New designs for 2013... Cups and hooks!

'Four cups and hooks - Round and round'

'Four cups and hooks - Springtime!'

'Four cups and hooks - Topsy turvy love'

Do get in touch if you would like to buy some :)
www.helainasharpley.co.uk

Guinness Park Royal Brewery commission...

I was lucky to exhibit at the first MADE London event last October, where I was showing a large piece with a tree dominating a Parisian Park building.  I sold that over the weekend, and also received this commission, based on the same composition....

My messy desk...

The finished piece...

From the side - the tree was sticking out quite far!

The beautiful shadows cast....

The client chose this building as he'd worked there...

From the side...

Cheshire church commission...

A couple got in touch late last year, to see if I would make them a special commission of the church where they got married. It was a beautifully quaint black and white church, which looked lovely in wire....

I made the church first, see the drawing behind...

It was on a square board...

The 'props' made the wire stick out quite far from the board.  Please note - these are shadows cast on the board, not pencil drawings!  (Some people often get confused by this!)

I liked how detailed and 'cute' it looked once made...

View from above...

Do get in touch if you'd be interested in discussing a commission :)
www.helainasharpley.co.uk

'Continuous lines' exhibition...

Over the past year I have been working in primary schools across the Kirklees area, delivering wire workshops based around each schools' locality.  The culmination of this is an exhibition, showing three of the schools' final pieces alongside some of my own artwork.  Everyone is invited to see the amazing work these talented young artists have created.  The exhibition runs 12th - 23rd February, with the private view 6 -7.30pm on Tuesday 12th.  The gallery at The West Yorkshire Print Workshop is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 10.30 - 6, Saturday 10.30 - 3.

Lampposts lampposts...everyone loves a lamppost!

Just before Christmas I was asked to make work to send to the Affordable Art Fair in Hong Kong...exciting!  So, this week I've been making lampposts...

'La Rambla' lamppost drawing...



The wirework of 'La Rambla' lamppost

ooh look at all those twiddly bits!

The development...

Still alot of work to do...

The very first Helaina Sharpley wire piece...

This week I've been reminiscing about the past six years and everything I've achieved in my little wire world.... Anyway, I remembered Tim Atkinson had taken photos of my very first piece, made in the Autumn of 2006 (the first year of my degree course.)  So I thought I'd share this with you...

This piece was inspired by St Annes on the Sea pier, as it was in the height of it's popularity (1890s ish.)  The pier unfortunately isn't as elegant as this now, but I work from photographs and so can choose the images which capture me the most.

It's funny to look back and see how wobbly my wirework was back then and so flat!  I'm glad I kept this piece so I can reflect on my development so far.

It has been an award winning few weeks at Studio 8...

First Helaina with her WOW factor award (3 times she's won it now) and if that wasn't enough she was also highly commended in the Gift Focus Award too ..both at BCTF! The fairies have a lot to live up to!

They won GOLD recently in the Craft & Design Selected Awards (specialist media) and were particularly delighted. Helaina and I are grateful for all our votes...thanks!!! Lucky ladies indeed.

"Samantha Bryan has won the Gold Award because her designs expressed a

sense of fun, tremendous imagination, creativity and attention to

detail, with even the smallest element thought through. Her

presentation was well considered and I admired her resourcefulness and

the wide range of materials she utilized. "

 Robin Younger (Specialist Media Judge )

http://www.craftanddesign.net/awards/selected/2012/winners/

The British Craft Trade Fair 2012...

With thanks to Janet and Samina from Juko Designs for this 'beautiful' (said obviously with sarcasm...) photo of me and my stand at BCTF 2012.  This was the sixth year I had exhibited at this trade fair, and had another good show... I once again won the WOW factor award (third time!!!) - this award is voted for by my fellow exhibitors, so is especially special!  Thanks you guys (and girls!)  I also was highly commended in the gift focus award for best new gift product.  Plus, got lots of orders and met many new galleries.  Yay!!

As well as all this, BCTF is also a great chance to see lots of fabulous work by amazing makers.... here are a few highlights- Jessica Hogarth's lovely illustrative prints and products, squirrel themed (yes!) Phoebe Jewellery and I may have (definitely did...) bought a ring, with a giraffe on it, from Charlotte Lowe :o)  All round, it was a thoroughly brilliant few days!

Clare college...

I thought I'd share some of my packing stress.... You can imagine posting my wireworks can be quite a daunting process, as if the board falls on the wirework - it's splat!  To post work to Delamore Arts I had these boxes made....

Delamore Arts is on every weekend in May, in Cornwood, Devon.

Saqui and company...

All the wire bits are there...

...but where do they go....

All done!  Check out the shadows!

Here's a sneak peak of a new big show piece I've been working on.  It combines many of my favourite things:- an elegant building, housing a clock and watchmaker, next to a tea merchants, with lots of fiddly writing and detail!  More photos to follow.

Trees!

Andrew Stone of Black Orchard Photography took some great photos for me last week, of recent pieces.  Here are two pieces which feature trees!  :o)  The weeping willow tree in The Cam piece took me over 2days to make!  There was ALOT of wire used and was extremely heavy in the end.  This piece is currently in 'East Anglia Revealed' exhibition at Byard Art.

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The Cam, Trinity Bridge, Cambridge

The Pumphouse, Battersea

Swan!

This week's work...

I have had a busy week, and finally got all the work posted - here's a few of the pieces I've been working on..

Peterhouse Entrance , Cambridge (for 'East Anglia Revealed' exhibition at Byard Art)

Whitby Beach hut...

This is one of three beach huts I sent to The Art Cafe in Whitby at the start of the month...check out the shadows! :0)

Lampposts of Milan...

Here are some better photos (courtesy of Andrew Stone of Black Orchard Photography) of the lamppost pieces I sent to the Affordable Art Fair Milan, which started on Wednesday night... and all sold by Thursday evening!  An excellent start to the year!

Shadows...

One day last week (definitely not this week, as it's minus a billion in the studio) the sun was shining through our gorgeous windows and casting these amazing shadows...

Helaina's  - Clare College, Cambridge

Samantha's drawing... what's that coming over the hill, is it a monster??  Nope, it's a bottom warming fairy!!

Lampposts of Milan...

Here are three of the five lampposts I made for the Afforadable Art Fair Milan... I know how exciting!  I delivered them to Byard Art in Cambridge, who will be representing me at the fair which starts next week.  I've never been to Milan, but I do like their 'ball -y' lampposts!

Final commission of 2011...

I was making this piece (and packing it to post) right to the wire (no pun intended!) before Christmas.  A lovely, thoughtful man commissioned it for his wife.