NEWS + EVENTS
1981-2021 celebrating 40 years of creativity
|
I’m currently creating colourful iPad artworks in my historic old weavers’ cottage art studio on the edge of Barton Farm country park on the tip toe of The Cotswolds. I draw and weave together historic inspiration into colourful contemporary pictures.
I grew up around the corner from Cecil Sharp House, home to the English Folk Dance & Song Society, EFDSS. Cecil Sharp famously collected English and Appalachian folk songs, writing down the words and tunes to prevent their loss from history. From my childhood memory and from my lively family Folk connections I now draw and celebrate all things Folk. MY INTERESTS Folk, folklore, history, HerStory, the oft forgotten, hidden and unwritten folk stories. Local history here in Wiltshire from the poor loom weavers to the famous Georgians of Bath Spa. I live in an 18th century weaver workers’ cottage and I’m following the threads of history back in time. Ancestors of mine worked as poor weavers of silk & cotton. Morris dance hobby horses, fools and beasts. Curious country folk customs and seasonal celebrations. Music, folk ballads and songs to bollywood, opera to world music. Local architecture lowly and small to graciously tall. Nature’s seasons from poor lowly wild flowers quietly clinging to Cotswold stone walls, to tall Tulips in proud massed ranks standing in elegant gardens. Local Farmer’s markets, baskets full of local fresh seasonal produce, colourful, sustainable and plastic free. ...and not forgetting custard, humour is an ever present friend. Pre plastic era history antiques, vintage, retro and curiosities (an ancestor of mine had a “curiosity shop” in London, W1). |
CURRENT CREATIVITY
2021 onwards | My latest creative work updates are on the About page and on my Instagram Art Page - link above.
TEXTILES ARTWEAR
July 2020 | Textiles - wearable art ‘Artwear’
My art images are now printed onto vegan silk squares.
My textiles have previously taken the form of handmade gun tufted rugs sold in the Contemporary Crafts Gallery, Charlotte Street, London W1. Also ‘Millennium’ bedlinen for Heal’s and ‘Oakleaf’ bedlinen for Habitat the international retail chain created by Sir Terence Conran during my seven years working as a Designer at Conran Design Group in London.
My art images are now printed onto vegan silk squares.
My textiles have previously taken the form of handmade gun tufted rugs sold in the Contemporary Crafts Gallery, Charlotte Street, London W1. Also ‘Millennium’ bedlinen for Heal’s and ‘Oakleaf’ bedlinen for Habitat the international retail chain created by Sir Terence Conran during my seven years working as a Designer at Conran Design Group in London.
EXHIBITION
|
October 2020 | Art Exhibition three artworks exhibited in the 6x6 exhibition at Silk Mill, Frome, Somerset.
https://silkmillstudios.co.uk/events/ In association with The Why Gallery, Stony Street, Frome. Charitable cause : the sale of exhibited artworks raised money for free professional counselling by https://www.wehearyou.org.uk/ for children, families and individuals in BANES, Somerset and Wiltshire. |
|
CLOTH ROAD ARTS WEEK
2022 date TBA | Cloth Road Arts Week
https://www.clothroadartists.com/artist/caroline-nisbett/
The Arts Week is an opportunity to view artists’ artwork in their own studios - I’ll be displaying fine art giclée prints and canvases, vegan silk scarves, tapestries and drawings in my weavers’ cottage in Bradford on Avon.
Find participating artists on the Cloth Road Arts Week website and in the brochure available at BoA Tourist Office, Westbury Gardens, BoA, by the town centre medieval bridge. Follow the map in the brochure to find the artist’s studios.
Named ‘Cloth Road’ after the historical weavers of this area. My own art studio was a weaver’s workshop where Georgian era hand loom weavers wove woollen cloth, from 1775 until the huge mechanised weaving mills of the industrial revolution took over.
LOGO DESIGN + BRAND IDENTITY
I’ve designed and drawn many logos often in a calligraphic style. Here are a selection of logos + icons.
I’ve designed and drawn many logos often in a calligraphic style. Here are a selection of logos + icons.
CREATIVE LOCKDOWN
|
Lockdown 2020-21 | Creativity Lockdown caused a “desert island” effect. As the world was put on ‘pause’ for a year, people stayed home. I focused upon my artwork in my cottage studio. A positive side to a global crisis for many creatives. 2020 | volunteered to sew scrubs bags for the NHS PPS protective clothing. 2020 | began my Artwear textiles project. 2021 | creativity continues. |
Covid 20 seconds hand washing technique Here’s information graphics I drew in 2005. This hand washing method commonly used by medical staff became useful during the pandemic. In 2020 at the start of the pandemic my father contacted the BBC via his television contacts and got this method publicised on BBC News online for use by the general public. How the method works: when washing hands, everyone misses parts of the hand surface, this method washes hands thoroughly. Learn it. |
CREATIVE FAMILY
|
|
Wolverton Concertinas | My craftsman son makes traditional acoustic concertinas with handmade reeds and bespoke ergonomic details for folk musicians.
He kindly asked me to draw decorative Oakleaf designs for the sound holes in the end panels and bellows decoration of one of his many models of instruments. This was simply one detail of his much wider work in designing and building beautiful musical instruments of excellent sound quality. He has a waiting list for his much appreciated instruments. Jake Middleton-Metcalfe’s work can be viewed and also heard on his website: https://wolvertonconcertinas.com/advanced-model/ |
|
Alec Nisbett | Author | BBC TV Producer
My father’s latest book, his autobiography, published February 2020, describes his lifetime career of producing 42 Horizon science documentaries. Alec was described as the “quintessential” BBC TV Producer by the Radio Times in their 50th anniversary celebration of Horizon science programmes. His books are available from his Amazon page: http://www.amazon.co.uk/kindle-dbs/author/ref=dbs_a_mng_awm_scns_share%3F_encoding=UTF8&asin=B001HD3WH2 |
|
|
Jean Nisbett | Author
My mother has written eleven books on the Dolls’ House miniatures hobby. Hobbyists and craftspeople work in 1/2th scale and occasionally 1/24th scale. This craft hobby experienced a surge during lockdown. Her books are available from her Amazon page: http://www.amazon.co.uk/kindle-dbs/author/ref=dbs_a_mng_awm_scns_share%3F_encoding=UTF8&asin=B001K80IBM |
|
