I am Stephen Davies, and my co-writer in the band Sister Company is Mary-Bernadette Baker. We are both also artists and there are hundreds of traditional artworks, album covers, flyer designs, brochures etc connected with Sister Company. I have lived in Ramsgate but now live in London, whereas Mary is still there. Many of our videos out of those not shot in Europe are filmed in Kent, and that goes for Mary’s solo works too.

Sister Company art is largely video and promotional but there are also animations and our stageshow (currently under construction) involves several installations.

Location: Ramsgate
Website: www.youtube.com/sistercompany
Contact: info@sistercompany.co.uk

Introduction to Life Casting Course
Wednesday 7th July
•    1 day, 3 techniques & a cast of your very own
•    discover a skin safe rubber, capable of capturing incredible detail
•    later immortalise your friends, family and colleagues

For more info visit our website http://www.meltdowns.co.uk/page.php?69 or contact us on +44 (0)1843 580083 or e info@meltdowns.co.uk

Introducing Bronze Casting Course
Monday 21 June
•    1 day – fusing theory with practical activity
•    Insight gained into this elaborate & complex process
•    Take moulding skills back to your studio

For more info visit our website www.meltdowns.co.uk or contact us on +44 (0)1843 580083 or e info@meltdowns.co.uk

Meltdowns

UPDATE
New for 2010 – Weekend Bronze Casting Course April to December
•    8 monthly sessions from April to December
•    create your own bronze in time for Christmas
•    learn this ancient practice for contemporary application

Create your own bronze (10 Fridays over 3 months) – February course 2010
Sessions 1-5: Friday 19th February – Friday 19th March
Break (including Easter): Monday 22nd March – Friday 16th April
Sessions 6-10: Friday 23rd April – Friday 21st May

Following a last minute cancellation there’s a couple of places still available on this foundry education programme that’s now in its third year. Delivered over ten full day sessions, this is a unique opportunity for you to learn the bronze casting process and to produce a bronze sculpture measuring 30cm (h) x 20cm (w) x 25cm (d). Emphasis is placed on experimentation, providing full and unedited information on the casting process and allowing full access to the facilities.

Course Structure
Session 1 – Armature & Modelling Introduction
Session 2 – Modelling work & Completion
Session 3 – Demonstrating Rubber Moulding Techniques & Making cases
Session 4 – Pouring Rubber & Wax Introduction
Session 5 – Making Waxes
Session 6 – Investment, Kiln Load & Fire
Session 7 – Plaster casing & Pouring metal
Session 8 – Chipping Out Bronzes, Jet Washing & Removing Runners & Risers
Session 9 – Fettling
Session 10 – Patination Introduction & Application

Details
Venue location: Ramsgate, Kent
Time: 10am to 5pm (with an hour break for lunch)
Group size: 10 people
Cost per student: £790.00 (inc. VAT and all materials). Payment plans available: divide the cost into two or three lump sums or fourteen weekly payments. Please be aware that we accept card payments.

Please note that a commercial foundry would usually charge between £850.00 to £1000.00 plus VAT to cast a similar sized object to those created as part of the course.

For all of our education programmes, places are allocated on a first come first served basis and must be booked in advance.
Deadline for booking: Friday 12th February.

This course is open to artists and anyone aged 16 years or over.

For more information, please visit the relevant pages of our website
http://www.meltdowns.co.uk/page.php?68 or to book a place, please contact us on +44 (0)1843 580083 or email stacy@meltdowns.co.uk

My paintings are inspired by my love of living by the sea (combined with my love of eating some of the creatures that end up in nets and pots along our coastline.)  Working chiefly in acrylics, with a bit of spray paint for good measure, my recent work has taken traditional “postcard scenes” from the Thanet coast and given them a psychedelic overhaul.

Location: Broadstairs
Website: www.ieuanedwards.com
Contact: mail@ieuanedwards.com

Inspiration comes from many sources including Lucien Freud, Francis Bacon, Spike Milligan, Tim Burton, Cindy Sherman, fashion magazines and the Pre-Raphaelites. The work covers a range of subjects based upon everyday life and mythology.

I am obsessed with faces.
They show a person’s life, and can look different on a daily basis, a perfect canvas to convey different sides of your character. But more than this my fascination is with the colouration and fragility of skin and within my portraits I strive to bring these issues across. My concern is more with the flesh then the actual likeness.

Many of the images are severely cropped and large in scale to enhance the confrontation. The faces are exposed to close scrutiny, emphasising the fragility of the face and person. As we gaze intently at them a combination of senses unfold and question. This questioning is the most important factor of the work, from the everyday issues of beauty being skin deep to a beautiful woman becoming a freakishly bizarre creature.

Drawing and mark making play a significant role, repetition of marks, layering on different colours. This can be a violent process, pressing paint through fabric, manic stitching – quick actions due to a short time-scale. These ‘routines’ and combinations of materials trace my thoughts and fixations of the paint/skin and lead to an ongoing exploration of abstraction.

Location: Ramsgate
Website: www.emilytull.co.uk
Contact: emilytull@hotmail.com