This will be the final post for Summer of 2020 on The Orange Peel Art Collective!
Our New Logo
Just wanted to say a massive thank you to all the creatives, activists and amazing people who have been involved in The OP this summer! This Collective is a big passion project for myself (Elsie) and co creator (Daisy), since first starting in 2018 we have loved working with and promoting creatives in Norfolk- and have expanded to other parts of the U.K and beyond!
This year has been difficult for us and probably everyone… but we wanted to keep the collective going for our own creative drive and to give others something interesting and fun to look forward to reading/ viewing! And help everyone remember that you can stay creative at anytime in your lives no matter the obstacles you face!
I wanted to share some STATS that The OP has created this summer before I finish!
-We have made 28 new posts
-Written over 13,000 words
-524 People have viewed our blog, from 23 different countries!
This is a Map of the countries from where people have viewed the OP.
-Featured 19 New Creatives
-Tracey Emin has been the most popular Artist mentioned on our blog!
-Gained over 150 Followers on Instagram
-And received 1 Hate Message!! (WOOHOO OUR FIRST ONE)
Thankyou so much for all the Love and Support GANG
Since I was a young girl, I was taught to reject female body hair.
Remove in any way possible in order to fit society’s idea of beautiful. At 18 I said no more. While I still receive discrimination from many, the existence of body hair on my skin has amplified confidence and power within myself and many other women who have chosen to do the same. Earlier centuries saw the existence of female body hair as an attribute of attraction and womanhood, however modern society has enforced it’s removal due to its correlation with masculinity and uncleanliness, both statements drilled into the minds of young men and women through the exposure of unrealistic body expectations. I am not telling women they must grow their body hair as an act of rebellion, I am encouraging equality across genders and proving a hairy woman is a beautiful woman. My artwork at university has developed through the use of my own body hair, both as a topic of discussion and a tool for creation. By using body hair within my practice as a printmaker, I hope to show the beauty of the natural form through the creation of discussion as well as the confrontation of contemporary ideals.
Grow your hair if you want to! Dye it if you want to! Don’t let anyone tell you what you should look like in order to be ‘pretty’.
Augusts final feature is from Printmaker Phoebe Winter! Keep reading to find out more about her passions and work!-
Q1:What is your name, age, and where are you based?
A: Phoebe Winter, 20 Years old, Based: Isle of Wight when away from UNI at Brighton.
Q2: How did you first get into your creative practice/ work?
A: Had an interest in art since primary school which developed into a passion during A-levels where I began to think of it as a career choice. I began experimenting with what styles and mediums I could use to express my chosen topics, developing my love for art and its impact on human emotion even more. Moving to university in Brighton has only made my desire to enter the art work more prominent, as both a Female + Feminist artist.
Q3: Are there any main or overarching themes you explore in your work?
A: Feminism as a whole, female objectification and sexualisation, the natural female body and most recently an exploration into the commonplace of sexual assault in modern society. My work has definitely altered the way I see myself, as well as how my artwork and appearance can be used to challenge social ideals of women.
Q4: Highlight one of your biggest inspirations!
A: Tracy Emin is definitely one of my biggest inspirations. Her use of installation to confront social topics in an uncensored fashion creates an environment in which the audience is forced to question her motives and desires for the piece. Her pieces that have been most influential to me are ‘My Bed’ 1998 and ‘Everyone I have ever slept with’ 1963-1995. More often than not her artworks create discomfort and confusion due to their uncensored and confrontational nature, both feelings which force a person’s mind to think deeper in order to understand, something I have began to experiment with in order to force my audience to question the realities of female objectification and sexual assault.
‘Everyone I have ever slept with’ By Tracey Emin.
Q5: Where can you see yourself in 5 years’ time?
A: I don’t have a definite plan 5 years from now, however as long as I am creating and doing what I enjoy, I will be happy. I would ideally like to get some works in a gallery, and hopefully be living in Brighton full time while creating artwork!
‘Red bodies, black crosses’ by Phoebe Winter‘Miss Collage’ by Phoebe Winter‘Pink’ -etching by Phoebe Winter‘Frilly Suspender’ print by Phoebe Winter
To find more of Pheobe and her artwork you can go to her Instagram!
Keep your eyes PEELED for more work and Pieces for the OP from Phoebe also…
This weeks final feature is from multi-disciplinary visual artist Callum-Louis Adams! Their work stimulating, tangible and conceptual… Keep reading to find out more!
Q1: What is your Name, Age, and Where are you based?
A:My name is Calum-Louis Adams, I am 21 years old and I am based in Brighton.
