I Know You, You Can Come With Me

2014 started with a invitation to a social engagement art project.......

I Know You; You Can Come With Me is a collaboration between  artists James Harper and Jo Marsh, and a hybrid of their respective JazzCakes and With Love From The Artist concepts. It will bring together 15 artists, in a participatory project which will  take place across Wrexham County, and culminate in an exhibition at Oriel Wrecsam from June to August 2014.      

Each participating artist will be asked to provide four artefacts to be posited as anonymous gifts in the public realm. To identify potential sites for these, artists will come together for a day long ‘Artists Field Trip’, travelling across Wrexham by coach. This will provide a networking opportunity and will finish with a documented symposium. Later, following the field trip, James and Jo will deposit the artefacts across the borough according to artists’ instructions, documenting each one with a photograph as it  is left. A bilingual note will be attached to each artefact, asking its finder to email  a photograph of the item in its new surroundings, and later to bring the item to Oriel Wrecsam to be exhibited, on a loan basis, as  part of the project.

The exhibition will include photographs of the deposited artefacts, plus all material received from finders,  and documentation of the field trip and symposium. A publication and website will also be created, showcasing each participating artist and the outcomes of the project. I Know  You; You Can Come With Me is  a socially engaging project, aiming to directly involve members of the public, as well  as creating a new and thought-provoking collaborative work by 15 artists. http://iknowyouyoucancomewithme.tumblr.com/

13 contemporary artists/curators/facilitators met on the 22nd of February from all over Britain and spent the day together, the proposed itinerary for the field trip was selected by James and Jo. They chose as many important/interesting sites as they could think we could fit into the time/day. 

1. Oriel Wrecsam (start)

2. Acton Gate (passing)

3. Gresford (passing)

4. Rossett - Water Mill (passing - northern periphery)

5. Holt - Medievil Bridge and Castle (stopping - 15 mins - Wrexham/Cheshire border)

6. Marchwiel (passing)

7. Overton (passing)

8. Chirk - Castle (stopping - lunch - southern periphery)

9. Llangollen - river, canal, steam trains (stopping - one hour)

10. Pontcysyllte Aquaduct (brief stop)

11. Un Deg Un (end - group discussion)

Starting point: Oriel Wrecsam (image courtesy of #ikyyccwm)

End of day talk at Un Deg Un (image courtesy of Steffan Jones-Hughes)

There are exciting things happening in Wrexham from pop-up galleries, studio spaces and of course Oriel Wrecsam, the city is becoming a hub for contemporary experimental art and now social engaging art! I will blog soon images of the artworks I created and their final resting places before (fingers crossed) the public find it. 

Big Draw: Draw Tomorrow - Future Museum

Back in October last year Bocs artists and young artists from the Big Draw workshop presented Draw Tomorrow : Future Museum at Oriel Pendeitch in Caernarfon. On display are examples of artwork following a one-day workshop at Gwynedd Museum & Art Gallery, Bangor. Rebecca F. Hardy and Mererid Hâf led the group of young artists to make quick drawings of museum objects and to note patterns seen on various objects on display. Thinking about what might museums and galleries collect in the future they developed further artwork through the medium of collage, printing and drawing.

Alongside the display are selected works by Bocs artists using the BiG Draw theme Draw Tomorrow as their inspiration.

Young artists at the workshop :Lilly Start, Isobelle Start, Amy Mather, Dan Mather, Cai Dickinson, Iolo Tossell, Enlli Angharad Jones, Annabelle Blight, Jasmine Blight and Jenny Clapham

Bocs artists :Rebecca F. Hardy, Mererid Hâf, Nader Kohbodi(Mr Kobo), Lisa Eurgain Taylor, Gethin Wavell, Sarah McEachran and David Thomas

The first images is a assemblage I created specifically for the exhibition on the theme Draw: Tomorrow using found paper, found photographs, thread, casts, found objects. 

Images from the workshop with the young adults/teenagers exploring the collection through print and drawing and collage.

Bocs members artwork also looking at the theme Draw: Tomorrow from paintings, graphite drawings to digital art.

Helfa Gelf 2013

Every September in North Wales many studios, galleries, basements, attics and garden sheds open their doors to the public! Showcasing and displaying the studio practice of a varied diverse range of applied art, craft and visual artists.

For me last September was a strange, embracing, joyful, scary, freeing, playful and taxing month, with my resignation from the active and demanding role of arts co-ordinator at Bocs I found my self unemployed (of permanent work as I was still running my small business DyfalDonc). For the first time which felt like a age I was able to be Rebecca F. Hardy the visual artists and not Rebecca Hardy-Griffith the organiser. I was able to solely concentrate and explore my own practice, play with materials, draw, mould, shape, place, glue, tare, stick, add, thread, and expand on ideas.

Here are some images from the studio space I created in Bocs for the month of Helfa Gelf in which I shared with Catrin Menai, Mererid Haf, Morgan Griffith (Sonomano), Cathryn Griffith, David Thomas and Sarah McEachran. For more info on Helfa Gelf click here, to view the Bocs page on the website click here.

I really do hope that Helfa Gelf receives funding this year, it would be a outrage and a huge shame for the North Wales art scene to loose such an event.

New Year New Start

First week of the new year and my to do list is getting longer everyday but sadly my art practice is being pushed to the bottom of the list! As stated in my previous blog which was posted back in July 2013 (New Year's resolution to at least post once a month!!) I was fortunate to be have quite a few group exhibitions last year but due to my old work commitments at Bocs I had no spare time to work on my own artwork.

In September 2013 I was no longer the arts co-ordinator for Bocs  and was participating in Helfa Gelf and sharing a studio space in Bocs gallery for the month. I will be posting about this soon as it was a fantastic month for me as I was able to create, experiment, sketch and play. In October I ran a Big Draw workshop with fellow Bocs member Mererid Haf the project concluded with a exhibition of the artwork created from the workshop mixed with artwork created by Bocs members under the same Big Draw theme; Draw Tomorrow. I will be posting about this project soon too as well as my masterclasses I ran in Mostyn over the Summer.

This year I have a few things planned including my solo show in Bocs at the end of May and I will be participating in the 'Y Wal' project in Galeri at the end of the summer. I also hope to finally experiment with printing, silk screen and mono-printing as well as my continuation into collage, zines and assemblages.

But the biggest and exciting project I have planned this year is with my husband and fellow artist Morgan (Sonomano) we will be converting the garage into a extra studio and as a art space for contemporary and conceptual artists based in North Wales.