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.

Exhibitions

Images from exhibitions and projects I have been involved in this year! All though I haven't been working on my practice since Bocs opened, I have been fortunate to have participated in five group exhibitions across North Wales. 

Ffoto Alternative Exhibition, Bodelwyddan Castle, Bodelwyddan

Ffoto Aalternative, Maenofferen Centre, Blaenau Ffestiniog

Arddangosfa Celf Agored/Open Art Exhibition 2013, Oriel Pendeitsh, Caernarfon

Here/There/Everywhere, Pop-up Exhibition, Creative International, Wrexham

Arddangosfa Celf Agored/Open Art Exhibition 2013, Amgueddfa & Oriel Gwynedd, Bangor

August is turning out to be as busy too, with Morgan exhibiting three collages at Y Lle Celf, the art exhibition of the Welsh art scene at Eisteddfod Gendelaethol Dinbych, I will be running a zine workshop from the Helfa Gelf stand and will be leading some art tours during the week of the festival too. In September the both of us will be taking part in Helfa Gelf by having a studio space in the gallery space of Bocs, I will have stepped down from my arts co-ordinator role there and will be able to concentrate purely on my own practice.

From the series Bodlondeb

I have been slowly working on various photography pieces since exhibiting last year with Ffoto Alternarive (a photography group in North Wales) in Oriel Colwyn. This year with the photography group we will be exhibiting in Bodelwyddan Castle and the loose structure of the exhibition is 'Time'. 

Here is my Bodelwyddan Proposal:

“Time is not an empirical concept. For neither co-existence nor succession would be perceived by us, if the representation of time did not exist as a foundation a priori. Without this presupposition we could not represent to ourselves that things exist together at one and the same time, or at different times, that is, contemporaneously, or in succession.”

Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason (1781), trans. Vasilis Politis (London: Dent., 1991), p.54.

The contemplation of the mental pathways of the human mind, the conduct of human nature and its behaviour to perform consciously and subconsciously. My work plays on the subconscious of grief, from which memories, feelings, or thoughts can influence behaviour without realisation of it. It is mixed with the conscious of intentionally appreciating the importance of a memory, object, smell, or photograph. My proposal encompasses these ideals through using personal autobiographical images in which I explore their representation with other surfaces and narrative objects.

I want to share some pieces I am hoping to frame for Bodelwyddan and pieces I am playing/exploring with. 

Assemblage

This piece was exhibited in the #14 Exhibition before Christmas, it was a last moment thing due to the fact I was organising and curating the exhibition with fellow members. I had arrange everyone else's but had left this last piece to the end, quite frankly to the last day! It was the rash, quick, subconscious actions of collecting items, scribbles and drawings I had scattered across my studio desk, mixing and infusing 2D with 3D a marriage I am trying to work on. The overall construction was then carefully thought out, playing with composition, colour and subconsciously adding a subtext, like many of my pieces it looks aesthetically pleasing could almost say pretty but then there are undertones of quite dark and unearthed themes.  

Last month of 2012

The last month of 2012 was a tad hectic to say the least! I was busy with my husband creating, promoting and selling our DyfalDonc goodies at various local Christmas craft markets across North Wales as well as cleaning, painting and preparing Bocs's new gallery space in Ty Glyndwr. 

The 6th of December marked a turning point for this small art group based in Caernarfon, the new Bocs space will hopefully become a hub for young creatives. There's lots of work to do and not alot of financial help for this not-for-profit organisation but the potential is great. I have been very lucky to actually get paid to do things that I enjoy, it may be time consuming and taking me away from my own practice but I do need to put food on the table too! So we opened the ground floor of Bocs with a Bocs members exhibition - #14 is a collective mix of processes, methods and mediums which is distinctive to each Bocs member. In their fusion of differences they collaborate in their dedication for contemporary and experimental arts in the North Wales art scene. From graphic illustrators to musicians to installation artists, Bocs members provide an innovative and thought-provoking showcase to a much anticipated exhibition. 

Bocs members are: Gemma Bourne, Nerbert Chicanza, Osian Efnisien, Cathryn Lowri Griffith, Morgan Griffith (Sonomano), Dion Hamer, Rebecca F. Hardy, Gethin Wavell Lloyd Jones, Rhys Lloyd Jones, Nader Kohbodi (Mr Kobo), Sarah McEachran, Sarah Louise Owen, Yvonne Tsang and Charles Yorke. 

To view some images from the exhibition follow this link to the Bocs facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bocs/37960418215

I will add some images of my work onto the blog soon, for now let me wish you a Happy New Year // Blwyddyn Newydd Dda

rfhardy