Gallery

Click on a name below to take you to the project:

Untold Truths

With Untold Truths, members of Studio Upstairs Bristol, explored creative recovery through a wide range of media including sculpture, painting, print, textiles and drawing, The exhibition celebrated the studio community and acted as a milestone in their ongoing creative and therapeutic processes, illustrating where members have come from and indicating new directions for future work.

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Art Lifelines

This artwork is from our social prescribing project for Merton residents. The project was funded by Healthy London Partnership, Arts Council and the Mayor of London as a pilot social prescribing programme, helping improve people’s mental health and wellbeing through creativity.

*The project was funded by Healthy London Partnership, Arts Council and the Mayor of London as a pilot social prescribing programme, helping improve people’s mental health and wellbeing through creativity.

Freedom Stroll - Tracy Eaton

After what seemed like an eternity stuck in the Covid lockdown, being able to go back to the park made me feel free.

Magdalene - Thomas Etheridge

Watercolours & Gouache

Woods - Rinal Patel

Eye - Rados

Eyes speak more than words. Eyes as intimate conversation of the soul.

Heal - Sukaina Juma

I wanted to use bright colours that would appeal to the eye on first sight and to use patterns to add texture. It was very therapeutic to create this piece, as it has been a while since I have made art work.

Horse - Rados

Family Crest Matters - Consuela Lewinson

Thomas in Chocolate - Rinal Patel

The Fox Muse - Tracy Eaton

Rediscovering pointillism during the first Covid lockdown, I made a new foxy friend who comes to see me in the garden.

Relaxing - Uzi Imran

It was about mandalas, it was an easy start to go into the project. It was so relaxing, it eases your mind. As long as you have all your materials in front you can get started, it can help you forget the world around you. I’d recommend it to anybody.

Fiery - Sukaina Juma

I drew this after a dance movement therapy session which brought up a lot of difficult emotions to process. I began with a mandala design, but then intuitively I drew large strokes and fire to express myself. I felt a huge emotional release after this was complete.

Not As Seems - Shardz

This piece of art is my representation of the saying "behind closed doors". In the part of the image where the door is shut, we can see through it and everything seems normal, but as we open the door, we see the image in its true state. Torn. The hand opening the door represents us, looking in to understand situations that may be overlooked at a first glance.

Uzi - Uzi Imran

Mixed media portrait. The magazine I ended up using was all about food, so that sums me up. It says everything about me. It is important to me, as I need to lose weight, which means that I have anxiety.

Blue - Consuela Lewinson

Blue is a colour I love but a feeling I don't!

Merman - Thomas Etheridge

Watercolours & Gouache

Comfort In Nature - Shardz

Where the world is viewed as a concrete jungle of corruption, we can seek and find comfort in the natural world that still lives on. This was a fun piece to make as it incorporated a political cartoon narrative outside the windows, but counteracts that with the warm colours of the naturistic rug.

In Between - Genevieve Collier

I moved home in between the two groups that made up the Merton pilot project. Towards the end of the 12 weeks, we ran a session on creating an image from found objects and discarded bits. By this time, I had very little left around me. The image is made of objects from my flat and the Thames foreshore nearby, loosely bound by some orange thread. The two halves perhaps indicate having one foot in two different places.

Open Your Art

An abundance of artworks have appeared in waiting rooms, along platforms and railings at South Croydon station. The rail company GTR approached Studio Upstairs, inviting us to help improve the look and feel of South Croydon Station. A diverse group of artists, all members of Studio Upstairs, responded to a call for artworks that would comfort, inspire, and connect with people passing through the busy suburban station. The art trail of images includes striking large-scale posters, intimate and reflective pieces, art with a tongue-in-cheek message, plus a cosmos of colourful bubble-shaped stickers.The artists in this exhibition are members, volunteers and workers from Studio Upstairs. We are a therapeutic arts community with studios in Croydon, Dalston and Bristol. We support people experiencing mental health difficulties to find artistic expression and personal creativity.

