There are six artists from Ochre Print Studio including myself who are exhibiting at Impact 6 in Bristol.

On Tuesday 8th September, Susanna Harris-Hughes, Richard Beard, Handan Sadigoklu and myself delivered the artwork to Spike Island and curated the work in our designated space.

OPEN IMPACT: UK Print Studios Exhibition

Saturday 12 September – Sunday 20 September 2009
10am-5pm (Sun 20, 10am -4pm)
(Impact Conference 16 – 19 September)
Spike Island, 133 Cumberland Road, Bristol BS1 6UX

Some of my sketchbook work. Silkscreen prints on newsprint.

Definitely worth a visit (entry is free).

On Friday 14th August, I went to the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition. The exhibition has been an annual event since 1769 and each year there is around 10,000 entries.

I particularly enjoyed the rooms packed with prints that were diverse in scale and process. It was really inspiring and I have made a note of several artists that I want to research further. If I find some good images, I'll post them later.

'Dynamism of a Soccer Player', oil on canvas, 193.2 x 201 cm, Umberto Boccioni

For me, the work of Umberto Boccioni was the most sensitive and astute. His work is dynamic, full of formal contrasts and truely explores the the Furturist's ideal of simultaneity: showing different perspectives of objects, people, and the environment in one composition; everything connected, one aspect affecting another, merging together. This really struck a chord with me as I am producing work that is emotionally responsive and, my environment and the objects I interact with daily are significant and representative of who I am and how I feel....

Martin, S. (2005), Futurism. Taschen: Bonn

On Monday 10th August, I went to Tate Modern to see the Futurism exhibition. Most of the works on display were paintings and sculptures, but one room held a glass cabinet which contained early printed examples of F.T. Marinetti's manifesto of Futurism first published in 1909 with related books and newspaper articles. For three decades, the Futurist group consisting of many artists from various creative fields worked hard to directly influence peoples lives. Technological and scientific advancements were key to their ideas.

Inspirational images taken on my holiday in Kefalonia.

I went with some colleagues to see 'Beyond Bloomsbury' at Somerset House. Having been a textile designer I was really excited about seeing the designs of the Omega Workshops first hand. The Omega workshops was a design co-operative of artists who wanted to inject some fun and colour in to furniture and textiles. They were well ahead of their time and you can see direct influences of Henri Matisse, Kandinsky and Picasso. Although it is a small exhibition, it is well-presented and you can take photographs.

There is also an exhibition of works on paper by Winnifred Gill (1891 - 1981) who was a member of the Omega Worshops containing woodcuts and linocuts with the original carved pieces of lino on display. The exhibition is on until 20th September and is worth a visit if you have a spare 45 mins.