Tithe barns are all the rage!

Spent this Thursday with Zoe from SAW who took me to see this Tithe barn at Cotley near Chard. We were going to have a look at the space in preparation for using it as an open studio space for the fourth coming Somerset Art weeks in September. My grandparents are farmers so I am used to finding farms down little winding country lanes that are seemingly in the middle of nowhere. However, I did not expect the tithe barn on this farm to be very big and I suppose you can kind of see in the photo that it is actually quite a large space indeed. It is also incredibly beautiful in the rustic sense of beauty that is. That's where my interest comes in as my work features rusty tools found on the farm so potentially I was hoping this would be a great location for my work. I was not disappointed and hope that I can use this as an opportunity to present my work in a different context from the white walled gallery space I am used to.

In the photo is Zoe and artist Liz Fathers who creates environmental based installations that often reflect the context or surroundings they find themselves in. She had recently exhibited at Appledore arts Festival in North Devon with a piece about pollution in the sea. I actually studied my degree alongside Liz and I know she is an artist who researches her subject deeply. When we actually arrived at the barn she had already found out from the farmer about the history of the barn being used for threshing corn and making cider. In fact the venue is going to have several artists who would be suited to this space exhibiting and working here throughout the weeks in September.

I will keep you posted at how my experience with helping to put this exhibition together progresses in the run up to the art weeks.