art – Susan Merrick

February 3, 2016February 3, 2016

Where the fxxx did January go!? 2016 and Censorship

'Ring a ring of roses' still of film piece. — susanmerrick.co.uk

I can’t believe it’s already February. I’m not sure why it’s always a surprise that time goes by and the days and weeks disappear. It’s not a particularly new concept to me! Understanding time is something that we seem to have always been interested in… In art, philosophy, literature and science.

I was lucky enough to hear the Artist Rachel Lowe speak yesterday and she has spent much of her career as an artist focusing on our western, human, preoccupation with time, the moment, the present and capturing it. And ultimately our inability to ever truly capture it through respresentation. We can only truly do this through the experience itself.

As I consider the pace of life I am keenly aware of my own deadlines and upcoming events. The next event I have is my first solo exhibition since starting at UCA. For the first time I will be showing my practice as it exists today… And that is scaring the pants off me!

The exhibition I am setting up is a culmination of the last few months work around mediation and language. The venue is a cafe/wine bar and is quirky and open to my ideas but as a family space still holds its own restrictions as to what they allow to be shown. This was really interesting to me as an artist working with language and it sent me on a path of exploration!

I had an afternoon in the UCA archives and while there I came across some information about censorship which has formed part of a piece for the exhibition. It also led me to have several conversations about censorship with some peers. It turns out that the last exhibition I was in had to be censored briefly as a school group came in. The thread illustration of a vagina in the exhibition had to be covered. I’m not mentioning this to judge the decision of the school/parents or curators at all, but what I found interesting is that no one thought to cover my work…… Not a vagina, but a series of 8 clips denoting violence, rape and assault against women. These clips were in sign language, so it seems that the silence of my violent translations kept them hidden in a completely unexpected way. This reinforces my initial reasons for using sign language, because of the unfounded but consistent beliefs (from my own observations) that it is a ‘nice’ language, meant only to ‘help’ people. No one thought to check the transcriptions and see that actually it is a language as any other and can contain just as much violence and extreme ideas as English….. And in fact contained much more likely to offend material than a Vagina!

Have a wonderful week, and remember to keep your eyes open for any random censorship or lack of it that sparks your interest!

Susan

May 6, 2015May 6, 2015

Weekly Wonderings #24 -A bit of Visualisation

When I was younger I mocked people who talked about ‘finding themselves’. Finding the assumption that we didnt know ourselves rather strange. Fast forward several, er er years… and I no longer mock such phrases. I do however sometimes struggle with the language used in such topics, probably because I am not only British, but a Yorkshire lass!

However over the past year or so I’ve been trying to get back to regular yoga practice, have been using various affirmations and trying to give myself a better focus. And it’s been paying off. I feel better physically and mentally, and this means I can throw myself into both my art and family life thoroughly.Within this I have discovered the power of mediation and visualisation for daily life. Previously I’ve used visualisation during my pregnancies and my second labour, they are a great tool for calming down and focusing. In this recent return to such focus I have found that it is a great way to prepare for the day, and to keep stress free (or at least reduce stress when it bubbles up!).

So this is why my images this week have been three inspiration posters. These I believe are really useful tools with which to remind ourselves of wonderful affirmations in a beautiful way. Having them as posters means they can be placed on a wall or a desk, somewhere where they can be seen regularly and really help us to get into the mindset we are aiming for.

The first I did was in relation to birth. After having my own children I spent two years working as a birth doula, partnering with mothers and fathers to be through their pregnancies and births. This has led me to see first hand the power of affirmations and words on our minds and bodies.

The next two posters are more general, for any of us who wish to have a visual tool for positive affirmations for life! I love creating these so I will add to these three over the next few weeks. I may also do one with some blank spaces allowing you to add your own affirmations of goals. Definitely useful if like me you struggle or have struggled with ‘positive affirmations’ as you may find them here or elsewhere.

So I will leave you now to have a wonderful week, and lets see what the next 7 days bring!

Love Susan xx

February 25, 2015February 25, 2015

Wednesday Wonderings #16 Passion for what we do…

I’ve recently spent time considering a comment I heard recently, that Mother’s cannot give everything to their Art. The reason given, that they give everything to their children so they cannot have another passion. This is part of a debate that has been going around for a very long time as far as I am aware, and there are mainly strong opinions on this. The answer for to me is in each individual life and experience. For me, it’s just not something I have found to be true. I have found my best creativity and productivity since having my children, so much so that this is, wonderfully, my life and business now.

I am aware that there are times when I cannot just ‘go paint’. But when I do get the times and opportunity either planned or not I find I am hugely productive and it’s a huge thrill for me. My children too benefit from me being creative, we try things out together, we talk about Art and nature and beauty and texture and what these mean to us. I get to experience my life, with my little ones and my husband, and I also get to delve deep into my creativity and create using the experiences that I am having, living.

Now I’m not saying its all roses working or creating while having young children, but it certainly makes me plan well and prioritise. It’s also a huge benefit to be working for myself and setting my own schedules.

So I feel excited that I have this life of Art, creativity, of inner searching and of love and friendships, but also that I have this craziness called motherhood to throw in the mix.

