Just before Christmas, there was a certain buzz in the air because The Corner Collective was holding a special day called the Christmas Show that would involve a wide range of local talented creatives exhibit some of their new work with design pieces for sale. One collection that was going to be on display was a new collaboration between Roo Abrook and Lynne Nicholls AKA Southsea Mudlark.
Venturing down to Albert Road in the afternoon, the owner of The Corner Collective said all the one-off pieces that this collab duo had made, sold within half an hour! I wanted to see the work involved, admire the handmade vases that had been created, and had a solid sold sticker on them. Some were a pastel design with beautiful Roo faces on and some were dark with elements of black and very unique.
Making a decision there and then, I wanted to see if any more might be designed, created, and sold, and to my delight after such a successful sale of the first collection before Christmas, a new batch was going to be ready for February. As it was my birthday around this time I decided to part with my Aquarius money and invest in a vase I could cherish and keep.
Having written about both these creatives in the past, I was so delighted to see a new collab that works so well. The abstract creativity of Southsea Mudlark really captures your eye as well as the wonderful images that Roo creates. Both ladies work in building a story with their work. Lynne uses an abstract design that draws you into her ceramics and Roo works on layers of texture and mixed medium to create her art.
I asked both Roo and Lynne about working together and what they loved about the project. Roo said “It was such a joy to work with Lynn on our coloration range of Starlets, a series of one-off vases, pots, and platters which have been very much loved, I even managed to keep one for myself on this second batch!
We have worked on the themes of beauty using my original portraits combined with Lynns beautiful mark-making, we also incorporated lace and fans as these are elements I often use within my work. We are aiming to produce another collection in November, working with new images and colours, so watch this space as Southsea Folk will be the first to see the new pieces.”
As I walked down to Lynne's workshop on Brougham Road I got to see the workings of the project. I asked Lynne about the success of the Starlets and she said “I've thoroughly enjoyed this collaboration with Roo. Our work has subtle connections in terms of style and technique e.g the painterly use of layers, sgraffito, and line work. The response has been overwhelmingly positive and we look forward to releasing a new collection later in the year. I feel that whilst we collaborated, we each had the freedom to explore our own use of media with using; clay, paint, texture, paper, and line work.”
Describing my one-off Starlet I would say it has depth and character. Each vase has words imprinted somewhere on the design and mine says 'Beauty'. I love how you are drawn to explore every inch of the handmade ceramic piece. Mine has lots of black scattered around it and also a wonderful texture which is often apparent in Roo's work as well as the 3 wonderful faces that grab my attention every time I walk past it.
Look out for more collections in November but be quick as they won't hang around for very long!
