Art Seeker Stories

Art Seeker Stories: A postcard from Johannesburg, South Africa :

My artist journey and travels as an art seeker, a culture vulture, a 20 something trolly dolly. My diary edit, nostalgically looking back, 22 years to the day - today.

Today, I don’t seek art, instead I seek Johannesburg’s wild animals. I hug a cub and seek South Africa’s finest wild animals at The Pilenesberg National Park. So many years later realise how art engages with us, shouting it’s plight to save our endangered animals.

Art Mentioned :
Andy Warhol's Endangered Animals
Artworks For Change: Ethics, Excess, Extinction
The Endangered Species Mural Project by The Wildlife Federation , USA

Recommended Listen:
 EP 20: Art 2 HeArt : Skye Holland, Creatively Paving New Ways in Art, Passionately Making a Difference in Wildlife Conservation.

EP 10 Cat Coulter : Eco Trash Artist - Beach Trash Blueprint for Cyanotype Photograms.

Art Seeker Stories: A postcard from London UK :

My artist journey and travels as an art seeker, a culture vulture, a 20 something trolly dolly. My diary edit, nostalgically looking back, 22 years to the day - today.

I take a trip to London to the Royal Acadamy and catch the crest of the wave as it begins to fall. This is Saatchi decade’s follow up show to ‘Sensation’, Apocolypse, Beauty and Horror in Contemporary Art, ironically before much of it disappears for good, up in smoke.

22 years later,  Art in London still shocks, and doesn't. The messages are still the same. There is space for everyone to be included, no matter who you are or what you believe, it's all about expression, if you desire, you carve your path. 
For now, London is in mourning for Our Queen Elizabeth II, tomorrow she'll be laid to rest. 

Artists & Artworks mentioned.
'Cellar' Gregor Schneider
'Hell' by Jake and Dinos Chapman 
'Dream Temple' by Mariko Mori
'The Undesireables' Tim Noble and Sue Webster
'The 9th Hour' Maurizio Cattelan

Art Seeker Stories: A postcard from Hong Kong,  Day 2&3 :

My artist journey and travels as an art seeker, a culture vulture, a 20 something trolly dolly. My diary edit, nostalgically looking back, 22 years to the day - today.

I go on a walk about on Hong Kong Island, stepping into the view beyond my hotel room window, from Victoria Harbour to Victoria Peak. I find a Golden Conquest, art from Thailand and China and some prized pets in Kowloon.

22 years later, I'd love to revisit as Hong Kong Art, takes central stage - This last year sees The New M+ Museum and The Palace Museum open in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong. Although  Art hasn’t come without its difficulties due to the impact of Hong Kong’s national security law imposed on Hong Kong by the Chinese government in 2020.

Names and Places, notes:

Victoria Harbour and Peak.

At Cental
Art Scene China showing work by Morgan (Xiao Guo Fu) and Du Xinjian
Galeria Asia :  ‘Salute to Summer’ Painting 'Golden Conquest ' Thai Artist Niti Wattuya.

Kowloon
MongKok, Market place
Hong Lok Street, Bird Garden

Would Like to visit:
Hong Kong Art Basel , Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
M+ Museum 
Hong Kong Palace Museum

Art Seeker Stories: A postcard from Hong Kong,  Day 1 :

My artist journey and travels as an art seeker, a culture vulture, a 20 something trolly dolly. My diary edit, nostalgically looking back, 22 years to the day - today.

Despite 4am tornado warnings I take a ferry to Lantau Island and visit Tai O, Asia’s little Venice and the Big Buddha at the Po Lin monastery, shrouded in fog.

22 years later, I reflect on the connection between art and religion, by expression, in the  essence of spirit.

Names and Places, notes:

Tai O
Kwan Tai Temple
Kwan Tai, Warrior and God of War

Lantau
Po Lin Monastery
(The Big) Tian Tan Buddha
Three Trikaya Buddha

Hong Kong Island
China Jump

Today on the Art Seeker Stories podcast, I have an Art 2 HeArt with Heidi Shedlock, a South African, Durban based artist and educator who paints from her studio in Durban North. Heidi grew up in a creative family of crafters and makers, running her own shop called Shedlock Interiors with her mother and she also spent many years teaching art. Now Heidi paints full time and is founder of the Creative Community Studio.

