Jo Burton Woodcarver: Artist in Residence at the University of Chester
Sculptor and teacher of woodcarving on Wirral
To start the residency of the five artists taking part have displayed their work so that students and staff start to get to know a bit about us and our work. This should lead nicely into working with groups of students to share experiences and a bit about our practice.
Much to my delight I have been selected to be an Artist in Residence at Chester University in the Department of Art and Design as part of the Artists into Art Colleges programme for 2022-23. There are 6 artists taking part this year.
It will involve working in the department both with students and with other artists. I hope to do some carving in the department and enable students to experience it if they are interested. As a group of artists we will talk to students about our experiences of being working artists.
I will also be working with the other artists, possibly independently or collaboratively to produce work for a final exhibition which will take place in Chester in February (more details to follow). Initially we will have a small exhibition of our existing work in the department as a means to introduce ourselves to the students and staff. Then start to work on our ideas and start to make art! I suspect my next few posts will look at how this developes.
I have been invited to take part in an exhibition at Oakmere in Cheshire this year and so I am preparing some new carvings for this and other exhibitions. Here are the first two. More to follow soon.
‘Oceanic’ is now completed and has been selected to take part in the open exhibition at the Williamson Art Gallery from 5th-29th April.
I have nearly completed a piece in tulip wood called ‘Reawakening’. It just needs its final coat of wax and the plinth finishing.
My last few posts have been about carving a Wave Form from the start of an idea, making it in plastercine, carving it in lime and applying oil and wax to finish. I have called the piece Oceanic. I guess it will evoke different memories for different people. For me the Mobius strip at the centre reminds me of the welling strength of the sea when we went surfing as children, and sitting listening to the rhythmic sound of the waves on the shore.
Once the Wave Form had been smoothed I used an old T shirt to apply a coat of Danish oil and turps. The turps thins the oil so that it sinks into the surface of the wood, nourishing it and sealing it as it dries. It takes 2-3 days to dry depending on the temperature. Then a second coat was applied. a thin coat that completed sealing the work, but not so thick that it becomes shiny. Again this is left for 2-3 days to dry. Finally I applied a coat of bees wax (not a synthetic wax) and buff it up to give a silky smooth tactile finish.
Only when oil and wax have been applied can you see the depth of colour and the grain which are enhanced by the oil.
Now what to call it?
Exhibiting my work is an exciting part of producing and selling it. It gives me the chance to chat to people who are genuinely interested in art and sculpture about what inspires my work and how it is produced.
The first stage is to choose the type of event and the location that will be most suitable to showcase your work introduce not to the public. This can be anything from craft fairs, arts fairs, open studio tours, exhibitions, online events or art shops. This decision matters. Different people will visit each of these venues and they will have different expectations of the type of work they wish to see and perhaps buy. I have found open studio tours and art fairs to suit my work better than craft fairs. I also like showing my work in shops and at exhibitions. Generally I enjoy events where I can meet and chat to the public.
Once the decision is made and events identified I try to get onto the mailing list so that I am notified when the event is inviting applications. This is often months in before the event. Application forms vary greatly, but generally ask for photographs of work, dimensions, prices and information about the artist and their work. I am nearly always developing and making new pieces and try to have new work available for exhibition so that people always have something they have not seen before.
If accepted I always spend sometime updating my website with event information, new works and images. My next exhibition is with the Tate Aisle Gallery at Birkenhead Park Visitors Center 6th-20th August 2022.
As the event approaches it will advertise itself, but I always share information on Facebook, distribute flyers and let as many people as I can know about the event. The events I attend are usually exhibiting the work of a number of artists, so it benefits everyone if it is well publicised.
During the last couple of days before the event I check that all my work is ready to exhibit, labelled, priced and packed ready to go. I then deliver it and either set up or oversee the display of my work. If there is an event launch I make every effort to attend because it is fun, a chance to chat to other artists and to the public.
At some events you need to be present throughout, at others you may be asked to be there a couple of times to greet and chat to visitors. Sometimes there is an opportunity to run a workshop or give a presentation. These a great opportunities as people love to have a go and love to see how work is produced. This can lead to commissions and to people asking for tuition in my workshop at a later date.
At the end of course unsold work needs to be collected and safely taken home. Generally I find the experience very positive and really enjoy being involved as fully as possible.
Wirral Open Studio Tour is on 11-12th June 10am-5pm this year. Artists from across the Wirral will open their studios to anyone who is interested and wants to drop in and chat about how they make their art, some artists may be at work in their studios so that you can watch them work. Their work will be on display so that you can view it and get an insider explanation of what the work means to the artist. Many artists will have works for sale, and whilst there is no pressure to buy it is an opportunity if you are after a special and unique piece of art.
I have carved two new pieces especially for Wirral Open Studio Tour which are ready for their first viewing along with other recent pieces.
‘Wisdom of the Sea’ is a whale tail carved in lime and mounted on slate. The whale traditionally symbolises wisdom, knowledge and strength. It has been a lovely piece to carve and I have experimented with introducing colour, something I will continue with in the future.
I have just completed carving ‘Ocean’s Embrace’ in lime wood. It is a variation on a Mobius strip which symbolises eternity and love. It is carved as a wave form and I imagined it hugging a wild swimmer or a surfer. Light and shade flow through the pierced areas giving it a sense of rhythm. Another piece about the sea and its sense of freedom!
For me carving during lockdown was a self indulgent experience which gave me plenty of time to develop ideas and to carve new pieces. What more could I have wished for! however as the second year of intermittent periods of lockdown passed something changed. The urge to be creative left me! No contact with people, no visiting galleries, no travel, no time with other carvers, no inspiration! And so for the first part of 2021 I dried up. However things changed as lockdown ended. My husband and I booked a trip to Cumbria and a house for 10 people .We went for a weeks walking with my sons, their partners, my sisters and my niece. We has a fantastic week of walking, talking, laughing, eating, drinking. An oasis of love after a drought.
I came home ready to carve and started on a piece of spalted chestnut, a pale delicate coloured wood with dark veins of salting running through it. I had an idea for an abstract piece that would show off the natural grain and allow me to express feelings about the light being at the end of the tunnel. The form I settled on was that of a partial mobius strip almost spinning like a galaxy opening up. It is called ‘New Beginning”. It just felt right at this time.
So many people had not spent time together and had missed important family time but were now able to see those people. I wanted to capture something of the nature of the love that and got many of us through lockdown. I carved ‘Eternal Love’ out of a piece of olive wood. The form is based on a Mobius strip which symbolises eternity. I worked hard on the finish to create a silky smooth tactile finish.
Then just for fun I carved a whale tail, a project I had been thinking about for a while. I stained it with Van Dyke crystals before finishing it with Danish oil and wax.
These were finished in time for Wirral Open Studio Tour, my first exhibition in two years. A lovely event. I opened my workshop and garden and filled them with woodcarvings. It was lovely to chat to the visitors, just fantastic. Chatting to people about carving, sharpening, types of wood and opportunities to learn how to carve. I came out of it thinking about what to carve next: finish my gargoyle, finish my Gollum portrait, develop some more abstract ideas?? Definitely a shopping trip to replenish my depleted wood stores.