Q2:How did you first get into your creative practice / work?
A:I took up visual art quite late in comparison to other creatives. Although I had been writing poetry for many years, I only started working on my current visual practice when I was 18 during my foundation year. My practice started with performance work, using my body as a tool for drawing, painting and sculpting. The aspect of performance was key for me, no matter what route I have taken since I first began creating. Performance showed to me that material can be anything, and that ‘anything being material’ can mark canvas in the most incredible and strange ways.
Q3:Are there any main or overarching themes you explore in your work?
A:Being a multi-disciplinary artist, I often explore relationships between the self, the body and the material in whatever work I am doing, whether that be painting, performance or conceptual work. I have struggled with my gender for a long time, and discovering a use for my body within the creation of work has allowed me to repair a broken relationship I have had with it and the self through art mediums. This body theme results in my practice often incorperating strange marking methods such as burial, chewing and screaming.
Q4:Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?
A:Now this is a tough one, because anything can happen in such a short time. That being said, I am hoping that I will be training as a teacher or lecturer as well as being a working visual artist. I love to learn and am passionate about education, so It would be a shame for it all to stop at my experience without passing it onto others.
Q5:How has the COVID-19 Pandemic Affected your Work?
A:Surprisingly, once the lockdown was announced, I found working on my practice to be a great distraction for any anxieties I may have felt during such a strange time. I started spending more time on developing my art style, and on caring for self, thus my work.
Q6:Highlight one of your biggest inspirations!
A:In terms of the art world, I absolutely love Piero Manzonifor pushing boundaries in where artwork derives its worth, often weighing on the name and status of the artist as opposed to the actual work. Outside of specific artist inspiration, Found objects that can be used as extensions of my body, ‘tools’ for painting spark creativity for me.
Q7:If you could share one message with the world, what would it be?
A:I think too often, artists can fall into the trope of taking art too seriously, stressing on trying to present as professional as possible. Although this is very important, I would say its also equally as important to experiment and have fun! Drop the paintbrush for your fingers and feet, throw away the pencil and kick the paper through mud and dirt to create marks or grab a hammer and chisel to carve holes into the paper… There is beauty in such naive and childlike exploration.
‘Untitled Drawing, Post Burial (4 Months); Soil, Gum Arabic and Pencil on Paper’‘Siphon (Dance Theory); Clay, Water and Pencil on Newsprint’‘Untitled Drawing, Post Burial (3 Months) Soil, Gum Arabic, Ink and Pencil on Paper’Portrait of Callum, by me (Elsie G.)
To find and Support Callum you can go to their Instagram! And also their website!
We are starting this week with a mini artist feature from Young Photographer Shania Harness, who is also from Norfolk which is where the OP is based!
Give her work lots of love+ keep reading…
Q1: What is your Name, Age, and Where are you based?
Hi, I’m Shania Harness, I am 19 and am a Norfolk based photographer.
Q2: How did you first get into your creative practice/ work?
I have always been a creative person, I think I first realised this in primary school when I won 1st prize in the art category of the Norfolk Show (seemed like a big deal at the time), this creativity became even greater when I received my first camera- I took it everywhere, it even had a waterproof case so I used to dip it into the water while canoeing along Norfolk’s peaceful rivers, yes the images were mostly blurry but it sparked a passion.
Q3: Are there any main or overarching themes you explore in your work?
I love to experiment, my current project is based around escapism- going somewhere you have daydreamed of, but in miniature form. Although a lot of my work revolves around being outside.
Q4: Highlight one of your biggest inspirations!
The outdoors- I could spend hours exploring!
Q5: Where can you see yourself in 5 years’ time?
I hope to have just finished a degree in natural history and marine photography and start exploring the photography industry. Maybe working for somewhere like national geographic or even just travel the world with my camera. Who knows!
All images by Shania Harness! You can follow her on Instagram!
This weeks last Artist Feature is from self proclaimed Feminist Artist and amazing MOTHER FUCKING WOMAN Jess Trainer. We have known eahcother for a few years however Jess has recently ventured into commissionable artwork and doing her own creative THING…
Keep reading to find out for more!
Q1: What is your Name, Age, and Where are you based?
A: I’m Jess or @_femininefeminist_ , I’m 25 and based in Sheffield.
Q2: How did you first get into your creative practice/ work?
A: As I grew up as an only child, I did a lot of drawing and painting as a kid and creative subjects like art, dance and literature were always my favourite at school. Those were the things I enjoyed so I worked hard at them. I then followed them through GCSE/A Level, did my degree in BA Fine Art and ended up teaching and supporting in creative classes for adults and teens with disabilities. I actually used to want to design album covers or work in high fashion but now I’m more interested in using art to improve the lives of others.
