AUGUST NEWS 2024
SAVE THE DATE!
This Summer we are working towards an Open Studios event that will take place at our house in central Kings Heath, Birmingham on Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th November 2024. (11.00am - 5.00pm both days.) We have both turned 60 in the past year so the weekend will be a Birthday celebration as well as an exhibition. Please call by for a drink at a time to suit you. RSVP Lever Arts CONTACT for exact location. We are collaborating with members of All Saints Youth Project who will be selling cards that they have created. All artwork will be for sale, although it will be fine just to look. 50% of proceeds will also go to ASYP. ASYP is a vibrant youth project in Kings Heath, Birmingham that believes in promoting inclusive practice and being accessible for ALL young people.
Gillian Lever
Summer scrim paintings
This Summer I have been experimenting with scrim to create new textures in my paintings. (Scrim is a light, loosely woven textile made from cotton or flax that is used in bookbinding and upholstery). I was inspired to start using the material in my work after seeing a small print titled ‘Mending the nets’ at a friend’s house this Spring. My friend’s figurative print showed three women grouped together mending fishing nets. I love the symbolism of net mending, the patient, necessary, ‘behind the scenes’ task, sometimes arduous, vital but often hidden. For those of us who don’t fish for a living, it is interesting to think about what we regularly repair and restore? How do we practice mending? Do we recognise the small kindnesses that mend? We can’t repair the big things if we haven’t mended the small. Besides enjoying its net-like qualities, scrim also reminds me of the bandages sometimes used to bind up wounds - another form of mending. In my work I have carefully applied the scrim to gessoed boards and canvases and then painted them with layers of acrylic and oil paint.
All Saints Youth Project - Card Making Workshop
We recently led a workshop with young people at All Saints Youth Project in preparation for our Artists Open House event on 9th and 10th November 2024. We wanted to involve the young people in the event and they were very keen to collaborate with us. All Saints Youth Project has been providing recreational and informal educational opportunities for young people aged 11 to 19 years old (up to 25 for those with disabilities) for over 25 years. The project supports young people and adults, including those with additional needs, and their families. The workshop was undertaken by a group who really enjoyed the opportunity to try out a number of different techniques, making a series of vibrant, unique handmade cards. These will be for sale at the Open House event and we are looking forward to hosting the young people. Half of the funds raised from the sale of artworks and 100% of the proceeds from sales of cards will be given to the project in November.
