UPCOMING - Christmas 2013

Merry Christmas from 'A1 Jesus', Hoping everyone has a lovely festive holiday time :-)

EXHIBITION - Snuck in on this one....

A lovely start to the week! Just received this email this morning - what a surprise...
 
"I thought you might like to know that the pierced porcelain mug and badge featuring an image of Emmanuel Cooper - which you very kindly sent him a few years ago - is on display as part of the huge retrospective exhibition of his ceramic work which has just opened at Ruthin Craft Centre. The show moves to Derby in February and comes to London in April next year."

 

He was indeed 'badgered' by me, I managed to draw him in one of my classes at college... and as is with badgered I turned him into a badge and sent it to him... check out some of my other victims http://www.karent.co.uk/badgered.html I'll be updating this page shortly with some recent additions.

DRAWINGS - A1 Sized Escapism

I've really enjoyed spending the last couple of days taking to my easel and producing a few A1 (841 x 594mm) sized Watercolour & Ink portraits. I love working on this scale, it feels very freeing after the constriction of modelling in clay and making mass amounts of Michael Gove. I'm having a wee week of drawing escapism before cracking on with my Tureen Heads for a showcase in the National Glass Centre running from mid January to the end of April.

WORKSHOP - SMT Portraiture Workshop 2

A couple of photos from the second portraiture workshop I ran in the Art Gallery for Scarborough Museums Trust. A lovely day working with lots of creative kids... 

PRESS - The Guardian, 24th November 2013

The Goveshy mentioned in the Guardian

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/nov/24/art-party-conference-scarborough

PRESS - BBC, 24th November 2013

'Inviting people to throw things at the head of a cabinet minister is perhaps not the most diplomatic way of advocating anything to the government'  

I never was any good with diplomacy & tact... It was great fun however!
  
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-25050676

BBC NEWS - 24th November 2013.

EXHIBITION - The Art Party Conference 2013

GOVESHY - After the Epiphany.

PRESS - York Press, 20th November 2013

GOVESHY previewed in todays York Press ahead of the Art Party Conference. Link to the web version: 

http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/ryedale/10820709.Art_Party_Conference_visitors_to_smash_Michael_Gove__army_/

York Press - 20th November 2013 (Web Version)

GOVESHY - Kiln Firing Number Two

Second batch of finished Michael Gove busts out the kiln... One more firing to go.

GOVESHY - Badges

I've just been designing an image to have made into badges for the Art Party Conference. Can't resist going for the 50mm size badges... 

PRESS - GOVESHY previewed in the Broadsheets

Goveshy was featured today on Page 4 of the Yorkshire Post, Page 8 of the Times & Page 2 of the Daily Telegraph. This is all pre-run up press for the Art Party Conference on the 23rd November.

Yorksire Post, The Times and The Telegraph - 18th November 2013

Introducing... GOVESHY (Coming Soon)

GOVESHY - Draft drawing. 2013

It's time to announce the work I'm creating for the Art Party Conference at Scarborough Spa on the 23rd November 2013. GOVESHY will be a performance installation piece. This piece is in keeping with the theme of the day whch is a follow on from Bob & Roberta Smith's impassioned protest artwork letter to Michael Gove MP (Secreary of State for Education), which campaigned for the inclusion of art subjects in the English Baccalaureate (Ebacc).
  
GOVESHY will be open for a 30-60 minute slot on the 23rd November. It will consist of approx 200 Michael Gove busts that punters can throw wooden balls at to smash. 
The Michael Gove busts are being made from the finest quality Wedgwood blue clay, this is made possible by a very generous 'in-kind donation' from Wedgwood towards my project, for which I am extremely grateful as this enables me to realise the full potential of the work.

So, come along on the day, lets smash up Michael Gove as he continues to smash up the very foundations of craft in this country. 

WORKSHOP - SMT Portraiture Workshop

A lovely workshop today in the Art Gallery for Scarborough Museums Trust. Lots of creativity and fun was to be had... Mostly by me! ha... 

Scarborough Museums Trust - Portraiture Workshop.

