Katie Watson Studio Visit

Entering somebody's studio can be like getting a glimpse into their brain. One's studio can be a place for making, experimenting, playing, producing and testing but it can also be a place to contemplate, think and reflect.





When I visited Katie Watson's studio she said that it had been a really good exercise for her to treat my visit as an opportunity to organise her work and form a display of the things she had been working on.





There was an exciting vibe - not an exhibition, but a working process. Some work in progress, some work finished, some research giving an insight into ideas behind the work.



I am drawn to such shapes, patterns, the repetition and the colours within Katie's work. I enjoy the sculptural nature of the paintings as she works on wooden boards rather than canvas. 



Katie is interested in the language of instructions and building. Signage, flat pack instructions, warning and safety notices. She uses the shapes and colours from such things.

 

I couldn't help notice (perhaps because I also am guilty of this) that Katie's use of colour within her work is mirrored in the things around her. Her blue desk lamp alongside the orange mug with blue lid is surprisingly similar in colour to the work on her wall directly above. Art and life really do blur!

Palatre & Leclere Architectes brighten up École Maternelle Pajol

Palatre & Leclere Architectes were given the task of transforming a rundown pre-school in Paris’s 18th arrondissement.

Mission accomplished - rainbow colours wash through the building, from its exterior and into the classrooms, whilst playground games are seamlessly integrated into the bold public art of its façade.

It is a great example of what can be achieved with imagination. Lets hope that it leads to many other commissions of this type. After all, a 2009 study at the University of Essex showed that memory, mental agility, reaction times and even physical strength improved when exposed to sunflowers, rainbows and other what-nots.