Q3: Are there any main or overarching themes you explore in your work?
A: If you couldn’t guess by my instagram handle, my work is mostly about women’s issues, particularly identity, how we’re perceived by others and how we’re expected to be. My work is usually very personal and responsive and one topic that I always come back to is the female body and sexuality. like so many other women I’ve dealt with varying degrees of sexual assault, I’ve been on ridiculous diets trying to fit myself into the ideal body, and very recently I suffered a miscarriage. All these things have led to a complicated relationship with myself and I think anyone who identifies as a woman, even if we haven’t shared experiences, will share that relationship with their own body. I find I’m constantly working on forgiving my body, loving my body and looking after her and that’s something that feels very important.
Q4: How has the COVID- 19 Pandemic affected your work?
A: I moved to Sheffield just before we went into lockdown so I have been out of work for a few months now and having my art practise has been a blessing. I’ve spent lockdown mostly focussing on ways I can move forward with my own art and create a proper business out of it that I feel genuinely excited about.
Q5: Highlight one of your biggest inspirations!
A:Tracey Emin! I was always told not to reference Emin at University because she’s too obvious and every young female does. But I find that so important about her, her work is so so personal and raw and you feel like she’s talking to you and telling you her stories of grief and pain and love and sex and I think its something a lot of young women relate to.
Tracey Emin for Tate Talks
Q6: Where can you see yourself in 5 years’ time?
A: I’ve been accepted onto a MA in Art Therapy which I’m so excited about, it’s something I’ve wanted and have been working towards since I was a teenager so hopefully in 5 years I’ll be helping others use art to process their own trauma and understand their own emotions a little better.
Q7: If you could share a message with the world, what would it be?
A: ‘You can’t change other’s actions but you can change your reactions.’ It’s something my yoga teacher and long time friend said recently and it really resonated with me and allowed me to be a bit more mindful, relax my shoulders and carry a little less anger and grief around with me.
Work by Jess TrainerWork by Jess TrainerWork by Jess TrainerWork by Jess Trainer
If you would like to follow Jess and support her work you can find her on Instagram + Her ETSY store!
Today on the OP we are featuring another talented photographer! Jake’s work covers many topics but they are currently venturing into the Queer Photography scene more!
Keep reading to find out more…
Q1: What is your Name, Age, and Where are you based?
A:My name is Jake Williamson, I’m 19 years old and I’m studying in London.
Q2: How did you first get into your creative practice/ work?
A: Being creative came to me during high school, I started doing photography as a GCSE and that’s when I started my creative journey.
Q3: Are there any main or overarching themes you explore in your work?
A: My work over the last few years has always had a political point of view. From domestic abuse, Nazism, Racism, Feminism, and Pollution. I am currently getting further into the fetish and Queer photography scene.
Q4: How has the COVID- 19 Pandemic affected your work?
A: Covid-19 was a scooter to the ankle for us creatives that sometimes struggle with finding motivation. My university work went through to lockdown… which was fine… for a day… the sense of being in a working environment is something I heavily admire. So being in a bedroom in Norfolk just wasn’t cutting it for me.
Q5: Highlight one of your biggest inspirations!
A:When it comes to inspirations, Muses, and people I heavily admire, Pete Burns would be in my top 3. A man who put his fingers up to conforming and lived his life the way he wanted. He spoke his mind and did everything for himself. I appreciated him before he died and will continue to do so.
‘Dead Or Alive’- Pete Burns.
Q6: Where can you see yourself in 5 years’ time?
A:When I get asked where I see myself in 5 years, I panic. I haven’t got a bloody clue! I have a rough idea of what I want to do. Something on the lines of styling and photography would be lovely. As long as I’m happy!
Q7: If you could share a message with the world, what would it be?
A: If I was to have a motto that everyone would hear, it would be “Don’t be a hater dear”. What people dress in, identify as, or who they sleep with or love, has absolutely nothing to do with you…
Image by Jake WilliamsonImage by Jake WilliamsonImage by Jake Williamson
Todays Orange Peel post its from our Youngest Artist Feature so far! And we are super excited to showcase Ruby’s art work!
Keep reading bellow to find out more about her creative process…
Q1: What is your Name, Age, and Where are you based?
A: My name is Ruby Cascarina, 16, based in Hertfordshire.
Q2: How did you first get into your creative practice/ work?
