Christmas is nearly here!

Dave the Geordie Dinosaur- NEA Magazine Project
By Jo Howell

Work has started up again with National Energy Action, this is a really fun and creative project where NEA go into schools to give advice on fuel poverty. During the workshops the children are encouraged to design characters and cartoons that will be published as part of a magazine to be distributed back at the school.

I take the initial drawings and ideas from the kids and I then create illustrations like "Dave" (above), and work out the page layouts. The magazine is always colourful and informative in a fun way that encourages both the children and the parents to be more energy efficient. I have been working with NEA on this project for nearly 3 years now and I still love it!

Hand printed Baby grows
By Jo Howell

Since Christmas is just around the corner I decided that I should use my skills to create some craft items that I could sell at Christmas markets, (Del Boy of the Art World). The market is in Newcastle near the Monument metro station on 8th December 2012. Come down to see me and buy my wares! I will be selling hand engraved tea-light candle holders (below), hand printed baby t-shirts (above) and hand printed Christmas cards (below)

Tea-light candle holder
by Jo Howell

Colourful Christmas cards
by Jo Howell

Whilst creating these delightful craft items for Christmas I have also been working with Arcadea Disability Arts as a session artist, which means that I work with a small group of learning disabled people on a range of creative projects. The job is really rewarding and they have been producing some fantastic work.

I have also worked on 2 film projects this year, one was a promotional video for Creative Cohesion that was commissioned by Frank Styles. You can check out that video here.

And, the second film I worked on was with the National Glass Centre and my role was as workshop leader. I lead several workshops in the NGC on filmmaking, and then edited the final footage provided by the participants into a comprehensive 'How to: Engrave Glass" film. The film isn't available online for you to see yet but you can pop into the National Glass Centre where it is being screened.

Thanks for reading.

Have a very Merry Christmas!

www.maverickart.co.uk

Summer is over...

Boat into Harbour
by Jo Howell 2012

Things have been really hectic this Summer! Work is still ongoing with The Big Picture project coming to exhibition stage at the end of October. Its a great project that is now nearing an end.

On the 21st June I had a solo show at Infinite Arts as part of the Nile Street Solstice event. I helped to organise the show that included many of the Creative Businesses on our street. It was a summer extravaganza that combined Sunderland Art with music and creative activities. There was a great turnout of Sunderland's finest, and with the wine flowing freely, it was a celebration enjoyed by all.
I showed work in Studio Q's Summer Salon on the same night, and I am pleased to say that the 2 pieces submitted to the salon sold straight away!

Watch the video of the Nile Street Solstice event here.

Dogs Balls
By Jo Howell 2012

I showed work at The Washington Arts Centre as part of their Sea the See exhibition. Taking the theme of bringing the beach to Washington there was a range of work from a variety of artists, such as Theresa Easton printmaker and Anna Welsh illustrator , shown alongside some of my photographic prints.

The exhibition was well received and it ran from July 2012 until September 2012, so if you missed it don't worry some of the images have been included on this page.

Coastal Flowers
by Jo Howell 2012

Hand Cut Chips
by Jo Howell 2012

I have begun a project with the National Glass Centre called the Story of Sunderland my role is as workshop leader and film editor. I am working with ICOS (International Community of Sunderland) group, the aim of the project is that the group will produce a 'How to' style film about Sunderland's heritage in Glass Engraving. I will be working with Sandra Snaddon glass engraver who will demonstrate to the group and who will be filmed doing her work. So watch this space for more information about this project.

Pier
by Jo Howell 2012

Minchella's Ice Cream
by Jo Howell 2011

 The Split Parade Exhibition was the first ever Split festival art show. Organised by Emma Howe of Gigglebeats, it was an amazing array of images portraying the Sunderland Music scene including work from Ian West, Andy Martin and Paul Burgess to name but a few. I sorted out the presentation the work then the curated the show that was held in Creative Cohesion. You can see the video blog from the Split Parade here.

Pebbles
by Jo Howell 2012

Shop
by Jo Howell 2012

And finally, I have been working with the wonderful Arcadea Disability Arts as a creative companion. We have started a sketchbook together, created cards, lino prints, drawings, photographs and friendship bracelets, as well as visiting exhibitions together. This is the first time a role like this has been created, and so far it seems to be going really well. The lady I work with thoroughly enjoys our time together and she's coming up with some great ideas on how to progress her art.

So all in all, this Summer has been really busy with some very varied work and projects for Maverickart...
Hopefully Winter can be just as productive!

www.maverickart.co.uk
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The Big Picture- update

The Workshop-
Photo by Daglish Photography

We are pleased to say that the 2 workshop days in Herrington Country Park as part of Sunderland in 2012 went remarkably well! We had over 600 participants who all created fantastic artworks like Faith's above. Myself (Jo Howell), Criss Chaney, Liz Shaw and our assistant Zoe Garner were ran off our feet on the Saturday with people desperate to take part. It was wonderful! Plenty of energy, good spirits and creativity.

