Picture
Julia preparing for a workshop session at the last event.
In today' 'meet and greet' we are delighted to introduce you to one of the founders of Collective Art in Marlow - our talented glass artist Julia Hayward.

Introduce yourself briefly: Hello, my name is Julia and I produce kiln-formed glass. I have been working with glass for over 10 years, since taking a course whilst on maternity leave with my eldest daughter. I studied English & Theatre Studies at University and worked in marketing for 8 years before taking a career break and embarking on my creative journey with glass!

Describe your style My glass is both functional and decorative. I do produce more sculptural 3D pieces in addition to glass platters, panels and decorations. I generally choose restful soothing colours and I like looking for contrasts between textures and colours. I often use inclusions of metal in my glass, or I add other materials like beads and wire to my decorations.
 
Tell us about your workspace? I work in a studio room at home and in the garage where my kiln and other power tools are located!
 
What inspires you? Inspiration comes from the lines and textures of the natural world; seashells, bark, leaves and the natural contours of the land. My more sculptural work is inspired by my place in the world and by the lyrics of Joni Mitchell!
 
How and when did you get involved with Collective Art in Marlow? I am a founder member of the Collective.
 
What is your favourite technique? I really enjoy glass casting and I have recently started working on some 'organic burn-outs'. Basically you put an organic object (like a vegetable!) into a mold and burn it out in the kiln, replacing the vegetable with a glass version! Very exciting...
 
Apart from glass, do you have any other creative interests? I love to sing.
 
Tell us about where else we can see your work? My work is stocked at FROM in Thame, Emerald Gallery in Chalfont St. Peter, Obsidian Art in Aylesbury, occasionally at Zest Contemporary Glass in London and then local art & craft events.

We also asked Julia the following questions as a bit of fun:
 
Favourite film: At the moment it is Despicable Me (I love the music)
 
Pets: Sammy the Labrador puppy, Toffee & Marmalade the ginger sisters (cats), Bubble & Squeak the guinea pigs and an assortment of fish!
 
Favourite place to be: somewhere sunny with my family
 
Person I'd most like to invite to dinner: Graham Norton 
 
Random fact about me: I used to sing with the Chemical Brothers (before they were famous!)
 
Picture of Maria Tufft standing behind her stall of fabric creations - notebooks and corsages
Maria next to her table of gorgeous fabric creations at the Collective Art in Marlow event in summer 2011.

In today's 'Meet and Greet' we would like to introduce you a lady who works wonders with fabric - Maria Tufft  

Introduce yourself briefly
I am Maria Tufft and having spent half my life in banking & finance I finally achieved a degree in Applied Textile Design as a mature student. What bliss! I now work part-time and make as much as I can on my days off.  I am married to Ian and have 2 grown up sons still living at home.
 
Tell us about your workspace? I like to sew in my kitchen & dye in my tiny utility room but would love my own dedicated studio-space.  Next house maybe...
 
What inspires you? I like colour and texture and like to let my work suggest it's own final design. 

How and when did you get involved with Collective Art in Marlow? I first joined Collective Art in Marlow in May 2012, at the same time as preparing for Bucks Open Studios in June so it was definitely "in at the deep end".
 
What is your favourite technique? My favourite technique is dyeing in a plastic bag as you can never be quite sure what the result will be 24 hours later.  No  two pieces of fabric are exactly the same and they can be overdyed for even more surprises.
 
Apart from playing with fabric, do you have any other creative interests? When I'm not crafting I enjoy cooking and watching cookery programmes.  I have also been working hard on my garden but not in the cold and wet weather.
 
Where else can we see your work? Having enjoyed my time with Collective Art in Marlow and Open Studios, my son is working on setting up a website for me and I intend to start selling on Etsy and Folksy in the new year.

 As a bit of fun we also asked Maria the following ‘random’ questions.

Favourite film: The English Patient
 
Pets: Sadly none
 
Favourite place to be: At home
 
Person I’d most like to invite to dinner: David Hockney
 
Random fact about me: I'm addicted to Strictly Come Dancing and even watch the mid week programmes . . .

 
Picture of small ceramic flowers in a box as made by Rhian Winslade
Some of Rhian's pretty ceramic flowers
In today's 'Meet and Greet' feature we are delighted to introduce you to the collectives very talented potter - Rhian Winslade

Introduce yourself briefly: My name is Rhian Winslade and I am a potter based in Windsor. I originally studied hotel management as I wanted to be a chef, then became distracted by music and spent the next 10 years working for HMV managing shops and working as a project manager. I spent the next year studying interior design at Chelsea School of Art, then onto raising my family.
 
Describe your style?:  I love simple clean lines which I hope can be seen in my work, also contrasting textures, gritty clays with a very smooth glaze. The colours I love are all shades of blues & greens.
 
Tell us about your workspace?: My workspace where I have my kiln is in an old stable workshop in a Livery stables just outside Windsor Great Park. When I look out of my window I can see a five bar gate with horses grazing in a field. Idyllic in the spring summer, absolutely freezing in the winter! 
 
What inspires you?: I love 1950's design, children's illustrations, patterned textiles and the Welsh coastal landscape where I grew up.
 
How and when did you get involved with Collective Art in Marlow?: I became involved with the collective in the summer of 2011 when I took part in Bucks Open Studios.
 
What is your favourite technique?: My favourite way of working is to hand build, a slow process but one I love. I create the basic shape using coils of clay, and then refine using a very basic tool that looks like a mini grater. The shapes are then fired once, glazed, glass added then fired again.
 
Apart from ceramics, do you have any other creative interests?: When not spending time with my family, I love to bake and spend time (not enough) at my allotment.
 
