Jake Lever
Forest drawings
The Christmas holiday has given us the opportunity to look at some of our old sketchbooks, going back nearly 40 years to when we both studied Fine Art at Reading University. In 1987, a few years after I graduated, we lived in St Albans and I taught part-time at a nearby Steiner School. Cycling to and from the school, I came across an area of dense woodland, a space which, in effect, became my studio for a period. These drawings in crayon and pencil were made there and coming across them has reminded me of how strongly I have been drawn to the primordial, dark spaces of forests since childhood.
Gillian Lever
Monoprints
In 1985 Gillian was in her final year at Reading University. Alongside making a series of wall mounted structures in wood and paper, drawing and printmaking were central elements of her practice. These small scale monoprints were made in 1985 as a way of exploring the abstract elements of structure, line and form, still a central themes in her recent painting.
Jake Lever
Zuleika Gallery exhibition
In recent years I have frequently visited Zuleika Gallery in Woodstock, Oxfordshire. I have loved both the space and the exhibitions that they have thoughtfully curated. This December I am delighted that they have chosen to include some of my recent work in their Christmas exhibition.
Zuleika Gallery was founded in Oxford in 2015 by Lizzie Collins, who has been working in the art world for over 20 years. Zuleika’s focus is on emerging contemporary art and Modern British art.
The Christmas Show will showcase a selection of affordable paintings, prints, drawings and ceramics and will run until December 23rd at the gallery in Park Street, Woodstock (see their website for full details and opening times).
My work on show is a mixture of recent prints and drawings made with black Somerset Velvet paper and reflects my current interest in the ‘web of belonging’ and fascination with tree roots, webs, mycelium and seaweed.
Gillian Lever
Looking ahead
2023 has been a full and creative year. I have enjoyed making new paintings and showing work with Art First, London and I am now working on a new body of work for exhibition in 2024.
I have also loved offering Creative Quiet Days with art therapist Becky Morse-Brown. The response to these days has been very encouraging and we plan to offer more of them in 2024. The days are mostly held in silence with input from the facilitators and opportunities for experimental art making and reflection. At the end of each day we hold space for verbal sharing and viewing of the artwork that has been made. In these uncertain times opportunities for quiet reflective space and creative expression seem to be increasingly sought after. For more information please contact Lever Arts.
Jake Lever
New work Autumn 2023
Recently I have become fascinated by the branching threads of fungus mycelium in organic soil and I have loved discovering the book ‘Entangled Life’ by Merlin Sheldrake. Merlin Sheldrake is a biologist, writer, and speaker with a background in plant sciences. A keen brewer and fermenter, he is fascinated by the relationships that arise between humans and more-than-human organisms. ‘Entangled Life’ is about fungi - most fungi live out of sight, yet make up a diverse kingdom of organisms that support and sustain nearly all living systems. ”Fungi throw our concepts of individuality and even intelligence into question. They can change our minds, heal our bodies, and even help us remediate environmental disaster.” (Merlin Sheldrake’s website).
On local woodland walks I have hunted for mycelium, finding them fascinating and visually inspiring.
I have loved seeking out other fungi too - so beautiful in colour and form.
Back in the studio I have been developing a new body of work - drawings and mixed media pieces inspired by the fungi that I have been studying.
”Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality.” Martin Luther King, Jr.