We were so busy that we had to get my good friend Michael Daglish from Daglish photography to undertake the job of photographer and internet updater, which I must say he did an excellent job of. The photographs are amazing and work really well to capture the spirit of the weekend.

Thank-you to all of the members of the public who took part, your efforts were phenomenal!

Checking we have all the tiles ready for the workshop
By Jo Howell

So how big is The Big Picture?
By Jo Howell

We will be working hard over the next couple of months to pull your artworks together to make the Big Picture, and we will also be creating a photographic version of the final piece that will tour venues around Sunderland accompanied by some of Daglish's amazing photographs from the workshop. So keep your eyes open for that!

In the meantime you can keep an eye on our progress through Youtube, Twitter and Facebook. Please let us know what you think of the project, or if you were involved what you thought of the workshop on the day. Feedback is always welcome, this is your project and we want it to be something that you can all be very proud of.

Tiles being lacquered
By Jo Howell

The Big Picture Project is funded by Arts Council England, Gentoo Group and Sunderland City Council.

Preparing The Big Picture 2012

Criss Chaney in the workshop
By Jo Howell 27/05/2012

Even on a Sunday The Big Picture project never sleeps! I went down to the National Glass Centre earlier today to continue documenting the progress of the project. Criss Chaney had already been hard at work for a full hour, hand finishing the glass tiles, before I got there.

Criss Chaney hand finishing glass tiles for The Big Picture
By Jo Howell 27/05/2012

She is using a linishing machine to grind down the edges of the 4 inch by 4 inch glass tiles that she skilfully cut down in the Creative Cohesion studio at the beginning of the week. In the meantime, myself and Liz Shaw, have been working hard sorting out the wooden and ceramic tiles. You can see photos of us working on The Big Picture page tab at the top of the blog, or click here.

Finished glass tiles
By Jo Howell 27/05/2012

Criss Chaney smiles through the pain
By Jo Howell 27/05/2012

Things have been going exceedingly well in the preparations for the workshops at the Sunderland Festival in Herrington Country Park on the 16th and 17th of June! We will be raring to go and very excited to get you all involved. For for information follow us on facebook or twitter, or you can email us at: the_big_pic@yahoo.com

Thank you for your continued support!
Jo Howell

Waste not want not....

Pixelated test prints
By Jo Howell

I have been working on getting a number of prints framed and ready for a solo exhibition at Infinite Arts, Sunderland. When I ordered the prints I decided to do a experiment in visual abstraction, I took small details from my image Rooftops and blew them up to 75cm x 50cm with the ratio of 1 pixel per cm squared. When I got the tests back I decided that the abstraction was not enough and that I wanted to push the pixel size to between 4 or 5cm squared, which will reduce the image into a gridlike form even further.

But this then meant that I had 2 very large prints that I had no real use for. As you may have noticed with the Eleflump of last months blog I hate wasting things needlessly. So this set me to thinking of ways that I could work photography with paint to create new and interesting effects.


Basic Preparations
By Jo Howell

With the current economic climate I have had to learn to make art from a variety of different things that I previously would not have considered. The base for the experiment with the test prints was actually a deconstructed cardboard box that I cleaned up by priming with household emulsion and PVA glue. This makes a Low-fi alternative to canvas which can be expensive especially when you are only experimenting.


Pixelating the pixels
By Jo Howell

 I cut the images into squares that I could arrange and rearrange until I found a combination that I liked, cutting the images into squares turned them into pixels, the basic coloured cells that digital images are made of.

Once I had decided upon the arrangement I used spray mount to stick the squares to the prepared cardboard.

I added layers of paint and ink to pull the work together, I have now left the piece to dry and have come away to consider the parts that I like from this process, and to think of how to finish the piece.

Part of being an artist is having the confidence and freedom to try out new ideas or concepts, I don't believe in having a finished piece of work every time that I decide to create something. Quite often I make work that I may never finish because the idea didn't pan out the same as in my head, but whether I finish it or not I will have learned from the process. This is one of those ideas that could have potential but I will have to experiment more with presentation and the concept before I can really decide.

And now for a little experiment in social interaction, if you have read my blog via facebook please write 'pixel' in the comment under the link that you accessed the blog from. Lets see how many pixels I can collect!

Thanks for reading you can check out more work via my facebook page and my website.

Eleflumps

Eleflump
by Jo Howell 2012

I thought that I would let you see what kind of processes I go through when creating the Eco Magazine for National Energy Action. I decided to create the Eleflump because one of the children had written a story about an energy efficient elephant and a ladybird.