A: Growing up I felt quite talentless. I wasn’t very sporty or good at any musical instruments etc, just average and there was nothing special about me.However, I was always a creative person but it wasn’t up until I moved into secondary school that I really started to enjoy art and thought it was something I could be good at. Particularly going into year 10, at the start of the GCSE course, I really started to practice more and it was encouraging to hear positive comments from teachers and classmates. From there I continued to draw and paint both for school work and for fun and it is satisfying to see myself improve over the years!
Q3: Are there any main or overarching themes you explore in your work?
A: Doing art at school, all of my sketchbooks had a theme. Whether that be issues surrounding mental health, climate change etc. and it was inspiring to research artists and see that the majority of them had a reason to create art and a message they wanted to spread. Although I have made paintings about topics I am passionate about, including the Black Lives Matter movement, there isn’t just one idea that I always link back to!
I also know that I am still miles away from meeting my potential when it comes to my art so as I progress and find my style, I hope to find a purpose in the things I create
Image from Rubys Instagram @artandruby
Q4: Highlight one of your biggest inspirations!
A: My whole family are creative people; my dad is an animator, my mum is in the fashion industry and my grandparents were artists. My preferred style of art relates closest to my grandparents and I hope to one day be as good as they were, so I would say they are my biggest inspiration. I am lucky to be surrounded by art in my home and be able to look back on the works of my grandparents as I think that it is important to experience other peoples art in order to improve at my own.
Q5: Where can you see yourself in 5 years’ time?
A: In 5 years time I hope to be studying art at university or maybe doing an apprenticeship for something art related. My biggest fear is ending up doing some sort of uncreative job that will bore me all day!
In an ideal world I will be able to sell my art full-time but ultimately I just want to continue to improve, challenge myself and experiment, but whatever I am doing in 5 years I will definitely still be painting!
Painting by Ruby CascarinaPainting by Ruby CascarinaPainting by Ruby Cascarina
If you want to find Ruby you can follow her on Instagram!
And to see more content from amazing young artists you can follow our Instagram and this blog!
We have a brand new Full Artist Feature by talented Illustration Molly Russon! Keep Reading to find out more…
Q1: What is your Name, Age, and Where are you based?
I’m Molly Russon, I’m 22 and I’m an illustrator based in London.
Q2: How did you first get into your creative practice/ work?
A: I’ve always been interested in art and I think just had it in my head that art was what I was going to do. My mum is an artist, so I grew up drawing and painting, but I think I wanted to Illustration when I realised that working with lots of different clients means you can work on so many different sorts of projects. I’m one of those people that wants to do everything, so the fact illustration gets used in so many ways really appeals to me!
Q3: Are there any main or overarching themes you explore in your work?
A: I don’t really purposefully have themes in my work, but I always want to make work that kind of points at maybe the mundane, ordinary or the stuff we take for granted, and says ‘ah, that’s a weird/beautiful/funny thing’.
I also really love history and want to do more work telling stories about people from the past and how they lived their lives as it really interests me. I’ve done a few projects looking at figures from the past. My book about Alfred Wallis which looked at his work but also his battle with mental health, and also the LGBT lives of the Bloomsbury Group. Often the stories that don’t get told interest me a lot.
Q4: How has the COVID- 19 Pandemic affected your work?
A: Lockdown has allowed it to just be me and my work, and that has been really good. I think because I’m quite good at comparing my work to others, having this time to just focus a bit more has been great. Also being forced to get into a good routine and work out how to work from home- as that would be the situation for me Covid or no Covid- has been really useful in setting myself up for being a freelancer after uni!
Q5: Highlight one of your biggest inspirations!
A: I suppose I kind of have to say Alfred Wallis. I’m obsessed with him. Then I wrote about his work and life and that got worse. He’s a folk artist – so completely untrained – and he just communicates his love, obsession, knowledge and concern for the sea and boats in a way that I don’t think any trained artist could. It’s that translation of passion and a point of view into art, that I would love to be able to do. For it to come completely from someone’s heart and to be able to feel that as another person is amazing to me, and often kind of dampened by training a lot of the time. It’s very rare to find trained artists that are able to do that.
A: I don’t know really. Part of me wants to just sing the lyrics to the Noah and the Whale song as a response instead ! I do have things I’d like to do though. I’d liked to have worked on illustration jobs for magazines or publications by then. That’s one place I’d like to see my illustrations. I also would like to have maybe written or illustrated another book? Ive got a few ideas so maybe by then I would have decided which one to do. I also love the idea of working with other people such as writers on collaborative projects. Also ceramics, I hope I get access to doing that again soon. Apart from that in five years I’d like to maybe have a studio space somewhere!