*This exhibition has been generously supported by: Southern Print Foundry Lab, LION Picture Framing Supplies Ltd, Kit Oates Photography

Also, huge thanks to: Sarah Dean, Snapped Arts; Mary Gauthier, songwriter; Andy Keane, installer and Whitney at South Croydon

Open Your Art

Mercy Now - Andrew Mead

Subterr-tr-ainia - James Squire

Sunny Shard - Devi Raste

Armour - Edgar Causey

Cloud Streets - Toria Lamb

Worry Train - Jake-Summer

Shared Ovation - Andrew Whitely

To Do Today - Toria Lamb & Andrew Mead

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The Magic of the World in a Dewdrop - Etty Mathews

Warm Up Memories Plz 5T2 - James Squire

You Have Done Nothing Wrong - Nicola Field

Lady meditating at the well - Sandra Wills

Tractor in a Field - David Fried

Untitled - Sarah Lott

Daisy - Grazyna Kaminska

Reach Out Be Loved - Toria Lamb

Queen Nigella - Maria Vila

Unicorns - Sara Dean

Tree Question - Nicola Field

Ouroboros - Emma White

Breathe - Patsy McMahon

Lily - Kevin Francis

Walk on the Water - RSJ

Space for you - RH

Berrrrle Prrr India Arrrecatacha Perrrrlanca Dedo Lili Piquenha Lapariga - Vera Freire

How Does it Feel

How Does It Feel?

How Does it Feel

Online Exhibition responding to COVID19 Lockdown

Covid-Contained - Etty Mattews, Watercolour, 76x58cm

This work began on 31.03.20 as part of a group response to the lockdown. It is chronological response to a weekly art psychotherapy group and my feelings around being contained by the virus but by finding the art work emotionally containing.

Cornered - Brem Locke, Watercolour, 76x58cm

I decided to try and make a painting without brushes and decided on kitchen roll as it’s been in short supply. I tried to capture the feeling of being trapped inside the house and not really knowing what is going on outside of the window. I’ve definitely felt the isolation and strangeness of the lockdown and I know everybody else feels it too.

Staying at Home - Carrie, Watercolour & pens, 21x29cm

I drew my experience of each week during lockdown. This week was spent growing different things – I now have 16 plants, but they’ve brought a little serenity to this scary experience! I've had to learn to tolerate my own company somehow, and nature has helped.

Time Stamp of Loss - Fazila Virmani, Mixed Media, 21x15cm

It has been a year of immense loss with so much coming to an end abruptly. I lost my father and whilst I was and still grieving, there came this pandemic that shook the world. I went through further losses; loss of health, loss of working, loss of graduation and university environment. Amidst all of this I lost myself too.

Free-weeling

This piece is pure, mindless, plan-less doodle. The point was not the final product, but the act of making. Doodling helps me feel calm and focused, which can be hard sometimes during lockdown. I haven’t doodled in years, and lockdown gave me the opportunity to remember how much I enjoy it.

Save Lives - Grazyna, Photography, 40x30cm

I am a strong believer in artworks talking for themselves however I do take into account how important the back story may be and how much it may add emotionally to any image ; how appreciative audiences may be when symbols and objects or sources of inspiration for individual pieces are explained . This image is self - explanatory today and I wonder what its lifespan may be in the dystopian future.

Suspended - Genevieve Collier, Magazine print & acrylic paint, 40x50cm

There has been an underlying sense of waiting around in the dark, not knowing anything for certain during the pandemic. The tarot image of the Hanged Man is usually suspended upside down, voluntarily surrendering to forces for change that are coming but not yet understood.

Lily Flowers - Vera Freire, Wire, Enamel Paint, 30x70cm

I went to the park and I saw the flowers which make me think of isolation. I was inspired by the flowers because I could not go anywhere else. I was feeling claustrophobic at home, and the Studio Upstairs group online has made me feel better. Thanks to the group, I was inspired to use wire at home.

Godzilla - Jerry Bayley, Acrylic on Card

This is a piece l painted at the Studio Upstairs . I've always loved the image of GODZILLA a 500 ft creature that saves our planet from other Monsters. It's a bit like the way scientists are saving people from the Covid -19 virus if you imagine it as a destructive monster. GODZILLA is the saviour of humanity . He is a kind of metaphor for an anti virus.

