Pre-order your limited edition NewBridge Project Community tea towel

The NewBridge Project community tea towels are now being printed and should be with us in about 2 weeks. They will be sold at NewBridge Bookshop at a very reasonable price of £5 each. A limited edition of 100 tea towels will be printed. We expect them to disappear quickly so we are taking orders now. 

If you would like to see a hard copy proof of the tea towel, there are A3 print outs on the tea trolley at NewBridge Books. Please note that the tea towels will be larger that A3.

--> fb.me/Raiseamug
If you would like to preorder one or more tea towels, please visit our facebook page and send us a message detailing
1. your name
2. your email address
3. how many tea towels you would like

Alternatively you can pop into the bookshop at NewBridge and ask a member of staff to add you onto the tea towel pre order list.

Once the tea towels have arrived we will then send you an email with collection details. We can post them to you, but will there will be an added postage fee.

Hot Toddy from the Tea Trolley tonight at NewBridge - 6-9pm

Escape from the cold and enter the warmth of NewBridge with a Hot Toddy from our tea trolley and a preview of the Moving on up, Moving on out exhibition.

You will also be able to see a mock up version of the NewBridge community tea towel featuring over 45 drawings of, and by, the NewBridge community, and we'll be taking pre-orders so you can be sure not to miss out on purchasing one of these limited edition artworks. They are currently at the printers, but should be here in about 2 weeks! At a price of £5 per tea towel, you can't go wrong!

It's looking like we will be based in the NewBridge Bookshop so be sure to pop in. Looking forward to seeing you in a few hours. The bookshop will have a studio plan that is part monument, part model and part mind map, designed by studio member David Lisser, which will begin evolving on the launch night, with people and studio members contributing to the structure and web of networks and friendships.

Thanks to all who contributed to the NewBridge Community tea towel

Over the past few weeks Holly Wheeler and I have been gathering drawings of, and from, members of the NewBridge community for inclusion on the NewBridge community tea towel that we are creating. There has been an incredible response from over 45 artists. The illustrations range from cartoon style line drawings to detailed studies of the human form and the occasional abstract representations. 

We would like to thank the following artists for participating in our project and submitting a drawing to be included on the tea towel:

Aaron Guy

Adam Goodwin

Arnaud Moinet

Bailey (the dog)

Charlie Gregory

Clare Gomez

David Foggo

Dean Crawford

Eddy Robinson

Edmund English

Edwin Li

Hannah Kirkham

Hannah Marsden

Harry

Helen Shaddock

Holly Wheeler

Jackson + Pete

Jade Sweeting

Janina

Jessie Jacobs

Jo Hislop

Joe Shaw

Julia Heslop

Juliet Fleming

Katy Cole

Kuba

Lesley Anne Rose

Louie Pegna

Louise Mackenzie

Luke Mullen

Maria Abbott

Martin Kellett

Matthew Pickering

Neil Armstrong

Nick Kennedy

Olivia Turner

Ollie Doe

Paul Raymond

Rachael Clewlow

Rebecca Huggan

Rosie Morris

Roxie Watson

Sabina Sallis

Seb Trend

Taryn Edmonds

Toby Phips Lloyd

Wunderbar

Zoe Molloy

Moving on Up, Moving on Out at NewBridge - Friday 3rd February, 6-9pm

Moving on Up, Moving on Out Launch Event
Friday 3 February, 6-9pm

Join us to celebrate the launch of Moving on Up, Moving on Out, the last ever exhibition launch in the NewBridge Project Space and Bookshop.

The exhibition will be changed and re-curated by artist members throughout the evening, with performances from studio members, including a poetry reading by Greyscale.

We will be serving hot toddies from our tea trolley on the opening night.

