​James work ranges from huge platters and bottles to delicate bowls and tiny lidded jars. Working at the wheel he produces work in a series of similar forms each with their own subtle variations. Many of his glazes are made using local materials, gathered from quarries and clay seams in the countryside around my studio. Glazes are applied spontaneously by dipping, pouring and brushing in different combinations. During the firing the glazes fuse together producing fluid dynamic
surfaces.

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jameshake.co.uk

Ben's work is heavily influenced by the surrounding landscape of wherever he is. Be that in the Kent Estuary or the wider English Lake District, North Wales, Spain, South Africa and Lesotho or Scotland as examples. He paints as a response to living, working and walking in
the landscape. He often composes paintings with thick, textured paint - loosely applied. He wishes to convey a sense of place, and the physical process of mark-making he employs is an engagement with the environment around him. After sketches and photographs used as reference he prefers to paint and draw quickly and instinctively. His work is a visual diary, a desire to capture a sense of the vitality and living quality of the landscape around him - a response to knowing what it is like to be in the landscape - a personal response to seeing and feeling the effects of the light and weather. His art is not a complete rejection of Modernist ideology from his undergraduate studies, but
essentially he paints because he wants to paint. Sometimes that leads to more abstracted marks – but other times it means looking to capture more literally a slice of life before him. The formal qualities of his paintings and drawings are important - an aesthetic in
response to the aesthetic of the environment aroun.

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benmcleodfineart.co.uk

OUBAS is a knitwear studio based in Ulverston. The studio designs and makes natural fibre textiles using digital machinery and traditional craft processes. Using regional fibre as well as fine merinos and cashmeres. The studio is now a small team of makers and creatives who produce clothing and homewares. They have a studio shop which is open daily Monday – Friday.

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oubasknitwear.co.uk