Empowering Artists

Paul Catherall is a London based printmaker known for his bold linocuts of architectural landmarks. His work is instantly recognisable, and in this episode he talks about his career and process. After training in illustration Paul found himself working from project to project until one came along that asked him to produce work that he recognised from early British Rail posters. Coupled with a trip to San Francisco where he found further inspiration, he pursued a stripped back poster style of design, with flat colours and developed it using linocuts. It is a style and process that he has not strayed from despite experimenting with other print techniques over the last twenty years. Referenced in this episode Michael Schwab https://www.michaelschwab.com/ Coventry City of Culture 2021 https://coventry2021.co.uk/ Paul Catherall website https://www.paulcatherall.com/ Paul Catherall Instagram @paulcatherallprints Follow me on Instagram @thegitajoshi Website The Curator's Salon

Barbara Segal is a contemporary stone sculptor working in New York. In this episode of the podcast she talks about her training at the Ecole des Beaux Art, followed by training in Pietra Santa and Carrarra, and returning to New York. In the 1980s Barbara started producing sculptures that referenced clothing from her mothers wardrobe, using inlaying and lamination to create the designs on the fabrics that inspired her. Most currently she is working on a body of work that brings together Italian church architecture into the forms of handbags which have become contemporary objects of worship.. Her work questions the new icons for the current age that have become objects of devotion and worship, namely the Hermes Birkin bag. Many of her pieces appear like the handbag but fused with the energy and designs of the architecture of the renaissance, using stacked stone, and carved architectural detail. Where once, success meant donating to the church or having an alter named after the family, Barbara's work comments

Sebastian Martorana talks about his work as a stone sculptor. Often considered memorial makers, stone sculptors face a common issue of viewers not being able to see past the difficulty of the material to the concept of the work. In this episode Sebastian gives a great analogy to understand the different types of stone by comparing them to photography (around 5mins). The artist talks about his training, the perceptions of the discipline of stone carving as very traditional, rather than contemporary art. We talk about process in particular modern technology such as CNC machines which he doesn't use, preferring a hammer and chisel every time. He then goes on to talk about Permanent Separation Anxiety, a powerful work he made earlier in 2018 which comments on the child/ parent separation at the US borders. He uses this piece to memorialise current issues in the political climate, made contemporaneously rather than commenting on issues of the past, which is typical of stone sculpture. You can see the art work her

Andrea Tyrimos is an artist who works in an oil tradition that she takes to the streets of London. Her work appears on telephone boxes, utility boxes as well as murals. Alongside this she has a project called Bipolar Picasso which highlights mental health issues in society. In this episode she talks about continuing her work for the Bipolar Picasso project, her interest in art projects that relate to the environment, and collaborating with Roys People Art Fair and Centrepoint. Follow her on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/andrea_tyrimos/ Follow me on Instagram @thegitajoshi See the blog post about this episode here https://thecuratorssalon.com/blog-1/2018/8/andrea-tyrimos

Mark Pearson is an artist who works from his studio in the Bussey Building in Peckham, South London. His paintings are often built from studies from life and he is regularly seen on the streets of Peckham and around the station, drawing and taking photographs. In this episode he talks about his work as a record of change in the area, his fascination with Peckham Rye station, and his art school that encourages everyone to look closer and learn to draw. Follow Mark on Instagram @MarkPearsonArt Follow Mark on Twitter @markpearsonart Follow me on Instagram @thegitajoshi See the blog post here https://thecuratorssalon.com/blog-1/mark-pearson

Remi is an abstract artist whose work is shown around the world. Remi is an abstract artist whose work is shown around the world. He takes part in festivals, fairs and is often asked to deliver commissioned work in the form of murals, and art work in the public domain. Alongside this he has a studio practice producing paintings shown in galleries and smaller works that he sells directly to his growing fan base . In this episode we talk about how he works to commissions, his popularity as a street artist and working with galleries. Follow him on Instagram @remirough Follow me on Instagram @thegitajoshi Website remirough.com See the blog post about this episode https://thecuratorssalon.com/blog-1/2018/remi-rough

