Kitty gets her fame

It's not often I get a taste of my own medicine, but I appeared along with Kitty in Stroud Life today. Stroud's Museum in the Park is such a special place for the whole of the area. Artists have for years had a strong connection with museums, so I find it thrilling to be able to develop my observation and creative skills here, knowing also that this was a place where my grandparents and my mum used to live.

It is also an honour to give Kitty some publicity of her own. She often called herself a bowls' widow as George, my grandfather was forever playing his favourite sport - discovered after faithfully watering Stratford Park's green for years. He discovered he was a natural and ended up playing for England, which meant a lot of games at home and away, leaving Kitty alone for long periods. He had his fame, and now it is her turn. One thing I have learnt about doing this residency is the value in spending time in one place, contemplating what is before me and having chance to really look at the objects in this valuable amenity. Every time I go I see something new and exciting. I also realise that I need real things in front of me for reference and once I have that, my imagination takes over.

There is also an article on line

http://www.stroudlife.co.uk/Artist-remembering-grandmother-Stroud-s-Museum/story-20506275-detail/story.html



Day Five - Kitty spends the night in the museum

I had a taste of my own medicine today. After 26 years of reporting on other people, Simon Pizzey from Stroud Life/Citizen came and took photos of me working for next week's paper. It highlights one aspect of being an artist - the marketing and promotional side of it, which most of us shy away from. I didn't instigate this, it was because my images were seen on Facebook - proves that social networking can help. To help them I put my professional skills to good use and wrote a press release.
It was refreshing coming back into this quiet space after a week's break. My week's residency is now extended to all year and I will be appearing when I can most Fridays to add to Kitty's adventures.
Today I illustrated my little character about to shoot down a mammoth's tusk as if it was a water slide. Mammoth teeth and tusks have been found at several places in the district – notably on the site of the Cainscross roundabout. I always find this highly amusing. There was a continuous filter of people walking past and I had some great conversations, which is all part of an art residency.

"This is an amazing ride," cried Kitty as she disappeared into the hollowness;
arriving to her amazement a few minutes later in the middle of Cainscross roundabout!

I find my day goes so fast when I am engrossed in my work. One thing I have realised about myself is that I do need to work from observation. My imagination kicks in after looking at an object for a while - but it does mean standing or sitting still; something foreign to my nature. This residency helps me do that.

I took Kitty upstairs to participate in an activity she did enjoy doing - tennis. But instead of using a racket, she had a ride on a tennis ball (complete with its yellow/ green felt coating made in Stroud) like they do at Fit Ball classes. It was while capturing her suspended high up between two tennis rackets, that the photographer arrived. When I came back to put my paints away, I completely forgot my little Kitty and realised that she was still on her tennis ball, long after the museum had closed.
So Kitty gets to sleep back in the place she once lived - I feel my character is creating her own story for me. This challenged my perspective - something I will keep working on week after week until I really get to grips with it.

My children's task tomorrow is to go to the museum and see if they can spot her and bring her home!

"It's quite a scary place - sandwiched between two rackets,"
thought Kitty, "But I have to admit, this is rather fun!"

 

Interview with Natural History Museum illustrator Cath Hodsman

It was my privilege to interview Cath Hodsman, a skilled and widely acknowledged British wildlife artist, who lives in Gloucestershire, for Cotswold Life, this morning.


Cath at her residency at Nature in Art

Her work is in many specialist wildlife and natural history venues, including the most famous museum, The Natural History Museum in London.
Gaining an insight into an illustrator's studio space is always fascinating and Cath's work environment was certainly full of life in the real sense of the word. I was introduced to her 20 "Stickies" - her trusted growing family of female Indian Stick Insects - and drawers full of butterfly wings, honey bees and other specimens. Many of them have been given to her from Butterfly House at Berkeley Castle, which means Cath has primary research at her fingertips.  
Armed with her glasses and strong microscopic glasses she looks, paints, looks, paints, until she has captured every hair, fleck of colour and stroke with her watercolours and acrylic inks. The results are stunning. They are accurate yet in a much more friendlier and delightful way than the more clinical diagram-like images one often finds in the old encyclopedias.
Once I have written the feature I will post it, but one thing that struck me in chatting with Cath, is the passion and enthusiasm she has for her subject. She just loves bugs and is evangelistic in her approach. It's not just about capturing an insect - be it a bee, a beetle or a butterfly - that she is interested in; it is sharing that enjoyment for the little creatures with others, whether they are young or old; raising awareness of their importance and raising money to ensure they are protected for the future.

