Norfolk Open Studios 2020 goes Online

May 23, 2020 Joy Pitts

Norfolk Open Studios goes online, Saturday 23 May - Sunday 7 June

Artists have had to close their studio doors during this difficult time, but they are still artists all year round. To continue to celebrate them and our local art community, Norfolk Open Studios is being brought into your home …virtually!

Over 50 wonderful Norfolk artists have been busy filming themselves, their workspaces, their work (both in progress and completed) as well as art demonstrations. Others have been taking photographs of their work and studios along with recordings of their thoughts about what the creative process means to them, especially during this strange time.

All of this is now available on the Norfolk Open Studios website from Saturday 23 May to 7 June to view at your leisure. Grab yourself a cup of tea, sit back, enjoy and be inspired… you never know, you may even want to have a go at something yourself.

INVITATION to Erewash workers

May 22, 2020 Joy Pitts

This is an INVITATION to all essential community workers, carrying out their job in EREWASH - the chance to take part in a wonderful Covid-19 art project. All acts of kindness and voluntary work count, such as checking in on an isolating neighbour.

Essential work could be a volunteer in the community, bus driver, refuse collector, cashier, shop assistant, organising or helping at a food bank, delivering news papers, post man, nurse, doctor, police. All jobs in the community are essential during Covid-19, so please put your name forward, all are welcome, I would love to hear what you have been doing.

All you have to do is submit 2 things including your name and a brief note about the essential work that you have done to joy@joypitts.co.uk

Invitation to COVID-19 essential workers in Erewash to have your name included in an artwork.

May 19, 2020 Joy Pitts

In 2015 my art practice received funding from Arts Council England to develop a project using the names of 466 WW1 fallen soldiers, these names are listed on the Cenotaph at Ilkeston Market Place. Click here to see the project.

More recently I applied to the Arts Council Emergency Response Fund to develop this project further. My aim is to gather an additional 466 names of Erewash essential Covid-19 workers. They could be NHS Staff, care workers or anyone working on the front line, in communities, businesses providing services and volunteers. Examples could include anyone who has been working during lockdown in a shop, post office, petrol station, delivering food parcels, organising food banks, emptying bins, bus drivers etc.

At the moment this is a research project to gather an additional 466 names. Also to consider how they could be presented in an artwork in the future along with the 466 WW1 names remembered on the Ilkeston Cenotaph. Covid-19 has been compared to WW1 including loss of life, food rationing, social distancing, community spirit and helping the needy. I see this as a significant opportunity to bring together two groups of individuals separated by 100 years with the same commitment to saving lives.

If you would like your name to be included, or you would like to put forward an essential workers name (with their consent) please email joy@joypitts.co.uk and include: -

1. NAME and initial for example:- J. Pitts.

2. WORK/JOB DURING LOCKDOWN for example:- volunteer handing out food parcels.

3. EMAIL ADDRESS or MOBILE for future contact as the project develops.

Gathering the names is the first stage of this project which I hope to develop in the future, this will include an opportunity to share the work in a public space.

Arts Council England

May 7, 2020 Joy Pitts

Thrilled to receive a grant offer from Arts Council England. I will be carrying out some research and posting here soon. #LetsCreate

3 Flying Ducks

April 24, 2020 Joy Pitts

Created with clothing labels and dressmaker pins on canvas 30 x 30 cm x 3.

Limited Edition Giclee print available showing all 3 flying ducks 75 x 32cm. #ducks #flyingducks

Black Swan work in progress

April 15, 2020 Joy Pitts

Labels unpicked from 1000s of rag garments plus unwanted overs with dressmaker pins on canvas 90 x 90cm. Limited Edition Giclee print available 60 x 60cm.

Red Cow - print number 16/95

March 16, 2020 Joy Pitts

It took 5 years to collect enough red labels from rag clothing to produce ‘Red Cow’. The original has sold but a Limited Edition Giclee print is available and measures 54cm wide x 56cm high.

The unframed print is backed and wrapped as shown below and would be posted flat in reinforced cardboard £135.00 including postage (currently one available for posting edition number 16/95).