See who is showing at Make it Up North this Saturday and Sunday at The Guildhall, York

See all the details here http://www.artmarkets.co.uk

Ashi Marwaha - Jeweller

What inspires you in your art?

My work is inspired by the geometry used in Indian architecture, monuments and patterns. But generally, too, I am inspired by pattern & geometry in both nature & architecture. I also love colours and textures.   

What medium do you work in?

I work mainly in silver, with precious and semi-precious stones.

                                      

What are you looking forward to at Make it Up North?

 It will be good to show work in a new market and also relish the chance to look around York Minster and York.

What work are you showing at the event?

 Mainly my signature work.

                                   

If you could sit in a room with any artist….who would it be and  what would you ask them?

Kandinsky (painter) – one of the first artists I researched. I would ask him if he did really visualize music ie in his paintings and what it felt like. 

Name your favourite quote/or philosophy to life?

Be true by Mahatma Gandhi – a simple quote affecting all aspects of work and life.

If money was no object what piece of work would you create? 

I would love to design and make a huge sculptural piece, set in the landscape.    

Talya Baldwin - Illustration

What inspires you in your art?
Birds, maps, medieval breviaries, books, circuses, myths, fairy tales, children’s drawings, old photographs

What medium do you work in?
Biro, pen, pencil, felt-tip, fineliner, crayon, oil pastel, watercolour

What are you looking forward to at Make it Up North?

Meeting the other artists

What work are you showing at the event?

Framed drawings, limited edition screen and giclee prints, and a selection of cards

Have you any exciting news to share?

I’m starting up an interiors company. I’m making products for children’s bedrooms, and the first set went to print yesterday. I’m really looking forward to seeing them finished.

If you could sit in a room with any artist….who would it be and what would you ask them?

If I could go back in time, I’d go to the caves at Lascaux, when they were being painted. I wouldn’t ask anything; I’d be pretty happy just watching the artists at work.

Name your favourite quote/or philosophy to life?

We have art in order not to die of the truth (Friedrich Nietzsche)

If money was no object what piece of work would you create?

A huge drawing on the side of a building. I’d need a massive scaffold, and someone to film the drawing in progress so we could animate it later, and a weatherproof boiler suit, and someone to operate a pulley system to send cups of coffee up. That would be great.

Nicola Rawlings - Jeweller

Nicola Rawlings gained a BA with Honours in 1999 and a PGCE the following year and has enjoyed a career in education teaching many aspects of Art and Design to both post 16 and adult learners.
Deciding to go part time in 2011 brought about many changes as the focus of her own work changed from a dream to reality and Seed became the beginning of a new chapter. Working from her home studio in West Yorkshire she currently combines both teaching and selling as a contemporary multi-disciplinary designer maker. 
Seed is in essence a creative dream to make. I am passionate about expanding my knowledge and exploring contrasting materials and techniques. The importance of sketching and having an exploratory approach is essential in the development of my work. 

Seed Jewellery is made exclusively by hand offering unique and contemporary statement pieces designed for the everyday as well as the extraordinary. The aim of my current collection ‘Pebble’ was to create a timeless balance of tactile elements focusing on elongated lines and natural tones. This collection unites a combination of media such as silver and stoneware forms using elements of leather, rubber and oxidised silver chain to accentuate the line.

 What inspires you in your art?

As with many artist/designers I am constantly inspired by my surroundings. It could be the surface of an object or simply the line created by a reflection. I also believe that inspiration comes from a positive attitude and a willingness to learn.

What medium do you work in?

I like to explore media and techniques combining materials in order to create interesting elements often with contrasting surfaces. Currently I am working with silver, clay, leather and rubber.

What are you looking forward to at Make it Up North?

I always enjoy the exciting and inspiring atmosphere generated at these events as it provides you with the opportunity to not only meet prospective customers and amazing designers but gain valuable feedback about what you create and how its interpreted.

What work are you showing at the event?

My current collection is called ‘Pebble’ and unites a combination of media in order to explore both surface and line. I wanted to create a range that was interesting to wear yet uncomplicated and provided the individual with something that could be worn either in the day or evening.

Have you any exciting news to share?

Yes I have recently been selected to stand at the Craft 2014 event in London and again at BCTF in Harrogate. I had so much fun meeting other makers and buyers at the trade fair last year and was greeted with such warmth and encouragement that I signed up to be part of it again this  coming April. 

If you could sit in a room with any artist….who would it be and what would you ask them?

Miro……What do you see before you?

He had such a unique interpretation of art and his surroundings.

Name your favourite quote/or philosophy to life?

Anyone can give up, it’s the easiest thing to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that’s true strength.

(I read this in one of my student’s sketchbooks and saved it as my screen saver on my phone.)

If money was no object what piece of work would you create? 

Something that would inspire others and also be remembered. Money isn’t everything!

Make it Up North

David Mayne - Sculptor

David Mayne is a sculptor of national repute with work in both public and private collections throughout the UK.

His richly textured steel animal sculptures are the result of hour upon hour of welding and grinding the surface as he explores his subject’s unique qualities to create beautiful pieces that capture the movement and essence of a particular creature.

Mayne’s other areas of exploration include the use of repeated or multiple images to create classic vessel forms. The simple animals that make up these forms clearly reflect his interest in cave painting and primitive Art, and the use of repetition and industrial materials brings a contemporary aesthetic to ancient ideas.

These vessel sculptures have been exhibited and sold at various exhibitions and sculpture parks including Newby Hall, North Yorkshire and the Hillier Gardens in Hampshire. One of Mayne’s first ever vessels stands in grounds laid out by the gardener Derry Watkins and her architect husband Peter Clegg at their home and business Special Plants.

When he is not working on exhibitions and private commissions, Mayne continues his practice as a sculptor working in the public realm, creating landmark features for local authorities, visitor centres, large scale PLCs and health trusts. Clients include Carilion Civil Engineering, Taylor Wimpey, British Waterways and the sustainable transport charity Sustrans

What inspires you in your art?

My work is inspired by very simple concepts: Form, colour, pattern and texture. Sometimes these forms depict animals, sometimes they are of vessels or trees.

What medium do you work in?

I have worked in steel for over 20 years –  creating pieces that are made through hours of welding. Steel is a fantastic material that is perfect for both indoor and outdoor sculpture and my work is often left to oxidize building up rich natural colours and texture that gets better as time goes by. 

What are you looking forward to at Make it Up North?

Looking forward to meeting a new audience and seeing other inspiring work

What work are you showing at the event?

Large outdoor sculptures and smaller more intimate indoor work.

Have you any exciting news to share?

I don’t get much time to produce my own studio pieces because I spend a great deal of time working on large monumental public art projects. Make it up North has to fit in with 2 current projects – one to create a 4m high Yorkshire Rose for Leeds university and the second to build a new sculpture for the Marks and Spencer archive building, also in Leeds.  As this is my home town its fantastic to be able to get the opportunity to make public work for the city.

Name your favourite quote/or philosophy to life?

“If its hard work and your legs hurt, it must be uphill” Jen Voight, pro cyclist

If money was no object what piece of work would you create? 

If money was no object I’d rather give it away to somebody who really needs it instead of making a sculpture.