The bookshop will have a studio plan that is part monument, part model and part mind map, designed by studio member David Lisser, which will begin evolving on the launch night, with people and studio members contributing to the structure and web of networks and friendships.

http://thenewbridgeproject.com/events/moving-on-up-launch-event/

Last chance to be on the NewBridge community tea towel

Thanks to everyone who has submitted a drawing for the NewBridge community tea towel. Holly and I are incredibly pleased that so many people have contributed. The drawings range from detailed portraits, to cartoon versions, to abstract representations of the artist. By the looks of things, its going to be a masterpiece of a tea towel.

If you have not sent us a image, but are keen to take part, you have until 12pm midday today (Sunday 29th January) to send us an email or facebook message with your drawing. We will be spending the rest of the day scanning the artworks, formatting the drawings and then designing the tea towel so it is ready to be sent off to the printers on Monday morning. 

We are very excited to see all the drawings come together, and will continue to report on progress here, so keep your eyes on the look out.

https://www.facebook.com/Raiseamug/

Less than 48 hours to submit your drawing for the NewBridge community tea towel

With the deadline looming and there being less than 48 hours to submit your drawing for the NewBridge community tea towel, its great to see a flurry of drawings being sent to us or posted into the collection box.

Digital drawings accepted for the NewBridge community tea towel

If you are struggling to come into the NewBridge Studios to pop your drawing into the box for the tea towel, do not panic, you can send it to us digitally.

Our first Mr and Mrs for the tea towel

Our four legged friend will make an appearance

Bailey, the NewBridge dog has a place on the tea towel.

Caught in the act of drawing

With less than a week to go until the deadline for drawings for the NewBridge community tea towel, the NewBridge art community in Newcastle, around the UK and further afield are busy working on and sending us their drawings. 

Keep them coming!

Just below the bang bang - Mark Joshua Epstein - Vane, Newcastle

"Mark Joshua Epstein explores a sense of the baroque through the lens of exuberant abstraction. Inherent in the paintings is a kind of dandy-aesthetic, as Epstein investigates modes for thinking about sexuality, uncoupled from its traditional association with corporeal desire. These works play with obfuscation and revealing, while teetering on the edge of taste. Colours are amped up, patterns delivered through the imperfect marks of the artist’s hand.

The title refers to a remark by British-Iranian journalist Christiane Amanpour on Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs. While discussing her work as a war correspondent, she explains that to survive, one must inhabit the space “just below the bang bang” – or, just below the gunfire. Within this idea Epstein sees a metaphor for the formal decisions in his own work, lurking just below the threat of disaster, nearly falling apart at a moment's notice. The forms in these works are piled, butted up against, leaning on – structures always on the verge of toppling over.

The metaphor grows with the current American political situation, in which the margin has rapidly become a more dangerous place to dwell. Suddenly questions arise about what kinds of lives will need to be lived in the shadows as threats to minority groups like the LGBTQ community escalate. 

There is gayness lurking in Epstein’s recent abstract compositions. Unlike say, the hanky code, where a single colour denotes a particular sexual proclivity, his works are meant to be looked at for their combinations of colours – for their discordant colour stories, to borrow a phrase from fashion. He is far less interested in hues or patterns in isolation than he is in these elements forced together – layered, interrupted, obfuscated and otherwise occupying the same spaces. The work says to the viewer, take these elements together, or not at all.

The things Epstein makes are inspired by the revered and the crass – by the titans of geometric abstraction and by the cheap plastic tablecloths sold by the yard at dollar stores. In his studio practice there is no distinction between capital ‘A’ art, with its authoritarian stamp, and mass-produced (and mass-consumed) design, with its anonymous creators never getting to claim credit. The work celebrates all of it."

http://vane.org.uk/exhibitions/just-below-the-bang-bang

In times of need

EVERYTHING_WILL_BE_ALRIGHT_AUDIO from Helen Shaddock on Vimeo.

Recognise this face?

(Part of) another addition to the NewBridge community tea towel. 

NewBridge community tea towel - guess who!

I was delighted to open the NewBridge community tea towel box tonight and find another drawing to be added to the tea towel. Can you guess who drew this?

