Decorative shadows exhibition

I've been offline for ages sorry about that . I either haven't had anything to share or have been too busy to post maybe it's more like getting out of the habit! anyway the past month has been a bit mental what with meetings in Boston about some planting schemes and working on my own garden ready for photos and working on clients gardens I've also manage to squeeze in time to produce my first solo exhibition in about 14 years . It's called Decorative shadows and will be unveiled on Thursday 7th of May at the private view 6-8pm at the Peterborough Museums City gallery 3, the exhibition will be on show until 7th June . I have worked really hard on a new body of work which I hope will be well received. Here's a bit of info about the background to the work.

This exhibition has been an exploration of various belief systems, religious practices and spiritual rituals: to sit in a temple, to meditate in front of a mandala, to pray on a prayer mat. It is concerned with how objects and belief systems may make us feel safe, happy, virtuous, or give us a sense of belonging and inner peace. Jeni has always had an interest in eastern and western philosophies and religions, in particular observing the important role symbolism, decoration and pattern plays within them.

 

The metalwork pieces are inspired by ancient and historical patterns, decoration and representations of nature, some with hidden meanings and symbolism. Shadow and light play an important role to draw on ideas of perceived realities that do not actually exist (the shadow) and the reality that can be touched.

The Gold medal has arrived!

The other day I got called into metal , something exciting has turned up and you need to come in , oo could it be the medal , yes it could ! Brian and I were heading into town anyway so we called in , it was great to see Sarah and Ruth as it's been a while , we opened the box and there it was a real RHS gold medal wow !! I have dreamed of winning one of these but never knew if I would and here it was in my hand . It felt like a quiet private proud moment , after all the excitement and whirlwind of the show going on months ago . This was a sinking in moment for me. So many people worked to make this happen and I will never forget the specialness of the whole experience. The medal represents the icing on the cake and the best thing is the garden has created a new space in Peterborough and  will continue to grow.

Wintery week of wonders

Last Monday I got to meet the team at LDA design Landscape  Architects.  They invited me to go in and talk about what creating the 'A Space to connect and grow' garden at RHS Hampton was like . They are a really nice bunch of people and have an massively  impressive portfolio of work such as the Olympic park and cathedral Square Peterborough to name just a couple . They were really interested in my plasma cutting work so watch this space . 

Then the long awaited preview night arrived. I haven't put together a big exhibition for ages and I loved being a part of it, I managed to create 18 pieces for the Stamford "winterworks" exhibition which continues until December 9th at the Stamford Arts Centre open until 9.30 everyday except Sunday's . It's been a brilliant success so far,  I've sold 5 pieces in the first 3 days one of which was "Birds in bare trees" one of the main pieces . So I'm going to take another big piece in to replace it . This has really given me an appetite for exhibiting again , I better get planning for the next one . On  Saturday morning  I was back in Stamford for a craft fair and had a great day with Sue Shields, Kathryn Parsons and Sam Rodden , where we shared a stall . Drank tea wondered around and sold some work .

Plasma cutting madness

I've been completely absorbed lately, in plasma cutting , trying new techniques and experimenting with powder coated finishes , and generally getting as much work done as possible for a number of exhibitions and craft fairs . Firstly there was the work for Art in the heart gallery / shop in Peterborough where I put together a window display of winter inspired flora and forna metal relief sculptures, metal ivy and Wreaths etc  . Then yesterday we put up a joint exhibition at Stamford arts centre where I'm exhibiting alongside ceramicists Denise Brown , Christine Withall and painter Rene Viner , I was still finishing work up to the wire as usual but got done everything I needed too . I even had an apprentice for the day Chloe who is studying Art foundation at Stamford, she was a great help, I could definitely get used to this.

 The preview is tonight Friday 21st so I'm looking forward to that it will be nice to unwind and enjoy a preview.The exhibition continues until Dec 9th . I'm also doing a craft fair tomorrow at Stamford art centre so if your about come and say hi . 

Jet set week

Monday shopping with clients for hard landscaping materials and items for their  garden from reclamation yards and the like , great fun !

Tuesday I  went to London to take part in the Landscape show woohoo , I loved it , I sat on a master class panel with none other than Andrew Fisher Tomlins , Sarah Eberle and Tom Harfleet !  It was great Sarah and Tom had me in stitches and Andrew Fisher Tomlins is so generous with his time and knowledge . I also met up with people from RHS Hampton , had a cheeky glass of Champagne with the other speakers and shared peanuts with Jo Thompson , I feel like I need to pinch myself . On Tuesday the lovely Jacqui Hurst came up from London to photograph my studio my Plasma cutting and a some shots of my garden . The cheeky kittens followed Jacqui around all day and kept getting in her photography bag . On Thursday I met with a client to talk about their ideas and wish list for their garden , had a meeting with the guys at metal about how their garden will develop over the coming year . Friday I marked out the paths and terrace for the hardlandscaping for one of the gardens Ive been designing , then in the evening I've had a wonderful time at a party hosted by the head of vivacity

where I've met some brilliant artists and business people doing some incredible things in Peterborough . Peterborough is definitely a very exciting place to be and I feel honoured to be a part of it . This week I feel like I'm living a very exciting life I'm sure next week I'll  be back to normal . 

Winfield house

I've had a very lovely day today , first I went on a lovely bike ride the first time for ages then I worked on a survey I'm drawing up at the moment . Then I went to London , with a couple of hours to kill before the main event I went for a mosey around the V &A which I totally love I could spend days there taking it all in . Then

 as I've been lucky enough to be asked to go to the landscape show next Tuesday and sit on a panel to discuss how to take garden design forward in the future it's very exciting and a little bit scary too ,as I'm not sure how good I am at talking in front of crowds . Anyway I'm gonna jump in and give it a go !! So back to today the landscape show team organised a lovely party to meet and greet at Winfield house which is the US Ambassadors residence in London . We got to look around the exquisitly beautiful rooms ,which  included some very impressive modern art , delicious wine and nibbles , a tour of the beautiful gardens by the head gardener . It was so lovely , I especially loved purple border garden with  grapevines trained up large obelisks they looked stunning .we were shown the impressive plans for the New US embassy that is being built at the moment . I met some very nice people although I did feel a little bit socially awkward,  oh well practice will make perfect . It's been a good day . 

The launch of a garden in the balmy sunshine

Finally after months of working on this epic project we are done !!! Yay . I have loved this wonderful journey with Metal so many amazing aspects to it . Learning to plasma cut , building my first show garden at a RHS show . Winning a GOLD ! Winning best In category . Meeting brilliant people , working with brilliant people!  phew it has been totally awesome . And we couldn't have asked for a better way to share it with the People of Peterborough . Two days of fun . Foraging walks , delicious cooking demos with Lee Clarke from Clarkes prestigious restaurant . Handmade in Peterborough crafted some truly beautiful  yarnbombing and decorations , I made bug hotels with kids and there was a lovely pop up cafe for tea and cake. On the Sunday the sun shone down on us , while musicians and poets performed. Myself , Sarah , Sophie and Gareth gave a talk about the project . So many people came and their comments were great . So I think it's been a success and the best thing is a car park has been turned into a really usable and sociable garden .