Fabrication
Great to see Ribbons coming together at Fish Fabrications! Sam and his team are doing an awesome job of putting together a really complex structure and it looks absolutely stunning. Many thanks to Sam, Pete and Lucy @fishfabrications and Jack @skyhooksengineering. Nearly there! Photos 3-6, 8-9 by @juleslister, photos 1-2, 7 by me
Ribbons website launches
A dedicated website for Ribbons by Leeds Arts University has launched today! It includes a section listing all the 384 women who are included on the sculpture so why not check out if there’s someone on there you know? Or maybe you’re on it yourself?? The website also includes a beautiful essay by Professor […]
Rolling!
I love the fact that my art practice takes me into industries I’ve never ventured into before. This time it’s been with Fereday Cylinders who are using giant hydraulic rollers to roll sections of the Ribbons sculpture. It’s an incredibly technical process that involves shaping 33 x 2m sections which of course are all different. […]
How to make complicated sculptures
Having ideas for artworks is all well and good, but then there’s the reality of actually making the dammed things. Ribbons is a case in point! Such a simple concept and form, but the engineering and fabrication processes required to make an incredibly strong, rigid material (corten steel) look fluid and fluttery are super complicated […]
Ribbons is finally underway!
Five long years after it was commissioned, Ribbons is finally underway! So by way of reminder, Ribbons is a sculpture that will sited at Playhouse Gardens between Leeds City College and Leeds Playhouse and celebrates the achievements of our city’s women. The sculpture comprises of several corten steel ribbons carrying the names of […]
Does public art matter?
The 4×4 talks are back in Leeds after nearly 20 years (can it really be that long??)! For those of you too young to remember, they are events around architecture, urban design, the arts, culture and sustainability where speakers from Leeds and further afield share their thoughts around cities, especially ours. I found them to […]
Museums, Games & Play Summit
Delighted to be speaking at the Museum Next conference on 23-24 October 2023 with the wonderful Rose Mockford from the National Railway Museum. This year’s conference is all about Museums, Games and Play and we’ll be speaking about Play Revolution that was commissioned by the National Railway Museum as part of their new Wonderlab: The […]
Playing out in Cambridge
Join me and Emma from Playful Anywhere at the Playbox which will be touching down in Cambridge in June and July 2023. We’ll be playing out in 2m circles with loads of fun stuff as well as collecting playful memories, fanciful play ideas and signing you up to become a Play Agent! First stop Cambridge […]
Speaking Of Arts podcast
I was very flattered to be invited by the formidable Diamond and Geetha to talk on their podcast series Speaking Of Arts last month. These passionate arts educators believe the arts have a crucial role to play in the education of children worldwide and want to open up a dialogue about how things can be done […]
Exploring the archives at the Railway Museum
As part of the new artwork I’m making for @railwaymuseum I’ve been rummaging through their incredible archives in York: exquisite technical drawings of bridges from the Victorian era, textile samples, train liveries, photographs and marketing materials. All of this research, together with the sessions with @TheSnappyTrust, will inform the shapes and colours I’ll be using […]