Are you still looking for artists who address issues of mental health within their art? I'm a textile artist, specialising in knitted textiles, and I also have lived experience of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I have begun to directly reflect on my experiences of OCD through my art - as a means of expressing the distressing nature of this condition, and hopefully to raise some awareness. My Instagram is @abigail_e_weston and my email address is info@abigailweston.co.uk
Hi Abigail, I'm sorry it has taken me so long to reply to you. I'll definitely add you to my list of artists who tackle this subject matter. I need to do a bit more research on the topic and will probably write about it later in the spring - I'll keep your work in mind! I've followed you on Instagram and look forward to seeing more of your work over there. I see you're a member of ArtCan. Excellent!
I think 2 and 7 resonate with me the most- during the pandemic I made sculptural pieces that were tactile and made to be held in the palm of your hand as an act of rebellion really. I cast things foraged on all those lockdown walks, so the pieces formed an alternative diary of the seasons
Hi Victoria I know this is late but I’m probably the oldest artist in your subscriber list. Feminism and rewilding are integral to my work. Recently got an ace grant to exhibit. Please contact me if interested. Invisible I am NOT
I’d LOVE to read more about women artists in older age. As a women in my late 40s I’m beginning to notice the ‘invisibility of age’. With this I’d also really love to explore with fellow artists and parents the issue of parenthood and being an artist. It often feels like the two are exclusive.
I’m also a huge advocate of the benefit of the arts on mental health. I explore this a lot in my own work and use creative exercises in my coaching and facilitation. I also feel that I wouldn’t have made it this far in life without my personal art practice. I has literally saved my life and sanity!
Lovely to see your plans for future content 👍🏻
Have you read your ‘Your Brain on Art’ by Ivy Ross and Susan Magsemen? It’s really good to see this topic being taken more seriously and the arts being recognised for their contribution to wellbeing
Great suggestion re parenting and being an artist. Let's add 'female' before 'artist' in that sentence because I'm sure it's not a problem for men... and thanks for the book recommendation Georgie. Sounds like just what I need to read -- ordering now.
Hi, I’m a figurative sculptor working from life initially in clay and from there developing work in ceramics, paper, and found materials. I have work which explores the aging female body: imperfection, scars and the use of domestic materials as a way of exploring this theme. I recently exhibited in a group show at ‘the House of Smalls’ a gallery which focuses on the female perspective and I believe the upcoming exhibition there ‘we are the witches’ could be of interest on this topic, (although I didn’t enter work this time). If you’d like to see images of my work please see my Instagram @gillian.brett or email me gbsculpt1@gmail.com.
I also have work (and experience) of exploration of mental health through art, and teach adults to work with clay, which I believe is basically hands on mindfulness, allowing individuals to access their inner child to flourish.
Hi Gillian - thanks so much for your message - this all sounds really interesting and lots of relevant things for what I'll be writing about. I'll have a look at your insta and will get back to you soon!
No 2- 'nature and rewilding' fits in with what motivates me, as an artist. I've just completed some work within the theme of 'Up The Garden Path' as part of a group exhibition at The Mrs Jones Gallery, Shrewsbury being invited as it was a theme which deeply resonated with me.
I am a multidisciplinary, botanical printmaker. I grow many of the specimen I print with in my rural Lincolnshire home and also responsibly forage in the woodland on the farm where I live. We have re wilded a paddock and field which provide me with inspiration as well as a diverse habitat for flora and fauna.
I'm inspired by nature's cycles. I engage with ferns, pebbles, botanicals from first bud to decay's beauty. I print delicate wildflowers, weathered finds, depicting evocative barns illuminated, tales within. I'm drawn to kintsugi ceramics, mending cracks with gold, finding beauty in impermanence. I strive to capture fleeting, precious moments.
What a brilliant way to come back into our newsfeeds Victoria (you've been much missed!).
In my work as a sculptor - and as a woman in her late 50s, I've been getting much inspiration from ancient artefacts and imagery -including hags and harpies. Really fascinating archetypes are hidden beneath the layers and layers of accidental and deliberate misinterpretation and misrepresentation. Time and time again, beneath the depictions of crude flesh-eating monsters are examples of female strength and compassion. As a feminist appalled at the current state of the world, I think we have much to learn from the mythology of early (dare I say it — pre-patriachal) civilization.
Would love to chat with you about art and mental health ... I spent about ten years deeply researching the mental health benefits of crochet/craft starting with my own lived experience and branching outwards. In more recent years, I've been studying the "shadow side" of art and mental health ... coming from a foundation of believing that art is generally healing / cathartic, I've been interested in the times when mental health challenges make art difficult, exacerbate symptoms, etc. as well as how the business of art, the inequities in the art system, etc. all get tied up with art and mental health. I'm primarily a writer with books on these topics but I crochet and collage for my own mental health. You can email me at Kathryn.vercillo on gmail.
