Corsham Studio
In July this year, Anna Bisset showed her work with Photographer Paul Tucker and Corsham Studio Artists in their garden studio in Walthamstow, East London.
At this year’s E17 Art Trail, in July 2021, their work, an exciting selection of painting, drawing, photography, printmaking, sculpture, stone-carving, ceramics and glass painting, was shown. Over three weekends, visitors to the trail could come in and view the work in the studio and garden, relaxing in the peaceful atmosphere. All work was for sale, including Guy Thomas’s steel sculptures which were installed amongst the garden plants. You can take a walk around the panoramic photo by clicking on the buttons in the top left of the image. This shows the interior of the studio with works in place. Some of these works can be seen in more detail in the Instagram feed, Corsham Studio Artists, and in the animated sequence of work below it.
I will be taking part in the E17 Art Trail this year.
Here is the link to the Art Trail website where you will see the 2021 Trail Map and info about other events taking place: https://e17arttrail.co.uk/
Please go to https://www.instagram.com/corshamstudio/ to follow us on Instagram. This painting is one of 6 watercolours entitled “Rule of Six”, relating to the restrictions we have under-gone during this pandemic.
I also produced a 4-colour screen print which will be on sale at the show in an edition of 45.
I painted the figures freely, allowing the medium to spread and flow to the extent that I was almost losing control of the image. Some of the blending and merging of colour lead to a disintegration or distortion of the image which I felt at the time represented the confusion and disorientation of life during Covid. It made me think about how fragile life is and how easily it can be damaged and destroyed like some of the faces and forms in this painting. The watercolours were followed by a silk-screen print which produced the image in an edition of 45, which can be seen at venue 145. This method subjects the image to a series of technical processes and although it is still recognisable, the new flat shapes hint at a possible future which may be very different from our own.
All of the artists in this show met at Bath Academy of Art, when it was situated in Corsham, Wiltshire and before the college merged with Bath College of Higher Education, which later became Bath Spa University. Since college, we have all continued to work in the arts or continued to produce work regularly and we have kept in touch as friends. In 2012, we got together to have a show of work at the Tokarska Gallery in Walthamstow, E17. Stephen Clarke wrote an essay about the work and in it he explained how significant it was for us as a group to remain in touch – he talked about how, at art college, artists are taught by artists and how this lineage links us to the history of art. “It is a vertical chronology stretching back in time”.
Alongside our tutors at art college, we also have our fellow students. Clarke explains how we learn from them, from their work and their example too: “It is easy to label this as mere influence but in both cases, tutor to student and student to student, it is more a matter of dialogue. This dialogue does not end with college, it can last many years as can be seen with this group…”
He goes on to note that although the work is diverse, all the work is developed in the studio from practical making, rather than from intellectual endeavour, although there is some of this too. We continue to work and exhibit in London and elsewhere, pursuing our ideas individually and together. We hope you enjoy the show.
Stephen Clarke is a lecturer in Art and Design: Critical and Contextual Studies at the University of Chester. His essay “Corsham Reformed” can be read in the link below:
Steve-Clarkes-text-for-Corsham-Reformed.pdf