Eleflump Pattern
by Jo Howell 2012

The Eleflump is made from a pair of old jeans that had a broken zip. I drew this simple elephant shape onto paper and cut around the template leaving a small gap for the seams. Using the space between his legs for the ears, (there should be two), and using old shirt buttons for the eyes, I stitched these into place before fitting the two sides together.

The life saving Singer
by Jo Howell 2012

I used a beautiful hand crank Singer sewing machine to sew the sides of the Eleflump together, inside out so most of the stitching is hidden inside. I left the back leg open so I could pull him right side through, and also so I could stuff him easily.

Recycling gone mad
by Jo Howell

I then used one of the many carrier bags that we keep in the house to carefully fill out the trunk and front leg. I added more carrier bags to fill out the rest of the Eleflump, then I simply stitched his back leg and trimmed down any unsightly loose threads.

A herd of Eleflumps
by Jo Howell

I had enough material from one pair of jeans to make 8 Eleflumps, an entire herd! I then use the character I have made and photograph it in different poses or situations, the photographs are then edited and stitched together digitally to create the page for the magazine. I believe creating the characters in this way gives them more life than what could be achieved through just drawing or painting techniques alone.

Creating the characters in this fashion has also led to some great "Make it yourself" pages, where in true Blue Peter fashion, the kids can actually make the characters themselves at home by recycling house hold items. Double win!

To check out my other work visit my website or facebook page!

Through the Pin-Hole...

The Pin Hole Camera half made
by Jo Howell

After a long while trying to remember the smell of the dark room I finally purchased some chemicals and began to have a play around. Where my studio is in Creative Cohesion there aren't really the proper conditions for creating a dark room, but when has that ever stopped me?

The finished camera
By Jo Howell

Late yesterday evening I came into the studio mixed up my developer, stop bath and fix to the correct temperatures, and set about to find out if it were feasible for me to try a new darkroom project. First I had to make the area as light tight as possible, there were some minor light leaks into the room but as far as I can tell nothing that would effect the print.

Photogram paper test
By Jo Howell

Then I had to figure out if the paper I still have left over from University (2008) would actually work. To do this I figured some quick simple photograms would suffice. I need to see if the paper was still reactive so I could then start testing it in the pin hole camera.

Luckily for me the paper was still absolutely fine, which has saved me outlaying another £80 for my tests. I did the photograms without an enlarger and simply used a hand held flash to expose the paper. The exposures are all over and the photograms are not the best, but the test run showed me several things:
Yes, I can create a functional dark room in Cohesion with a little more refinement.
Yes, the paper works.
Yes, the pin hole camera is light tight apart from the hole.

The tests
By Jo Howell

Now that I know these basic things I can seriously begin to sink my teeth into some more work, starting with figuring out the exposure times for the camera!

If you want to checkout more of my work visit my facebook page or look at my website.
Thanks for following!

A glass act...

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Getting creative...

Artist's book (detail) 2012
by Jo Howell

This month has been one of those frustrating ones where you seem to work yourself to the bone doing nothing creative, simply working on all of the administrative boring things that are part and parcel of being a self employed person. Proposals, meetings, think-tanks, research and so on. Do not get me wrong I don't mind that side of the business I just wish that sometimes it was more balanced and that I could be sinking my teeth into something more hands on.

Close, Newcastle 2012
By Jo Howell

So, I have been working on a few things as mere distractions from the real burning issue of finding funding for another Big Picture event this year. I have finished several commercial projects in the form of the children's magazines for National Energy Action, I've worked on a proposal for the Rednile commission with Anna Welsh as a direct result of the Factory Nights event, and I have been finishing up the second artists book for submission in the Sunderland Book Project. On a personal level I have managed to take a few shots like the one above when I was on my way to a meeting!

After all of the business of being strapped to the computer for several days trying to put the waffling rhetoric in my head to good use, I decided to make a short animation with my partner, glass artist Phil Vickery. With no storyboard or real ideas other than "we are going to make an animation" we set to work with a lump of plasticine, a piece of slate, some cardboard space fillers and a cardboard box to make the odyssey below.

If you have enjoyed reading my blog and would like more updates on my work and exploits then you can visit my website or follow me on facebook!

A grand start....

On Saturday I had the privilege of attending a Rednile Projects Factory Night's event. The day was spent chinwagging with fellow artists about their work and processes, then was topped off with a lovely warming dark rum with blackcurrent at the Smugglers.

We got a rare chance to get into Spottee's cave and to hear all of the plans that Sunderland Council has for improving our coastline. We looked at the changes that have already taken place and thought about Roker's interesting history. We then had a great time in the Watch house museum looking at all of the amazing nautical memorabilia.

The video link above shows an animated sketchbook that I kept to record the day. The event was great for meeting my peers and has given me food for thought about how to progress current projects that look at my local area and history.

So watch this space for future developments which will span across my mixed media, photography and film techniques!

Follow me on facebook for more updates or check out my website!