I've been a bit quiet on here recently. But in real life I've been very busy! In October I travelled to Japan to take part in the biannual International Ceramic Arts Festival in Sasama, Japan. Set up by the renowned and innovative Shozo Michikawa, the festival happens in the remote village of Sasama in the foothills of the mountains - a beautiful setting! Despite arriving in the middle of a typhoon, mostly the weather was gorgeous - blue skies and lovely and warm, but not hot. There were 60 or 70 exhibitors and some demonstrators at the festival, coming from all over the world - over 30 countries were represented. This was a festival of non-functional ware, so right up my street, and my work seemed to go down very well with the Japanese visitors who had travelled miles to get to the festival. I spent some time before and after the festival travelling round Japan, and saw some fabulous exhibitions and got a real education on how much the Japanese revere ceramics! More of that in this country, please! I only scratched the surface of Japanese culture and very much hope I can go back one day.
Follow me on Instagram @sarah_villeneau_ceramics to see photos of the trip. More will be going up as I work my way through the thousands of photos I took!
In September I was busy with an exhibition by Material Voice, the collective of women artists from Sheffield that I set up this year with my colleague Gillian Brent. This was a very different type of show for me, and was very well received. Please see our website www.materialvoice.com for more information on this.
Have a look at the video of my installation at London Craft Week May 8th to 12th. I was really pleased with how the work looked in the space. london_craft_week_2019.mp4 Spring Newsletter 2019 Hello! It has taken me a while to get settled in my new studio but I am now very happily ensconced in this rural idyll in the centre of the city. A reminder of the new address:
Studio 3 Manor Oaks Studios 389 Manor Lane Sheffield S2 1UL There is a lovely cafe and parking, so very easy to visit (by appointment, please). You can find out more about the venue by visiting www.greenestate.org.uk Upcoming events: 'Vessel' a Northern Potters Exhibition at Cupola Gallery, 178 Middlewood Road, Hillsborough, Sheffield, S6 1TD which runs from 27th April to 1st June. The Private View is 26th April at 7-30. All welcome. http://www.cupolagallery.com/events This is followed by The Future of Craft for London Craft Week, 9th to 12th May. Exhibiting with Design Nation, this will feature an installation of my work at Bargehouse, Oxo Tower Wharf, Bargehouse Street, South Bank. London SE1 9PH https://www.oxotower.co.uk/events/the-future-of-craft/ Private View 8th May 6-9pm. This is limited numbers - please let me know if you would like an invitation. In other news - last year I was delighted and honoured to be elected as a member of the Royal Society of Sculptors (MRSS). This is opening up a whole new world of possibilities. https://sculptors.org.uk/ I was also pleased to be awarded a Research and Development Award (Developing Your Creative Practice) from Arts Council England and am currently working on that. Watch this space! Stockists:
Freeforms LLC, Gallery 215, The Showplace Antiques and Design Center, 40 West 25th Street, New York, NY 10010, USA Hnadmade Online, www.handmadeinbritain.co.uk Staithes Studios, High Street, Saltburn-by-the-Sea, TS13 5BH
Upcoming Events: Association of Cultural Enterprises, Harrogate Trade Show, 19th - 20th March 2019
