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