Rachel Capovila: April 2012

Artist & Facilitator

I am a freelance artist based in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria in the North West of England. I have worked within the performing and fine arts for 20 years. Initally I worked within the theatre as a performer and on production. Then moving on to a street circus group that performed around the UK. I did my degree BA(hons) Fine Art at Uclan. For fifteen years I have collaborated with local arts organisations, worked on youth community projects and in schools running a variety of creative projects. I am currently a member of North Lonsdale Embroiderers Guild, Blue Tarn, a rural womens artists collective and Trident Textiles, based in Furness. I am always working on a variety of small scale projects including photography, textile and mixed media. Although my favourite thing is meeting and talking to interesting people!

Monday, 30 April 2012

Catching Up!

As ever life is busy and quickly passes by before you realise how long it is since catching up with people! I have been fortunate enough to have a lot of projects on the go. My dog blog has slowed down at the moment as I have been helping out at Signal Film and Media in Barrow-in-Furness on their Cooke's Creative Heritiage Project. Go to website www.signalfilms.co.uk or click on Cooke's project blog to find out more! I have been helping out by recreating a 1950's themed tea room and preparing for oral history recordings of people who remember the Cooke's building. Plus, I managed to set the project blog up.

Just before getting more involved with the Cooke's project I had managed to get some more doggy portraits done and met some really lovely dogs! I have missed this for a couple of months. I have some coming up to do shortly when they can be arranged.

This is Peanut a 12 week old pug x chi and he was adorable! The photoshoot took place in the home as he was still too young to go outside and had not had any injections! The doggy coat business has come to a current standstill too! I was on a roll making my original designed retired greyhound coats and have more interest but I have had to pack my materials and machine away for now. We are swapping my son's room round and his current one is to become my studio. Knowing that the coats are a success is a great feeling though!

We have camping a few times lately too and I have had opportunity to get photos of clouds in quest for material for the 'Illumination' exhibition at Whitehaven in October! Had some brilliant stormy skies lately in Cumbria. I am getting a little worried as to what I am going to exhibit as I need my machine to catch up on pieces!

I am sooooo itching to get stitching but need my stuff! Hint-to husband to hurry up! I will get there I know. It is my birthday next week (21 again) and I will do the emotional blackmail thing to get the room done! However, I have more to do with dog blog and down at Signal too so I am very busy. I prefer to be busy and do not like lolling about at home doing nothing. So maybe it is time to consider a 'proper' job now Alex is going to full time school in September?

The Custodians Cottage 1999-2006

A couple of us set up this project at the custodians cottage in 1999 by Furness Abbey, with no money and only our tools. We were a group of artists and crafts people who wanted to pass on our skills to young people. Funding from the Heritage Lottery fund then enabled us to programme events and bring in other crafts people to run workshops too. We ran workshops two evenings a week and on the weekends. The building and our displays were open to the public. The project is now closed but this link, click the image, will take you to the facebook group set up by one of the young people. Photos and articles are available to browse.