Cath is about to run a series of workshops to mark 2014, the Year of the Microscope. These include microscopy sketching and painting courses at The Centre for Science and Art, Stroud; Painswick Rococo Garden and Slimbridge.
As I chose to do an artist residency for my own work placement, it was very fitting that I had chance to talk in depth about Cath's own experience at Nature in Art and other venues. She is about to start another residency at the WWT at Slimbridge. So I asked her what value such residencies have and what she expects to gain from them. This was her reply:

What it means to be an Artist-in-Residence

There are several words that spring to mind when I think about what it means to me as an Artist-in-Residence.......

ART – I have an uninterrupted chance to indulge myself in my favourite activity – to produce a painting or sketch.

INSECTS – The subject matter of my art is usually my favourite things - insects! Such fascinating, beautiful and important creatures deserve to be recognised through the medium of art.

CONSERVATION – If I choose, I can use my art to highlight conservation issues, that affect insects, such as pesticide use, habitat loss, or climate change.

CONVERSION – So many people are averse to insects, but residences are always such as great opportunity to use my microscopes and specimens, to show people how beautiful, important, strong, diverse and fascinating insects really are.

CHATS – During all of my residences, I meet so many fab people -folks who are interested in insects, art, conservation, or all three. It is always so inspirational to swap experiences, knowledge, and stories with like-minded people – and even to stay in touch with them after.

INSPIRATION – As a wildlife and natural history artist, I am so lucky to be based as Artist-in-Residence at some truly inspirational venues. Places that have so much beauty, such as WWT Slimbridge, Nature in Art or Painswick Rococo Gardens serve to feed my artistic, natural history and conservation juices. One month I might be overlooking the diverse beauty of the wetlands at Slimbridge. Another month I might be taking in the serene beauty of the Painswick Valley at the Rococo Gardens or indulging myself in the genius of other wildlife artists at Nature in Art.

KNOWLEDGE – I love meeting the many hardworking staff, experts and volunteers who run these fab venues. There is so much to be learnt from Reserve Managers, Tour Guides, Gardeners, Species Experts, Planners, Facilitators, and Helpers.

FUND RAISING – Through art sales during my residences, funds go back into supporting these fantastic hosts, to enable them to continue to carry out their important work.

ENJOYMENT – I am lucky enough to mix all of my passions in one job – life doesn’t get a lot better!

Her comments really helped and the mixing of passions particularly rung true. I love capturing stories, meeting people, making quirky, bright, detailed illustrations, raising awareness and uplifting people too. So this is a great starting point to help me focus on the next stage of my artistic career.   

http://www.cathhodsmanwildlifeartist.com/

Day four - making the most of TIME

There's a saying that I came across recently that states this: "when the student is ready, the teacher will appear." I was obviously ready, because she did.

I started the day off by drawing this clock. It looked straightforward until I tried to master the angles. It didn't help that where I put my little Kitty, every time the clock chimed and the cogs moved, so did she! I stood still for an hour drawing time and was about to give up when Doranna Brownrigg, my art teacher from 1980-87 walked in. It immediately took me back to being a High School student asking advice. I remember her being pregnant with her daughter, Eva. She is now 30 and about to have her first child any day now. Quite significant that I attempt to draw a clock, while we discuss how time has flown, yet in some ways we return to points in our lives again, as I have done my art. She was very encouraging and gave me a lesson on perspective. It would help if I had brought a ruler!

Grandma in my pocket!

Part of an artist residency is interacting with the public. Today I seemed to talk with people about my work rather than getting the work done. But it was great to hear what they thought about my ideas. I also met another set of volunteers and what they love about the museum. Some of them are currently involved in another initiative with Stroud Valley Project to start clearing the walled garden on Mondays, come rain or shine. The dedication and willingness to give time so freely is very humbling. Without them the museum wouldn't be able to stay open.
I spent a fair few hours next to Laurie Lee's school report and sitting at the teacher's desk. I thought it would be fun to do an illustration of Kitty falling down an ink well. So whilst engaged in conversation, I continued to work. I took a short break to spend some time with three ladies who are part of a new Art Associate at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College, who will be meeting once a week to gather ideas, support and professional input whilst they work on their own self-directed projects. It was refreshing talking to like-minded people and I went back to my school desk, further encouraged. Staff, public and Facebook friends seem to like the Kitty cards for their miniature and collectable value, so I shall pursue the idea and see where Kitty and my imagination take me. I'm not back until next Friday, but sometimes it is a good thing to have a break and come back with a fresh mind. So here is the only completed image from today. I do have two drawings that could potentially make fun images. There are rooms in the museum I have yet to explore in depth, so I am looking forward to seeing what Kitty does next!

