Fiona Campbell is embracing life through her art

Fiona Campbell is embracing a wave of creativity in her locality.

Fiona's just returned from Kenya laden with various interesting pieces of flotsam and jetsam, sketches and ideas for new work and she's just finished the first of a series of new installations inspired by the extraordinary sea life, hairy crabs, sand-filled crab sacs and strange, exotic plant life she saw in Mombasa."

Recent floods have put Somerset in the headlines though Fiona believes that Somerset is also notable for its thriving creative community and great art is flooding out of Somerset.

Braving more rain and cold winds this January, Fiona (with the help of friend and fellow maker Nick Weaver) installed her tallest work to date – a 6 metre wiry Tendril writhing heavenwards up a pole and above the entrance canopy of Sidcot Arts Centre. Tendril, accompanied by her Man and Nest pieces forms the first in a new outdoor artist programme at the Centre, run by Georgina Micklethwaite. Created out of recycled steel and copper wires, these three pieces will be on show from 1st Feb until the end of July.

Fiona will also be showing more work in their amazing light indoor space for a group exhibition “Of Form and Texture“, which runs 22nd March – 26th April ‘14.

ContainsArt have selected Fiona’s work for one of their series of summer ‘Voyages’ exhibitions. “I will be creating some new large sculptural pieces based on sea life using scrap found in the locality (especially the boatyard), as a site-specific installation for their innovative shipping container/gallery spaces at Watchet harbour”. Alongside a community workshop, her installations can be seen from 4th – 15th June, open Wed – Sun.

Other forthcoming exhibitions include Showborough Sculpture Exhibition, Twyning, GL20 6DN 25th April – 15th June; Art Parks International Sculpture Show, St. Martin, Guernsey GY4 6SG in May; Glastonbury Abbey Sculpture Trail in the Summer and Somerset Open Studios ‘14. This event focuses on individual artists in their working environment and Fiona’s work will be displayed in her lovely spacious cottage garden and historic Laundry-converted-to-Studio in Cranmore from 20th Sept – 5th Oct. She will be sharing her venue and collaborating with Nick Weaver, whose elegant, functional wood pieces compliment her metal structures.

In Fiona’s new role as East Mendip Rep for Somerset Art Works Fiona is planning a Quarry Sculpture Trail in Somerset for 2015, tied in with community engagement. She will also be involved in a “Dancing Cranes” project this spring (at All Hallows Prep School, where she teaches extra curricular art), linked to the Great Crane Project.

Fiona’s sculptures are increasing in size and reputation. Last year, she installed some very impressive site-specific pieces, the largest being 7 metres in diameter. Made of recycled materials, they were displayed in a Somerset garden (Esotera) as part of the SAW/NGS Abundance Art/Garden Trail (’13). Her theme for this work was ‘Garden of Eden’ with inspiration from beautiful, prolific lichens growing on the garden's trees. A book about the work “Abundance – Art in the Garden” will be published in March.

As a Green Capital Artist-in-Residence for Bristol’s Big Green Week (’12), Fiona’s work included giant floating sculptures in the harbour beside the Arnolfini, alongside an exhibition and workshops she ran at the Arnolfini with the community.

Last Autumn Richard Tomlinson of Somerset Film, made a short film about Fiona’s work entitled ‘Common Threads’ as part of the Ignite Somerset Project. This has now been published online (see link). Fiona’s work can also be viewed on her website: www.fionacampbellart.co.uk

Votes: 0
E-mail me when people leave their comments –

You need to be a member of Landscape Juice Network to add comments!

