“I really enjoy that link to the past and creating a mental map of where swill basket making was historically based” – Lorna Singleton

One of only four swill basket makers in the entire world, Lorna Singleton keeps alive an ancient Lake District tradition.

Her exhibition: Modern Basketry comes to an end at Museum of Lakeland Life & Industry, on Monday 6 May.  In this short interview, Lorna reflects on her work being on show and the reaction from visitors:

How has it felt to have an exhibition of your work at Museum of Lakeland Life & Industry?

This was the first time I’ve exhibited my work at home here in Cumbria so it was a bit nerve-wracking! I’m really enjoying having the exhibition at the museum. It’s been a great chance to spend time at the museum and look through the Joseph Hardman photos for swill related photos, which is something I’ve been meaning to do for years.

What has it been like showing visitors how to make baskets?

I always really enjoy teaching and doing so at the museum alongside the traditional artefacts has been wonderful. All baskets are made by hand, it isn’t a process that can be mechanised. Swill basketry is a very labour intensive process. Whenever people have a go at the techniques they appreciate the skill involved and respect the products a lot more.

What reaction have you had to your exhibition?

Very positive! Visiting the museum and seeing the feedback ‘leaves’ on the tree up there is always entertaining and lifts the spirits. I’ve been contacted by people whose ancestors were swill basket makers or who have really old swill baskets. I really enjoy that link to the past and creating a mental map of where the industry was historically based.

What next for Lorna Singleton? 

It’s currently bark peeling time in the woods so I’m busy doing that for the next few weeks. I have upcoming exhibitions at Creative with Nature in Todmorden and at the Ruthin Craft Centre in Wales. I have also been making and teaching hazel baskets for a few years now and I have a trip to Romania to learn Roma hazel baskets, which I am extremely excited about and look forward to passing some skills on when I return. Beyond that I hope to build a new workshop so I’m also planning that and working out how to fund it.

Lorna’s exhibition ends at close of play on Monday 6 May. At time of going to press there was one place left at her swill basket making workshop taking place on Saturday 4 May. Find out more here.

 

“Bringing internationally recognised artists like Grayson Perry to the county is hugely important for our arts scene”

Grayson Perry portrait, © Katie Hyams and Living Architecture

Visitors to Abbot Hall Art Gallery have gone giddy for Grayson Perry’s tapestries.

Julie Cope’s Grand Tour: The Story of a Life by Grayson Perry opened in November and runs until Saturday 16 February.

Exhibition sponsor Rathbones Kendal has continued its longstanding support for Abbot Hall to help bring the exhibition to Cumbria.

Rathbones Director Richard Dawson reflects on the exhibition and on the importance of supporting the arts locally:

“Congratulations to Abbot Hall and Lakeland Arts on another brilliant display. We’ve been pleased to support world-class exhibitions at Abbot Hall since 2011 – bringing the work of internationally recognised artists like Grayson Perry to the county is hugely important for our arts and cultural scene and we are proud to invest in our community this way.

“We’re big admirers of Grayson Perry’s profound and touching works, especially his outstanding documentary series Rites of Passage on Channel 4. This is the first time the Julie Cope tapestries have been exhibited outside House for Essex and it’s wonderful to have the opportunity to see the work of this Turner-award-winning artist locally. I really enjoyed hearing the artist’s own recording of The Ballad of Julie Cope and viewing the tapestries.

“Abbot Hall makes a major contribution to Kendal’s dynamism and vibrancy with one of the best programmes of exhibitions outside London. We also recently had the chance to tour the exciting new Windermere Jetty with Gordon Watson and the team at Lakeland Arts, which is an outstanding addition to the organisation’s offering.

“It’s such an exciting time for Lakeland Arts who are also adding over 30 new staff, with many in post already – we’re looking forward to seeing everything they have in store this year and beyond.

“It’s so important to us in all our sponsorships and community partnerships to help nurture and retain the new generation of talent locally. Lakeland Arts’ educational programme and engagement with schools, colleges and the wider community provides invaluable well-rounded education for young people, ensuring that the local community is engaged with the artwork available on their doorstep.

“This year at Rathbones Kendal we’re also proud sponsors of the Institute of Directors’ programme of educational and networking events, and we have contributed to the Brathay Trust’s Aspiring Leaders programme and supported Lancashire’s Haffner Orchestra. 

“Our company has a long legacy of contributing to our community, especially in education and the arts. Rathbone Brothers sponsors the Rathbones Folio Prize every year to support literary talent, and locally we will support an event at Words by the Water on 15 March with John Simpson.