                 

PRESS - Art Party Conference & Goveshy

Some great press on the Art Party Conference today from Culture 24. They also picked up on GOVESHY, which was nice... 

http://www.culture24.org.uk/art/art457786

DRAWINGS - Parade Map

Just completed the map of the route of the Beach Parade March for the Art Party Conference on November 23rd. It's up on the Art Party website now... Best get a move on with making my placard! www.artpartyconference.co.uk 

TUREEN HEADS - Angela & Wilf

Artist Angela Chalmers & Wilf

Wilf is off to a new home today. He has been lovingly chosen by the fab artist Angela Chalmers. Off he goes, bye bye Wilf...
 

PORTFOLIO - A Trilogy of Death

Karen Thompson, The Death of Sainsbury's (The Death of Munrow). Photo: David Chalmers.

Karen Thompson, The Death of a Species (The Death of Munrow). Photo: David Chalmers.

Karen Thompson, The Death of Munrow (copy). Photo: David Chalmers.

Another great photoshoot with photographer David Chalmers. Really pleased with these images of The Death of Sainsbury's, The Death of a Species and The Death of Munrow, collectively known as A Trilogy of Death... Looking forward to the next batch!
A little bit of information about this project:

THE DEATH OF MUNROW was produced by the Staffordshire Potteries ca 1810-1830. Here is a remake of the original Staffordshire piece plus two of my own contemporary interpretations & companion pieces. These play with the original elements bringing them into a modern day context... THE DEATH OF SAINSBURY'S turns everything both metaphorically and literally on its head commenting on the simplicity of the food chain and the predominance of Supermarkets within it. THE DEATH OF A SPECIES makes a simple comment regarding the over hunting by man and subsequent extinction of three subspecies of tigers.

WORK IN PROGRESS - More Michael Gove Modelling

Karen Thompson - Still Modelling (Photo: Jade Montserrat).

Back on the case after a major family distraction these past couple of weeks. I've now managed to spend the past two to three days working on the Michael Gove model... I've a feeling I'll be tweaking him all week! The great thing about working on something this scale is it's pretty portable. I enjoyed working on the park bench today, yesterday's highlight was working outside of Costa Coffee on the high street and on Friday Michael's bust even managed to find it way onto the Waltzer at Scarborough Fair with myself and Jade Motserrat! Random...

Hopefully I'll have the model finished this week and be able to press on making some plaster moulds ready to start slipcasting. 

Thanks to Jade Montserrat for the photograph.

OUT AND ABOUT - Jade Montserrat, Market Prices

Jade Montserrat - Market Prices 2013 P.V.

Jade Montserrat - Market Prices

Jade Montserrat - Market Prices

Jade Montserrat - Market Prices 2013 P.V.

I really enjoyed the Private View for Jade Montserrat's current exhibition Market Prices. A very busy and popular night at Crescent Arts. The exhibition went down a storm. My favourite is the complete wall of boxes and the catalogue. The wall feels monumental in scale, standing underneath it one is left feeling overwhelmed.

WORK IN PROGRESS - For The Art Party Conference

Work in Progress - Michael Gove Head.

Started work on the piece I am creating for the Art Party Conference at the Spa in November. I don't have a title for the work yet... I'll reveal more about the work in the forthcoming weeks.

PORTFOLIO - The GM Reaper

Karen Thompson, The GM Reaper. Ceramic (56x58x30cm) Photo: David Chalmers

Just been sent the photos from David Chalmers of yesterday's photo shoot. I'm very happy with this pic of the GM Reaper. I've struggled to get a good photograph of this piece... I guess that's why it's a good idea to pay a professional studio photographer to take images...

OUT & ABOUT - David Chalmers Studio

David Chalmers at work

Spent the morning having some of my work photographed by David Chalmers. Tureen Heads and the GM Reaper went under the spotlight. A great morning... Thanks Dave!

THE FAMILY - 1980's photos

Wowsers! Just came across this photo when sorting through some stuff... all I can say in my defence is it was the 1980's and I was a teenager. I'm trying to work out how old I am here (I think I'm about 15). Maybe I should try backcombing my hair again! I remember Shockwaves hairspray used to feature highly in my regime.

