The Sequestered Spirit: Artists in Isolation

The past months have been a difficult time for artists: the Covid epidemic has caused catastrophic loss, severe hardship, attrition of our social and professional networks, cancellation of exhibitions, events, contracts and commissions. Small organisations have been hit the hardest, because Government rescue schemes always begin at the ‘top’ , with the expectation that benefits will filter down, and of course, they rarely do. But artists are resilient people. The imposition of Lockdown has produced many unexpected discoveries, and a wealth of invention and ingenuity.
To add your own ‘residents’ lockdown’ story  contact admin@brisonsveor and include up to 3 images (no more than 100 words, please)

Swapping ‘Stories’
My first response to lockdown was to contact an artist friend, Sara Bor, who is a past resident of Brisons Veor. Did she want to join me in an ‘exchange’ project? I asked. She agreed, and from April until the end of June we exchanged work nearly every day. Some was made in response to the news of the day, some came from other pre-occupations. We worked with different kinds of media: Sara re-visited animation, I made short films. We kept a log of our email conversations, and our work. The project provided  structure in a time of uncertainty, and led us to invent and improvise.
We will be exhibiting our project work at my new gallery near St Just end August, and at Devon Open Studios in October.
Patricia Wilson Smith  & Sara Bor    Follow us on Instagram @pwilsonsmith &  @saraborartist

 

Progression of Lockdown through the Hedgerow, Annie Musgrove

“With lockdown on the horizon I thought it would be an opportunity to teach myself how to make lino cuts. The last time I made them I was at school! I live in a very rural area in the Tone valley and every day walk my dogs down very green lanes. I quickly noticed how early the hedgerow was coming into blossom during lock down. These changes were chronicling the passage of time through the spring and now into the summer.
What began as a three week project of making lino cuts and test prints of plants as they came into blossom became a driving obsession as weeks turned into months through the lockdown. I have now made 24 prints from the fleshy leaved primroses of March through to the dog roses and thistles of July.
Whatever has been going on in our human bubble with concerns about the pandemic, nature has been carrying on regardless with plants growing, blossoming and dying. Change is always evident in the hedgerow, each daily walk brings new surprises.”  ( follow me on Instagram or Facebook @anniemusgroveart The prints can be seen on https://anniemusgrove.co.uk
and  https://somersetartworks.org.uk/somersetreacquainted/annie-musgrove/

 

Louisa Crispin 17 July

“I was lucky to spend a blustery and changeable April week at Brisons Veor with Leila Godden in 2018 where I began a shift in my artist practice. Scroll forward two years and the work started there has won prizes in key exhibitions but it was ready for another seismic shift in direction. With 2020 residencies cancelled and many exhibitions postponed I gave myself permission to have a residency in my studio at home, focused on markmaking and composition. If you are lucky to get a residency at Brisons Veor in the future, take time to read the visitors book and add your contribution for the generations to come.”