Where else can we see your work?: My work is currently available via my website www.rhianwinslade.com at the Craft Coop in Maidenhead until Christmas, Emerald Gallery in Chalfont St Peter and occasionally at the Windsor Emporium. I’ll also be taking part in the Artisan Fair at Norden Farm on the 8 December.

As a bit of fun we also asked Rhian the following 'random' questions:
 
Favourite film: Now Voyager or any Bette Davis film
 
Pets: Mental Battersea Cat called Alfie
 
Favourite place to be: My Kitchen
 
Favourite dinner guest: Apart from my family, Trixie Flory
 
Random fact about me: I am only 4 foot 11

 
Picture of Jacqueline Ford at Art on the Street in Maidenhead
Jacqueline standing by her panel at 'Art on the Street' in Maidenhead in 2011

Next in our 'Meet and Greet' series we would like to introduce you to a 'new girl' to our collective, mixed media artist Jacqueline Ford.

Introduce yourself briefly:
My names Jacqueline Ford and I live in Marlow. I spend my days working in Local Government and my evenings, when my brain is still functioning, playing with paper, scissors and glue creating mixed media collages.

Describe your style?:  Representational – with a twist, as what you think my work is made up of from a distance may not be what it truly is close up.
 
Tell us about your workspace?: I have turned the diner part of my kitchen diner into my studio space – although with the amount of ephemera and materials I've collected over the years for my collage work I could do with a MUCH bigger space! 
 
What inspires you: Places that have a special meaning to me. My home town of Marlow and the Suffolk coastline feature heavily in my work. 
 
How and when did you get involved with Collective Art in Marlow: This December will be my first foray into the 'Collective Art' cooperative and I was just delighted to have been invited to take part by one of the founding members Julia Hayward (glass) and Oenone Randall (metalwork and jewellery) who saw my work at Emerald Gallery.  I have visited the collectives’ shows a number of times and have always thought that this would be a fabulous group to be part of.
 
What is your favourite technique?: Adding a bit of Distress Stickles Glitter Glue to my work to give a bit of a vintage sparkle.
 
Apart from collage, do you have any other creative interests?: I love taking photos, in fact my other half Ben reckons I have a Japanese gene in me as I take so many!  I also like making necklaces with pretty buttons and beads and making cards as this is a good way to use up the scraps of paper left over from my artwork.
 
Tell us about where else we can see your work?: I have a selection of originals and some limited edition prints at Emerald Gallery in Chalfont St Peter that is run by the very lovely Cath Friend (well worth a visit). This year I also had a stall at the Windsor Emporium and hope to do again in 2013.  I also show my work once a year with the Marlow Art and Crafts Society and our next exhibition will be in mid 2013.  You can also see my work on my website: www.lookwhatjacqmade.co.uk

http://emeraldframes.com/Emerald-gallery.htm

http://www.windsoremporium.co.uk/

As a bit of fun we also asked Jacqueline a few 'random' questions:
 
Favourite film: Forrest Gump
 
Pets: Two very spoilt and vocal Siamese cats – Louis (given name Le Dauphin) and Prom (given name Prometheus)
 
Favourite place to be: At the seaside with Ben looking for pebbles with holes all the way through them (called hag stones in Suffolk), followed by fish and chips and a pint of Adnams!
 
Person I'd most like to invite to dinner: Anyone who can give me a cooking lesson as on the cooking front, Domestic Goddess I am sadly not.        
 
Random fact about me: I used to be a research scientist and have a PhD in noble gas geochemistry . . .

 
 
Picture of handmade felt bags made by Trixie Flory
A selection of Trixie's felt bags
Here is the first in our 'Meet and Greet' series which leading up to our December event will profile in turn the talented artist makers that make up our cooperative. Read on to learn a bit more about our colourful feltmaker extraordinaire - Trixie Flory.
 
Introduce yourself briefly:
I am Trixie Flory. I originally worked for Christies, but came to being a mother with delight. Via a bit of wonky pottery I have ended up just having a good time with my ideas, I do like to make things that are useful as well as fun (well sort of!)  
 
Tell us about your workspace?: I have spent the last few years having fun and working in my shed and at my kitchen table.
 
What inspires you?: Texture, colour and pattern, classic design and great works of art. 
 
How and when did you get involved with Collective Art in Marlow?: I have been involved with the Marlow collective since we begun, one summer a few years ago.
 
What is your favourite technique?: I love to use my embellishing machine to create sections of fabric, which can then be used to make things that are helpful.
 
Apart from feltmaking and textiles, do you have any other creative interests?: I am able to put together bits and pieces to turn nothing much into jewellery, and I like to take an idea and make it mine with stuff from my head!
 
Tell us about where else we can see your work?: I currently sell my work at the Windsor Emporium, and intermittently in the Craft Coop venues in Maidenhead, or out of my shed at home.

http://www.windsoremporium.co.uk/

http://www.craftcoop.co.uk/
 
As a bit of fun we also asked Trixie some more random questions:

Favourite film:
The Railway Children
 
Pets: None
 
Favourite place to be: London
 
Person I'd most like to invite to dinner: My grown up children
 
Random fact about me: I have red hair, but don't care!
 
We are all excited here at the 'Collective Art in Marlow' cooperative as we are launching our new-look website. We do hope that you find our new site accessible and informative. 

The good thing about doing our website with the nice people at Weebly (other than it is free) is that we get a blog function too!  We will be using our blog, leading up to our December event, to showcase our artist-makers and share some more examples of their wonderful work.

We are lucky to have such a diverse range of artist makers in our collective - there truly is something for everyone and if you have had a chance to look at the individual pages on the ABOUT US tab you will have seen this demonstrated already. if you haven't yet - go and make a cuppa, come back and take five to have a look as you are in for a treat.

Bookmark our blog or click on the RSS feed button at the foot of this page to keep up to date with all of our goings on.