Join Landscape Juice Network

Open forum activity

Mjc replied to Gary Etherington's discussion Start up business machines?
"I just bought a new 476 hy as a local dealer had them at £954 inc. Used it on two lawns today, one had quite thick grass. Seems to be very good. Excellent mulching, nice to operate, (well balanced and not too heavy) with a good range of drive…"
8 hours ago
Billybop replied to Richard's discussion Battery strimmer/blower/kombi?
"nice one yes I find the virtual complete lack of maintenance required on the battery kit very convenient, hedge trimmers need a bit of sharpening resin removal and greasing, mowers just a blade sharpen or change, strimmers just require strimmer line…"
11 hours ago
Acacia Groundcare Hire updated their profile
14 hours ago
My Garden Design posted a blog post
Every landscaping project should have a good, well thought out garden design from the outset. It forms the basis of quote, your workflow documents, your health and safety strategy and most of your customer communications. But what if creating layout…
17 hours ago
Calcutta D is now a member of Landscape Juice Network
22 hours ago
Richard replied to Richard's discussion Battery strimmer/blower/kombi?
"I'd love to go all battery in the future, and like you say batteries are very expensive. I think I'm going to go with stilh 545 petrol mower and I'm looking at echo and ego stuff. Thanks again."
yesterday
Robbie posted a blog post
yesterday
Billybop replied to Richard's discussion Battery strimmer/blower/kombi?
"I use only battery mowers these days also (a big investment in batteries there), been giving horrible wet lawns full of moss first cuts this week, mostly with my Stihl battery mower as they have good wet pick up compared to a lot of cordless…"
yesterday
Richard replied to Richard's discussion Battery strimmer/blower/kombi?
"Thanks for the comment billypop I've been interested in the battery side of things for a while, and battery led tools are so much better than y they used to be.  I'm also looking for a 4 wheeled mower but definitely need petrol for that for my…"
yesterday
Billybop replied to Richard's discussion Battery strimmer/blower/kombi?
"Hi I pretty much only use battery kit, have never owned any type of Kombi system personally as I prefer the stand alone tools. Mostly use a Stihl FSA85 battery strimmer for the neat type of regular lawn edges etc. (I have bigger more powerful ones…"
yesterday
Richard posted a discussion
Hi all Im looking for some recommendations please. Looking to buy a strimmer and a blower, I'm really liking the idea of going battery powered. I run a very small grass cutting buisness and I don't know weather just to go and get a kombi system? Any…
yesterday
Peter sellers replied to Gary Etherington's discussion Start up business machines?
"The 536 has so called smart drive forward speed controls on the handle bars, nothing smart about them, difficult to maintain a constant speed especially on bumpy lawns. You may get on ok with them, we couldn"t. I would try one out before committing,…"
yesterday
Gary Etherington replied to Gary Etherington's discussion Start up business machines?
"Thanks for the replies chaps,
the kit I'm swinging toward is
hrn 536 vy (800-900 quid)
stihl km94 rc e (350 quid)
strimmer and blower attachments (170 each)
 
leaves roughly 4-500 quid of the machinery budget to play with.
as for my farm and…"
yesterday
James King replied to James King's discussion John Deere Z530 Vs Z545 - HELP?
"Thanks, Vic. I know you're a big fan of the John Deere. Based on your previous advice, that's why I was looking at the 530 with the option of mulching. As I said, I was all set up for this until I saw the 545. From the engineering perspective, the…"
yesterday
Mjc replied to Gary Etherington's discussion Start up business machines?
"If I could only have one mower it would be a honda izy. Good value and bomb proof engines. The Toro recycler mowers are good for the price but in my experience pretty poor in damp/ wet conditions. Could be worth asking your local dealer if they've…"
yesterday
Vic 575 replied to James King's discussion John Deere Z530 Vs Z545 - HELP?
"I have a John Deere 535m. I have owned it for six years. I have the mulch kit fitted. I did though use it for the first season without the mulching kit, as side discharge only.
The difference in the finished appearance between mulching and side…"
Saturday
More…

Battery strimmer/blower/kombi?

Hi all Im looking for some recommendations please. Looking to buy a strimmer and a blower, I'm really liking the idea of going battery powered. I run a very small grass cutting buisness and I don't know weather just to go and get a kombi system? Any…

Read more…
5 Replies · Reply by Billybop 11 hours ago
Views: 118