Crochet kept me going through a very difficult time in life. Such a soothing activity for my restless hands and where counting became a mantra to calm my mind!
I’m definitely in that invisible category. Recently I was reading a photo magazine with only women photographers and at first I was inspired and then I realized that all of them were young, fit, and attractive. Where are the ones that look like me? Where are what I imagine is the majority that isn’t young, fit, and attractive??
Perhaps the selection was chosen for the perceived audience. I’d be happy to introduce you to some very talented more ‘mature’ lady photographers. They definitely exist! As my own inspiration is land and water, they larger fall into the landscape genre, and are often more creative than their male counterparts. Some are friends, others I have interviewed, and a few are both!
Certainly - I was a little worried that I was diverting your narrative! This is the list I sent Ana today - it could be a much longer one - and I’ve added a few extra at the end which may interest you Victoria.
An artist who has influenced me since we were art school classmates is Kathan Zerzan. At 45, she left her nursing career (primarily working with homeless youth), to return to art school. Her deeply physical, inside-out approach to figure drawing had a profound impact on me. Through the years, she continued to develop her very personal approach to abstract work, tying it in different ways to her political beliefs and activism (yes, one of those Zerzans, she has long co-hosted a radio show with her cousin, John, and done collaborative tours of Europe's anarchist info-shops). Her later landscape-based paintings and drawings carry the same empathetic-anatomy approach as her earlier figure work (to very great effect).
Have just done a google search on Kathan Zerzan! From a quick look at her website and her CV, what struck me was (apart from the line work and wildness of the painting) is how rich her experiences have been and how integral to her art. We often taylor our CVs to the job but I very quickly got a lot of information about her as an artist. Now for a deeper dive!
At 70, I am definitely an older artist. Hag is harsh but definitely invisible and in the wind. I am an artists' artist and support other creatives. The work is there whether you see it or not.
Thanks for your message Mary. I find the title of Victoria Smith's book 'Hags' absolutely hits the nail on the head -- it's an insult that frequently gets thrown at older women. Her book is all about the misogyny directed at older women, it's a great read. I'll be talking more about it soon!
It’s good to have you back Victoria, and since starting here I’ve been pleased to send a few people your way. I think we’ll all be eagerly anticipating your new content. Things that resonate with me – apologies for a longish reply:
(2) I spend most of my time reimagining the world through the medium of water. It’s helped me evolve, connect with place and also my own imperfect vision. I’m interested in nature’s mark-making, and the way that she softens the marks that we have left on the land.
(4) Evocation, tranquility and the importance of creativity as a place of ease (which laps into 8).
(6) Guilty as charged on age grounds. I first picked up my father’s camera to avoid being the subject but over time making images has allowed me to find myself through photography, art and now writing, and to develop my own albeit quiet voice.
(7) Which might just be the feel of the breeze, And perhaps the role of sound too – I’ve begun to record and pair ambience with images.
Michela, thanks for your response, and for being a true champion of mine. I appreciate your support very much! Let me have a think about all that you say, I'll look at your work again, and I'll be back in touch very soon.
GREAT. I was hoping you would reach out. Also want to talk about your efforts to rewild on your patch of land. I'll be in touch and hopefully we can find a time to zoom that suits UK-OZ.
Hi Victoria,
Are you still looking for artists who address issues of mental health within their art? I'm a textile artist, specialising in knitted textiles, and I also have lived experience of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I have begun to directly reflect on my experiences of OCD through my art - as a means of expressing the distressing nature of this condition, and hopefully to raise some awareness. My Instagram is @abigail_e_weston and my email address is info@abigailweston.co.uk
Hi Abigail, I'm sorry it has taken me so long to reply to you. I'll definitely add you to my list of artists who tackle this subject matter. I need to do a bit more research on the topic and will probably write about it later in the spring - I'll keep your work in mind! I've followed you on Instagram and look forward to seeing more of your work over there. I see you're a member of ArtCan. Excellent!
It’s effie.l.burns@gmail.com
Yes, definitely !
What’s your email?
I think 2 and 7 resonate with me the most- during the pandemic I made sculptural pieces that were tactile and made to be held in the palm of your hand as an act of rebellion really. I cast things foraged on all those lockdown walks, so the pieces formed an alternative diary of the seasons
Ooh that sounds interesting on tactility as resistance Effie... would love to find out more about this. Could we have a chat?
Hi Victoria I know this is late but I’m probably the oldest artist in your subscriber list. Feminism and rewilding are integral to my work. Recently got an ace grant to exhibit. Please contact me if interested. Invisible I am NOT
Hi Diana, thanks for your message. I'm very glad to hear it! 💪
I'll have a look at your website and will be back in contact.
