FAROPEN
  • HOME
  • ARTISTS/MAKERS
  • 2022 Trail Map + Brochure
  • Workshops offered
    • Art Workshops with Charlotte Keating
    • Crafting Projects
    • Drawing and Painting
    • Glass
    • Jewellery Making
    • Kiln Fired Enamelling
    • Printmaking
    • Stone Carving
    • Wool Sculpture/ Needle Felting
    • Workshops at May Hill Village Hall Projects
  • About
  • How to join
  • Contact
  • ARTISTS/MAKERS LIST
    • 18 The Basement
    • &bookishbooks
    • Abigail Bury
    • Alan Christopher
    • Ali Edgson
    • Angela Peryer Thread Painter
    • Anita Louise Davies
    • Anna Fine Jewellery
    • Anne Dione Bulley
    • Anne Maliphant
    • Annie Brennan Textile Art
    • Antony Dufort
    • Art@Oaktree - Sarah McHale
    • Art and Soul Evolution- Leah Marshall (Robinson)
    • Art by Monique Oliver
    • Art by Philip Stockley
    • Art By Sharon
    • Birgitta Engel
    • Black Cat Glass Designs
    • Blantons Designs
    • Bruce Allan
    • Byefield Emporium
    • Carmen & Stuart Rooksby
    • Carolyn Black
    • Cat's Eye Carving
    • Ceramics by Karen Tacey
    • Charlotte Keating FINE ART
    • Chris Champness - Fluffystuff
    • Chris Lewis Jewellery Design
    • Christina MacDonald
    • Christine Smyth
    • Christine Waygood Contemporary Textiles
    • Claire McKnight - OnTharHill
    • Darragh Hewat
    • David Broadbent and FoD&Wye Photoschool
    • Deborah Harrison Sculpture
    • Deborah Phelps-Gane
    • DelARTful Designs by Sarah Delahoy
    • Di Weissberg Printed Up
    • Dirk Van Der Meyden
    • Dorota Rapacz
    • Doug Eaton
    • Elaine Fowke Paintings
    • Eleanor Kercher
    • Elizabeth Heather Engel
    • farOpen at Highview
    • farOpen at Dean Heritage Centre
    • Fellows Framing
    • Frances Warren - Arts in the Marches
    • Friday Lawrence
    • Funky Pheasant Felting
    • Furzie
    • Gaby Devitt Woven Textiles
    • Garden Shed Textiles
    • Georgie Dowling
    • Gina Nell creates
    • Grace Engel Arts
    • Grahame Morgan-Watson
    • Helen Crawford
    • Humble Bee Beauty - Laura Grey
    • Impsandthings
    • Issi Lammas
    • Jackie Poulter
    • Jane Foot
    • Jane Jones
    • Jane Simmonds
    • Jane Spray
    • Jeanette Hannaby Enamel Artist
    • Jennie Blunt
    • Jenny Jop
    • Jess Rayson
    • Jo Snowdon
    • John Hickman
    • John Slater
    • Karen Simmons
    • Kate Baugh
    • Kathy Priddis Pots & Paintings
    • Katie Sanderson, Enamel Artist
    • Laura Nicholson
    • Leigh Sladen Glass
    • Linda Passey
    • Lindsay Reid Art
    • Lisa Dear Artworks
    • Little Orchard Studios
    • Lizzie Godden
    • Lorna Hitchens
    • Lorna Olivia Neilson
    • Louise Pilditch​
    • Love the Lampshade
    • Made in Ross
    • Mariette
    • Mary Edwards
    • Mary Elizabeth Deaville
    • Megan Pugh Art
    • Melanie Clarke
    • Michael Donnelly
    • Michael Lawrence
    • MissFire
    • Mollie Meager
    • Myra Fricker
    • Niki Kent
    • Novvy Allan
    • Pam Morgan
    • Patricia Homewood
    • Patsy Hodgkinson
    • Paula Brady
    • Rachel Lewis
    • Rachel Shilston - Inspiring Creativity
    • Rebecca Thomson Weissbort
    • Refunked & Fabulous
    • Rosie Callinan Mosaics and Garden Art
    • Sally Tottle
    • Sara Rickard
    • Sara Ulyatt
    • Sarah Freer
    • Sarah Rich Harrison
    • Sarah Trenchard
    • Sculpture for Public Sites
    • Sew Forest of Dean
    • Sharon Foley
    • Sharon Harvey
    • Sheila Tweed @ Waterway Studio
    • Steve Freer
    • Sue Haverly
    • Susan White
    • Tara Slater - TLSKiwi
    • The Garden Cafe
    • The Little Gallery in the Forest
    • The Yard Print Studio
    • Thingamajigs - Jan Matthews
    • TKB Presses
    • Uschi Arens Price
    • Watercolour Puddles
    • William Robson Glass Artist
    • Wobage Makers Gallery
    • Casey Art
    • Graham Wilde
    • Sally Grant
Picture

