Interview with Leigh Shepherd

Leigh Shepherd is a contemporary jewellery designer. She is an extremely busy lady running her booming business and home but managed to find time to talk to us about her participation in the Makers' Fair.

Tell us about the work you do and the types of materials you use.

I have a passion for upcycling and collecting unusual papers so I have brought this together, along with some lovely resin to create my jewellery range. It's probably worth explaining here the difference between recycling and upcycling. Both terms refer to a way of reusing an item recycling is the process of reusing an item without changing its original form eg. melting down glass bottles to make bottles. Upcycling is another processes of reusing, but in this instance changing the purpose or use of the initial material and as a result adding value. I make pendants from wooden Scrabble pieces and mah jong tiles, brooches from draughts and domino pieces and earrings from sixpence pieces.

Where do you produce your work? Does your working environment form part of the inspiration for your art?

I'm based in Haworth, West Yorkshire, so not so far from Saltaire. Both my husband and I work from home which fits in really well with our lifestyle. Years back I aspired to a rented studio somewhere but working from home works so well! Our children are young so my working hours don't fit the usual 9 to 5. As my business has grown I've gone from working from a folding table in the lounge to converting a room into my workshop.

Is your art your main job? How did you get started?

I began selling my work in local galleries about three years ago. It’s in the last six months that it has become full time.

Where else can we see and buy your work?

I stock around 25 outlets nationally from the British Museum to the Isle of Lewis. One of the first galleries I approached to sell my work is right across the street from Victoria Hall. Art Parade has been selling my work for a good while now. Beverley, the owner, has been a huge support and has given me lots of advice and encouragement.

Have you participated or visited the Saltaire Arts Trail before? What is unique about it and how does it differ from other events?

This year will be the fourth time I have taken part in the Makers' Fair. It’s a fantastic event, Victoria Hall is a gorgeous venue! The thing that really makes this event stand out is the visitors, the Arts Trail has a great reputation so people come ready to find something new, they are interested in what we do and know they will find something special. Besides exhibiting we have often visited the Arts Trail as a family, the kids have a great time, in the past we have visited the Garden of Easels and fished in the knitted river - which to the uninitiated may sound strange but was great fun!

Thanks so much to Leigh, you can learn more about her work on her website Leigh Shepherd Designs. and meet her in person at the Makers' Fair in Victoria Hall on 28th, 29th and 30th May.

Interview with Clare Caulfield

Tell us about the work you do and the types of materials you use.

I am an artist and printmaker producing work that documents my travels to some of the world’s greatest cities.  My collection included images of Paris, Venice, New York, Rome, Prague, Sydney and Istanbul.  I paint using a variety of media: watercolour, acrylic, pen and pencil mostly on paper but sometimes on canvas too.  I also produce handmade prints, limited edition prints and signed handmade cards all taken from my paintings.

Where do you produce your work? Does your working environment form part of the inspiration for your art?

Working from my studio I produce my paintings, limited edition prints & cards.  I am a member of West Yorkshire Print Workshop in Mirfield.  Here I use their excellent printmaking facilities to make two different types of handmade prints – Screen prints and Drypoints.  Every print produced here is entirely made by hand therefore no two are exactly the same. I also teach the weekend screenprint courses.

Is your art your main job? How did you get started?

Yes, I am a full time artist.  To start with I concentrated on painting alone, the printmaking, limited edition prints and cards came later once I had become more established having my work stocked in a number of galleries and craft shops.

What will you be exhibiting at the Saltaire Arts Trail?

My limited edition prints and handmade cards depicting a range of images including:

• Skating in Central Park     
• View from Academia Bridge Venice
• Notre dame & Parisian Rooftops, and
• Throwing Coins in Trevi Fountain Rome

And closer to home, I will also be showing work based on the historic Shambles in York, the beautiful architecture to be found here in Saltaire and County Arcade Victoria Quarter in Leeds.  I will also have prints available of my recent work of Whitby, Robin Hoods Bay and Staithes.

Do you work in any other mediums besides the work you will be exhibiting at the Arts Trail?

I will be showing all the types of work I do at the ‘Open House’ event.

Where else can we see and buy your work?

Art Parade, Saltaire; Heart Gallery, Hebden Bridge; The Craft Centre & Design Gallery, Leeds; Royal Exchange Theatre Craft Shop, Manchester; Cambridge Contemporary Art; Opus Gallery, Ashbourne in Derbyshire which will be showing my solo exhibition of new paintings in JULY 2011

Tell us about your most exciting or memorable commission?

My most recent commission was to produce a painting of County Arcade in Leeds for a man who had just been given a new job in Oxford.  He met his wife whilst studying at Leeds University many years ago and they had lived here ever since so he wanted a special piece of work of Leeds to give to his wife as a memento.  They had seen my drypoint & chine-colle print entitled  ‘Shopping in County Arcade’ and so asked me to produce them a version of this image as a painting using watercolour and pencil. 

