Sheffield Artist book prize 2013

 

Well I didn't win, but my little book of Horrors was in the exhibition

if you look very closely its right on the bottom shelf in the left hand corner. haha

Accidental Festival

so, I applied to play at Accidental Festival at Camden's round house theatre in London.. I must say I wasn't expecting to win, but as they say you have to be in it to win it, so I entered my act! I'd almost forgotten about it to be honest until I received an email telling me I'd been short listed. The next day I received another email telling me I'd won a place to play on the clore stage!

Now I was in a bit of shock , but I always said to myself, after all the competitions I've entered this year I WILL WIN ONE! ( was determine to make my mark at uni and win something before I left) and I can honestly say I think I've won the best one out of all the ones I did enter, as it allows me to perform illustrate sing and tell stories, all at the same time.

I have devised an act in which I am a sailor, sailing away on a sea of tears, my head in the clouds, my legs in the sea. Expect tales of love and loss, puppets, kitted bee hives and rock lobsters and of course all of this is sung on my ukulele.

I CAN'T WAIT TO PLAY !

I shall be on the clore stage in the round house Camden on Sunday the 25th some time in the evening ( exact time isn't confirmed yet , but watch this space.)

http://www.accidentalfestival.co.uk/#

Leeds artist Book fair 2014

 

Just a little preview of some of the lovely things that I will have for sale at the book fair

 

The Leeds artist book fair will take place at The Tetley gallery in Leeds from the 7th - 9th May

 

please do come and say hello.

 

http://www.leedsartbookfair.com/portfolio/charlotte-victoria-furness/

 

 

colonize New York

 

 

These two lovely images are on their way to New York (Jamestown) for the colonize exhibition, in association with the Henry Moore institute Leeds and Liverpool Tate gallery.

 

The theme is cross continental communication and colonization.

 

I used diagrams of the heart and brain to illustrate emotions and memories,

no words were needed, feelings and symbols of hope and love are recognised around the world. The colour was used to represent the inner body and also lighten the mood of the pieces.

works are priced at £60.00 each and limited editions are available directly from me.

Leeds artist book fair 2014

http://www.leedsartbookfair.com/portfolio/charlotte-victoria-furness/

I shall be selling my books at Leeds artist book fair this year.

the show runs from the 7th March to the 9th,

please do come along and say hello

there will be colouring books including, The Trouble with Channel Swimming, and The Great Exhibition.

Paper doll books, tales from the forest and more

How I plan to reclaim my body from outside influences regarding negitive body issues

You only have to look at me or any of my work to see that I enjoy being a girl. I am stereotypically feminine and I have always loved that aspect of my personality. I have always dressed in such a manner because ‘I’ like the way it looks, ‘I’ like the way it feels, it has never been for the benefit or pleasure of anyone else, least of all for the sexual attention of a man. Perhaps I am naïve to believe I can look overly feminine and not be classed as a sexual object, but realise in recent years that that is what I have become, or always been. I look back throughout my life and realise that I have a very negative attitude towards my body image, and if I dig even further I realise that none of the negative feelings reside internally, all of them stem from the seeds planted there by others. I’m not talking about the odd school yard jibe or tussle, because everyone knows children are cruel at times and I’m sure everyone has had something said to them at some point or other. I’m talking about later on in a girl’s life, the time they grow parts of themselves that seem to later define them to others, breasts that are the first thing people see instead of your face or personality. In my own life I have found that men outside of my own safe family environment, have been a huge issue for me regarding my image, and can honestly say my negative feelings have come as a direct result of dating, or ‘love’ if you like. I’m sure like more girls I have made some terrible decisions, and although all were absolute swine’s in one way or another, not all of them directly said anything about my image. Some however did, resulting in my body becoming my enemy, I look on this fact and feel quite sad that something which is mine, something I should be proud of, love and respect has been used against me.

How do you reclaim that? I still have negative feelings regarding callous comments made by people I don’t even care about anymore.

How do I make light of something with has turned my body into this hand grenade forced down my throat by the insecurity and hatred of others?

As always I plan to use comedy, I plan to use the persona of clown to deal with this issue, to look at people who celebrate and exaggerate femininity and glorify it to the extreme,, ironically this attitude comes in the form of a male, that of the drag queen. The Drag celebrates everything stereotypically feminine; it mocks yet glorifies the female form. I plan to take on this exaggerated form, to both celebrate myself as a woman who ‘should’ love her body, by exaggerating my features, yet also mocking the seeds of doubt that objectified these features in the first place, Through celebrating my body my placing exaggerated reference to the parts that others have tried to use against me. I will take this to yet another level of absurdity by making myself into a four legged lady, or ‘circus freak’ to further press the issue of how I myself, and many other women have been made to feel due to others never seeing past our bodies.

The work shall feature musical performances, parody advertisements regarding the body featuring ridiculous items you can buy to ‘change’ your body (just in case it isn’t good enough for that extra special someone) and of course lots of costumes and makeup.

By using my body to exaggerate myself and mock outside negativity I will not only be reclaiming my body but hopefully reaching out to other women who can relate to this issue and making people laugh in the process. Because after all isn’t laughter always the best medicine?

 

colonize Jonestown exhibition sneak peek (drowning heart)

Just a sneak peek at one of my illustrations for the colonise exhibition in Jamestown New York. I have a bit of tweaking to do yet but thought I would let you all have a little gander of my sketchbook .

 

enjoy 

 

PS I shall write more about the colonise exhibition, the theme and the content of my work when I have a little more time.