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EMILY BALL AT SEAWHITE‍

CONTEMPORARY DRAWING AND PAINTING COURSES‍

STUDIO RESIDENCIES THIS SUMMER

with Joe Packer & Emily Ball

Image: Joe Packer & Emily Ball working in their studios

Dear  ‍ ‍

In this newsletter we’re offering you the chance to kickstart your summer of painting by joining either Joe Packer or Emily Ball for a residency week at the studio. In a nutshell, a residency is a five-day block of time to focus on your painting practice.  Sharing the seawhite studio with only five other artists as well as the lead tutor, the intention is that each group create a working atmosphere where artists turn up, ready to push forward and do serious play. Both Emily and Joe recognize the  benefits of this guided-rather-than-lead approach and are excited to share their practice with other artists in this honest and open way, making the most of the studio’s space and the dynamic working ethos that infuses the residency week.

To ensure that you get the most out of a residency and that each cohort is comprised of artists who are working at the same level with similar ambitions, we invite artists to apply for their residency place.  This is a simple process that involves submitting nine images of your work and two pieces of writing (each no more than 300 words) about your work.  

To get more of a feel of what the studio looks like during a residency, click on the image below to see a short walk-about film that Emily made during her studio residency last May:‍

Read on to find out more about the benefits of attending a residency week, or click on the buttons below to head straight over to our website and book your place on either Joe’s or Emily’s residency:‍

Getting Ready: the Online Tutorial ‍

Ahead of each residency week, attending artists are invited to have a one-hour online tutorial with the tutor leading the week.  The tutorials ensure that each artist is ready and prepared for the residency.  The act of speaking aloud your hopes and intentions for the residency is useful in terms of headspace; helping you to focus on what is important. Taking place a month before the residency starts, they allow each artist valuable time to prepare by making studies, writing,  ordering materials, and gathering any other resources that might be needed.‍

Image:‍ Carinthia Gibbins work station, studio residency

"[The online tutorial was] very helpful. Emily helped me to focus on ways of preparing for the week and take the opportunity and myself more seriously." ~ Sally Barnard‍

Undiluted Painting Time‍

Each residency week represents five consecutive days working, 8am – 4.30pm: turning up, getting into a rhythm of daily painting, finding a pace and space to let the work grow as it needed to.  The residency creates a working atmosphere that enables you to push forward with your work in a way that perhaps you would not be able to do alone in your studio.   ‍

Image:‍  Karen Friedeli work station, studio residency

“Having a dedicated blocked out time and space was so perfect and just what I needed. A quiet time and large space to think and do is so precious” ~ Kate Rhodes‍

Space to Paint‍

 The studio residency is a space to spread out and see your work as a whole, or one where you choose to work large or in series. It’s a chance to look at lots of your work together, making helpful connections so that you can develop it further. Each artist is not only given a large working space, but also has use of any of the studio equipment and materials that they need.‍

Image:‍ artist's work station, studio residency

“It was particularly useful being able to put all my work on the wall at the same time so I could recognise common links between paintings and re-evaluate more clearly. And then be able to walk away and see it from a distance helped me feel more objective about it which I found interesting." ~ Felicity Heath‍

Pushing your Work Forward‍

During the week each artist will be exploring their own themes and subject. It is a physical and mental space that you can stretch into and develop work in a more experimental way, perhaps exploring work that you would not dare to do by yourself, in your own studio.

Image: ‍ Karen Stamper work station, studio residency

“The dedicated full time job of it! No distractions, total focus on my work, hour after hour…pushing through… It has moved me on in a big way and I completed a body of work. I didn't expect it to all come together…[it has given me ] more confidence to go in this new direction.” ~Karen Stamper‍

Tutors that Lead Rather than Teach‍

 The role of the tutor during the residency is to support each artist and facilitate group discussions, rather than to lead and “teach”. Working alongside one of the Seawhite Studio tutors is an opportunity to see how they undertake their own practice and navigate the highs and lows of their work as it progresses in real time. It can be inspiring – and reassuring – to see not only their discoveries but also their challenges – and how they incorporate and accommodate both within their approach.‍

Image: ‍artist's work station, studio residency

“I found both our group overviews of what everyone was working on, as well as Emily's individual advice, very instructive and useful. Wonderful to have her there when you feel a bit stuck and to learn that she too experiences difficulties and finds ways to defy them.” ~ Carinthia Gibbins‍

A Motivating Working Environment‍

 Supported and inspired by the company of other artists, the residencies are characterised by a positive and productive working environment, along with  a strong sense of camaraderie. During the week, you will be working in a space where you learn from one another.

Image: ‍busy studio during studio residency week

“Thank you for a very helpful week…Painting can sometimes be lonely and having a shared space to work and exchange ideas was very creative.” ~ Kate Falcon

Residency Week with Joe Packer

10-14 June 2024

£480‍

Image: ‍Joe packer working in his studio

"What happens in the studio, and how I go about making a painting is something that is very hard to explain in words. My paintings are not pre-planned but arrived at through a range of processes that also in themselves are not formulaic or predictable. Therefore the opportunity to share the experimental nature of these often intuitive painterly explorations in real time with other painters is something that I think will be mutually inspiring and useful. I will be working on several large paintings incorporating collage processes during the residency, and working alongside others rather than in the solitude of my own studio, will undoubtedly result in interesting exchanges and a sharing of both the excitement, energy, and sometimes the frustration of our collective creative endeavours. I look forward to what will be a productive and rewarding 5 days.” ~ Joe Packer‍

Image: Joe Packer working at the Seawhite Studio

For more information and to book a place on Joe's residency week, click on the button below:‍

To keep up-to-date with Joe’s work, check out his Instagram feed:‍

Residency Week with Emily Ball

17-21 June 2024

£480‍

Image: ‍ Emily Ball's work Station during a studio residency

“For me, one of the valuable benefits of the residency is the undiluted time and space to paint. The escape from outside demands on our time -  daily family and domestic necessities that take us away from our painting - should not be underestimated  Working in silence alongside others, feeling focused and absorbed is  a powerful shared experience.  During the residencies we talk about our successes and frustrations, discuss our processes and make observations and suggestions about each other’s work.” ~ Emily Ball‍

Images: Emily working at the Seawhite Studio‍

After completing her residency week in November 2023, Emily reflected on what she and her fellow artist had discovered and noticed as they worked together.   Click on the button below to read these reflections in our previous newsletter – they serve as further evidence regarding the significant impact that attending a residency week can have on an artist. ‍

For more information and to book a place on Emily's residency week, click on the button below:‍

To keep up-to-date with Emily’s work, check out her Instagram feed:‍

www.emilyballatseawhite.co.uk‍ | Contact |  ‍Unsubscribe ‍