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Lovely to receive some photos of my article for The Professional Mountaineer today. The timing was incredible, having just cancelled tickets home for Christmas due to quarantine timings being too hard to work with, this message popped up. I will be using the suggested strategies!!    Van on Hill ®
Introducing Van on Hill: a vehicle that enables art, therapy and climbing under one small roof, or internet connection. #art #painting #installation #socialart #writing #soundrecording #climbinginstructor #climbing #rockclimbing #hillwalking #scrambling #tradclimbing #climbingtherapy #therapeuticclimbing #onlinetherapy #emdr #arttherapy #psychotherapy #traumarecovery Tonight this fun event will take place online. I’m on first for 400 seconds of The Birthday Projects:
'L. A. Simmons, is an artist whose practice is based in painting; moving to and from that traditional format as if the canvas is a trampoline.⠀ ⠀ Her paintings have incorporated sheep, goats, firemen, a choir, a band, the ocean. They are often temporary and social, resulting in photographic evidence.⠀ ⠀ Lee's talk will share The Birthday Projects, where she biennially uses her birthday to make a new fine art piece or actualise a project outside of the usual framework.'⠀ 'Come and join us for another PK Leamington Spa night online. We will be streaming live to your home on Youtube. Our wonderful line-up of speakers offer a broad range of subjects. These include spoon carving, cake, how our cities speak to us, a body percussion tutorial, birthday art projects, community supported agriculture, darkroom photography, a plant swap, design as remedy, and we even have a professional viola musician to play for us from Italy. Side note: be prepared for the body percussion tutorial...don't sit too closely to your family on the sofa! Jamie Chalmers, otherwise known as Mr X Stitch, will be co-hosting the event along with our regular host, Sarah Lowry. Join us for some much needed distraction and entertainment. You might even learn something new! Tickets are available at different prices: free or with a donation to the Ecotherapy group held at Foundry Wood, Leamington Spa. You choose which ticket you would like. 15% of the ticket fee will cover our admin costs. Ecotherapy is open to anyone struggling with their mental health, social isolation or addiction recovery. It has been running every week on a Tuesday at Foundry Wood for the past 5 years. Sessions are free to attend and typically 20 to 30 people attend. The group operates as a mutually supportive community. Participants take part in activities based around the 5 Ways to Wellbeing- including connection with nature, mindfulness, sharing a meal together and woodland maintenance. The social connection is also vital and the sense of acceptance by people who understand how you feel. Tickets are unlimited, location is no barrier, babysitters not required and pets are welcome. Points will be awarded for the most innovative drinks and snacks, and make sure you save the best spot on the sofa! Wherever you are, we would love you to join us. The talks will start at 7:15pm BST.' What an unusual three months. I've not been in the painting studio but have been putting my creativity to use elsewhere. It won't be too long until I open the studio again, though it will likely feel quite different.
I've moved back to making some sound recordings, where in the past this has been a bit of a sound based sketchbook alongside projects; during the COVID-19 pandemic I made some that have a very different slant to share psychological methods that can be useful for managing stress. You can access them here: https://soundcloud.com/user-123906279 The tour of libraries I was planning to continue with 'The Orange Tree', clearly isn't happening; however the month of November with Chapter Two looks to go ahead in West London. Please email lee @lasimmons.com if you would like information and an invite. Along with everyone else, I'm not sure what that will look like yet, it is likely that two or three people at a time will be able to visit. ---- update Oct 2020, we decided to either postpone or cancel as access is still very limited and limiting --- March.
Generally not a month I'm on friendly terms with. So much changed in the last week with this virus... Below is a collaborative document that it might be useful for you to take a look at. If you have something that would be helpful to add, that is possible. coronavirustechhandbook.com One day at a time. x Recently I decided to make my studio based paintings, photographs, prints and books available to buy online. It's interesting listing output and remnants from my art practice as 'products'! I'm considering it as a project in it's own right and feel pleasantly curious about where it might end up and what I will learn along the way.
