Desperate Artwives night out ♥

Hello everyone,

Here are some pictures from the Desperate Artwives Christmas reunion and our wonderful Secret Art Santa! (Sorry in advance to some of the artists as I couldn't cover each and every single artwork).

The below piece was made by Chloe Bowles. Chloe's work consisted of a kids orange play dough container inside which is a web address and a password. Sharon Reeve's picked it out of the big Tesco bag that I used as my Santa sack. It was very intriguing and mysterious and we only found out what it was a couple of days later when Sharon sent an email revealing its identity. Sharon wrote "I was bemused! I was intrigued! And I was rewarded with the most beautiful image from the virtual Dropbox world!... It really is gorgeous to look at and is now my desktop wallpaper - giving a lovely glow to all the windows I open on top of it. It's a seductive spiral in a sultry sunrise and I love it."

Chloe Bowles 2014 ©

Chloe Bowles picked Louise Nevett's collage. Chloe - "I was thrilled with this striking black and white image created by Louise. It reminded me of my daughter giving up her violin lessons this year, despite my best efforts, Maya refused to continue - and her determination seems echoed by the confident and challenging stare of Man Ray's model in this picture, as if she is saying 'it's my life, and I'll live it how I choose!' (also reinforced by the 'fight the power' style fist!). A powerful, evocative piece that for me speaks of the strength of a woman - and a daughter too!"

Louise Nevett 2014 ©

Sharon Reeves 2014 ©

Esther Geis holding Amy Dignam's 'Golden time' paint and gold leaf- Amy Dignam holding Esther Geis' 'Alice in Yogaland', paint on paper- Karen Barnett holding Juliet Guiness' 'Fixing Fontana', Stitches on canvas

Karen Barnett picked Juliet Guiness' 'Fixing Fontana' work. 'Fixing Fontana' is a little canvas with a vertical cut in it (reminiscent of Lucio Fontana's spatial concept). Juliet tried to fix the incision by applying surgically precise stitches running up, down and sideways on the canvas. Karen said "I think it's beautiful,leaf like, precious and intimate which is open to interpretation of either... Today as I write this my daughter is 20 and I'm reflecting on her birth so as I look at this it has those conertations too, stitching and darning both linked with birth and motherhood. The pieces that I've exhibited with Desperate Artwives have all been with stitch so I feel very privileged that the only stitched piece in the secret Santa found its way to me."

Me and Esther Geis picked each others artwork. Esther made a beautiful sketch taken from her 'Alice in Yogaland' series. It is completed in purple, pink and white paint. Alice's head is the subject; surrounded by intricate doodles that remind me of reaching out but at the same time also sheltering her. Esther described my work 'Golden Time'(made with black paint and gold leaf)like a moment in the sun where childlike naiveté and adult seriousness meet but somehow don't contradict. Thank you!

Thanks for all the DAWs for coming over and making it a very enjoyable and interesting evening. More to come!

DAW Selfie 2014

The ever so late 'next post' - Back to square one ♥

After a long pause here I am again. It's been a long summer and with two successful exhibitions in March and April behind me things have gone a little quiet. So back to square one - Looking around me using 'my everyday' and my children's never ending creativity to get back to work. Only a couple of days ago my little Dakota came back home from nursery with this beautiful hedgehog sculpture. 

Not only is this hedgehog an incredibly beautiful and intriguing piece but it also reminds me of how simple it is to direct my imagination towards that place in my brain where everything becomes conceptual art. Yes, I still wish I had a studio to go to when creativity strikes but it's ok, I'm back to square one now - looking around me and searching for inspiration. In the past couple of months I looked everywhere for it to then find it again right here, in my kitchen sink. Watch this space! 

Sink Poem Amy Dignam 2014 ©

Pink bath ♥

Amy Dignam 2014 ©

We're going on a bear hunt - revisited ♥

'We're going on a bear hunt - Revisited' Work in Progress  June 2014

Amy Dignam © 2014

Mercedes Ferrari ♥

During the search for new artists for my recent Desperate Artwives exhibition at the Crypt gallery, I came across Mercedes Ferrari. 

Mercedes Ferrari's work is composed of sculpture, drawing, video and performance. Packed with humour and energy, Mercedes' work explores human behaviour and relationships with the domestic space. Using readymade materials and traditional objects, she assembles them together transforming them into unique installations with a universal meaning. 

Her human-like creatures are often shaped as the human female body. With this, Mercedes attempts to deconstruct the social stereotyping of women, such as the objectification of women as domestic fixtures and mothers.

In her work - full of different patterns and colours -  she not only challenges her own sculptural language but also tests our sense of humour touching, on the tragicomedy of daily life. 

Works such as 'La Mujerzuela(The Floozy)', 'The Female Peg' and 'Memories as an Object' really stand out for me because of their simplicity in the making but nonetheless incredibly significant in their intent. 

'La Mujerzuela' was selected for the show at the Crypt gallery. I have to be honest and say I couldn't keep my face straight in front of it. Its bizarre nature makes fun of women and subsequently I could not help laughing at myself. Much more seriously, 'La Mujerzuela' underlines issues with the female body, often seen as a commodity without taking into consideration the personality or dignity. 

