More of Art in the Pen at Skipton

Hello. That's better, I feel refreshed after the long day yesterday. Chatting to like minded people at the Art exhibition has fired me up to get on with my own arty stuff. I wish there were more art events in my area, but they are few and far between, so I have to travel. I shall put this one in my diary for next year, and who knows, I may even exhibit. 

When I arrived I was like a kid in a sweet shop, it took me ages to get down the first aisle because I was chatting to everyone. The exhibitors were a friendly bunch, answering my questions and willing to share snippets of their lives. Ooooh, I am nosey, ha ha. This lovely lady goes by the name of Nanny Lynn. I just had to ask her about her felted hair. Isn't in amazing. She had it done at Glastonbury and the process took ages. She loves it, I think it goes perfectly with her business. She is a spinner, dyer, and felt maker from Bolton, Lancashire. She offers talks to groups, group and individual tuition. We had a hoot, she is full of fun.

Some of the things she makes. Her Facebook page is regularly updated, take a look if you are into all things felt.

It was the unusual materials which made me look at this stall, plus the unique name of her business, Hanging by a Fred. Looking closely at the colourful bowls and jewelry, they are made with redundant climbing rope, which used to belong to her father. There are very stringent regulations regarding the strength of climbing rope, and once it has been compromised the whole rope will have to be discarded. Freddie has found a way of upcycling it, in an amazing way. She makes coiled rope bowls, pet accessories, jewelry, and woven mats. Take a look at her web site for more details.

As I was searching for the unusual and unique crafts, I came across this smiley man. I couldn't quite work out what materials he had used to create his art, so I had to ask. Richard is a picture framer, but he was here with his very unusual arty sculptures. He uses reclaimed wood, and stator plates. I've just had to look up what a stator is. It's the stationary part of an electrical generator or motor. Basically a small piece of flat metal which he bends into all kinds of shapes and painstakingly attaches them to chunks of old worn wood. I do believe that his art is totally unique, I've not seen anyone else do this with scrap metal. If you want to learn more about his work, take a look at his web site.

And the last artist I am featuring here is Mathew. Unfortunately I was so intrigued by his work that I forgot to take a photo of him. Sorry Mathew. He is a very personable young man with a massive talent.

Think of a map of a city or town, not a conventional map with symbols, but one with pictures of important buildings depicting the history of the place. Then imagine that all these buildings are piled on top of each other in a tower, and this is what Mathew does. Pretty amazing I think you'll agree. Apologies about the quality of my photo's, some reflections of the lights in the glass. I suggest you look at his web site to see the extent of his artistic talent. I love the pictures of the muck spreaders, quirky and very amusing.

A couple more snaps, colourful stalls always attract me.

And that concludes my visit to Art in the Pen. Now back to my own needle felting picture. It's coming along nicely.
Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip