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| STUDIO ME
& YOU |
23/9/22 - 1/10/22
ROB
ELLIS, TESS GILMARTIN, ANDREW MELLOR, TOM ROONEY, OTTMAN
SAID, JOHN STEELE, JANE WALSH, VERONICA WATSON & JEAN
SMITH |
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OUTPUT
is delighted to welcome Studio Me for the
latest in our series of postal exhibitions. In Studio Me &
You, nine emerging Liverpool-based artists have created
limited-edition prints of images which draw upon themes
central to their developing creative practice.
Recipients of
this postal exhibition receive not only one of these prints (selected
randomly), but also a full set of postcards which introduce the work of
all nine artists.
All of the artists featured in the exhibition create work at the
Bluecoat in Liverpool. Studio
Me is a new development of the Bluecoat’s inclusive arts
project Blue Room,
supporting learning disabled and neurodivergent artists to develop
their creative practice and share work with audiences. Each artist has
time, space, tailored creative support and mentoring sessions with
other artists who share a kinship with their practice.
The limited edition prints in this postal exhibition were handmade by
the artists at the Bluecoat’s screen print studio. Each print is hand
pulled, a process that creates unique variations; numbered, and signed
by the artists.
The choice of a postal exhibition is significant, echoing the renewed
importance of remote connection during the pandemic. During
lockdown, when unable to safely meet in the studio, the postal service
was a valuable way of sharing materials and resources and exchanging
work and ideas within the Blue Room community. The artists showed
remarkable resilience in maintaining their creative practice at home
and have since returned to in-person studio sessions with a renewed
sense of their identity as practicing artists. We encourage the
audience of Studio Me
& You to send the postcard collection far and wide.
Studio Me
aims to explore and negotiate the barriers many learning disabled and
neurodivergent artists face to progression including lack of access to
inclusive arts education, professional networks, paid work and
opportunities to exhibit. In addition to nurturing artists, the project
aims to connect with and support curators and arts organisations who
may be interested in exhibiting and commissioning the work of
under-represented artists but are unsure how best to sensitively
approach and platform artists with access needs.
SIGN UP FOR
A FREE PRINT & POSTCARD SET HERE
... or keep scrolling to learn more about this fantastic community of
artists - images of the prints and postcards are below, alongside a Q
& A with each artist. To learn more about the work of Blue Room and
the Studio Me group, please see the links below.
- Studio Me website
- Blue Room on Instagram
To find out more about exhibiting, commissioning or collaborating with artists from Studio Me,please contact blueroom@thebluecoat.org.uk
Header image: detail from Hand Jive by Jane Walsh
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| Studio Me & You postal exhibition pack
Print - Jean Smith, top postcard - Andrew Mellor | |  | Complete Studio Me & You postcard set
Veronica Watson, Tess Gilmartin
Tom Rooney, Jean Smith, Ottman Said
Jane Walsh, Rob Ellis, John Steele, Andrew Mellor | |  | | Song Thrush Bird by John Steele & Liver Building by Ottman Said | |  | | Untitled by Tom Rooney & Super Bike by Andrew Mellor | |  | | Untitled by Tess Gilmartin, Untitled by Jane Walsh & Punk Rockers by Jean Smith | |  | | Untitled by Rob Ellis & Untitled by Veronica Watson | |  | | Postcard featuring Goldfinch by John Steele |
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| ROB ELLIS |
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| Why do you make art?
During the first lockdown I was shielding and bored, so I decided to
make art for family and close friends. When I came out of shielding I
decided I wanted to continue in doing this but to try and make some
money on the side.
What
are your favourite materials to work with?
Card, acrylic paints, MDF, stretched canvas.
What is
this print a picture of and why did you choose it?
I wanted to make a poster about disability, without saying disability.
I have a learning disability and most people think I’m just the same as
others and I feel people judge everyone the same.
How did
you make this print?
I had to design the poster on an iPad and printed two copies off. I
used a black pen for where the blue paint is, another for the green
paint and another where the white paint is. I then went into the screen
printing studio to print these images. I loved this.
As an
artist, what are your hopes for the future?
I would like to get my name known and to sell my artwork. I would also
like to do commission work and hopefully to sell my artwork in the
future. I currently go to Blue Room in Liverpool to gain different
skills and hopefully learn different techniques and skills. |
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| TESS GILMARTIN |
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| Why do you make art?
To show what’s in my head.
What
are your favourite materials to work with?
Paint
What is
this print a picture of and why did you choose it?
My pet fish. I make art to celebrate the things I love.
How did
you make this print?
Screen print
As an
artist, what are your hopes for the future?
Keep practising my painting skills and show art in more galleries.
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| ANDREW MELLOR |
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Super Bike, 2022 |
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| Why do you make art?
I like making art because it makes me feel good. I like making work
about my interests - motorbikes and football.
What
are your favourite materials to work with?