 In this episode, Heidi tells me how she started out, originally not believing she could make a career as a full-time artist but now knows otherwise. We are both colour- lovers and love creating art for Joy, Heidi is well known for her large expressive flower paintings but tells me of her delightful ‘Painting in the Post’ project that are autobiographical and kept her creating for an incredible 568 consecutive days. She tells us about her Creative Community Studio where she has created a hub for artists to thrive.

Heidi's book recommendations:
Big Magic, by Elizabeth Gilbert
Your Inner Critic is an Inner Jerk, by  Danielle Krysa
Art of Rivalry: Four Friendships, Betrayals, and Breakthroughs in Modern Art,
by Sebastian Smee

You can find out more about Heidi below.
Website: www.heidishedlock.com
Instagram: @heidishedlock

Creative Community Studio
Website: www.creative-community-studio.teachable.com
Instagram:  @creative_community_studio

Today on the Art Seeker Stories podcast, I have an Art 2 HeArt with Becky Sheraidah, Founder and CEO of ARTHOUSE Unlimited,  a charity that represents a collective of artists living with complex neuro-diverse and physical support needs, including complex epilepsy. The artists' work alongside instructors to create artworks which are developed into designer products for sale. All artwork derives from the skills each artist brings and every contribution holds real value.

 The charity provides a socially inclusive and safe environment for adults who are often susceptible to social exclusion. ARTHOUSE Unlimited believe that feeling a sense of social inclusion, feeling valued for individual skills and truly purposeful in daily life enhances emotional health and well-being. 

Becky’s aim is for Arthouse Unlimited to be a platform for social change, as so many people living with similar conditions experience social isolation and are undervalued for skills in daily life. The artists have individual and expressive styles when creating artworks and have a unique way of seeing the world, offering an alternative view of society and enhancing other peoples’ lives with beautiful artistic offerings.

 In this episode, Becky and I talk about our emotional connection to the sea and the wonder of nature. We dig deep into intuition and universal energy. We chat about Becky’s own artwork which echoes her own cycle of life. She paints portraits, feeling a deep connection with those she paints as they are invited to collaborate, although she hasn’t painted in a while, instead her true vision and focus is ARTHOUSE Unlimited. We chat about how ARTHOUSE Unlimited came to be and reminisce about the early days, and talk about the importance of value, purpose, and social inclusion for all. 

You can find out more about ARTHOUSE Unlimited, below
Website : www.arthouseunlimited.org
Instagram: @arthouse_unlimited

You are always welcome to visit the ARTHOUSE Unlimited shop:
96 Highstreet, Godalming, Surrey, GU7 1DW

Find me and sign up for my newsletter at:
www.emmahill.co.uk
Follow me on instagram
@emma.hill_art

Today on Art Seeker Stories podcast, I have an Art 2 HeArt with Lisa-Marie Price, an environmentally focused  abstract artist working primarily with handmade watercolours sourced from natural earth pigments. Lisa-Marie is a London based painter who explores the connection between nature, people and place.

The central purpose of Lisa- Marie’s work is to raise awareness of our delicate natural landscapes and the ever-worsening climate crisis. She uses sustainable and eco-conscious methods in her practice to highlight overconsumption and careless consumerism.

The physicality of paint making with earth pigments forges a deep-rooted connection to the materials she uses, both from urban and rural settings.

Although her paintings are subtle in their appearance, they examine big topics. Climate change, sustainability, ecology and our food systems are the main motivations behind her work. 

In this episode, we talk about Lisa- Marie’s first art Fair experience and what she learned from it. She tells us of her unique painting process and the journey she takes to create it. Her artist business began primarily with teaching and now has switched to focus more on her own artwork, which has also seen her branch out into curation. We talk of good Karma and the value of sharing information and the importance of community.