Sarah Needham is an artist whose work is based on research of shipping records from the 1700s. There she looks for records of pigments in the ships' cargo, which she then sources to create her own spatial abstract work. Her time is spent both researching and painting. Sarah believes that returning to art after a period, raising her children, has given her a determined and resilient outlook she might not have had, if she had pursued life as a full time artist straight out of art school She talks about the value of having a peer group that support each other, and her success at artists' fairs. Instagram @sarahneedham1965 Follow me on Instagram @thegitajoshi Website http://www.sarahneedhamartist.co.uk/ See the blog about this episode https://thecuratorssalon.com/blog-1/2018/sarah-needham

Patricia Volk is a sculptor from Northern Ireland who now works from her studio in the West Country. She was determined to get an art school education and began doing a series of adult education classes. Despite her flailing confidence she pursued a Foundation course which was promptly followed by an art degree and before graduating she had secured studio space locally to continue this path. Website patriciavolk.org See the blog post about this episode https://thecuratorssalon.com/blog-1/2018/11/patricia-volk Follow on Instagram @patriciavolk @thegitajoshi

In this episode of the podcast I talk to Debbie Carne of Ali Joe Designs. Debbie's art work uses vintage plates on which she applies her designs sourced from old image libraries. We talk about the positioning of her work which straddles both art and design, and her move into the fine art space with her work. Debbie has taken part in arts and crafts markets, West Elm pop ups as well having an exhibition at the Exhibitionist Hotel in west London. She talks about the imposter syndrome that arises from not having a formal art education, and getting past it, just by continuing with producing work that she truly believes in. We discuss how she can continue to sell through markets where she has built an audience, and continue offering affordable work while considering how to reach different audiences of fine art buyers. Debbie has taken plenty of short courses over the years and it was a course on decals that provided her the technical training which inspired her current style. Her show at the Exhibitionist Hotel c

I met up with Snowden Flood at her shop at the Oxo Tower, on London's South Bank. Surrounded by her work, we discussed show she arrived here. Snowden trained in the UK and in New York and found herself working in the luxury interiors business while based in the US and travelling the world. She developed a keen eye for technical textiles, and recognised how much she enjoyed working with both designers and manufacturers and continues these relationships in her own business. Follow on Instagram @snowdenflood @thegitajoshi Website https://www.snowdenflood.com/ Blog post is here https://thecuratorssalon.com/blog-1/snowden-flood

In this episode I talk to Sam Peacock, an artist who works with multiple galleries and is often commissioned by clients to produce site specific art work. We discuss Sam's abstract landscape art , how he works with various galleries around the world and why he prefers working with galleries . Then we discuss his commissioned artwork, how he manages the briefs, the pricing and working with clients and patrons. Sam has a solo show coming up at Curious Duke Gallery in London next month. Follow him on Instagram @sampeacockart Follow me on Instagram @thegitajoshi Twitter @empower_artists

Episode 8 of the podcast is about taking part in artists' fairs so that artists have a place to show, build their exhibiting cv, meet buyers, curators, and visitors directly to sell their work Roy Tyson is a driven artist who enjoyed the thrill of taking part in artists' fairs where he could learn from his visitors and sell his fine art photography. It led him to set up his own art fair in 2017 and the next one takes place April 2018. Roys People Art Fair is the only artists' led art fair. The artists taking part are all involved in the promotion and marketing of the event, and are encouraged to use the opportunity to further their art careers by inviting as many people as they can reach. The fair is unusual in the amount of support it offers participating artists particularly around the business aspects of being an artist. The fair is expected to take place twice a year and you can find more details about the events at www.royspeopleartfair.com Instagram @royspeopleartfair Instagram @thegitajoshi Twitter @

