Artist Mandy Pattullo will be doing something a bit different for our spring art fair and open studios event:
"More than ten years ago I immersed myself in a creative response to the old Victorian cemeteries near my house in Jesmond. I walk through one of the cemeteries nearly every day on my way to my allotment so have had the chance to observe it very closely for many years. The inscriptions and stone carving are very familiar to me. I took photographs, made many drawings and created a body of work which resulted in a major solo exhibition "Memento Mori". This included printed gloves and baby garments, printmaking and digital fabric prints.
A few years later I was lucky enough to be able to work with and in Old St Stephens Church at Robin Hoods Bay. This church holds 4 early nineteenth century maiden's garlands. These are very rare indeed and I was lucky enough to be able to spend 6 months making work around them and which commemorated the lost girls and boys in the churchyard taken away by the sea or by early death.
The work was put away in the loft and at the back of the studio but I think its now time to share the story again so I will be emptying my studio and putting parts of both exhibitions up for the Open Studios weekend on 18th and 19th May.
There will be sketchbooks, artists books, drawing, textile garments as well as information about the maiden's garlands and some of the garments and the individually embroidered sailor's sad tales.
If you haven't seen the work before please come as I think it is some of my best and might be a bit different to what you think I am all about. I might keep it up for a little while after but will eventually have to return the studio to normality!"