Author: catrinsaranjames

Is it worth it?

Yes it is.

I’m currently showing 2 new prints at Galerie Simpson, Swansea as part of a group exhibition called ‘Ship Building’.
I’m amongst a formidable gang of creative women and I feel our work compliments each other. Artists involved are Anna Barratt, Georgia Ace, Fran Leonard, Jane Simpson, Andrea Powell, Karen Howard Tobin and Patricia Mckenna Jones. We had a great turn out for the opening last week. The support the gallery has from local artists, friends and public is imperative to how a space like this can exist in 2015 and on the High Street of any town and city.

Galerie Simpson is now proud to be part of  The Arts Council of Wales Collector Plan. I can  now possibly afford to buy that Peter Blake print. Dreams can come true.

http://www.artscouncilofwales.org.uk/arts-in-wales/enterprise-and-regeneration/collectorplan/
SHIP BUILDING is on until Thursday 26th November.
I can’t believe it’s December next week. Time to dust down the tinsel.

In late October I had a couple of prints on show at the Galerie Simpson stall at Multiplied Art Fair at Christie’s in South Kensington. Jane had previously shown at Multiplied for the gallery and ensured me it would be a great few days and indeed it was. I can’t thank Jane enough for having my work at the fair. On show at the Galerie Simpson stall was Peter Blake, Jamie Reid, Angela De la Cruz & Georgie Hopton. I was in good company.

I created these two new pieces to be on sale at Multiplied,alongside another three that had been created earlier in the year for ‘Of Time And The City’. I was so overjoyed to have my work on display in the same room as my hero’s Peter Blake and Bridget Riley.

It was a great opportunity for me to get to be involved in such a prestigious event.
For the duration of the 3 day Multiplied fair I was also working on the John Marchant Gallery stall who represents Jamie Reid. This was a great experience to understand how the print world works. I got to meet lots of interesting people including folk rock goddess Linda Thompson.
All the stall holders had either physical or on line galleries. Everyone was so friendly and their content so diverse.

See you all next year!

The last few months I have also been working towards a new Guerilla Restoration project for LLAWN03  the annual colourful Llandudno Arts Weekend directed by the formidable Marc Rees.

http://www.llawn.org/

http://www.llawn.org/llawn-events/guerrilla-restoration-ii/

My film was shown in a Victorian bathing machine on the sea front and acted as a mini cinema. The passing public and festival goers could then step inside and sit down and watch the film of me cleaning obscure design features from buildings in the town.
The film was specially commissioned for LLAWN03 and  produced and designed by Karl Morgan.

Here is the film >>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WivuxNqvIY4

Galerie Simpson are continuing to sell my prints in a limited edition.
All are printed on archival giclee paper from a local printer based near the gallery.

They are available from this link:

http://www.galeriesimpson.com/artists/13/catrin-saran-james/41/to-market-2015

‘Up Town Top Rank’

‘David Evans’

‘Milkmaid’

‘MayHillTown’

‘Tuck Shop’

‘Kingsway’

‘To Market’

‘School’s Out’

Here is the final roll call of some of the visitors I had in the last week of the exhibition in early September. Everyone engaging, giving stories and leaving with a smile.

As part of Of Time And The City it was great to be able to use the gallery space for events.

We had a great turn out for an evening dedicated to the Free Cinema movement. Something I’d like to do again in the future at Galerie Simpson.

Here are a couple of snaps from the night dedicated to playing 45s and real ale. It went down a treat! A really great bunch of people bringing records and the gallery became a mini dance floor at the end. Such a versatile space!

Even though Of Time And The City has now ended the legacy continues with this very thoughtful and generous letter from gallery visitor Paulette Pelosi to the Evening Post (see scan below).

I had a lovely chat with Paulette Pelosi and funnily enough I have come across her before. When I worked at West Glamorgan Archives I came across a large collection of photographs that Paulette Pelosi deposited. They were photographs taken by her of Swansea in the early 1990s, a time when I was a teenager and even though it was only 22 or so years ago, that Swansea has now changed so much, so many buildings have disappeared. We talked about this as I recognised her from the photographs as she was in one or two of them.

I could easily date these photographs by the music adverts that were pasted on derelict buildings around town in the photos, adverts for albums that I bought at the time. My eagle eye needing to date things immediately!

We’ve been inundated with visitors to the exhibition over the last few weeks. Everyone had an unique story or anecdote in response to the themes, subjects and the objects from Swansea Museum’s collection. Job done.

Here’s and edit of the many visitors we’ve had at Galerie Simpson over the duration of Of Time And The City. All lovely interesting people.

I have been gifted these very attractive shopping bags from a recently closed clothes shop that was located two doors down from Galerie Simpson on High Street, Swansea.
The pink one is going in a frame at home with me.

Yesterday I tackled my favourite concrete sculptural mural with a bit of Guerilla Restoration. The sun was shining and my cleaning products did me proud as did some passers by. Here are a few stills from the short film that will be on https://catrinsaranjames.com/ soon