Artist Spotlight - ImpsAndThings

22/5/2019

0 Comments

 
Driving along the A48 towards Newnham, the signpost marked ‘Bullo Pill’ has always rather intrigued me. So last week I set off there to visit Pete Simpson’s studio. He is an art teacher, phot­­­ographer and sculptor of ….imps and things.

I park under some old railway arches and Pete greets me, leading me through to his lovely garden studio.
​
The shelves are crammed with all kinds of goblins, imps, trolls and elves. Pete tells me that his interest in creating  fantasy sculpture started over 30 years ago when he first saw the work of Brian Froud in the animated fantasy adventure film, ‘The Dark Crystal’.

I am fascinated by the level of detail in these polymer clay creatures : their warty faces, clothing, dirty looking toenails and tiny accoutrements. The fabrics are found materials – old dyed dishcloths, scraps of leather, hessian and muslin.
Picture
Picture
Although the characters are mainly male, I’m told that their collectors are frequently female. I enquire whether Pete has vivid dreams.

‘Not really’.

I think about sculptor Anthony Gormley’s ‘moments of lived time’ (see my February blog), and how these 30cm high beings might reflect aspects of existence. With my therapist’s wondering, I ponder the Froud/Freud connection. Pete also mentions the influence of  H. P. Lovecraft (I thought they were a 70s band ?).

​​He also works to commission and is currently making a giant tooth which will be covered with special cleaning imps for a dentist’s surgery in Canada.
​

Think less cute tooth fairies?
Picture
Picture
Pete attends various fantasy markets and gatherings for example, the Faerie Festival in Glastonbury, a Fantasy Forest event  in July at Sudeley Castle. 
​
And of course, he will be opening his studio as part of farOpen 2019, Venue 24.
​
As I took my leave, Pete said that I hadn’t asked him the two questions that he’d most expected:

‘How long do they take to make?’
‘Had you thought of creating a film?’

You’ll have to visit Bullo Pill yourself to get the answers. It’s almost under a bridge, and you’ll certainly encounter a few trolls.

Later, as I was looking up H.P. Lovecraft, I came across the following quote:

“Pleasure to me is wonder—the unexplored, the unexpected, the thing that is hidden and the changeless thing that lurks behind superficial mutability. To trace the remote in the immediate; the eternal in the ephemeral; the past in the present; the infinite in the finite; these are to me the springs of delight and beauty.” 
― H.P. Lovecraft

A.T. April 2019 
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Charlotte Keating 
    ​farOpen Marketing Lead

    Archives

    February 2020
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019

    Categories

    All
    Art Event
    Art Exhibit
    Artists Walk
    Art Workshop
    Classes
    Collages
    @DeanWye
    Embroidery
    Encaustic Painting
    Faropen
    Faropenartists
    FarOpen Art Trail
    Felt
    Forest Of Dean
    Fused Glass
    Glass
    Gloucestershire
    Hand Cut Paper
    Herefordshire
    Herfordshire
    Illusions
    Jewellery
    Journaling
    Masterclass
    Monmouthshire
    Open Day
    Open Studios
    Painting
    Paint Pouring
    Prints
    Reduction Lino
    Severn
    Stone Carving
    Travelling Jewellery Bench
    Troll
    Walks
    Wedding Rings
    What's On
    What's On In Art
    Workshops
    Wye Valley

