Virtual Open Studio

Thank you to everyone who came to our open studio with the fantastic Second Floor Studios this weekend!

For people who couldn’t make it, we have put together a virtual open studio experience to give you an idea of how we work and what we do.

We work as both artists and designers making work for exhibition and sale through shops and our own online store.  So, our open studio set up reflects this with dedicated sections for products and Anna and Chris’ individual practices.

The products were set up as a shop area, featuring our best-selling ranges of Tea Towels, Flat Pets, badges and Fridge Magnets which are all made by hand in the studio using our in-house screen-printing process. 

Anna showed 2 main series of work, the first being ‘Alpha Cygni Variables’ which are a series of cyanotypes  that are one outcome of an artist’s residency which Anna took part in with Mayes Creative on the theme of ‘Starlight’, where they explored the star constellation Cygnus. This prompted her to investigate our relationship with swans, particularly in London, where it is nearly impossible to view the star constellation, but there are many opportunities to see real swans in the many parks. Photos she took of swans are digitally layered with screen prints she had made of the Milky Way, and then turned into cyanotypes (sun prints), to create these celestial circles.

The second is In Search of Cygnus, which is a continuation of the Cygnus constellation theme. She has been documenting all the discarded Swan cigarette filter packaging she comes across in her daily life, by photographing them in situ and making a note of where she saw them and when. This is an ongoing project, and this is one outcome, where she has printed many of them out as cyanotypes and grouped them together as ‘Clusters’ according to area, in this case New Cross, Deptford and Peckham.

In addition to this, Anna also showed an A2 print of Local favourite ‘Deptford Pink’ a curation of photographs of pink things found around Deptford, which have been named after flowers using the Plant Snap app to 'identify them'. The Deptford pink is a rare flower native to Europe, and is thought to have originally been named by the 15th Century botanist  Thomas Johnson, describing a pink flower he had seen in Deptford, South East London.  However, this has been questioned since, and it is thought he was probably describing its cousin, Maiden Pink, and that the Deptford pink had not grown in the area since the city of London was built.  So, the Deptford pink was never seen in Deptford. As our studio is based in Deptford, South East London, Anna thought she would take a wander round and photograph pink things or ‘flowers’ that you can see in Deptford.

Alongside this, Chris showed a new series of drawings made using a silverpoint process of drawing which uses pieces of silver in place of pencil to draw on a ground of gouache to create time consuming images, made from precious metals, but featuring discarded objects and rubbish.  This is a development and continuation of his Ostentatious Rubbish project and these new drawings include Hetty and Henry, a diptych of portraits featuring London’s famous street appliance power couple. 

 This open studio also saw the release of 2 new prints:

 Anna’s Deptford Dog Walk Map - A map of all things dog in SE8 (this may not quite be true, as least some things dog in SE8).  This originally hand drawn print is a documentary of Deptford Dog life, with a map of Deptford and where you might find those dog related things!  If you couldn’t make it and would like to buy one of these, you can get yours here

Chris’ Lewisham Litter Bin Signature Palette Guide – Highlights the variety and range of colours and forms of London’s most iconic litter bin – The Lewisham Street bin.  This photographic survey capturing a range of this charming spectrum and gives them names influenced by the iconic colour titling of Farrow & Ball, in the form of a pain colour chart.  Highlights include ‘Litter Lazuli’ and ‘New Cross: Hazy’.  If you couldn’t make it and would like to buy one of these, you can get yours here