Subjective - Kayleigh Ditchburn, Acrylic, 29x30cm

Initially I envisioned creating a waterfall, I then turned it upside down and a volcano also appeared. I found this piece evolving into different things depending on what the viewer was experiencing. What can you see?

Locked Eyes - Harriet Muncey, Acrylic on Paper, 29x42cm

Like many of my lockdown projects, this isn’t actually finished. I’ve spent so many hours in online meetings staring at people in little boxes - including myself - unable to access those particular moments of satisfying connection when you make eye contact with another human. This is me, locking eyes with myself, really trying to see what’s behind them.

Inside the Studio - Toria, Oil Paint, 30x45cm

It was the first still life I have made and it was to give me a piece of the studio life whilst at home.

X-Cert - Jake Summer, Video Stills & Photoshop grading and stencilled signs

This is an excerpt and promotional image from the film I have been compiling to record life during lockdown, wherever possible I have used an experimental and performance art approach, currently editing many hours of footage which both documents the lockdown in an informative, provocative, subversive and entertaining way.

Number 21 - Zoё Rebecca, Marbling Ink, 10x15cm

I enjoy marbling because no matter how much you do (such as choosing colours and how you arrange them), you can never quite control the outcome. The finished product is always a surprise. Marbling has allowed me to process these feelings that are mirrored in my reality today.

Thank You Without Words -Mel, Digital

Is the British sign for Thanks. I have been working in ASC base and have not been 'creative' as such. this was the outcome of how to use a drawing tablet, trying to block external noise and trying to focus on positives. I've made a collection of them. In thanks to a boy I worked with 11 years ago, after months of no response , showed me care. It was a 'moment' and all I could say was thank you'..

Strife - Michael Bacon, Pen and Inks, 20x29cm

I created the work whilst experiencing inner conflict of the restrictions we are all bound by and the escalating layers of society. In response the work became busy and confusing to follow with altered perspectives on a subtle scale.

The Painted Drum - Jane Deaking

I painted my drum yesterday, Much of the darkness of this time and also the beauty was expressed in this. Today is the dark moon. I feel much better than I have for many days. Making this has healed me in a way. I have wanted to do this for the Longest time. I like it It is deep and elemental. Shamanic, quite dark but with accents of light. Just like any shamanic journey It takes you with its rhythm and beauty to a deeper place.

Speechless - Yasmine Matrinez, Charcoal & Pencil, 29x21cm

There’s too much to think about and too many hours to think it in but it doesn’t feel like there’s ever enough time to talk about it.

Suspended - Thomas Etheridge, Mixed Media, 10x15cxm

This mermaid appeared at a time of high levels of stress and something about her face motivated me to continue working on the image. I used a found image of plants as a background and enjoyed playing with layering imagery.

Thoughts As Faces - Rosie, Watercolour, 21x29cm

Letting go of some tension by releasing a few of those dark moments. You are not your thoughts, but an observer.

Peribat - Del Oldham, Acrylic on canvas, 30x30cm

This is one in a series of pieces on a heart theme carrying the title ‘Peribat'; latin for Unrequited. The storm reflects much of how I feel a lot of the time, especially during lockdown.

Superman Versus Dragon - John, Pencil on Paper, 28x20cm

This is my expression about what is happening in the world today, re. the virus. Another title could be “The War of the World”. The Virus is represented by the Dragon, and Superman represents all the good forces fighting the Virus. I suffer from Paranoid Schizophrenia.

Mental Health Stigma - Julie Tsiricos, Collage, 42x29cm

wanted to show the difference between what people think about mental illness and what it is really like. I have bipolar which has less stigma than schizophrenia. I work in collage.

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Sunflowers - Hayley Hellings

I mainly create abstract art, but sometimes still life. I use all forms of art materials and enjoy experimenting with new materials and techniques.

Burnout - Anna Brown, Wood, 30cm

Gallery

Untold Truths

Art Lifelines

Open Your Art

How Does it Feel?

Untold Truths

Art Lifelines

Open Your Art

How Does It Feel?