Q7: If you could share a message with the world, what would it be?
A: I think probably just be compassionate. To others and especially to yourself. How you treat yourself will help your interactions with others. Respect yourself. Don’t beat yourself up. Give yourself time to learn and grow. Listen to yourself. Once you’re doing all that for yourself you can do all that for others. So everyone should start there.
Illustration by Molly RussonIllustration by Molly RussonIllustration by Molly Russon
This post will be the last for our week dedicated too the Black Lives Matter movement. It is an article/ in depth Interview with a few of the group who organised the BLM Protest in Kings Lynn Norfolk. 3 or the organisers kindly answered 5 questions about the protest to give some insight and tips too hosting your own Protests!
Q1: What is your name, age, and where are you based?
A1: Jasmai Gostling, 22, Kings. Lynn.
Q2: What made you want to Organise a BLM Protest in your community?
A2: we wanted to host the protest as a way of spreading awareness of a problem that I think is overshadowed a lot in Norfolk, we wanted to educate the people of Kings Lynn on the racism and police brutality that is happening across the uk and in other countries. Also how it effects those people and how they can help fight the cause!
Q3. What was the most difficult+ rewarding aspect about the protest?
A3: The most rewarding part of the protest was that more people are now aware of racism issues happening around the world and the issue is being spoken about more often and ways of helping the cause are more openly available through social media The difficulties were having such a short time to organise the protest as we could have had more people involved and more resources on hand so people were better educated on what they can do to fight for balck lives matter
Q4.Has anything come from the protest/ had a lasting effect on your community?
A4:What’s come from the protests is that the issue is being spoken about more aswell as people have had more involvement in spreading things like links to petitions and telling their friends how to help the cause as it felt more accepted to talk about that before in kings lynn
Q5. Do you have any tips for others wanting to organise their own protest?
A5: Tips for people holding their own protest is to make sure permission is given to use an area to host the protest and that you get the correct authorities involved to prevent anything getting out of hand so you can focus on the cause you’re fighting for! Good Luck!
Jasmai at the BLM Protest in Kings Lynn.
Q1. What is your name, age and where are you from?
A2:Ben, 29, Kings Lynn.
Q2. What made you want to organise a BLM protest in your community?
A2:Desire for change.
Q3. What was the most difficult+ rewarding aspect about the protest?
A3:Organising it and getting bombarded by journos on the phone was difficult. The turnout was the most rewarding.
Q4.Has anything come from the protest/ had a lasting effect on your community?
A4: Local BLM groups have popped up on Facebook and people seem to talk about it a lot more!
Q5. Do you have any tips for others wanting to organise their own protest?
A5:Get the local liason officer on board, it helps massively.
Q1: What is your name, age, and where are you based?
A1: Marcin Cyprian Trenka, 24, Poland.
Q2: What made you want to Organise a BLM Protest in your community?
A2: When the ball started rolling in America, and that momentum carried over to here, it felt like the perfect time to get together with other people to make a difference together. It only felt right to attend and do what I could to fight against prejudice. I also wanted to take the opportunity to bring up topics not often talked about, for example the discrimination against eastern Europeans in the UK.
Q3: What was the most difficult+ rewarding aspect about the protest?
A3: The most difficult part I thought was going to be getting up there and speaking, but the crowd and everyone involved gave me a very heart warming welcome and made speaking at the event easy and natural for me. The most difficult part was writing my speech. I have stayed up long into the night making sure it was as good as I could make it. It was nerve-racking at times as I knew I would be speaking on behalf of other people and didn’t want to misrepresent them. The most rewarding part was seeing the difference I’ve made within people that day.
Q4.Has anything come from the protest/ had a lasting effect on your community?
A4: After the speaches, I’ve had people come up to me and thank me for what I’ve done and talked about. That was of course very nice, but it didn’t matter to me so much as just knowing that people were able to hear the speech and knowing it made a difference for them.
Q5: Do you have any tips for others wanting to organise their own protest?
5: If you can’t do a lot, do what you can. If you are given the opportunity to get involved in a larger way, do the most that you can. When it comes to speaking, just be brave, be yourself, and speak from the heart. You don’t have to be perfect, and no one expects you to be. People are just happy to be there to learn about people’s lived experiences, and know people are making a difference and they are there to support them.
‘Killing in the name of what? Rage against the hatred’-‘BLACK LIVES MATTER’The BLM Protest March in The Walks at Kings Lynn.‘White Silence is Violence’
The Orange Peel 