A VISIT TO PICA STUDIOS (Ft Lucid Lemons)

Hey guys, Eme here & back at it again with another Lucid Lemons collab! A couple weeks ago, I met up with Dami Ayo-Vaughan to explore Pica Studios. It's an artists' space which houses the workshops of 18 creatives. Walking in, I was greeted by a nostalgic reminder of my art school days. The space is very much communal and upon talking to some of the artists, this sense of community seems to be a motivating factor in their creative process. I was able to spend the day at the studio getting familiar with the works of a few of the artists and learning a bit about their background and process.

The woman you see above is none other than Lesley Birch, an artist whose works largely consist of impressionist landscapes. (Side note: the fabulous hat she's wearing is from a band she was in in the 80s). She kind of just fell into landscapes from going on trips to scenic locations and was very quick to admit she loved a good horizon line. To keep beautiful locations in her memory, she makes quick sketches and miniature experiments on the spot and subsequently makes remarkable abstracted landscapes from them. When it comes to colour, she never really "knows" what to incorporate but prefers to figure it out along the way. She also lets her friends draw in her sketchbook when they've had a few drinks.

Lesley's sketches

Landscape pieces in progess

Sketches by Lesley's friends

Mark Hearld is an established designer who works mostly with lithograph prints and collaging. After studying, he spent time exhibiting his work and has now built a network of galleries over 15 years. He does a lot of illustrative work for books, but the majority of his work is inspired by his appreciation for nature. He makes nature inspired sketches, cuts them out and utilises them in making collages. He keeps a scrapbook of random things that inspire him as well as random pieces which are by-products of his work.

Prints and collages by Mark 

Collaging in process

Mark's scrapbook

Lesley Shaw (yup another Lesley!) is a print maker who uses mainly lino and etching techniques. She  attends loads of life drawing classes, translates her drawings into simplified versions and then applies it to her work. She shared with me her disdain for light/ dark shades and creases. She very much prefers simple lines and plain backgrounds. She spoke about how she finds printing as a middle ground between one of kind thousand pound paintings and mass produced graphic designs, noting that prints are unique in the sense that one can make a large number of them and they still count as original work. She shared with me a bit of Pica's history in having been a printing studio for about 300 years. She was particularly estatic about being a print maker in a legendary printing studio.

Lesley at her work station

Lesley's print

Life drawing by Lesley

Jade Blood is an artist who makes experimental, gestural pieces utilising paint, prints, conte and various materials in her work. She formerly ran printing sessions prior to getting a job working in the art department of a York based school. Now Blood takes the forgotten pieces of art from students at her job and re-purposes it for her artistic pleasure!

Jade repurposing a used canvas

Jade's work station

John at work.

John Hollington used to work in civil engineering for about 30 years, up until he saw an advertisement for a product design course in York and decided to enroll there as a mature student instead. A year and a half later he is now a product designer selling to online retailers and interior fashion designers. He mentioned that his maturity has been advantageous to him in opening him up to more influences and experiences. When asked about his process, he explained that he usually starts with shapes and goes on from there. This would explain the geometric themes present throughout his work. One of my favourite pieces from him where these lamps inspired by the precision and clarity of Mies Van Der Rohe's Barcelona Pavilion.

John's lamp heads and some source material

Pavilion series lamp by John

If you're ever in York, Pica Studios is definitely somewhere I'd recommend a visit. Spending the day there was satisfying as well as enlightening! It really gave me an insight as to how working in a community environment can serve as an inspiration to the artists involved. The collective creative energy really does make a significant impact; just being there for a couple hours had my creative juices flowing. Many of the artists also noted that working alongside other creatives motivated them to create more! This goes to show the remarkable effect like-minded people have on each other in terms of enhancing proactivity and creativity.

For Dami's perspective check out his post here.

Group photo!