am delighted to announce that my wife Helen and I will be exhibiting our artwork as part of the Chichester Art Trail during the first two weekends in May. This is a very well established event. It provides an opportunity for the public to view the work of over 170 talented artists in and around the Chichester area, either in the artist’s studio or in their home. This is the first time we have taken part so we are looking forward to the event with great anticipation and a little apprehension thrown in for good measure!
I will be displaying my monochrome photographs, whilst my wife will be exhibiting her Mixed media paintings, Collages and Found Object sculptures. An example of her work is shown below and more of her work can be seen on her website – www.helenfrostartist.com.
Over two weekends (5 days) in May, I will be part of the Chichester Art Trail exhibiting from our home with my husband Alan. As some of you will know, I have found that I cannot label myself in any particular way and struggled with what I should show. The final decision is to present three different types of work and canvas feedback from visitors to the Art Trail to see what they did and didn’t like. The first work to come back from the framers is the most traditional – three pieces in mixed media. I used found twine from the beach and acrylic ink to start with, and then built up a series of layers with more ink, cold wax and charcoal powder. Here are the results:
The next task is to finalise titles and then decide on pricing. The tricky bit!!
One day last year I found an intriguing piece of rubber on the beach at Seatown, Dorset. I can’t be sure what it started out as but it had obviously been patched numerous times and the sea had distressed the surface beautifully.
My initial thought was to keep it intact as I loved it so much, but, on reflection I felt that there was so much going, it would be better to view it in bite sized chunks. So I tore it into five pieces. This was a brave decision because, unlike with art that you have made, you will never be able to replicate a found object – once you’ve alterered it, it stays altered!
Next, I considered how I could add to the surface without distracting from the wonderful texture that the sea had created. I chose some found pieces of paper and a little more rubber from another find and added them with stitch. The original piece of found rubber was quite contorted and I considered laying the pieces under a heavy weight to flatten them before mounting – I have rejected that option because I think the twists and turns add interest to the piece but I will see what my framer has to say about it!
It is always a case of being careful to add just the right amount of stitch – too little or too much makes a deal of difference. The aspect is also important and I will play with some variations in due course.
Here they are before I visit him:
Once they are framed, I will update you with how they look!
We’ve done it!! Alan and I have registered to be part of the Chichester Art Trail in 2018! We have visited exhibitions many times in the past but this will be the first time either of us have been involved so please put the dates in your diaries (the first two weekends in May – 5th/6th/7th and 12th/13th and see if you can come along!
More details can be found here:Chichester Art Trail – we are looking forward to it!
I have decided to focus on my mixed media/collage pieces on paper and on my contemporary three dimensional work using found materials. These are the three images submitted as part of the application process:
Alan will be displaying some of his Fine Art photographs – his work can be seen on
Alan is an Associate of the Royal Photographic Society and works in monochrome taking inspiration from the local area and further afield within Great Britain.
So the game is on: first step is to have existing work mounted. I will then live with these for a while before deciding which to frame. Meantime, I want to devote my time to completing more work using my vast stock of found materials – I have many ideas to follow through … watch this space!
I have long been fascinated by decay, distress and general wear and tear in surfaces. My eyes are drawn over and over again to rock, stone, wood, paper or any material where the worn and battered winks at me and asks for further inspection. I love torn edges and scruffiness.
Taking up more and more room in the house, I have an embarrassingly large collection of found objects that reflect my preferences and I am still struggling to find a clear way forward to use these within my art. I am unable to pigeon hole myself as a “painter”, “printmaker”, “textile artist” or some other moniker – I like all manner of techniques and media. The saving grace is that there is a common need – to make use of the found and to conform to my idea of what is aesthetically pleasing as outlined above. I realise that to some/many my taste is bizarre and that anything I produce will have a limited market with the majority doubtless seeing only “rubbish.” I also need to distinguish myself from what I see as twee – sculptures and assemblages made from pieces of driftwood for example. They are just not me – not dirty enough, not raw enough, not scuffed and damaged.
Some of what I produce will be fragile (I have some beautiful charred paper from an incinerator); some will have a shorter life than “traditional” art because it will continue to erode and spoil over time. But I will persevere with my ideas that involve the found, the rusty and the burnt. I have workshops coming up in 2018 with the inspiring Debbie Lyddon whose textile work I simply love and also with Elaine Bolt who I hope will take me down a new route considering ceramics and they can help me display my found objects. I was delighted to discover her although a little sad to see that my ideas are not entirely new – ideas rarely are! – and that she is producing far lovelier work than I am sure I will manage.
I am currently thinking about my collection of found brushes (some are shown above) – I have already started to experiment with embossing and “printing” with the handles and would like to try making ceramic handles in the form of these found brushes. I have a collection of “bristles” that can be fastened to the handles and yesterday rescued a whole pile of lovely rusty, “been through the bonfire” bendy metal from which I can form ferrules to adjoin the handles to the bristles.
Here are a collection of my other “from the fire” objects which I hope to use in future work. I’d love to know if anyone else “get’s it”!!
Helen Frost Artist 