If you’re looking for one-of-a-kind gifts or bespoke pieces or simply want to support local artists and craftspeople, the Clevedon Craft Centre should be your next destination. This delightful collection of studios and workshops offers everything from handcrafted jewellery and pottery to stunning paintings and glasswork.
Nestled within the Craft Centre, Studio 3 is a Working Artist Studio and Rural Gallery. This relaxed, contemporary space is home to a group of resident artists who regularly host guest artists.
The artists of Studio 3 are committed to making art accessible. They focus on unique, high-quality pieces at affordable prices and create a friendly, welcoming atmosphere for everyone to enjoy art.
Barry Stanson and Jenny Henneberry, both potters, and Stephano Baldon, artist, are joined this month by the multi-talented Claudia Monteith, writer, artist, facilitator, and astrologer, Claire Sellers and Tracey Stokes of Print [works] Weston fame and GTA, a very interesting group of textile artists.
CLAUDIA MONTEITH EXHIBITING FROM 13th MARCH TO 10th APRIL
This is Claudia’s second time at Studio 3. Her first time was with her Kind Project, which she created for her 50th birthday when she cut her hair in defiance of ageist beauty standards! She then made fifty unique dolls, each with a lock of her hair (except one celebrating baldness!) as a reminder to value all bodies. Proceeds went to FORWARD, (Foundation for Women’s Health Research and Development) the leading African women-led organisation working to end violence against women and girls.
Claudia is a writer, artist, facilitator, and astrologer. She has more than eighteen years of experience as a re-evaluation counsellor, which is not a term I was familiar with. Unlike traditional therapy with a professional counsellor, Re-evaluation Counselling (RC) involves a peer-based approach where individuals listen and support each other. The goal is to release pent-up emotions and regain emotional balance by talking about past hurts and expressing strong feelings like crying, shaking, or laughing. She also offers astrology counselling, a form of counselling or therapy that uses the principles of astrology to help individuals gain insight into themselves and navigate life’s challenges. Claudia is also a mother, a grandmother and practises meditation and mindfulness.
On her website, Claudia presents herself as Claudia Monteith is Cedar, which piqued my curiosity! Claudia’s mother was German, and Claudia Monteith is her original name pronounced as cloud, not clawd, and is her writer’s name. Cedar is the name given to her by her first born because he couldn’t say Claudia at two years of age. It is the name she is most commonly known by today.
Listening underpins everything that Claudia does. It is a key element in all of her roles which she identifies as different ways to practise listening.
Claudia is captivated by the creative process and its transformative power in people’s lives. She believes it unveils our humanity, our vulnerability, our true selves, and the inherent beauty within each of us.
Claudia has taught a wide variety of creative courses over the last seventeen years, including creative writing, craft, and book-making workshops. Teaching is an important part of her creative process, keeping her open to new ideas and influences.
Claudia’s exhibition is entitled The Kind Project Part 2:
BIRDS FOR GAZA.
All proceeds will go to the charity healpalestine.org, a non-profit organisation founded in 2024, whose mission is to help children in Palestine, focusing on those in Gaza. The organisation works in four areas: health, education, aid, and leadership. It provides medical care, educational programs, food, and shelter.
Check out Claudia’s website here, and if you want to make contact with her, email mailto:cedar-matters@hotmail.co.uk
CLAIRE SELLERS AND TRACEY STOKES EXHIBITING FROM 11th MARCH TO 11th MAY
Claire is a local printmaker whose experience includes multiple qualifications in the creative field. She has a Contemporary Arts Practice Degree from UCW, in which she specialised in Print. Claire is passionate about printing, including the process of cyanotype. She has worked as a technician internationally for several years in the field of creative arts.
Claire’s love for printmaking is driven by the process as much as the finished work. Using the natural world as inspiration; creating works through which she invites the viewer to generate their own emotional response.
Tracey is a printmaker who mainly works with screen printing. Largely inspired by nature, she creates work in response to her feelings and experiences of the places she visits.
Tracey intuitively layers her images using pre-exposed shapes, patterns, and paper stencils, thinking about composition, placement, and a limited colour palette. Texture, pattern, and mark-making also play a large part in her practice, from sketchbook to print. She is also interested in recycling, which translates into her work in the form of collage.
Claire and Tracey are the co-founders of Print [works] Weston,: “An artist-led workshop that aims to bring printmaking and associated art practices to the local community.”
Claire and Tracey run regular workshops ranging from half days to weekends. They invite a maximum of six people at each workshop, and the smaller numbers give you more time with your instructors to learn.