“Our investment managers across the country run ‘Your Money – Your Future’ Financial Awareness seminars for young people aged 16-25, to help promote financial literacy and empower them to make solid plans for the coming decade.

“I’d like to congratulate Lakeland Arts and Abbot Hall once more on bringing this outstanding exhibition to Kendal and we hope it continues to be a big success as it enters its final month.”

Julie Cope’s Grand Tour: The Story of a Life by Grayson Perry involves two giant tapestries on display at Abbot Hall. Crafts Council acquired the tapestries with Art Fund support (with a contribution from The Wolfson Foundation).

Julie Cope is a fictional character created by Perry.  She is an Essex everywoman whose story he has told through the two tapestries and extended ballad presented in this Crafts Council touring exhibition.

You can view the Grayson Perry tapestries at Abbot Hall until Saturday 16 February 2019.

Find out more about Rathbones Kendal.

 

 

“Once paintings leave the studio they take on their own life…” Alison Watt

Visitors to Abbot Hall Art Gallery have found spiritual and calming qualities in works by Alison Watt.  Her painting exhibition A Shadow on The Blind has wowed art critics and visitors alike.

With one month to go before the exhibition closes, Alison took time out to speak about the show, the relationship she has with her paintings, the importance of light and shadow and how there is never enough time…

We have had some beautiful autumn and winter days when the light streams in from outside into your exhibition. Is there ever an ideal time to see A Shadow on The Blind?

Natural light is always changing and it is beautiful to witness those changes. This is one of the reasons why I wanted to uncover the windows at Abbot Hall. Depending on the light, the physicality of the paintings becomes more evident, they almost seem to vibrate. My studio in Edinburgh is flooded with light and this has an affect on my paintings as they appear to take on their own life as I work on them. Depending on the light in the room, their character can change and I love that; the fact that they can’t be controlled. I am fascinated by light and by how it is determined by darkness. A painting lives out its life in the light but without light, there is no shadow and without shadow there is no form. Light is part of a painting’s very substance.

Your paintings have been on show at Abbot Hall since October. Does your relationship with the works change over time?

One’s relationship with a painting is constantly changing. When you create a body of work in the studio, the paintings will form relationships with each other. It’s a strange experience to be surrounded by the physical manifestations of your ideas. Once they leave the studio, they begin to take on their own life. A life that is quite separate from you. There is a sadness in that because part of you exists within the paintings, so you lose something of yourself when they go. I always feel bereft when my paintings leave the studio. But then the idea that someone, often someone you have never met, might engage with something you have made is an extraordinary thing. I am always amazed by that.

Have you had any interaction with visitors on gallery, what reactions have you had to the works?

I have visited Abbot Hall several times since my work was installed and each time I’ve been approached by visitors to the exhibition. The wonderful thing about painting is that every painting has a different meaning to the person who looks at it. I think we all have something within us – an urge to search for recognition within art and then follow that up with our own interpretation. It’s part of the human condition I think. I’ve had some fascinating conversations. Conversations which start off being about my paintings, but become conversations about us. I think we love looking at paintings because we love looking at ourselves.

Alison Watt in her Studio. Courtesy of the artist and Parafin, London. Photo by John McKenzie.

One visitor wrote that the paintings have a ‘calming, spiritual quality’. Do you feel that way when you paint them?

Making a painting has both conscious and unconscious elements to it. You become lost in the process itself, with your conscious thinking surrounding that. You often make a painting in order to understand why you wanted to make it. I can look at a painting I made 30-years-ago and still wonder about it. Making (and looking at) a painting is like having a conversation. It’s something that passes back and forth. It doesn’t settle. My paintings come from inside. Part of me doesn’t want to describe that feeling, and part of me doesn’t know how to. I feel very strongly that painting is unique as a medium. It appeals directly to the senses, possessing an irresistible quality that can’t be replicated by any other means. And that is what gives it its power.

Do you get ever feel sad towards the end of a show. Or is it on to the next exhibition…

Yes I do feel sad because a body of work encapsulates a particular time. I had a retrospective a few years ago. I saw paintings that I hadn’t seen for decades and the experience was not dissimilar to listening to a piece of music you haven’t heard for a long time: you are taken back to a particular time and a particular place and you remember how you felt. Increasingly, as I get older, I feel there is never enough time- there’s always a sense of urgency about making work. I’m always pushing on to the next thing. I feel I am always seeking something that is just out of my reach. That is the driver, to make better work.

Alison Watt: A Shadow on the Blind is on at Abbot Hall Art Gallery until 2 February 2019.