For more information about Raise a Mug, please visit

https://www.facebook.com/Raiseamug/

Deadline extended - contributions to NewBridge community tea towel now due Saturday 28th January

As you know, I am working with Holly Wheeler on an artwork called Raise a mug which will be part of the last ever NewBridge Projects exhibition throughout the month of February.

We are producing a NewBridge tea towel featuring drawings of those in the NewBridge community - studio holders, past studio holders, members, staff, volunteers, exhibitors, and all those who are, and have been part of NewBridge.

If you are one of the above, we would really like for you to be included on the tea towel, and hope that you want to contribute.

All we need is a black and white line drawing of 'yourself', on white paper, occupying a space no bigger than 5cm x 5cm. Please include your name with the design. If you'd rather do a drawing of someone else in the NewBridge community, go ahead, but get don't forget to ask someone to draw you too!

You can leave the drawing in the box in the PMP Space on the 1st floor of NewBridge, pop it under my studio door on level 2, give it to us in person, leave it at the office, or post it to the NewBridge office. 

We have extended the deadline to 5pm on Saturday 28th January.

The tea towel will be for sale in the NewBridge bookshop. By the looks of the contributions so far, it will be a masterpiece!

We look forward to receiving your drawing.

I submitted my drawing today. You will have to wait for the finished tea towel to see the full image, but here is a sneaky preview.

'Hold Tight' - Mark Joshua Epstein and Stina Puotinen at Vane

"In ‘Hold Tight’, Mark Joshua Epstein and Stina Puotinen invite the viewer in for a shared experience in response to recent political events in the US and UK. 

The installation they have created references both the physical space of the waiting room and the often anxious sensation of waiting. A world away from the neutral colours and decor we associate with institutional waiting rooms, Puotinen and Epstein have instead created a visually dynamic space, where the familiar is rendered unfamiliar. 

A space where the organic is synthetic, where innocuous patterns are in fact drawn from the security industry, and where a nostalgic feel-good poster has been updated for this era. 

As the title implies, the artists aim to expose and highlight this act of waiting, a sense that this time of collectively held breath thrust upon us by forces outside of our control doesn’t have to be borne in isolation. Puotinen and Epstein implore the viewer: hold tight to yourself, hold tight to your beliefs and hold tight to each other."

For more information visit 

http://vane.org.uk/exhibitions/hold-tight

Raise A Mug research - My first school tea towel

It is often the case that at times of significance, a commemorative tea towel is made. This is no exception for the NewBridge community tea towel, as it is being made at this landmark stage in the organisations existence. As we move from the premises on NewBridge Street West, we are giving all those involved in this amazing group, the opportunity to be featured on the NewBridge Community tea towel. These limited edition artworks will be for sale in the NewBridge Bookshop, and word in the studios is that its the essential buy of 2017!

I've hunted out my first school tea towel as a source of inspiration. Do I really have such big ears?!

The Drone Ensemble play in UnEarth II at Alphabetti Theatre on Saturday 14th January 2017

A night of experimental music from the North

When: Saturday 14th January 2017
Show begins: 7:30pm 
Tickets: £5 from:  https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/event/162197 or on the door
Age recommendation: 18+

UnEarth, presented by TOC (The Occasion Collective) will be the second of a series of experimental music events at Alphabetti Theatre, showcasing some of the North’s experimental and electronic musicians from the fields of coding, improvisation and more.

A special late licence has been arranged so the music can continue until 2am!

Line-up:

Cooking with Faye

A Newcastle based improvisation ensemble, creating spontaneous soundscapes and beats. The band is made up of electronics, sax + collaborators.

Some Some Unicorn

Some Some Unicorn has evolved from an online collaborative project into a free flowing collective of improvising musicians, poets and artists who value shared experience and community.

The Drone Ensemble

The Drone Ensemble are an experimental sound group that design, make and combine installation and performance on unique sound instruments. The simple form of a drone ignites a capacity for a sound­scape that, during performance, allows freedom from rigid harmonic and rhythmic progression. 

Unfortunately I wont be able to play as I am at work, but if Monday's rehearsals are anything to go by, it is set to be a great night, so go along and enjoy!