Coloured card, posca pens, paints, collage cut outs.
What is
this print a picture of and why did you choose it?
Two people riding motorbikes. I chose it because I love motorbikes.
How did
you make this print?
I used yellow and blue paint to make a screen print. I liked screen
printing, I want to do it again.
As an
artist, what are your hopes for the future?
More collaging out of my ultimate motorcycle book! I’d also like to
make more of my Liverpool Trophy paintings that I made in my first
taster of Studio Me. |
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Rob Ellis - Every Voice Is Different (2022)
Tess Gilmartin - Chickens (2022)
& Andrew Mellor - Untitled (2022) |
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| TOM ROONEY |
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| Why
do you make art?
It’s relaxing. I make for the experience. I think through my ideas as
I’m physically making - thinking about shapes and brush strokes. I like
to think about how things look from different angles. I’ve started
doing this recently using photography.
What
are your favourite materials to work with?
Coloured paper/card, canvas, posca pens, paints, pencils.
What is
this print a picture of and why did you choose it?
It’s the BBC Radio Merseyside building and some of the DJ’s. I was
thinking about the studios on the inside of the building but also some
of the architecture on the outside.
How did
you make this print?
I drew it from a photograph that I had taken. It’s a screen print.
As an
artist, what are your hopes for the future?
Keep taking photos. Improve my photography skills by taking photos of
other buildings, and have my artwork seen by different people and
artists.
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| OTTMAN SAID |
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Liver Building, 2022 |
| Why do you make art?
To share with other people. I like making art. It makes me feel good.
What
are your favourite materials to work with?
I like using everything.
What is
this print a picture of and why did you choose it?
It’s the Liver building, because I like doing it.
How did
you make this print?
It’s a screen print.
As an
artist, what are your hopes for the future?
I want to keep practising my drawing skills and get paid for it. |
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| JEAN SMITH |
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Punk Rocker, 2022 |
| Why do you make art?
I like to be busy. It gets me out of the house.
What
are your favourite materials to work with?
Posca pens and paper.
What is
this print a picture of and why did you choose it?
A punk rocker, I just wanted to do it.
How did
you make this print?
It’s a screen print.
As an
artist, what are your hopes for the future?
To get more commissions and invitations to make and share my art. |
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Tom Rooney - BBC Radio Merseyside II (2022)
Jean Smith - Punk Rockers (2022)
Ottman Said - See Through Water (2022) |
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| JOHN STEELE |
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Song Thrush Bird, 2022 |
| Why do you make art?
To make people happy when they see my pictures. I want to paint a picture that looks real, like a real thing.
What are your favourite materials to work with?
My
favourite art things I like working with are watercolour paints,
watercolour paper, canvas, acrylic paint, HB pencils, charcoal pencils,
plain paper and pastels.
What is this print a picture of and why did you choose it?
This is a print of a song thrush bird. I chose it because I like birds and everybody else likes birds too.
How did you make this print?
I made this print with acrylic paint on silkscreen.
As an artist, what are your hopes for the future?
After
my drawings and paintings are done I like showing everybody them on
walls like in museums and galleries. Also on Twitter, Facebook and
online on computers too.
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| JANE WALSH |
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| Jane Walsh
creates mixed media artworks that pay homage to their favourite films
Titanic and Grease. The films’ main characters are notable subjects in
Walsh’s artworks.
‘I like Jack and Rose and Sandy and Danny. I like that they are in love. My art is about love.’
- Jane Walsh
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| VERONICA WATSON |
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| Why do you make art?
I like making artwork. I’m a portrait artist, I like seeing and drawing
happy faces.
What
are your favourite materials to work with?
Acrylic, pencil and paper.
What is
this print a picture of and why did you choose it?
I’ve drawn the sunflower because it stands out. I had seen a lot on TV
at the time. It reminded me of a time at Blue Room where we made plant
pots and planted sunflower seeds. We had a competition about whose
plant was the tallest, me and Robert especially. Mine was the biggest.
He said “I’ll come in next week and cut it off” ha! Some of the
visitors were smiling their heads off, asking ‘how’d you do that?’... I
said Miracle Grow. Robert didn’t speak to me for a week cause I won!
How did
you make this print?
I sketched onto tracing paper, then coloured in parts of the design
black. I made the screen using a UV machine and printed one layer in
green and one in yellow.
As an
artist, what are your hopes for the future?
I want to do some more portraits! I’d like to work with Out of The Blue
(Bluecoat's after-school art club) to make portraits of children. I have also recently hosted a portrait
workshop at Norton Priory museum in Runcorn. I'd like to do more
workshops eventually. |
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 |  |  | | | | Postcard artwork (click to enlarge)
John Steele - Goldfinch (2021)
Veronica Watson - Studio Me (2018)
(exhibition documentation by Rob Battersby)
Jane Walsh - Hand Jive (2022)
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