THE FAMILY - York Minster Donation

Sorting through some of the family 'treasure' we came across this A3 poster recording the appreciation and gratitude of my Fathers donation to York Minster. Generous dad helped with the upkeep for a full minute... Blimey! I remember this trip as we all made some brass rubbings whilst we were there, that memory has vividly stuck with me all these years, I was nearly seven years old at the time. To this day I still find myself making random rubbings with a piece of gold heel ball which we got from this very trip on the 1st April 1980 (before the fire in 1984).

OUT & ABOUT - Attending Jet Workshop

Had my first bash at working with Jet today. The pieces of Jet over 180 million year old were sourced from local beaches along the Yorkshire coast. An interesting workshop. A very different material to work with than my usual ceramic or plaster, will definitely be trying it again. The brooch I made today was a little cruder than I had intended, ran out of time, might try to finish it at a later date when I have the necessary polishing materials to hand.

PRESS - Scarborough News Video

Scarborough News popped around to my studio last week to do a feature on my ceramic heads... somehow, I allowed myself to be momentarily filmed! Not sure how that happened... and now it's on their website.

http://www.thescarboroughnews.co.uk/news/talking-heads-with-artist-karen-thompson-1-5855057

I did get my own back on Sue and the photographer however making them both pose with my heads in a similar fashion to which I had been requested.

WORKSHOPS - August/October 2013

Upcoming workshops at Crescent Arts for August to October. I'm running a clay pipe workshop in conjunction with Scarborough Museums Trust.

ART PARTY CONFERENCE - It's on its way...

The Art Party Posse in the Crescent Arts Courtyard.

Bob and Roberta Smith, Jo Beddoe & Stuart Cameron in the courtyard of Crescent Arts today before heading off to the Spa for some publicity photos... Bring on the Art Party Conference in November!

AIM & CLICK - Harrogate Mayor, Week 3

Harrogate's New Mayor & Consort - June 2013

Still the same tie! The New Mayor of Harrogate was out again tonight, this time with his Consort... A double whammy. Couldn't resist....

EXHIBITION - At Sixes and Sevens

A couple of exhibition shots selected from At Sixes and Sevens. Clockwise from the top... THE CRITICS, Karen Thompson 2013. UNTITLED, Steven Potter 2013. ABSURD MULTIPLES, Susan Timmins 2013. MARKET PRICES, Jade Montserrat 2013.

 

THE FAMILY - Arthur Boy Burke Armstrong

My Grandfather - Arthur Armstrong. a.k.a Boy Burke

Been researching Victorian cabinet cards on the internet today, amongst the ones I've come across there have been some great images of wrestlers and boxers. With last months boxing bout still fresh in my mind, I started thinking about my Grandfather, who was a boxer in the 1930's. I know very little about him other than his boxing name was Boy Burke and then Arthur Burke as apparently there was an issue with him calling himself boy. I don't know the history behind him calling himself Burke as he was an Armstrong, he was an Arthur however! My Uncle Al had a collection of all his fight posters but these were lent out for an exhibition years ago and never returned. That's about all I know of my Grandfather, other than he disappeared when my mother was a child, my Gran used to say that he fell off the Tyne bridge one night, there were rumours that he ran off to start a new life somewhere else. I guess we'll never know what happened to him and if there's more of his story to unfold.

UPCOMING - At Sixes & Sevens Exhibition

The P.V. this Friday 7th June 8pm - 10pm of At Sixes & Sevens, a joint exhibition of all the resident Crescent Arts Artists. The exhibition is on for a month, it's also open to the public on Sunday 9th June and Sunday 16th June from 11pm - 4pm

THE FAMILY - Chloe's Dishes

Trying to sort my laptop into some order and back up my files before it gives up the ghost. I've been trawling through tons of old photographs, I'll probably end up posting quite a few over the coming weeks and months. Here's one for today, this was the very spoilt family cat's feeding hole. I couldn't believe how many dishes my mum and sister had booby trapped the kitchen with. Sadly the old dear passed away at the beginning of the year, I miss the random collections which accrued in this area.

PRESS - Scarborough News

The ART KO! MUSEUMS AT NIGHT RUMPUS exhibition has been taken down now... It did manage to garner some attention from the Scarborough News however. Seems fitting!