What was it about the Saltaire Arts Trail that made you want to apply to exhibit?

I moved to Saltaire just over a year ago and so it seemed like a great opportunity to once again be part of the Arts Trail again but this time not only as an exhibiting artist but also as a homeowner opening up my house as part of the trail!

Have you participated or visited the Saltaire Arts Trail before? What is unique about it and how does it differ from other events?

I have exhibited in the Saltaire Arts Trail since the beginning 5 years ago now each time showing my work in a different house within the village.  It’s a great opportunity for people to experience the wealth of creativity from many local artists and designers whilst also visiting this wonderful World Heritage Site and having a look inside a Titus Salt house at the same time!

Could you leave us with one more interesting fact about yourself or your work?

After graduating from Staffordshire University my first job was as an in-house designer for a children's fashion print studio in Shoreditch London.  I worked here for a couple of years producing designs for clients including Baby Gap, Monsoon, M&S and Donna Karan.  Whilst this was a great opportunity I decided I wanted to move back up to Yorkshire to set up by myself to enable me to develop my own paintings.  The first city I chose to visit for inspiration was Florence.  Opposite my hotel was a lovely boutique selling children’s clothes.  It was in that very shop that I found a little pair of red pyjamas with my design on them that I’d produced in the textile studio in London.  They were in my suitcase back home with me!

Super8 Workshops in May!

Cherry Kino is really happy to announce some Super8 workshops in May! Plus, attendees will be given the option to submit their films to be considered for the Mobile Cinema event during the Saltaire Arts Trail!

You've been asking for more Super8 workshops for a while now, and the time has finally come! The workshop will be two days long, and will give you a great grounding in making your own Super8 films - in colour! Participants are limited to 8 people on each workshop, so book now to avoid disappointment!

Workshop no.1: Saturday 30th April and Sunday 1st May.
Workshop no.2: Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th May.
Workshop no.3: Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd May.

Super8 Workshop (colour film!)
The perfect course to give you a thorough understanding of the Super8 format where you'll learn how to make and process your own Super8 film to keep! The course will cover:

Day One:
# a tour of the Cherry Kino Lab,
# how to use various Super8 cameras,
# different types of film currently available,
# the history of the format,
# examples of what is possible with the medium,
# shooting a film each out and about in Leeds,

Day Two:
# hand processing the film at the lab, including information on more experimental techniques
# preparing the film for projection (including splicing),
# direct animation techniques,
# transferring your films to DVD,
# and finally, projecting your film at a screening at the end of the workshop!

Oh, and lots of free tea and biscuits.
An added bonus is that you can also submit your film to be considered for the Cherry Kino event at the Saltaire Arts Trail at the end of May!

This course will demystify Super8, giving you a solid grounding of all the steps needed to make colour Super8 film yourself at home, easily and affordably, in your own bathroom! You'll take away your projection-ready film on a reel plus a DVD, and lots of valuable information to enable you to continue creating Super8 films.

Time: 11am - 5pm on both days.
Venue: Cherry Kino Lab (at ESA), Patrick Studios, St Mary's Lane, Leeds, LS9 7EH
Cost: £80 (all inclusive)
Places available: 8 (per workshop)

To book, email cherrykinocinema@yahoo.com stating "Super8 Workshop 1" (or 2 or 3) as the subject. Places are limited and these workshops tend to sell out quickly, so book now to avoid disappointment!

x CK
http://www.cherrykino.blogspot.com

Call for Super8 Submissions!

Cherry Kino will be curating a programme of films in partnership with the world's first UNESCO recognised 'City of Film' - Bradford and we are delighted that the programme will be presented during the Saltaire Arts Trail, and will also be presented as a special evening screening, at the Cherry Kino Lab in Leeds.

Submissions are welcomed from all, adults and children alike, whether you are a Super8 beginner or a well-seasoned afficionado.

The only restriction is that the films are originally made on Super8 (submitted as a DVD), and under 10 minutes in length. During the Saltaire Arts Trail, the films will be presented numerous times in what could possibly be the world's smallest purpose-built cinema, seating only 10 people!

Saltaire itself is a fascinating UNESCO World Heritage village in the Bradford region of West Yorkshire, built by Titus Salt, a philanthropic businessman whose 'model village' raised living and working standards for workers in the textile mills. Saltaire stood in stark contrast to the nearby 'dark satanic mills' of Bradford's city centre, offering a different vision of how industrial working life could be. The name of the town comes from Titus' surname, Salt, and the name of the river that runs through it, the river Aire. Titus made countless very secret experiments with alpaca wool (from Peru), a material which was considered rough and virtually unusable by everyone in the trade, and he managed to transform it, through his knowledge of spinning and a bit of innovation and improvisation, into a wonderful textile which made him his immense fortune, and led to the building of Saltaire in the 1800s.