    RSS Feed

Picture
Copyright 2019. All Rights Reserved.
​NO IMAGES OR TEXT TO BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION.
​Website Design by Monique Oliver Art and Design - Contents Manager ​Uschi Arens Price
  • HOME
  • ARTISTS/MAKERS
  • 2022 Trail Map + Brochure
  • Workshops offered
    • Art Workshops with Charlotte Keating
    • Crafting Projects
    • Drawing and Painting
    • Glass
    • Jewellery Making
    • Kiln Fired Enamelling
    • Printmaking
    • Stone Carving
    • Wool Sculpture/ Needle Felting
    • Workshops at May Hill Village Hall Projects
  • About
  • How to join
  • Contact
  • ARTISTS/MAKERS LIST
    • 18 The Basement
    • &bookishbooks
    • Abigail Bury
    • Alan Christopher
    • Ali Edgson
    • Angela Peryer Thread Painter
    • Anita Louise Davies
    • Anna Fine Jewellery
    • Anne Dione Bulley
    • Anne Maliphant
    • Annie Brennan Textile Art
    • Antony Dufort
    • Art@Oaktree - Sarah McHale
    • Art and Soul Evolution- Leah Marshall (Robinson)
    • Art by Monique Oliver
    • Art by Philip Stockley
    • Art By Sharon
    • Birgitta Engel
    • Black Cat Glass Designs
    • Blantons Designs
    • Bruce Allan
    • Byefield Emporium
    • Carmen & Stuart Rooksby
    • Carolyn Black
    • Cat's Eye Carving
    • Ceramics by Karen Tacey
    • Charlotte Keating FINE ART
    • Chris Champness - Fluffystuff
    • Chris Lewis Jewellery Design
    • Christina MacDonald
    • Christine Smyth
    • Christine Waygood Contemporary Textiles
    • Claire McKnight - OnTharHill
    • Darragh Hewat
    • David Broadbent and FoD&Wye Photoschool
    • Deborah Harrison Sculpture
    • Deborah Phelps-Gane
    • DelARTful Designs by Sarah Delahoy
    • Di Weissberg Printed Up
    • Dirk Van Der Meyden
    • Dorota Rapacz
    • Doug Eaton
    • Elaine Fowke Paintings
    • Eleanor Kercher
    • Elizabeth Heather Engel
    • farOpen at Highview
    • farOpen at Dean Heritage Centre
    • Fellows Framing
    • Frances Warren - Arts in the Marches
    • Friday Lawrence
    • Funky Pheasant Felting
    • Furzie
    • Gaby Devitt Woven Textiles
    • Garden Shed Textiles
    • Georgie Dowling
    • Gina Nell creates
    • Grace Engel Arts
    • Grahame Morgan-Watson
    • Helen Crawford
    • Humble Bee Beauty - Laura Grey
    • Impsandthings
    • Issi Lammas
    • Jackie Poulter
    • Jane Foot
    • Jane Jones
    • Jane Simmonds
    • Jane Spray
    • Jeanette Hannaby Enamel Artist
    • Jennie Blunt
    • Jenny Jop
    • Jess Rayson
    • Jo Snowdon
    • John Hickman
    • John Slater
    • Karen Simmons
    • Kate Baugh
    • Kathy Priddis Pots & Paintings
    • Katie Sanderson, Enamel Artist
    • Laura Nicholson
    • Leigh Sladen Glass
    • Linda Passey
    • Lindsay Reid Art
    • Lisa Dear Artworks
    • Little Orchard Studios
    • Lizzie Godden
    • Lorna Hitchens
    • Lorna Olivia Neilson
    • Louise Pilditch​
    • Love the Lampshade
    • Made in Ross
    • Mariette
    • Mary Edwards
    • Mary Elizabeth Deaville
    • Megan Pugh Art
    • Melanie Clarke
    • Michael Donnelly
    • Michael Lawrence
    • MissFire
    • Mollie Meager
    • Myra Fricker
    • Niki Kent
    • Novvy Allan
    • Pam Morgan
    • Patricia Homewood
    • Patsy Hodgkinson
    • Paula Brady
    • Rachel Lewis
    • Rachel Shilston - Inspiring Creativity
    • Rebecca Thomson Weissbort
    • Refunked & Fabulous
    • Rosie Callinan Mosaics and Garden Art
    • Sally Tottle
    • Sara Rickard
    • Sara Ulyatt
    • Sarah Freer
    • Sarah Rich Harrison
    • Sarah Trenchard
    • Sculpture for Public Sites
    • Sew Forest of Dean
    • Sharon Foley
    • Sharon Harvey
    • Sheila Tweed @ Waterway Studio
    • Steve Freer
    • Sue Haverly
    • Susan White
    • Tara Slater - TLSKiwi
    • The Garden Cafe
    • The Little Gallery in the Forest
    • The Yard Print Studio
    • Thingamajigs - Jan Matthews
    • TKB Presses
    • Uschi Arens Price
    • Watercolour Puddles
    • William Robson Glass Artist
    • Wobage Makers Gallery
    • Casey Art
    • Graham Wilde
    • Sally Grant