Kitty falling down a very inky well

In action at the teacher's desk in the Childhood and Education Room

Day Three - the birth of the Kitty cards

I spent my day in my grandmother's old bedroom and the dining room which are now the Industry and Invention room and The Company's Arms respectively. I felt strangely comforted in the fact I was in a place she would have spent many an hour in. I was tempted to draw the buttons or have little Kitty juggle with them or use the plastic knitting needles as stilts, but ended up using the domino set as stepping stones. My daughter Emily had a similar set for Christmas, although hers were curved, so it was relevant to now. But as I looked at them and superimposed my own little character on them in my mind, it took me back to my own childhood. Back in the 1970's my sister Kim and I used to love walking across the stepping stones at King's Square in Gloucester, when there used to be water and fountains. Kitty used to take us there too.

What I am finding is that the more one looks at an object, the more it becomes a personal experience. There are over 1,000 objects on display, and each one will speak differently to different people. One volunteer told me that a friend of hers brings in some elderly people who have Alzheimers, because when they see a familiar object, it triggers memory and they end up telling remarkable stories of years gone by - where they saw that object, where they were and who was using it.

Objects have a strange power to them, which I am realising. One volunteer, Mary Preece shared a few memories of the park with me today. She used to stay at the house for a sleepover with my Mum. Once the gates were locked, they had the park to themselves and they used to make a den in the willow tree. Also she admitted that when the water was drained from the Lido, she and Mum used to play in it!
It was extremely cold today and I found that limited what I could achieve as it affected my concentration. A few hot drinks helped, but I didn't have enough layers. It is something to consider in future - work conditions play a huge part in the outcome of an art project.

Had a few visitors from Stroud School of Art which was encouraging, two friends who are currently doing a HND in Fine Art, both accomplished artists in their own right and tutor Helen Smith, who is always so enthusiastic and inspiring.
So what did I achieve? Two small paintings and a drawing, which needs to be finished before I show it! I wasn't overally happy with the boot picture, so I might work on it a bit more. But here they are for now.

Kitty enjoys her stepping stones

Kitty takes a drive in her tank

I recently bought a book from a charity shop called Cigarette Cards and Novelties by Frank Doggett, published by Michael Joseph in 1981. One memory I have of Kitty is being horrified to see her smoking at a party. I must have been about 12, but my mum told me she used to buy a pack of Woodbines every week. This rebellious streak did come out then! She didn't smoke in the last 25 years of her life, but it got me thinking seeing all the cards and miniature objects today at the museum. Smoking then was a social thing and I recall seeing cigarette cards at my paternal grandmother's house - cards my dad collected mainly of sportsmen. His dad was a smoker and I guess he collected the cards. In celebration of collectables, I experimented tonight by making my images into cigarette card size - 6.7cm by 3.7cm. My aim to make 100 of them if I can! Or may be 96 to mark the number of years Kitty lived.

Frank Doggett's book which inspired the cigarette card idea

My images to date as cigarette cards - as she is miniature, I think the cards need to be too




Residency Day Two - understanding how the museum works

Gained a valuable insight today into the tremendous work that goes on behind the scenes of Stroud's Museum in the Park. There are currently some 5,000 artefacts on show, but this is only one tenth of the overall collection, which belongs to the Cowle Trust. In 1887 provision was made for a museum at the former School of Science and Art, an impressive building in Lansdown, Stroud. In 1897,William Cowle, a local businessman and landowner bequeathed £4,000 in his will to provide a museum for the town. 

The building - Stratford Park Mansion House - and grounds - are owned by Stroud District Council, which maintains, runs the museum and pays staff wages. Museum development manager is Kevin Ward who is the overall general manager. 

I spent a good seven hours looking, thinking and drawing objects today, but also took time out to chat with two of the Museum's four full-time staff, administrator Abigail Large and Learning Programmes Officer/deputy manager Ann Taylor to talk about the residency and to find out more about how the museum works.

They love the idea of "Where's Kitty?" and can see the project extending to become an adventure book, as well as a game that children can use to help them explore the museum. We chatted about the whole ethos of a museum, that it is not so much about the objects on display, rather it is how they engage with the people who look at them.

"The objects here represent the entire collection in a meaningful way. It's like a shop window to what there is behind the scenes, " explains Abigail.

As well as the public display, there is a reserve collection which comes out for research purposes, for example if someone is doing an academic paper on the history of lace, they can put a proposal to Alexia Clark, documentation and collections officer to see some examples. The Fisher Lace collection is not on display because it is too fragile, but Alexia recently brought out samples for individuals who were studying lace.

