What Do We Know? COSMIC EGG What Do We Know is a new, international, virtual art exhibition from 3-30 June exploring Spiritual art and its multitude of feelings, experiences, viewpoints and forms of expression. Curated by Art Director and Visual Artists Association Mentor, Karen van Hoey Smith. What Do We Know features nine international artists who all work from a deeper space; moving past the noise of modern life to create a physical form of an external presence. The word ‘Spiritual’ has been hijacked to elicit different meanings and reactions. By coming together, these 9 artists ask what does Spiritual really mean, can one word describe a multitude of feelings, experiences, viewpoints and forms of expression, and is ‘Spiritual’ the word to describe this movement?  Ana Delgado - photographer living and working in Brooklyn, New York E. Alana James, EdD - digital collage artist living in Ireland Karen French - author, painter and speaker living in Oxfordshire, UK Kirsten Todd - painter, medium and Reiki Master/Teacher living in Lancashire, UK Kristen Palana – American-Portuguese multidisciplinary artist based in Malawi Ozlem Yikici – British-Turkish painter living and working in London, UK Sadie Bridger - multimedia artist in New York City Sarah Brabbin - sculptor living in the UK Vicky Paul – Scottish artist, intuitive and energy healer based in Bedford, UK
Featuring a variety of styles and meanings, from visual art to photography and sculpture, these artists share the ability to stop or remove themselves from the noise of life, called to make the unseen seen. By placing the variety of styles and meanings together, What Do We Know aims to open up conversation about the inner state that starts creativity and makes that first mark. Most artists that cite Spiritual or Intuitive as the source of their creative process have been advised to keep that quiet, as if there is some kind of shame or embarrassment associated with sharing the truth around their practise. Eleanor Heartney comments in her 2020 essay in ArtWorld that there is now an acknowledgement that previous art movements were inspired and created from a Spiritual basis, and that other modern artists have their stated points of reference, but “none of this has gelled into a collective movement”. Karen van Hoey Smith (curator) What Do We Know is not about creating a collective or a movement. It is the beginning of open-minded humans who wish to explore and converse about the inner state that starts creativity and makes that first mark. Is this purely living in the present and innocence prevails? Or are these artists channelling parts of their brain and psyche that are unknown to them in their daily lives? This exhibition is about having the courage to explore what Spiritual is, so that it can be held as an honourable banner and part of these artists’ practise, life and inspiration. It is also an invitation to the public, and the art community, to appreciate the presence of a non material realm as a genuine source of motivation and inspiration. Karen van Hoey Smith (curator) WRITTEN BY Vicky Paul
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Oxfordshire Artweeks celebrated its 40th year in 2022 and the turnout to all the art exhibitions in May was incredible! Thank you to everyone that came to The Spice of Life, behind the Spice Lounge restaurant in Summertown. It was wonderful to be able to exhibit 'Porthole', 'Sun Light Codes' and 'Sacred Geometry Bots' from my Spring Collection - Circular exploring the sacred geometry of the circle and colour symbolism, as well as some older favourites.  John Watson School John Watson School is a community special school located in Wheatley, Oxford. It "offers a relevant and balanced education that recognises individual achievement and prepares each individual well for their future lives". The Arts are very important part of the school's curriculum, serving many purposes. It allows many of the children to express their emotions and experiences in a safe and therapeutic way. Some of the children are also quite talented young artists! New Beginnings and Hope'New Beginnings and Hope' is the theme of an Oxfordshire Artweeks inspired art exhibition in Spring 2021 at the school. "The aim of the week was to celebrate our student’s work after a particularly challenging year and every student has a piece of work represented in the final display. Each pupil joined in with a week of creative experiences involving painting and printing, taking photographs and making sculptures." Every class selected an artist they felt inspired new beginnings and hope and the children painted their own version of one of their artworks. The results were stunning! Each piece of art reflected the personality and styles of the individual children. In many instances the art provided valuable insights into the children's inner selves and perceptions of the world around them. A VITUAL GALLERY is available to see on the school's website. A small selection of the magnificent artwork is in the gallery below. Wish Upon a StarIt was an honour to be selected as the 'muse' by Adele reception class (5 year olds) as an artist reflecting 'new beginnings and hope' in their artwork. Out of the blue I received a lovely email from Jennie Eyles, telling me her class were using Wish Upon a Star as the inspiration for their own artwork to, 'send a message out to the universe'. The class were using it to engage in their own sensory exploration. Jennie had discovered Wish on the Oxfordshire Artweeks website. Well done Adele class! Your artwork and exhibition were amazing. I really enjoyed meeting you all, seeing your art, and your stunning tie-dye t-shirts. Adele reception class - 'WISH' ARTWORKSAfter a wonderful tour by Deputy Head Sue Woodward a group photograph with a few of the children was taken beside the Tree of Hope. Each child had hung a dove or rainbow decorated in their own way, sending out their hopes into the universe.