The Hepworth Prize for Sculpture - Phyllida Barlow

Anyone who read my postgraduate dissertation will recall that I have a fondness for the work of Phyllida Barlow, and once again, she does not disappoint. Barlow's work is on the cusp of sculpture and installation. The viewer can stand back and admire the sculpture or can enter into the work, walking amongst the rough concrete pillars.

Although this work has been exhibited before in Des Moines, Iowa, Barlow has obviously put a lot of thought and planning into how it can be re-exhibited in The Hepworth as it responds to and commands the architecture of the Gallery. Moving around is an adventure, and one is continuously changing their understanding of the work as different elements are revealed and new aspects discovered. For instance, once I had scrambled through the structure, I was surprised to be faced with a stunning array of coloured boards that formed the roof of the structure I was just moving through. Out of the darkness I found brightness from these 'roof tiles'. 

In one corner of the gallery a number of right-angled boards lead up the wall, bringing ones attention back into the gallery. 

A bundle of black cables hangs in the opposite corner. The friend that I am visiting with thinks it resembles a sun, but I am less convinced. There is already lots to take in, and I do not think any more is necessary.

Raise a mug have just received our first submission for the NewBridge tea towel

Raise a mug are asking for members of the NewBridge community to a submit black and white image (no larger than 5cm x 5cm) of themselves to be included on the NewBridge community tea towel. Please include your name within the design.

We've just received our first drawing and it is AWESOME!

Can you guess who it is from this small section?

You'll be able to find out when the tea towels have been printed.

In the meanwhile, please submit your own drawings - deadline is 5pm on Saturday 21st January

The Hepworth Prize for Sculpture - David Madalla

It is fair to describe David Medalla's practice as varied and expansive. In his 70 year career, the work he has made includes painting, sculpture, participatory work, kinetic art, installation and performance. The different works presented in this exhibition are a good representation of his multidisciplinary approach.

For the exhibition at The Hepworth Gallery, Medalla exhibits one of his so called Auto Creative Sculptures, Cloud Canyons.

Cloud Canyons consists of a number of clear plastic pipes standing in a circular plinth. Foam is forced up and out of the tubes, and as the foam rises, it doubles back on itself and falls down the tubes and the cycle begins again. I find it mesmerizing; rather like watching flames in an open fire. The natural rhythm and movement of nature.



I find the work in the other room far less engaging. Medalla invites the audience to contribute to A Stitch In Time, another work from the sixties that Medalla is exhibiting at The Hepworth. Fabric is suspended in the gallery, and visitors are encouraged to sew any items they wish to onto the fabric. As is often the case with such participatory work, we are left viewing an accumulation of rubbish, used train tickets, shopping lists and chocolate bar wrappers. Surely we've moved beyond this kind of work.

David Medalla, Sand Machine, 1963/2015 from Venus Over Manhattan on Vimeo.


http://www.hepworthwakefield.org/about/hepworth-prize-for-sculpture/the-hepworth-prize-for-sculpture-shortlist-david-medalla/

https://www.a-n.co.uk/news/pictures-of-the-hepworth-prize-for-sculpture-exhibition

http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/david-medalla-7213

The Hepworth Prize for Sculpture - Helen Marten

Having only seen Helen Marten's work in image form as opposed to the actual thing, I was curious and excited to get to experience it first hand. 

Marten's use of an eclectic mix of materials appeals to me, and I enjoy the way in which she forms relationships between seemingly unconnected objects and surfaces. Materials used in her work on display at The Hepworth Gallery include a tennis ball, dried vegetables, wood, steel, screenprinted leather and fired clay.

Read more at:

http://www.hepworthwakefield.org/news/helen-marten-wins-the-first-hepworth-prize-for-sculpture/

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/nov/17/helen-marten-wins-hepworth-prize-for-sculpture

https://www.a-n.co.uk/news/helen-marten-wins-inaugural-hepworth-prize-for-sculpture