Mercedes is a masters graduate from the University of Brighton.

'La Mujerzuela(The Floozy)', lampshades sculpture, 2013

'The female peg, like a 24hrs shop ready to serve',  pencil and peg, 2010

'Memory as an object', mixed media, 2012

Amy Dignam © 2014 

Latest ♥

This is the last week to go and see a few pieces of my work showing in two different galleries in London. 

'Housewife Essentials', 'Golden Dinosaur' and 'Golden Building Block' are exhibiting as part of the 'Wall of Gold' at Cultivate Evolved gallery in Vyner Street, East London. Cultivate Evolved is a quirky little gallery run by eight artists that "use the space as a permanent base to show (and sell) work, as well as to experiment, create, interact and generally use the corner room in a rather refreshing way". 

The other exhibition where you can find my work is 'Down to Earth(with the fairies)' at the W3 gallery in Acton. In there you can find a selection of digital photographs from my 'Monster Mum' series. 

Both exhibitions end this Sunday the 1st of June.

For more info get in touch at amyf.dignam@gmail.com

Amy Dignam © 2014

5 Gold Rings by Slavka Jovanović ♥

So I unlocked my creative box in 2004 - to mark the launch of son number 2 into primary school. My job was done in getting him through his infancy, and son number 1 was well entrenched in the education system. This left me with a little time on my hands to start getting messy and to start thinking arty. Up until this point life had been full of the joys of supporting others to make work (in my "proper" job) and being a domestic goddess at home. Both of which had their creative moments but neither were able to hit my own creative spot.

The key was to return to college and throw myself in to the pot. After an emotional start (my father died 2 weeks before the course started) I soon got into the swing of things, and those 3 hours a week became my sanctuary.  I was encouraged to let go of convention, to lose control, to think poetically and to experiment with any materials I could lay my hands on - rice, lace, wire wool, sand, icing sugar, bacon....anything!  Little by little I learnt to let go and let loose. 

I was Artist-In-Training from 2004-2007, emerging fully in 2008 with my first exhibition.  One that I co-curated with my friend and fellow artist Wendy Haslam, under the name of Domestic Blitz. It was a group show of 7 women artists and a great success.  It was the first time I showed the installation “Broken” – a dining table full of broken crockery and glassware, painstakingly stuck back together again.

Following this outpouring, domestic life took over again, and I lay dormant for several years.  Fortunately finally escaping to the far west (Dorset!) and spending a week with Forkbeard Fantasy making animations and experimenting with all things puppety!  After a furious feast of creativity I came home with 2 animation films and ideas for the next step.

Roll on 2012 – year of the London Olympics and 3 exhibitions on my part.  What a triumph!  Thanks to Desperate Artwives (and Amy Dignam) I got to show “Broken” again, as well as a new installation “Falling Apart and Keeping it Together at the Same Time”.  This is an animation film viewed through the kitchen window of a doll’s house.  It shows the monotony of daily life as a housewife and the gradual unravelling of our heroine (pictured here uttering the famous lines. “I’m fine….no, really, I’m fine”, as her world collapses around her). 

Following the high of 2012, I found myself in the creative desert again as real life consumed me once more.  I had a head full of ideas and no time to carry them out.  I briefly shared a studio space but found I just couldn’t get there, due to home, child and work commitments.  My creativity consisted of making the table look nice (a peculiar obsession of mine) and taking photos of cappuccino froth!  As Louise Bourgeois said,  "It is not so much where my motivation comes from but rather how it manages to survive".  The funny thing is that you think you’re not motivated and you think you’re not being creative and yet you are, all the time.  From the way you put the food on the plate, to the colour of flowers you buy, or how you arrange the cushions on the sofa.  Many of us make art far more than we are given credit for. 

However, I still feel frustrated that I am not making art in an “arty” way.  I’m so cross with myself that it actually prevents me from seeing what I AM doing.  Barbara Hepworth made a point of working creatively for 30 minutes a day when she was raising children.   Even one moment a day that we think creatively or be creative in some way, is something.  I have to say I love the creativity people display in making a simple cup of coffee look good.  It’s an art in it’s own right.  I even make a point of photographing these creative toppings. I now have quite a collection of beautiful images that, one might say, constitute a gallery exhibition in their own right!

So that’s where my story was going to end for now, with 5 gold rings (of coffee!) and the thought of another exhibition to coincide with the next Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, 2016.  However the update is that I was invited by Amy to participate in a recent Desperate Artwives exhibition, organised by Art Café London.  I premiered a film installation at the Crypt Gallery, St Pancras Church, entitled “Her Story”.  It is a journey of self-discovery told in animated picture-book style (still image from the film pictured here). This exhibition has inspired me to get on with a couple of new creative projects – a performance art piece around the role of women in the home, as well as a special project around women as saints.

You can keep up with my progress by “liking” my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/Slavka.Jovanovic.Artist.

Contact me directly or join my mailing list for exhibitions:  Slavka.j@googlemail.com