Oh my gosh! Its been too long....

Pinhole Sunderland, Selfie, June 2014
By Jo Howell Photography

I have fallen way behind with my blogging duties in the past few months, but I have a fair excuse- I have been working my butt off!

So continuing with work for Arcadea Disability Arts in Newcastle twice a week, and also working for  The Art Studio Sunderland twice a week (check out their blog to see what I've been up to here).

Whilst also continuing with my commercial photography in the studio. I have had some fantastic artists in the studio in the last few months, and have had the great honour of capturing some gorgeous photographs of some really accomplished glass/ceramic pieces. You can see more on my website or Facebook page.

I have also started documenting a great project for The National Glass Centre. This will be finished in August, so hopefully then I will be able to knuckle down to create some of my own work.

However, it hasn't all been so quiet on the creative front- I have continued with my City by the Sea project, Pinhole Sunderland and Painted North projects that you can view on my pages in this blog.

Ta ta for now!

Woah! Its been canny mad like….

Arcadea Disability Arts Animation
by Jo Howell

Things have been intensely busy! I have been working between 4 and 6 days a week doing my regular workshops with both Arcadea Disability Arts and The Art Studio Sunderland.

I've barely had time to sit down at the computer to keep my usual things updated, as I have also had quite a few photography jobs alongside the workshops!

Recently I have worked with some really great artists photographing their works. You can see some of my new commercial glass and ceramic images on my website (as I have also found the time to update that!

Arcadea Disability Arts making robots
by Jo Howell

The Art Studio Sunderland bookmaking
by Jo Howell

 I have been working across a number of mediums as usual, ranging from numerous animation projects, printmaking outreach sessions, photography, and I have been working on my new Sunderland themed painted photograph collection.

The work is really coming along and I have already found a great way to launch the work into the public domain. I am exclusively printing and signing a very limited edition run of the new work for the North East Enterprise Trust. Who will be selling it as part of a collection of artworks, in order to raise funds for social enterprise in the North East.

If you would like more information on the project or would like to purchase one of these exclusive art bonds then please contact Mike Storey: mike@thneet.org

Not only will you have the chance to own a wonderful collection of artwork but you will also be supporting a great cause in the process, so its win-win really. You'd be crazy not to!

North East Enterprise Trust write-up for the bond fundraising project, to raise money for social enterprise in the North East of England. To get involved email Mike Neet mike@theneet.org

Follow me on Facebook for more updates or check out my website to contact me directly!

New beginnings: The Art Studio Sunderland

Arcadea Disability Arts scallectrix set
Photo by Jo Howell Photography 2013

Its been a while since my last blog update, but time just seems to be getting away from me these days. I am currently working flat out doing a minimum of 4 days a week as a workshop leader/sessional artist for 2 charities. I have been working with Arcadea Disability Arts for a while now and I still really love my 2 days a week there. Our latest project that we are working on is a zombie film for halloween which is proving to be challenging but very fun!

Work at The Art Studio Sunderland
Photo by Jo Howell Photography

My other 2 days a week are with The Art Studio, Sunderland, where I am spending my time working with the members on an individual basis showing them how to record their work, and helping them to create inline blogs. The work and the people are great, but there's a lot going on so I have found myself winding down my pin-hole project until I can get more time during the day (sunlight.... quite necessary to the exposures...).

Phil Vickery Glass Vortex Pod
Photo by Jo Howell Photograph

I have also been working with Phil Vickery Glass on the production of a new process film for YouTube. This film has so far been 3 months in the making but will be finished and ready for release in December 2013. in the meantime you can checkout our funny trailer if you simply cannot wait!

On top of all of this I have photographed a gorgeous kiln formed shot glass made by
Irena Czepcová. This proved to be an interesting photohoot as I had very limited equipment due to my studio lights being pinched. I only had 2 speedlites that luckily I keep with me at all times, and the detail inside this very small object was captured very carefully using my macro lens. I was very pleased with the shoot because it reminded me that I can still be a resourceful photographer when the situation calls for it! 

Irena Czepcova Kiiln formed shot glass
Photo by Jo Howell Photography

Lighthouse, by Jo Howell 2013

Speaking of being resourceful, I have begun collating together a large catalogue of my images from around Sunderland and the North, to produce a hyper-real series of hand-painted photographs. This has been a good way to keep creating my own work whilst having other things to do during the day when I would usually be taking photographs.


So things are all going great and I promise I will try to check in again soon. in the meantime you can follow my comings and goings via facebook or you can check up on me via The Art Studio Sunderland Blog.

Ta ta for now! 
www.maverickart.co.uk 

Pin Hole Photography of Sunderland

Sunderland Bridge Pin Hole Camera Photograph
by Jo Howell Photography

In preparation for a project with Arcadea Disability Arts and Next Stop Byker, I decided to have a go at creating a couple of pin-hole cameras and take some shots near my studio. The day was a lovely bright day with a few clouds skittering across the sky.

Pin Hole Cameras made using powdered milk tins
by Jo Howell Photography

I turned part of my studio into a darkroom and loaded the cameras with highly suspect fibre-based paper. (I say  highly suspect because I wasn't entirely sure if the chemicals might have gone off as the paper was left over from Uni 5 years ago!)

Anyway, as it happens some of the attempts worked better than others but I was getting some interesting results. I have decided to continue creating cameras and I intend to create a body of work using the images, possibly moving into hand colouring or adding to the images created in some way.

From the studio looking out
by Jo Howell Photography

Keep you eyes peeled for more in the coming months. If you would like to see the full album of images please check out my Facebook page.

Thats all for now folks! 

www.maverickart.co.uk

Workshops coming out of the wazoo!

Blue card animation
by Jo Howell Photography

I'm sorry I haven't been able to keep up with my blogging as much lately. I have been working on an array of workshops and commissioned projects which have kept me superbly busy!

Since Christmas I have been working on 2 different animation and film projects with Arcadea Disability Arts. One for the release of the new Blue Card scheme in Newcastle, and one with another group called "The Enchantment project".

The Enchantment Project workshop
by Jo Howell Photography

On both projects I am there to help the people in the group to create artworks and sets for the animations, and then to help them with the lighting, shooting and editing. The projects have been great fun so far and the work produced has been very inventive.

Blue Card animation set
by Jo Howell

I've also taken on another filmmaking project with the National Glass Centre where I help groups to create a film about Sunderland's craft heritage. You'll have to wait for more info on that one when the National Glass Centre re-opens in June 2013.

Alongside all that I have moved to a new studio space in St Peters Wharf, Sunderland, where I have continued with various commercial photographic and filmmaking jobs; and my illustration work with National Energy Action.

Thats all for now. More on my other projects like The Big Picture coming soon.

Follow Jo Howell on facebook or twitter or for more information go to maverickart.co.uk

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
Follow me on facebook

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!