After 7 months of planning and preparation LiterArties' first exhibition is underway...with 5 more exhibitions to follow in 2019, and more in the diary for future years! The Jam Factory Exhibition 27th February - 16th April Our Private Viewing last night was great fun!  Recently I became part of a dynamic, exciting new group based in and around Oxford, UK. Dennis Hamley, an active member of Writers in Oxford and prolific author, put out the call within the society for artists to exhibit together. And so our group of published authors and artists came together. As artists our styles include a wide range of styles, subject matter and mediums. And, as writers we cover a diverse range of subjects; from local history to transgenderism, psychological thrillers to children’s stories, gritty life to romantic escapism, and esoteric symbolism. Collectively, we are not only published authors and skilled artists, but also teachers, mentors, publishers and actively working in many other non-arts related professions. Although we were brought together by our skills in writing and art, many members are involved in other aspects of the Arts, such as music and drama. Because of this, and our desire to work with others, our common vision is Capturing our Creativity, through many modes and mediums. The chemistry works and in a matter of a few months we have a name, LiterArties, a website and also can be found on the social network - Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. Not only that, galleries have responded enthusiastically to our proposal, appreciating both our art and literary talents, keen that we should run talks and workshops during exhibitions. These are the exhibitions we have organised so far and more are in the pipe-line. Please check my Diary for all exhibitions, talks and workshops I will be doing. For all workshops during the exhibitions see the LiterArties Diary.
All encompassing circleRings, or Circles, bind everything within as one. It is the nature the circle to encompass, hold and support whatever is contained within it, like a bowl. All geometric shapes are constructed with their corners touching the Circle from which they originate and are maintained. Indeed, all forms of existence shaped by geometric principles are contained within the circular vessel of reality.
THE INTENT and nature of the Centre radiates out in all directions, as light does. So if it is negative, or "rotten at the core", this also spreads outwards. Much like the inner Circles around a source of dark power when corrupted will influence outer Circles to eventually affect the whole community revolving around this source. Light and love will permeate the Circle, so whenever you are central to a Circle radiate out positive, loving intent. For more on the characteristics of Circles and other geometric shapes please refer to my books in The Gateway Series. The Lord of the RingsThe famous Bodlaien libraries in Oxford, UK, are holding a major exhibition of JRR Tolkien's work from the 1st June 2018, including his illustrations, poems, letters and personal items. As a fan of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings books, which I have read several times, I am looking forward to gaining an insight into the creative process of this gifted author. The binding power of rings and the significance of the intent of the ring bearers, being destructive dark or healing, loving light, are central to the success these epic stories.  from the Bodlaien libraries website It was a unique experience painting with acrylics in torrential rain showers during this year's En-Plein in Windsor. As painting en-plein is a rare experience for me I took improvised rain cover, which was not sufficient for the heavy rain and wind. Regulars had an array of quite amazing kit that kept them dry, such as an umbrella with a zip-on sheet to make a cosy shelter. My painting was literally washed off twice, as I battled to dry it in-between each downpour. So instead I did a high speed pen drawing but it got to the point that my hands were so cold they were shaking. Another shower and more wind send me packing to the welcome shelter of Windsor town centre. My resulting piece is not polished but I like the ghostly image of a smaller shadowed castle within the larger drawing. At the beginning, in the sunshine, I was going to do a smaller castle with its windows and more of the formal east garden, but soon realised I wasn't going to have sufficient time outside to complete so much detail.  The East Garden by Karen L French It is a rare privilege to be able to go into the east gardens of Windsor Castle. These are the Queen's private gardens where she walks her corgis. A dog bowl of water by the stairs was a reminder of this. I chose to paint in these gardens because of the formal geometry used in their design. These three images are (left to right): Canvas ready to go, my view through scaffolding, stock image of the east gardens. These pictures are my washed off painting on the left to which I added some colour. This year all the entrants' paintings were displayed under cover in the Windsor shopping area by the station. A line of easels ran along the shop front windows and made a very interesting display. Many people had a close look and voted on their favourite painting. Overall a throughly enjoyable day as it was artistically challenging and sociable.  All ready for Bucks Open Studios 2017! A wonderful space for exhibiting a large selection of my art, cards and books. Set within my exhibition is a display of, bespoke milliner, Tracy Field's beautiful creations. I even managed to find an alcove in which to work, so I am really enjoying myself. |
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Gateway to the Heavens Do you realise you actually shape your destiny and shapes influence your destiny. If you want to understand how this works ask Karen to give a talk about it or read her excellent book. You may have hated even the mention of geometry at school, but Karen's simple and illustrated explanations will give you a real insight into this fascinating topic. |
The Hidden Geometry of Life The attentive audience was enthralled by Karen's introduction to the principals of this truly multi-dimensional topic ... The energy in the room, by the end of the evening, was well and truly charged! |