Night Night for now

Susan xxxx

P.S Don’t forget it’s Mother’s Day soon, I still have some beautiful prints and cards available on Etsy celebrating Motherhood.

My Etsy Shop – SBMArtwork

P.P.S I have the pleasure of creating some more editorial illustration for The Mother Magazine again this month and I have added a couple more beautiful Magazines and Publishers to my list of clients for this year.

December 3, 2014December 2, 2014

Wednesday Wonderings #4 Chaos and Creativity

This week sees our long awaited house move for me and my family. After a tough few weeks with a huge loss in our family we are now all embarking on some new journeys.

So this week has seen my creativity put to use in a decorating sense. Finally having some walls of our own we can throw on the colour and allow ourselves and the little ones some freedom to make a house our home.

We’ve mixed bright colours for bedrooms, a warm sage green for some quiet space, some beautiful stripes in different colours chosen and painted by (with a little help :)) my 3 yr old, and the next mission is to make a chalk board for my 5 yr old!

For me, the most exciting part is having a lovely overgrown garden with two huge trees. Room for some swings for the little ones and light and space to play, lounge, drink wine and do lots of drawing and painting!

There are still three more image to come in my Winter Sale so keep an eye out for them and see if any take your fancy. All the images from the sale will be available as Prints from this weekend. The prints will be Giclee Prints on beautifully crafted paper, 10″ x 12″ at£30 each.

As the nights draw in and the darkness stays for longer, take time to rest, recharge and speak with those you love.

Warm wishes and wonderings,

Susan xx

November 19, 2014November 19, 2014

Wednesday Wonderings #2 comps, sales and youtube!

My Art life this week has been lovely, creative and busy. So I’m going to start today by letting you know what I’ve been up to.

I recently collaborated with The Mother Magazine to create a holistic colouring book which they have put together beautifully with my images. This is now available as a download for just £1.99 from their website. It would make a great gift for a little one or for adults who love to colour in and find it therapeutic to do so!

I recently heard someone talk about ‘colouring in’ limiting creativity. I can see where this point of view comes from but I have to say I disagree (my opinion only). As an Artist (who used colouring books as a child) and a mother I see it as an addition to creativity. For some children and adults art, drawing, putting any colour to paper, or even creating shapes or patterns out in nature doesn’t always come easily. I’m not talking about simply being worried it ‘won’t look right’, but for some the freedom to explore in the visual feels overwhelming.

For some, colouring in can be the first step to realising it’s not scary or limiting. You can add any colour, or stickers or mud, or craft, my daughter likes to cover the whole picture in one or two colours or add extra lines and shapes to the image. It can be a discussion about a picture or a challenge to change it in some way. Creativity for any of us is a gift, and it is limitless. So hopefully some of you will buy this colouring book, create whatever you or your child want with it, alongside exploring any other creative form you wish indoors or out!

The other project I am involved in with The Mother Magazine is their exciting new app ‘Mother’s Connect’. They have an indiegogo campaign to raise funds but they also have some exciting developments going on behind scenes too. My involvement is supplying 2015 Calendars to them for some of their packages. The Calendars are a collection of my ‘Life’ illustrations and look so lovely. The app is a wonderful idea as it not only connects people but it will connect parents based on their interests, parenting styles, location, activities and so much more. If anyone reading is a parent you may understand the craziness that often becomes your life when having children, and connecting with others can often feel like a lifeline so go and check it out!

I have also this week added my first two basic drawing tip clips to my YouTube channel, Susan Merrick and I will be adding a clip per week for anyone to use as a guide or tool for picking up basic drawing ideas.

My Christmas Sale has started and is on for the next week – I will be creating 10 illustrations, most with a winter theme, and posting them to my FB page. These signed originals will all be for sale for just £35 each!

Finally I have today announced the winner of the competition I launched last week. The lucky winner (check out my FB page) will receive the original sketch of their choice from the official music video I created for the Glass Child’s single ‘Yesterday’.

With my weeks news announced I want to move on in my Wonderings and start talking about the inspiration behind some of my work. So today I’d like to introduce the large Oil painting that I created this Summer, ‘See Me’.

The image is a gathering of figures laid together, holding one another in various poses and positions to pull together the image of an eye.

This was a very personal piece to paint. Since becoming a mother the various roles I have in my life have become many and often the chaos of this (often self created) seems immense. The change from individual woman, to family, to mother. My working roles and my roles as a parent. There was an awakening that this brought in me in relation to the feminine and sensual but also this was also entwined with the demands of routine life.

The duplicity and medley of selves this can create at times makes a person feel less visible, confused. So ‘See Me’ brings about the many selves and shadows and shapes of oneself. As a whole creating a larger more striking image and enhancing the person, not reducing her.

Thank you for reading, I will be back next week to see what the next few days bring and what my mind begins to wonder about! I shall leave you with my vintage outfit of this week. A silk skirt and separate underskirt that I found in a lovely charity shop, along with a jumper I got from a vintage section last year.

It feels a bit luxurious, like I’m going to a party….. And why not 😉

have a lovely week!

Susan xx