I also learnt today the long process involved to move an object within the museum and the endless logging that has to take place when someone brings in something to be identified or for donation.



Rob Orchard (Kitty and George's nephew), Kitty Ham, George Ham,
 Marg Orchard and Janet Ham outside the Mansion House in 1949.

This photo donated by my mother Jan, is one of the museum's latest acquisitions. I had fresh respect for the collections officer when I heard the process involved.

"We worked it out that it is takes a minimum of eight minutes per object just to log the location of an object as it is moved. Everything must be tagged as we can be audited any time and is important we know where the objects are. There is a collections policy which defines what we collect and why. It must have a local providence. The objects may never get displayed, although sometimes they get showed in a temporary case and they have to go to the Trustees board," explains Ann Taylor.

The museum can not function without its strong bank of some 30 volunteers who help answer questions the public may have as they visit. There are also quite a large number of paid part-time staff including a visitor services manager, duty managers and visitor assistants.

To date there have been three artist residencies. I am the first to work within the museum as an illustrator. Let's hope I can produce something to give back to the museum not only as a legacy to my grandparents, but to encourage future generations to celebrate the wonderful stories that are on their doorstep.

 

    

MY DAY'S WORK

Valued listening to the public's thoughts on the things they were looking at as I drew. A grandmother and young granddaughter engaged in delightful conversation in the kitchen area in between the late Laurie Lee's soothing rustic voice giving wonderful snapshots of Slad life around his mother's dinner table as he attempted to hit the right notes on his violin. I looked at the lamps for a long while and allowed them to act as a catalyst for my imagination. Enjoyed chatting to volunteers and just reflecting and soaking in the museum's atmosphere. It's the longest I have sat still in a long time!

Scotch lamp or cruisie; two parts with ratchet and chain.

Kitty couldn't resist taking a bath!

An ammonite

Playing roulette

Haven't a clue

But Kitty thinks it makes a great carousel ride

Artist residency begins

It's always been a dream of mine to do an artist residency, so my work placement is fulfilling a desire that I hope will open new doors in future. Stories, objects and the people who used them fascinate me and to be in a place which holds hundreds of untold narratives relating to my home town is a privilege. I have a personal interest in Stroud's Museum in the Park in that my mum Jan spent her childhood years in the mansion house that holds the district's collection. She moved in with her parents Kitty and George Ham at the age of 3 in 1947 and moved out ten years later when she was 13.  Kitty only died last year, just weeks before her 97th birthday, so my placement acts as a tribute to her.  Petite and always looking immaculate, Kitty had an adventurous, cheeky streak to her personality that I never felt was allowed to fully show itself. So what better way to bring that to life by creating a series of images incorporating Kitty as a miniature figure with the objects that are now in the house she once lived. I believe if you are passionate about something it comes through so time just flew today as I immersed myself in an imaginative world, allowing the objects and their own narratives to entwine with my own little Kitty.


Working on site at the Museum in the Park



KEY BENEFITS
Even from day one, I can see one valuable benefit of a residency in that it provides a space to work, both physically and mentally, away from distractions of every day life. Four hours of non-stop drawing zoomed by. It was refreshing chatting to staff, volunteers, members of the public and artist friends who took the trouble to chat while I drew and were so encouraging. One can feel quite vulnerable working in public, but once I focussed on the task ahead, my inhibitions soon left. It was quite a surreal moment however reporting for duty at 10 o'clock to find two of my university tutors already at the museum about to start a meeting. At least they knew I was working!

In researching what other illustrators who have carried out residencies have learnt from their experiences, I found this quote from Alistair Gentry. In an article by Matthew Caines in the Guardian (Caines, Guardian. (2013) Artist-in-Residency Schemes: top ten tips. At: http://www.theguardian.com/culture-professionals-network/culture-professionals-blog/2013/jul/03/artist-in-residence-schemes-top-tips (Accessed on 07.01.2014)

"A residency should be a beginning, not an end. Following one particular residency, I had a 10 year relationship with the venue. I worked with them many times subsequently and they supported me both pragmatically and in more emotional ways. To me this is absolutely a model of what a residency should lead to." Alistair Gentry, artist and writer.

This statement is one I trust will apply to me. The Museum has such strong personal connections, but also the staff have always been so supportive of my ideas. I have worked with them professionally as a writer over the years, endeavouring to promote their exhibitions and events. Hopefully this residency will mark the start a new relationship as an artist.

Today's drawings and the objects that inspired them




Handle of a knife grinder



Kitty swinging on the handle

 

Where the knife gets sharpened!

Kitty is unaware of the danger

Baked clay weight which formed part of the loom

Kitty can't resist a swing!