I’d LOVE to read more about women artists in older age. As a women in my late 40s I’m beginning to notice the ‘invisibility of age’. With this I’d also really love to explore with fellow artists and parents the issue of parenthood and being an artist. It often feels like the two are exclusive.
I’m also a huge advocate of the benefit of the arts on mental health. I explore this a lot in my own work and use creative exercises in my coaching and facilitation. I also feel that I wouldn’t have made it this far in life without my personal art practice. I has literally saved my life and sanity!
Lovely to see your plans for future content 👍🏻
Have you read your ‘Your Brain on Art’ by Ivy Ross and Susan Magsemen? It’s really good to see this topic being taken more seriously and the arts being recognised for their contribution to wellbeing
Great suggestion re parenting and being an artist. Let's add 'female' before 'artist' in that sentence because I'm sure it's not a problem for men... and thanks for the book recommendation Georgie. Sounds like just what I need to read -- ordering now.
Oh yes 100% for female artist 👩🎨
Hi, I’m a figurative sculptor working from life initially in clay and from there developing work in ceramics, paper, and found materials. I have work which explores the aging female body: imperfection, scars and the use of domestic materials as a way of exploring this theme. I recently exhibited in a group show at ‘the House of Smalls’ a gallery which focuses on the female perspective and I believe the upcoming exhibition there ‘we are the witches’ could be of interest on this topic, (although I didn’t enter work this time). If you’d like to see images of my work please see my Instagram @gillian.brett or email me gbsculpt1@gmail.com.
I also have work (and experience) of exploration of mental health through art, and teach adults to work with clay, which I believe is basically hands on mindfulness, allowing individuals to access their inner child to flourish.
Best wishes
Gillian
Hi Gillian - thanks so much for your message - this all sounds really interesting and lots of relevant things for what I'll be writing about. I'll have a look at your insta and will get back to you soon!
Hi I'm Su France
No 2- 'nature and rewilding' fits in with what motivates me, as an artist. I've just completed some work within the theme of 'Up The Garden Path' as part of a group exhibition at The Mrs Jones Gallery, Shrewsbury being invited as it was a theme which deeply resonated with me.
I am a multidisciplinary, botanical printmaker. I grow many of the specimen I print with in my rural Lincolnshire home and also responsibly forage in the woodland on the farm where I live. We have re wilded a paddock and field which provide me with inspiration as well as a diverse habitat for flora and fauna.
I'm inspired by nature's cycles. I engage with ferns, pebbles, botanicals from first bud to decay's beauty. I print delicate wildflowers, weathered finds, depicting evocative barns illuminated, tales within. I'm drawn to kintsugi ceramics, mending cracks with gold, finding beauty in impermanence. I strive to capture fleeting, precious moments.
@su_france_designs
sufrancedesigns.com
su@sufrancedesigns.com
Hi Su - thanks so much for your message. LOVE all this. I'll have a look at your insta/website and will get back to you.
Great Thanks for taking the time to have a look.
I will share this although have no subscribers yet! Got to move my list over here. I’ve started writing poetry and number 6 feels
Like something is like to take as inspiration.
Get yer subs over here quick Tommy! I'm subscribing to you right now.
You’re my first organic subscriber 🙌🏻 just importing my 250 over from another platform. V exciting!
What a brilliant way to come back into our newsfeeds Victoria (you've been much missed!).
In my work as a sculptor - and as a woman in her late 50s, I've been getting much inspiration from ancient artefacts and imagery -including hags and harpies. Really fascinating archetypes are hidden beneath the layers and layers of accidental and deliberate misinterpretation and misrepresentation. Time and time again, beneath the depictions of crude flesh-eating monsters are examples of female strength and compassion. As a feminist appalled at the current state of the world, I think we have much to learn from the mythology of early (dare I say it — pre-patriachal) civilization.
Thank you Lucy. And I already know I'm going to love talking to you about your work. Will be in touch soon x
Would love to chat with you about art and mental health ... I spent about ten years deeply researching the mental health benefits of crochet/craft starting with my own lived experience and branching outwards. In more recent years, I've been studying the "shadow side" of art and mental health ... coming from a foundation of believing that art is generally healing / cathartic, I've been interested in the times when mental health challenges make art difficult, exacerbate symptoms, etc. as well as how the business of art, the inequities in the art system, etc. all get tied up with art and mental health. I'm primarily a writer with books on these topics but I crochet and collage for my own mental health. You can email me at Kathryn.vercillo on gmail.
Thanks Kathryn, your writing sounds interesting I'll have a look at your substack!