Episode 7 of the podcast is all about licensing art which allows the artist to create another revenue stream from their work. My guest is Jehane Boden Spiers who is an art consultant, helping artists license their art and designs. Art licensing is a many layered industry and Jehane talks about the different contract types which cover timeframes, commissioned vs existing art work, when it is best to choose a single payment over royalties and the types of products that designs can be applied to. www.jehane.com Twitter @jehane_ltd Instagram @jehane_ltd Twitter @empower_artists Instagram @thegitajoshi

In this episode of the podcast I talk to business strategist and coach, Nicole Liloia.  She explains business karma which might be holding back your success. Nicole talks about being responsive to other people, requests, emails and the like, if you are finding that people are not following up and responding to you. Then she talks about engagement. If you are finding you are not getting the engagement you want, say from your social media platforms, then to check in with yourself and see if you are engaging on other peoples content. It is not all about presenting your own work but being supportive to your network as well. Then she discusses follow through. Are you making applications and leaving them half done, are there enquiries sitting in your inbox? Follow through is all about completing the task, which can be doing the thing you said you would, it could be sending the images through to gallery or helping someone that you said you would. It's a shorter episode than others, but definitely worth a listen and

In this episode I talk to Rachel Gluyas from Dulwich Festival Artists' Open House.  Rachel organises the artists' open house much like I do for Camberwell Arts, and in this conversation we were able to get into the aspects of our roles that are little seen by the artists we support. We talk about how the event has grown, what it means to the community and why the planning can take six months.  Rachel and I discuss what makes an artists' open house successful, and how being part of an organised event can help artists get more exposure. Rachel and I talk about working with artists to help them promote their open studios and how artists can use the occasion to prepare work for display, practice talking about their work, getting feedback from visitors and using the event to invite galleries or art dealers if they are looking to take next steps. Then we discuss the marketing and promotion of the overall event, and our work behind the scenes as well including meetup events where participating artists can meet each

Gita Joshi talks to artist Liz Atkin who is an artist that uses her art practice to control her skin picking compulsion. In this episode we talk about the impact of art on mental health and how Liz came to find her medium of choice, charcoal. She talks about the type of work that has come her way as an artist, since facing her skin picking compulsion head on. Liz also hosts workshops with organisations focussed on mental health. The artist talks about the work she does with groups of all ages, and how creative practice is central to wellbeing. Liz goes on to talk about how she finds or is found, for exhibitions worldwide thanks to social media. We talk about the fear of visibility online for many artists, and Liz discusses that as a freelancer, her career is somewhat dependent on it. She talks about embracing all aspects of her art work and that sharing her work online through social media is central to her practice as she addresses a little discussed topic of skin picking through her work. Website LizAtk

In this episode we talk about arts markets and craft fairs where artists and makers can sell directly to the public. My guest is Debbie Allen who organises the Camberwell Arts Market and we discuss how people can make a strong application, the best image types to use for your promotion, how they can improve their experience of the market by promoting to their audience. We discuss the the benefits of trading at arts markets so artists and makers can meet their customers directly, sell without commission, meet other makers and artists and build their network. Then we move onto the practicalities of finding the right market for you and the questions you should consider when choosing a market to trade at. Next we discuss the preparation you can do in order to have a successful days trading. Instagram @thegitajoshi @camberwellartsfestival

In this episode I talk to artist and designer Sarah Hamilton about the Just A Card campaign which encourages people to buy from independent shops and makers. Sarah talks about what inspired her to start the campaign and how she grew her volunteer team to help support the project. Twitter @justacard1 Twitter @empower_artists Instagram @justacard Instagram @orsomajorart Instagram @thegitajoshi

Gita Joshi and Sarah Hamilton discuss social media for artists and designers. We talk about why artists should build their own audience and how this can help them reach buyers, stockists, curators and galleries. Sarah Hamilton is a designer and artist, she is also the founder of the Just A Card campaign. Gita Joshi is an art dealer, curator and producer for Artists' Open Studios Instagram @justacard @orsomajorart Twitter @empower_artists @orsomajorart @sarahhamiltonps @justacard1 Facebook Empowering Artists Just A Card