Creative Reactions Art Exhibition

Born down south and moving to Nottingham in about 1990, Clare Stewart has been writing and performing poetry for yonks. Her poetry themes include Catholic guilt, family, childhood, feminism, feelings, walking, mountains. She writes sometimes formal, sometimes free structure, to produce serious, flippant, funny and sad poems. She’s a member of DIY Poets, and is a Big White Shed poet, having published Crone Chronicles along with two other crones, Sue Allen and Laura Grevel. She is an active member of the Homework Group and regularly performs at Dandelions monthly gig. She is co-facilitator of Women Write at the Centre poetry workshop at Nottingham Women’s Centre. She is one of the organisers of Women Say Stuff, the International Women’s Day annual poetry gig. She attends Paper Cranes workshops and has two poems in the Paper Cranes anthology, First Flight. She also appears in the BWS anthology, Winter. She has performed in and around Nottingham, at Southwell Festival, Nottingham Poetry Festival, Lowdham Book Festival, Ludlow Festival, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Morecambe Poetry Festival and at Sappho bookshop in Sydney. Clare composes text-based pieces sometimes performed by CoMA (Contemporary Music for All) East Midlands Ensemble. Her poem Silent Gliders has been used to form the lyrics of a song composed by Antony Clare. At her art studio in Long Eaton, she creates non-poems in the form of paintings, prints, drawings, embroideries and cartoons. In her time, she has also produced prose, knitting and sewing, a wonderful daughter and some very nice pasta sauces.

I am pleased to have been selected to represent Christopher (Alex) in his work on Adaptive Laboratory Evolution.
My background is in Graphic Design and I have recently retired from 24 years self employed in the print and web design industry.
I originally trained as a professional photographer and hopefully have always natured an eye for aesthetics, be it in product design or in nature.
I have painted very occasionally over the years due to pressure of work,. It is only in the past two years that I have been studying oils and watercolour seriously.
I am drawn to portraits and landscapes but I am very happy to take on any other commissions. This one has been a very interesting one to create a hopefully colourful and interesting piece, whilst being informative as to the processes involved in Adaptive Laboratory Evolution - ALE.
If you would like to view some of my work please visit:
www.jonshepherd.com
or Instagram:
www.instagram.com/jonshepherdart01/]www.instagram.com/jonshepherdart01/

Born in Wales, Chris grew up in a small town in South Devon and now lives in the village of Ruddington, Nottingham. He metamorphosed into a geek at the age of 14, when his request to study O-level Woodwork and make a skateboard deck was rejected. His school had a new computer studies course to fill and needed fodder. The rest was happenstance. By randomly typing letters and strange symbols into these computers, Chris discovered he could make stuff happen. Occasionally the right stuff. Later the revelation came that poetry, writing, and indeed art, utilised pretty much the same process. Never knowingly achieving much, Chris does not let a lack of actual talent stand in his way. He seems happy, and that’s all that matters really.

Louise has been creating art work from Nottingham based studios for many years, since graduating with an MA in fine art from Nottingham University in the mid 80’s. She also worked as an art lecturer for Nottingham College.
Her work consists of wall constructions, and occasionally 3D pieces made from reclaimed wood, mixed media, and deconstructed objects.
The concepts behind the work vary, but ultimately there is an engagement with the philosophical belief in the continuum of life.
Louise enjoys a challenge and the opportunity to work alongside others. Science was not her strong area at school, partly due to the teaching methods in the 70’s consisting of ‘ board and chalk’, and a lack of memory retention for formulas. However, it is an exciting privilege to be able to learn about the creative research that scientists are engaged with today, and she finds the subject area very inspiring!

I trained in medical prosthetics and more recently engineering. I have always used this practical experience in my art, which is also often influenced by it.
I’m passionate about art & music education especially at primary level, using as much recycled material as possible to inspire as well as educate.

I myself am inspired by nature and the natural form; I find wood the most naturally beautiful of materials but create & experiment in all mediums and I love to contrast these elements.
I always try to ensure that the craft and aesthetic of my work will harmonise with the environment in which it is placed.

Painting for me is a meditative experience, where I connect with the process of applying, removing and exploring colour, form and texture on a flat surface. It is wordless and physical and each piece evolves from this process of discovery.

Original imagery / ideas may come from my daily meditation practice as ethereal concepts, seeds of possibilities, which then are made whole by the act of painting itself. Mental health has been of interest to me for many years as I have had my own mental health issues. I have researched yoga and meditation practices to help balance mood and mind over many years and, as well as teaching in hospital mental health day centres and prisons, I trained yoga teachers who wished to develop their understanding of how Yoga & Meditation can be used to help bring about balance in this area. I am very pleased to be linked with research for anxiety in my painting. Each painting is a journey to bring into being that which is unknown into a solid physical experience.

I have had some health issues so some of my work has been exploring these with paint and sometimes ‘mending’ them with gold (Kintsugi). Other works have been about finding balance amidst difficulties, both personal and global. Colour always features strongly in my work and I often use gold leaf and sometimes jewels (imitation). I have exhibited in local and national exhibitions as well as several international online exhibitions since lockdown. I paint in my small studio in Nottingham, UK.

I'm originally from Nottingham and after studying Architecture at the Politecnico di Milano in Italy, I came back home to work as an Architect with Leonard Design in the city centre. My projects range from sustainable community spaces to large-scale commercial developments, and I’m always interested in how design can shape the way we live and interact. As someone who works across creative and technical disciplines, I love how Pint of Science brings together science and art in such an accessible and inspiring way.