In some ways, Super8 can be seen as similar to alpaca - overlooked by many as obsolete or unusable, but with a bit of patience and experimentation it reveals itself to be a magical material capable of fantastic textures and light reflections, the mini cine format that can be woven into countless patterns, spinning endless tales and abstractions. Film and textiles share many traits - in fact, some early film projectors were modelled after sewing machines!

Saltaire also has strong links with the synaesthetic artist David Hockney, whose photo collages, some of which are housed in part of the old textile mill (now a gallery of his work), somehow always make me think of what is perceptually possible with Super8!

Submission is free. To submit your film to Cherry Kino, send a DVD with a brief description and contact email address to:

Cherry Kino
c/o Patrick Studios
East Street Arts
St Mary's Lane
Leeds LS9 7EH
West Yorkshire
UK.

The closing date for submissions is 15th May, so get spinning that film!

P.S. In terms of screening format, due to the frequent screenings (the cinema only seats 10 people So the films will be shown repeatedly over 3 days), originals won't be shown, and the showreel will be compiled onto DV Cam for the event. However, if you'd like your original to be shown at the second event (an evening screening at the Cherry Kino Lab premises), a very careful projectionist will show the films, on an Elmo ST-1200 in great condition.

Find out more about Cherry Kino here: http://www.cherrykino.blogspot.com/

14 houses and over 100 artists and makers

Although the event this year has moved from autumn to spring the ingredients remain the same; 14 of the historic Saltaire village homes and the majestic Victoria Hall open their doors to the public, whilst playing host to exhibitions by more than 100 Yorkshire-based artists, some with established names at a national level, others who remain, for the minute, local treasures, displaying a range of art works.

Over the next few months leading up to the arts trail we will publish more information about our planned events and profiles on featured artists.  In the meantime make sure you have the dates in your diary -  28-30 May 2011 - this is one event you don't want to miss!

Open Houses

We are now looking for houses in the village to participate in the Open Houses for the May event.  This is a great opportunity to have your walls adorned with beautiful paintings and photography while handcrafted textiles, tableware and ceramics grace the surfaces of your kitchen, sitting room, hall or stairs.  We will provide each house with artists and makers, public liability insurance and someone to show you the ropes.

If you are interested in opening up your house, would like more details or would like the opportunity to talk to someone who opened their house last year, please email us at hello@saltaireartstrail.co.uk.

Deadline for applications is fast approaching...

If you an artist or maker who would like to be considered for the 2011 Saltaire Arts Trail then please ensure you send your completed application form in by the 15 January.  The application form and guidelines can be downloaded from the Saltaire Arts Trail website:

http://www.saltaireartstrail.co.uk/artstrail2011/index.html

Take part in 2011!

For the last 4 years, the Saltaire Arts Trail has been proud to have worked alongside the Saltaire Festival. It's been a fruitful partnership, bringing colour and creativity to the streets of Saltaire. The Saltaire Arts Trail is expanding and developing what it offers to become an event in its own right and from next year will move to the bank holiday over 28th-30th May 2011.

We have some exciting ideas for the coming year and are looking forward to putting them in place and bringing you a vibrant, high quality event. As in previous years, there will be the popular Maker's Fair in Victoria Hall, and the Open Houses where villagers' homes are transformed into unique galleries. We're currently looking for artists and makers to take part in both these events, so if you have a creative spark and are interested in exhibiting and selling your work, click here to download an application form.

We'd also love to hear from anyone looking to volunteer, either at the event itself, or helping with preparations in the run up to May. If that sounds like you, just drop us an email to hello@saltaireartstrail.co.uk and we'll be in touch.

Living Advent Calendar Lights Up Saltaire

The nights might be drawing in, but with the festive season in full swing, the streets of Saltaire are once again being illuminated with the Living Advent Calendar. From Santa to snowflakes, llamas to lions, the creativity of the village is bringing a bit of seasonal magic to snowy Saltaire.

Each day throughout December, a new window is revealed, until all the windows are lit on Christmas Eve and will stay lit until 5th January.

So wrap up warm against the winter chill and enjoy a festive stroll around the village.

For a map of all the windows and a look at the ones open so far, click here >>

Saltaire Arts Trail Co-ordinator needed!

We're currently on the lookout for a new member of the Arts Trail team, to co-ordinate the project leads and help deliver another memorable event in 2011.

This is a paid position on a fixed term contract, and will involve working part time, including evenings and weekends.

For more details, including a full job spec and how to apply, simply click here.

If you have any questions about the role, send an email to hello@saltaireartstrail.co.uk and we'll be in touch.

Good luck!