We started by listing a handful of resolved paintings but I'm thinking to branch out as I learn the ropes. I've committed to a year developing and testing this out. It will be a little while until the site represents the range of pieces that exist in my studio and are possible to own / ship, but we have started: simmons.shop ! It is also possible to send funds here: paypal.me/leeasimmons for artworks and events that are not on the shop site. Please email [email protected] with / for info. (Thanks Getshop.today : a friendly and enthusiastic startup in Whitechapel, London My paintings and artists books are in Putney Library, London, from 27th July to 31st August 2019
Statement
My art practice is based in painting, both studio based with archival properties and temporary in the great outdoors recorded photographically. The paintings, installations and artists books that I make are generated from life experience and particular locations, forming an external narrative that supports further research and works. Curiosity regarding how we interact with each other and the world, with an emphasis on double edges (violence, peace, greed, oneness) underpins my practice and has led to studies in trauma therapy, eco design, martial arts and rock climbing. These in turn fuel time spent in diverse urban and rural environments, which further inform my line of enquiry. During the making process I explore memory formation, using act of painting to embed felt and transient experiences, whilst experimenting with how concepts and observations can be conveyed. I attempt to portray environmental and psychological phenomenon in my artwork, such as a hurricane forming from the ocean edge, brocken spectre on a mountaintop, a fleeting sense of oneness in the city, acceptance stirred by the desert sky or a city park at dusk. Recalling the feeling of the elements when painting landscapes, to help capture and communicate something of the essence of these moments, can be replenishing and a form of action research. Painting with traditional materials has also proven valuable for processing and thinking through adversity, both on a personal level and for some of the communities that I have worked with. My paintings and photographs of temporary works bear witness to existence, akin to the function of a postcard or personal photo album; the format of which have changed dramatically with the growing role of digital media over the last two decades. Positioning my artwork across the spheres of photography, psychology and environment is not only theoretical but the work is often site specific for political and practical reasons. My temporary paintings have been made in quarries / landfill sites, parks, with Ibizan goats, Surrey sheep, the ocean, underpasses and an overpass, a farmer and a fire brigade. In recent years librarians have helped to share my studio based paintings and hand bound books. Next week I'm returning to Westminster Reference library, Leicester Square, London artrabbit.com/events/the-orange-tree-lee-simmons 'The Orange Tree' A selection of Simmons’ landscape paintings, prints and artist's books will be in the library exhibition space from 27th May to 2nd June 2019. She will be developing new work on site, as part of a long standing project with libraries.      Orange Tree, oil paint on aluminium, 30x40 cm, 2019 Freedom, oil paint on aluminium, 30x40 cm, 2019 Snow, oil paint on aluminium, 30x40 cm, 2019 Autumn, oil paint on aluminium, 30x40 cm, 2019 Winter, oil paint on aluminium, 30x40 cm, 2018  'Westminster Reference library is a public library in the heart of London’s West End, located between Leicester Square and Trafalgar Square. Situated on the site of Sir Isaac Newton’s house, the library’s architecture reflects the original building’s charming style and continues its rich history. We have served the public for over 90 years and hold a collection that draws on our culturally significant location. Our Art & Design collection is designated by Arts Council England as a collection of outstanding national significance.'  L.A.Simmons Painting Studio * Our fingertips are made of stardust * My next installation now has a blog page page here: Stardusting The launch is 8th September 6.30pm, I'm excited to know what will have happened by the 23rd, when the installation closes. Some incredibly varied meetings and skill swaps seem to have booked themselves. Get in touch for more info. or to book, though it's fine just to turn up during opening hours. Thames-Side Studios Gallery Thames-Side Studios Harrington Way, Warspite Road Royal Borough of Greenwich London SE18 5NR.  A durational painting made by L.A.Simmons and rock climbers with pigment on their hands, is evolving throughout this exhibition. The Yoga Space London are holding a free class to a responsive DJ set from Justin Quirk for the opening event.  |
