Tessa Spanton SWA Artist, tutor, writer



TESSA SPANTON SWA ARTIST, WRITER AND TUTOR

Welcome to my blog.
This is where I write about some of the things that inspire my work,
news of exhibitions and works in progress

Friday 30 September 2016

Visions of Venice


Hélène Kuhn Ferruzzi with some of her lovely painted textiles at her bottega in Venice on a canal not far from the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.

https://www.heleneferruzzi.it/

Just before my first visit to Venice in the Spring I saw an article in the Financial Times called Venice mills: fruit of the Loom 
As I paint on silks and love textiles I dreamed of visiting. 

On our last day in Venice we crossed the shimmering Grand Canal by traghetto, a gondola ferry, to the Dorsodouro area of Venice. 


We threaded our way along narrow canals and passageways, lingered at a sunlit square where artists painted to the gentle accompaniment of a baroque lute and made detours into some interesting shops 








.....until we finally found Hélène's bottega and were delighted to meet her, see her work and talk with her about what inspires her work. This was an encounter made possible by a shared love of painted textiles and one of the many highlights of the visit.

Hélène works on silk, cotton, linen and velvet and is inspired by the colours and patterns of Venice and her visits to the Alps. as well as block printing she paints the fabrics with geometric shapes, lines like the waves or ripples on the lagoon, bold calligraphic brushstrokes and gold embellishments.

Her works of abstract art become scarves or beautifully made jackets with little covered buttons and pin tucks or take the form of wall hangings or lampshades.

I would echo some poetic words from the FT article, the writer says

That Mandarin jacket lingers in my memory long after I leave the shop. Shall I buy it? Or shall I just bask in the warp and weft of this remarkable city?

When Yeats wrote of the ''heavens' embroided cloths enrought with silver and golden light'', he could have been thinking of Venice. 
Or in my case, Hélène's fabrics.





PS In reply to Marilee's question
I didn't buy the jacket but I did bask in the weft and warp of beautiful Venice for a little longer, on the Grand Canal then back over the lagoon to collect our cases from our hotel, the Molino Stucky on the island of Guidecca. We left by Alilaguna as sunset gave way to darkness then on to the bus station to be whisked through the darkness to the airport. On my case I had found a book about Venice, left for me as a gift from Constance, of customer relations at the hotel. What a lovely surprise, I was glued to it for most of the way back to Gatwick. Another story, maybe for another post.

Thursday 1 September 2016

Florum 2016

Its that time of year again for florum. For details see below or to see a selection of some of the artists' works click here and go to the galleries.
I have 7 paintings in this exhibition along with prints and cards. 


Iris 1 silk Painting (c) Tessa Spanton

I have done 2 silk paintings of this iris, this one is heading East to florum and the other is heading West to Somerset.


 The Still Pond, Isabella Plantation, Richmond Park
   watercolour (c) Tessa Spanton


 Mayfield Lavender watercolour (c) Tessa Spanton



Here they all are waiting to be packed in bubble wrap.

Florum 2016
Exhibition of botanical and floral works and landscapes with flowers in various media by invited artists

10 - 17th September 2010 Open daily 10 - 5

Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve, Bradbourne Vale Road, Sevenoaks TN13 3DH
The Reserve is off the main A25 and is well signposted. Follow the track past the Riding Stables and bear left when it divides. Continue as far as the Wildlife Centre where there is ample free parking.
There will be works in different media including watercolours, oils, mixed media, etchings, machine embroidery on painted silk, silk paintings, coloured pencils, jewellery etc. and different styles and subjects including botanical, floral and landscapes.
62 different artists are taking part, many of them professional artists or tutors and over recent years nearly £10000 for the work of the Wildlife centre has been raised from sales at the exhibitions.
Right next to the centre there is a garden, a bird hide with information about birds and a lake as well as more extensive walks to other lakes and hides. Ideal for a family visit or for artists wanting to work en plein air!

The visitor centre where the exhibition is shown has displays illustrating the prehistory and history of the site, the creation of the nature reserve, its habitats and the wildlife which they support.Visitors can handle all sorts of 'treasures' such as nests, feathers and thirty-thousand year old mammoth teeth.