Megan's Art Space

I first came across the work of Verity on Instagram. Her work struck me straight away because of how strong her use of colour is. The stark contrast between darks and lights and placement of ink on paper is enticing. It's sometimes very hard for me to place words to describe work but when I look how Verity is able to manipulate ink there is something very raw and organic. There is real flux to her work, though the work sits proud on the page, there is a narrative beyond this which has been created through the fluidity of line. I spoke to Verity about her work, her influences and progress ahead of her show at Toro, Falmouth opening this evening. How was your time studying at Falmouth University? Did you find you changed a lot? My practice is the refuge in which I process my experience of the world and so my work and I tend to evolve together. I think for me Falmouth was the beginning of my growth into a more accurate version of myself. The process has been slow and is ongoing; I...

This phrase has ben something which I've used within my work for some time now. Mark making and repetition plays a key role in defining my ideas. In our current variations project I am trying to explore this further to gain more of an understanding as to why and what this might mean. I am currently exploring the relationship between space and mark making. This is being developed through investigation of 'head space' and 'organic space'. The two are very much interconnected to me with how I see the world. This is a blog post to get my ideas down in one place in the form to put something more coherent together. It's been over a month since I've written on here! Coming back, slowly but surely!! Organic etchings, foundation 2015 Organic etchings with found imagery on display at Bricklane, summer 2016  I am very interested in process and I explore this idea of the natural world through my organic etchings which I characterise as a true de...

Tomorrow evening one of my favourite creative writers is going to be giving a talk at Falmouth University. Her book. Drawing Water: Drawing as a mechanism for exploration is one I highly recommend and is one that has helped me develop my practice and way of working. I have a real interest in line and there are particular sections which clarify a certain way of seeing the world for me. I am so excited to hear her speak about current work and her relationship with drawing. I thought I would share some of her work with you and my thoughts and feelings about it. Her connections to nature and fascination with water is beautiful. I connect to her work because of her expressive nature with how she explores people's relationship and association with the landscape and aspects of it. Tania is perhaps most well known for her work that is on display in the Natural History museum in London. Below are images taken from her solo show at the Edinburgh Fruit market Gallery. The show focuss...

Bon Iver have been a favourite of mine for a long time. Music that I am able to relate to on another level is something I will always be grateful for. When someone (Justin Vernon) puts so much of themselves into what they do, it gives me courage and determination to push on with what I do. Even in times of great doubt, beautiful and emotional pieces can still be created. It is about pushing on through the hard times. This album made me cry, through it's manipulation and juxtaposition of rawness, something very special has been created. I wanted to make something to emulate the tone of the album. This led to me making a series of 10 pieces of work to represent the album. Through traditional processes like drawing and printmaking and digital editing I hope to have captured the essence of the album. All the work has been created using printmaking and collage techniques to emulate the sense of layering and chaos within the album. I'm...

For the first 3 weeks of the term we are working on a project titled 'The Emergent Process'. We had a lecture and spoke about the idea and importance of process when making work. To me, this is very much part of my practice and how ideas evolve is often done through the process of doing, rather than spending my time planning. This is why finding the process of print-making on my foundation was a turning point, as it gave me direction and enjoyment in the actual making of my work. Art for me has always been about the making and the finished result, means I can move onto something new. I have learnt that I engage with mediative and repetitive processes in my practice as a way of organising chaos and clarity in my muddled brain. When I first started to really consider pursuing art (at a-level) this developed into an obsession with pointillism drawings. I really engaged with the repetitive process but also the sensitivity to application of media. I look back on this work now as a...

As I sit and write this (in bed, obviously) it's pouring down with rain, which will hopefully make for a good sunrise in the morning. Only time will tell. I've just started my second week back, into my second year on the BA Drawing degree at Falmouth University. So far I've spent much of my time in the print room pushing myself with colour and working BIGGER. It's only taken me three years of being here to finally have the confidence to do it. A lot of the time I work small because I like the intimacy of my work, people will ask to look through my sketchbook and actively want to look and feel my work. It is this tactile quality within my collages and drawing that is something that is very important. I have found it hard to have the confidence to push myself into working bigger because I fear my work would lose this sense of intimacy and tactility. However we got set our first proper project this week titled 'the emergent process' and I've been using i...

Music is a huge part of my process, rather this be going for a walk with Radiohead blaring so I can't hear the seagulls or in my studio space (currently my bed) which is a very dangerous game to be playing and has resulted in one too many naps....My music taste varies a lot and I used to listen to a lot of soundtrack music while I drew.  This has changed a lot recently where I live with people who have shown me amazing music and now when I can't draw or work I will just listen to albums on repeat in the hope that something sparks. I thought I would share with you some songs and artists I've been listening to recently in the form of a Studio Soundtrack which I've made on Spotify and will link at the end~ These are songs which I've been listening to for the last couple of weeks. 1) All I Need - Radiohead 2) 33 'God' - Bon Iver 3) 22 (Over soon)  -Bon Iver 4) White Water Hymnal - Fleet Foxes 5) Red Earth and Pouring Rain - Bear's Den 6...

I have followed Claire's work for the past two years on Instagram and she was one of the first artist's I came across on there whose work I could relate to in the terms of process and how she chose to present herself online. She showed progress, and honesty, she shared both the good and the bad days when it came to her work. It is this honesty which made me really connect with her way of working. Her way of drawing is similar to mine in the terms of repetitive mark making. We both share a love of similar books, in particular, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. In recent months we've been speaking about our creative process, both the highs and lows as it seems we are quite similar in how we deal with them. She says that '"as an artist, I use my creativity to help me sort through every day life. It's my coping mechanism when things in life go awry, it's my peaceful meditation and it's my source of joy. When however, things aren't going well creatively...

Last month I started a new segment where shared the work of artists and designers who are based in the South West. Traditional making is so important in the art world more than ever and designers enhancing traditional skills like wood turning, ceramics etc are making a come back. In the next segment of Crafted in Cornwall I am sharing the work of creatives who use found objects, make beautiful, intricate pieces of jewellery from parts of the Cornish Coast and are using traditional dying process to make one off pieces of work Becky Short: Of Land and Sea Designs  Becky creates small pieces of beautiful memories with her approach to jewellery design. By finding sea glass, rocks and other parts of nature through beach combing she finds a new life for parts of the beach which are overlooked. The thing about using sea glass is the array of different colours that can be found on the Cornish beaches. Greens and clear class seems to be the common one, but I've come back to our house ...

I've been fortunate to get the chance to travel up and down the country for work and this has meant I've met more creative people to share with you. It's been so rewarding and lovely to connect with people who have a similar interest, whether it be subject matter or medium. I have put together a few people whose work has been inspiring me in the last couple of weeks. These people I'm showing you have a share interested in nature. The first in this series is the work of illustrators and how they capture nature and the environment. Kat Burton My friend Sam showed me the work of someone he went to university with on the same course at Bournemouth. I instantly fell in love with how Kat uses water colour in such a controlled but expressive way. I have always stayed away from watercolour because I have a tendency to not mix the colours very well together. When I think of her work straight away the thing that comes to mind is something very delicate and something that has ...