A Tale of the Pendle Witches

Today I interviewed artist Karen Redmayne about her work and in particular her new project and exhibition at the ACE Centre. Although Karen works mainly in glass, she has other interests when it comes to art.
Karen told me she has always had a natural love for art and drawing, right from when she was a child. She was brought up on a farm in the country and has a deep appeciation for nature.

Wycoller
(available on Karen's website)

Grasmere
(available on Karen's website)

Her love for creativity carried on through school, taking her to do textiles and art A-levels at St Mary's college Blackburn and then a further BTEC Foundation year at Burnley college, where she created her first book entitled 'Pinny's Hospital Visit'. The book was published in 1994 and was distibuted throughout Burnley general hospital for sick children to use whilst stying there. After her foundation year at Burnley Karen went to Bretton Hall College (Leeds University) and graduated in 1998 with a degree in printmking and illustration. Since then Karen has gone on to establish her own business, initially in 2001 producing limited edition linoleum prints. Since 2003 Karen has been based at Higherford Mill. She now does a variety of art including glass making, printing, and illustration.

glasswork available on Karen's website
http://www.redcurrantglass.co.uk/

When asked what inspires her Karen has always been into the same styles. Stating  Antoni Gaudí and Alphonse Muche of the Art Nouveau movement (1890-1910) as some of her greatest influences. She also loves the Art Deco movement (which began in the 1920s going through the 30s to world war II time), which had artists such as Hector Guimard and Eugene Grasset.



Poster for Victorien Sardou's Gismonda starring Sarah Bernhardt at the Théâtre de la Renaissance in Paris.
Muche 1894 lithograph

Karen has experimented with many different mediums, starting off with printing when she first opened her business in 2001, she has progressed to using watercolours, glass, oil paint, inks and pastels. The medium changes depending on the subject. Karen still enjoys sketching though, and her favourite thing to create work on is landscapes, and we have so many beautiful ones to choose from round our area.

In her latest work, Karen has created a children's book entitled 'The Tale of the Pendle Witches'. She has done it in collaboration with the 400th anniversery of the Pendle Witches' trial and death. The original illustrations and the book itself are for sale in this exhibition at the ACE Centre. Come down and have a look!

To learn more about Karen's book, work or just Karen in general visit her website http://www.redcurrantglass.co.uk/  where you can also get access to her blog.