 Lisa- Marie's book recommendations:
Big Magic, by Elizabeth Gilbert
Hope in the Dark by Rebecca Solnit

Open Call info
Open Call Guide / May 22  @lisapriceart
Estila Voices : Open Call, Whats the Deal? @estila.co

You can find out more about Lisa-Marie below.
Website: www.lisamarieprice.co.uk
Instagram:  @lisapriceart

Today on Art Seeker Stories podcast, I have an Art 2 HeArt with Marit Geraldine Bostad, an abstract artist from Horten, Norway. Her work investigates the themes that are central to her artistic research, the inner psyche, memories and human interaction.

  Marit Geraldine's  a colourist and blends her colours by pouring paint directly onto the canvas using a variety of tools, seldom using the paintbrush - to create diverse, versatile effects with broad expressive strokes. She explores the Nordic Colour tradition in a bold new direction, blending tone to tone pastels with sparks of fluorescent, manifesting her own personal psychic state onto the canvas. Her expression sets the scene for the audience to bring their own meaning to her work.

 In this episode, we talk about art fairs, the Other Art Fair where I met her and The Affordable Art Fair opening this week, where her art has become the image for their promotion, on busses, posters, underground and magazines. We discuss how an artist residency in New York gave her a valuable insight and self-study of her work and herself.  We talk of her stunning exhibition ‘Hope Island’ which inspired my original podcast concept and how she has kick started me in to creating, beyond my dreams.

 The Affordable Art Fair runs 5-8th May @affordableartfairuk
You can see Marit's Artwork with @mintart_gallery stand J6

To see more about Marit Geraldine and her work
Website : www.geraldine.no
Instagram :  @geraldines_galleri

Today, I have an Art 2 HeArt with Leila Vibert-Stokes, a digital collage artist and surface designer who grew up in the wilds of South of France surrounded in rugged nature. Later at 18 she moved to London to study fashion at Central St Martins, she then went on to working as a textile designer for about 10 years. 

 Now she run’s her own homeware, interiors, and art business, where she sells her work as artwork and products.

 Of her artwork she says:

"I'm finally able to bring back together my two great loves - nature and creativity - in a cacophonous explosion of colourful joy! My mission is to help you express your creativity so you can craft a home that truly reflects who you are; a vibrant, authentic, happy haven, an escape from the expectations and demands of this world. "

 In this episode, we talk about a shift in Leila’s creativity which was born from design and has moved into art. We talk about the artistic process she has found in digital collaging whereby she creates her own visual language created combinations of over layering patterns in nature. We talk about our passion for art and connection with nature, stepping into flow and comparing cats with creativity. If you aren’t careful, they will go off to your neighbour!

 Leila's book recommendations:
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
The Growth Mindset by Joshua Moore and Helen Glasgow

You can find out more about Leila below:
Website: www.leila-vibert-stokes.com
Instagram:@leila.vibert.stokes

Today, I have an Art 2 HeArt with Katie Hallam of The Beautiful Error, an artist photographer and digital explorer currently based in Edinburgh. Her practice explores the connections between new media, technologies and geology and considers the future legacy our digital culture will leave on our Earth. Work is created through a combination of media and techniques including photography and sculpture. 

Of her artwork Katie says:

 Technology can create visual problems. It is hard to see, it is difficult to understand the scale of or imagine as a physical infrastructure. It is also problematic to fully understand the environmental issues it can create beyond our personal devices. Technology is hidden in code, buried in tubes, stored in data centers and the ‘cloud’. As a visual artist and photographer, I am exploring ways of how to bring the digital into physical spaces through sculptural objects and site-specific landscapes, visualising how the technological sublime will disguise itself or fossilise within the Earth’s strata millions of years in the future. 

  In this episode we chat about the digital footprint and its  history  that leaves traces and remains suspended in time. What does it look like? Katie’s art speaks up and shows us. We talk about her exploration and use of rocks and how the landscape informs her work.  

This is The Beautiful Error

Visualising  imperfection in digital culture and exploring technology inspired by sculpture. 

 Katie's book recommendation:
Navigating the Art World by Delphian Gallery @delphiangallery
Geology of Media by Jussi Parikka

You can find out more about Katie, and The Beautiful Error below:
Website : www.thebeautifulerror.com
Instagram: @the_beautiful_error

Katie is a member of @artcanorg @waspsstudios @visual.arts.scotland @societyscottishartists