Introducing: Swarm Exhibition Artists

There are twelve artists featuring in the Swarm exhibition, a project by artist printmaker Laney Birkhead, which aims to highlight the life and plight of bees. Each of the twelve artists have responded to the theme of bees in very different ways, using a wide range of media to explore the subject. Of the twelve artists, here we will introduce the work of three; Caryl Hallett, Verity Pulford and Anna Whitehouse.

Caryl Hallett

Swarm artist Caryl Hallett designs and makes stained glass panels and windows using traditional and contemporary techniques. Her work is often abstract, inspired by the natural world and the beauty of the glass itself. She strives to exploit the exquisite brilliance of the medium and its relationship with light, working to ensure that the viewer is visually rewarded. “I love to work with stained glass because the medium allows me to simultaneously engage with both the physical and ethereal. Working with light and colour in this way is fascinating and inspiring. In manipulating the material elements of glass and lead, I can explore their potential in representing ideas and observations. My work is usually contemporary in style, though I often interpret traditional themes in a symbolic way.”

Verity Pulford

Verity Pulford is a Glass Artist based in North Wales. She creates wall pieces, functional ware, jewellery and architectural commissions using fusing, sandblasting, hand-painting and etching. Swarm artist Verity Pulford’s inspiration for her current work comes from the stunning countryside and wildlife around her in North Wales. Verity is fascinated by the ever changing light and the magical qualities this gives the plants and trees within the landscape. She sketches, photographs and collect plants whilst out walking and on returning to her glass workshop, tries to capture the shapes and light, which she finds beautiful. Her work is constantly evolving- every piece being unique. Verity’s glasswork for the Swarm exhibition is directly inspired by her visit to the North York Moors last summer.

Anna Whitehouse

For the Swarm exhibition, using images from a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Ceramic Artist Anna Whitehouse has created hand carved and modelled porcelain specimens of larger than life pollen grains, allowing the viewer into this beautiful and hidden microscopic world. She has produced 3 large wall pieces to date, Spring, Summer and Autumn, which show what bees are foraging on at different times of the year. Most importantly, they show what you could be growing in your garden to help stop their decline. Anna spent a month researching the seasonal feeding behaviour of bees; making contact with local bee keeping associations, the North York Moors National Park Authority and scouring the extensive RHS bee friendly plant list.

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