<![CDATA[Andrea Oke

<![CDATA[Andrea Oke - Blog]]>Fri, 19 Dec 2025 12:06:06 +0000Weebly<![CDATA[The Last Potters]]>Mon, 23 Sep 2019 11:13:40 GMThttp://www.andreaoke.co.uk/blog/the-last-potters As you may recall I spent much of last summer creating a Silhouette Stop Motion Animation as part of my artist residency at Halsway Manor. Luckily, the final film was seen by the Somerset Heritage Trust who then commissioned me to create a film for them to support their exhibition 'The Art of The Potter' with the focus being upon the lives of the Donyatt Potters.

There is a blog post on the South West Heritage Trust website which explains the process in some depth and I hope you will take a look at it to see a little more about the project. However, the film itself focuses upon the last pottery in Donyatt, Pit Potter, which was run by the Arlidge brothers.

The commission has been a real treat for me as it has seen me move into vertical 4K film making which has been an enormous challenge. However, the greatest compliment (and terror) has come from the sheer size of the screens that the film is being shown on. If you look a the image below you can see a shot of the animation with the doorway to the pottery exhibition included to give you an idea of scale.

Still of 'The Last Potters' ©Andrea Oke

]]><![CDATA[BBC Radio Somerset]]>Tue, 20 Aug 2019 08:16:25 GMThttp://www.andreaoke.co.uk/blog/bbc-radio-somerset

I was really lucky to be asked to speak to BBC Radio Somerset about my work so went to the studios last night to talk to Darren Daily.
Sitting in the studio was quite a strange experience but the process really reminded me how far I have come since graduating in 2014.
The interview is available for the next 28 days available if you follow this link www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07j9mf9 but I will try to upload it to the website in the next couple of days.

]]><![CDATA[What have you been up to lately?]]>Wed, 20 Jun 2018 14:27:00 GMThttp://www.andreaoke.co.uk/blog/what-have-you-been-up-to-lately

As part of my Halsway Manor Residency I was recently invited to host a workshop for the Taunton Centre Pupil Referral Unit.

We spent a lovely morning at Halsway exploring the grounds and house with sketchbook and camera in hand. On returning to the Manor we then developed ideas for paper cut artworks which were combined with lighting to create lovely shadowy images.

I was really pleased to learn that on returning to the Referral Unit the group continued to work with the paper cut and developed it into a stencil for silk screen printing.

You can follow the link below to see the original post

Young ProspectUs Website

]]><![CDATA[Muse goes to the Museum of Somerset]]>Thu, 02 Nov 2017 13:04:41 GMThttp://www.andreaoke.co.uk/blog/muse-goes-to-the-museum-of-somersetMy paper cut artworks,inspired by Axbridge and District Museum, are joining the works of the other artist from the Muse: Makers in Museums project and will be on show at the Museum of Somerset. An excellent opportunity to see all of the artists from Devon and Somerset I am really looking forward to seeing the different artworks on display.

]]><![CDATA[The Axbridge Museum Artist]]>Fri, 04 Aug 2017 11:02:08 GMThttp://www.andreaoke.co.uk/blog/the-axbridge-museum-artist

I am spending a very enjoyable summer working with the volunteers at Axbridge & District Museum, focusing on the ancient documents held in their archives.
The project involves quite a lot of community engagement which is made easy by the accessibility of craft to all age groups. I have looked and traditional methods of writing through the ages and have really enjoyed watching young and old people engage with the project.

If you want to see more you can go to the project websites by clicking on the buttons below

The Axbridge Museum Artist

Muse:Makers in Museums

]]><![CDATA[Oh...and another thing]]>Tue, 30 May 2017 13:54:57 GMThttp://www.andreaoke.co.uk/blog/ohand-another-thingIts always the same with blog posts, nothing for ages then loads come along at once!

I am really happy to share the news with you that I have been selected as one of the artists working in local, volunteer led museums in Somerset and Devon.

Over the summer I will have the privilege of working with the museums collection and the marvellous and very knowledgable volunteers to create a body of work focusing on local craft. I can't tell you how many ideas I have and am only disappointed that the project will eventually have to end! However, I will be blogging as part of the project and will keep you posted with details a bit later.

]]><![CDATA[The Artist's Gallery]]>Tue, 30 May 2017 13:50:40 GMThttp://www.andreaoke.co.uk/blog/the-artists-gallery

I am really pleased to tell you that I have spent the last couple of month working with Sue at the Artist's Gallery in Wedmore. Sue has fulfilled a life dream to open her own gallery and it really great being part of such an exciting adventure right from the beginning.
If you are in Wedmore pop in and have a look at all the wonderful work she has on display.

]]><![CDATA[Screen Printing]]>Tue, 30 Aug 2016 11:04:52 GMThttp://www.andreaoke.co.uk/blog/screen-printingOver the Summer I decided to listen again to some of the sound recordings I had made for the Sound wave project I started a couple of years ago. I have always felt that there were a huge number of stories still to investigate but I needed a little time to mull over how I could progress and not just continue with the same body of work.

It's a funny thing to return to the same things with a different perspective and, about the same time, I did the same with silk screen printing. Here is the result

]]><![CDATA[Somerset Open Studio ]]>Tue, 23 Aug 2016 09:19:18 GMThttp://www.andreaoke.co.uk/blog/somerset-open-studioSomerset Open Studios starts on 17th September 2016 and I will be opening my studio with Sandra James and Margaret Micklewright. There are several studios opening around me so here are the details of the venues and artists

]]><![CDATA[Royal Bath & West Show Art Exhibition]]>Wed, 25 May 2016 13:18:56 GMThttp://www.andreaoke.co.uk/blog/royal-bath-west-show-art-exhibitionAs you may know my specialism is drawing and printmaking. Not only can the processes be extremely relaxing but, I find solace in the routine of process at times when other projects are becoming challenging. I have found that this frees my mind to work through other projects and I am beginning to find themes or links in the subject matter of these 'Solace' works but they do not necessarily fit in with my more conceptual works, and there are times, I think due to my Artist training, that I view the results as a kind of guilty pleasure.

The resulting works have proved to be a bit of a conundrum for me but I can't seem to stop making them, rather like revisiting the biscuit tin! It seems that there are things in the world that I find fascinating due to their sheer beauty, this perceived beauty increases when I commit the images to paper. The slight problem is that I just haven't worked out where they fit in my portfolio. however, I find myself beginning to return to some of the theories I researched during my degree on the role of drawing in contemporary practice and have decided to continue mining this creative vein to see where it leads me.

I thought I would let the world (or Somerset) give me a bit of feed back so I decided to enter in to the Royal Bath and West Art Exhibition and have just been told 2 have been selected! I have included one below which I call 'Patience' and was inspired by the cormorants on Cheddar Reservoir.

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