Let me know if you have any questions.
Crochet kept me going through a very difficult time in life. Such a soothing activity for my restless hands and where counting became a mantra to calm my mind!
Yes counting is definitely a part of the soothing of the mind!
I’m definitely in that invisible category. Recently I was reading a photo magazine with only women photographers and at first I was inspired and then I realized that all of them were young, fit, and attractive. Where are the ones that look like me? Where are what I imagine is the majority that isn’t young, fit, and attractive??
Where indeed, Ana. Thanks for your message
Perhaps the selection was chosen for the perceived audience. I’d be happy to introduce you to some very talented more ‘mature’ lady photographers. They definitely exist! As my own inspiration is land and water, they larger fall into the landscape genre, and are often more creative than their male counterparts. Some are friends, others I have interviewed, and a few are both!
And to clarify the work of the women in the magazine is beautiful but I agree that they may have been chosen based on the intended audience
I would love that!
I’ve set myself a reminder to put some suggestions together for you Ana. I’ll be in touch
Please share here too Michela!
Certainly - I was a little worried that I was diverting your narrative! This is the list I sent Ana today - it could be a much longer one - and I’ve added a few extra at the end which may interest you Victoria.
https://www.valdabailey.com/
www.bartocha-photography.com
www.isabeldiez.com
https://www.janefultonalt.com/
https://www.frankagabler.com
http://www.charlottegibb.com/
https://marianthilainas.com/
Sarah Marino https://www.naturephotoguides.com/
https://www.kristamccuish.com/
Vanda Ralevska http://mylenscapes.co.uk/
http://meghannriepenhoff.com/
https://www.lizzieshepherd.com/
jostephen.photography
http://www.rachaeltalibart.com/
And at the risk of being immodest ;-) https://www.michelagriffith.com/
https://www.amandaharman.co.uk/
http://www.ginrimmingtonjones.com/
https://www.onlandscape.co.uk/2023/07/mary-frances/ (Mary is on Twitter but has no website)
Margaret Soraya https://www.quietlandscapes.co.uk/
https://www.kathleendonohoe.com/
https://www.angelachalmers.com/
Oh wow! Great stuff x
An artist who has influenced me since we were art school classmates is Kathan Zerzan. At 45, she left her nursing career (primarily working with homeless youth), to return to art school. Her deeply physical, inside-out approach to figure drawing had a profound impact on me. Through the years, she continued to develop her very personal approach to abstract work, tying it in different ways to her political beliefs and activism (yes, one of those Zerzans, she has long co-hosted a radio show with her cousin, John, and done collaborative tours of Europe's anarchist info-shops). Her later landscape-based paintings and drawings carry the same empathetic-anatomy approach as her earlier figure work (to very great effect).
She sounds GREAT Gabriel, thanks for the intro. I'll google too!
Have just done a google search on Kathan Zerzan! From a quick look at her website and her CV, what struck me was (apart from the line work and wildness of the painting) is how rich her experiences have been and how integral to her art. We often taylor our CVs to the job but I very quickly got a lot of information about her as an artist. Now for a deeper dive!
At 70, I am definitely an older artist. Hag is harsh but definitely invisible and in the wind. I am an artists' artist and support other creatives. The work is there whether you see it or not.
Thanks for your message Mary. I find the title of Victoria Smith's book 'Hags' absolutely hits the nail on the head -- it's an insult that frequently gets thrown at older women. Her book is all about the misogyny directed at older women, it's a great read. I'll be talking more about it soon!
It’s good to have you back Victoria, and since starting here I’ve been pleased to send a few people your way. I think we’ll all be eagerly anticipating your new content. Things that resonate with me – apologies for a longish reply:
(2) I spend most of my time reimagining the world through the medium of water. It’s helped me evolve, connect with place and also my own imperfect vision. I’m interested in nature’s mark-making, and the way that she softens the marks that we have left on the land.
(4) Evocation, tranquility and the importance of creativity as a place of ease (which laps into 8).
(6) Guilty as charged on age grounds. I first picked up my father’s camera to avoid being the subject but over time making images has allowed me to find myself through photography, art and now writing, and to develop my own albeit quiet voice.
(7) Which might just be the feel of the breeze, And perhaps the role of sound too – I’ve begun to record and pair ambience with images.
Michela, thanks for your response, and for being a true champion of mine. I appreciate your support very much! Let me have a think about all that you say, I'll look at your work again, and I'll be back in touch very soon.
No 6 is something I have been thinking about for a while too. Looking forward to reading and hearing more!
GREAT. I was hoping you would reach out. Also want to talk about your efforts to rewild on your patch of land. I'll be in touch and hopefully we can find a time to zoom that suits UK-OZ.