The next one is a Collagraph Printing Weekend, Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th March, from 10.00 a.m. to – 4.00 p.m. The cost is £120.
This will be a fun and experimental two-day course on making successful collagraphs from a variety of materials. Collagraphy is a versatile printing process in which a textured plate is created, inked up, and put through a press.
You will go through the materials, planning the image, drawing out, laying down and sealing the plate on the first day. linking up, wiping off and printing on the second day. You will leave with beautiful printing plates and lots of printed imagery. Book here.
There is a Cyanotype course on Saturday 6th April, from 10.00 a.m. to – 1.00 p.m.; the cost is £40. – You will learn the fundamentals of Cyanotype or ‘Sun Printing’, one of the earliest printing processes. You can capture plants and objects on paper and textiles using cyanotype chemicals and UV light (hopefully sunshine). You will cover everything needed to show you the basics of this lovely process. You will go home with a selection of lovely blueprints that would be perfect for framing and the knowledge to continue with the process at home. No experience is necessary. Book here.
A great introduction to Beginners Screen-printing is taking place on Saturday 20th April, from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m., the cost is £75. You will look at two methods of screen printing.
Method 1: You will learn how to prepare an image using hand-cut paper stencils for printing on a blank screen.
Method 2: You will create imagery using mark-making and experimental drawing techniques with various materials on a film, which will then be exposed onto a screen using photo-sensitive emulsion and exposure equipment. You will then print your exposed images to create a small edition of prints.
By the end of the day, you will know how to prepare screens for exposure, the exposure process will be explained, the processes will be demonstrated, and printing techniques will be shown, and you will have two small editions of prints to take home.
You need to bring some imagery that you could use as a starting point. This could be anything visual that inspires you to create a print. Book here.
Lino Printing for Beginners is on Saturday 18th May, from 10.00 a.m. to 1.00 pm, with a cost of £40. This is a chance to try your hand at a very popular relief printing technique. Learn how to adapt a simple image for this technique. After discussing your design, you will transfer it to the lino and learn how to cut out the image, ink it, and print it onto paper in black and white. You will have your own lino block to take away and continue printing with. Once you’ve learned the basics, there is so much more to his technique. No experience is necessary.
On Saturday 8th June from 10.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m., a Botanical Card Printing course for £40 is offered. This is a lovely, relaxing three-hour workshop where you will learn how to make beautiful and unique cards by printing with plant elements through the press. You will be using a collection of leaves and foliage with inks to create unique cards and prints for you to take away. Great for sending to friends and family. You will be given five cards, envelopes, and a small amount of paper. Book here.
Finally, Marbling will be held on Saturday, June 22nd, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at a cost of £40. This technique is wonderfully satisfying; you will learn how to make beautifully patterned papers. You will manipulate paints on the surface of thickened water using various tools. The typical marbling patterns will be covered, and you will have the opportunity to create your own unique patterns.
You will take home a range of marbled papers. These patterned papers can be used in personal projects such as collage, bookmaking, journaling, card making, etc. Marbling is messy, so wear clothing you don’t mind getting paint on. No experience is necessary. Book here.
The Social Print Club is also on the last Thursday of each month between 6.00 p.m. and 8.00 p.m. The next meet-up is Thursday, the 28th of March. It’s a chance to meet like-minded people and work on a project for a few hours. You can discuss and share tips and tricks of printmaking processes or learn a few. Their idea is to create a community of printmakers in the area.
If you’d like to know more about Print [works] Weston, check out their website here. Tracey has her own website here and is on Instagram @traceystokesprint and @printworksweston; Claire is on Instagram @claire.printmaker.
GTA EXHIBITING FROM 3rd FEBRUARY TO 27th APRIL
GTA is a group of artists based in Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire. The group originally formed in 1995 to promote stitched textiles as a valid and recognised art form and to support each other. They meet monthly to share ideas and gain inspiration.
They aim to exhibit once a year where their work ranges from small intensively stitched pieces to large wall hangings and three-dimensional items. Subject matter varies but can often follow a theme, especially for an exhibition.
Each artist has a distinctive style and uses a wide range of techniques and media. These include hand and machine embroidery, felt making, painting, printmaking, hand dyeing fabric, and artists’ books.
f you would like to know more, please email: kirstenhillnixon@gmail.com
If you’d like to know more about Studio 3, you can check it out here, and these are the contact details: Studio 3, Clevedon Craft Centre, Clevedon, BS21 6TD Telephone: 07557331967 Email: studiothree111@gmail.com They are also on Instagram @studiothree_galler
Finally, another reminder of the opening times, which it’s worth mentioning are not the same as the Craft Centre: Studio 3 is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.