Tread Softly

So as well as continuing with my own practice I am embarking on a small scale business venture which will predominantly be re-purposing second hand furniture. I will be a sole trader and will operate under the name Tread Softly. My twitter handle is Hannah Wiles @TreadSoftlyMCR where you can follow what I'm up to.

The name comes from a poem and although I am not religious I thought the sentiment fits well with the ideology behind the business and links well with my background in stitch.

The Cloths of Heaven

Had I the heaven's embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light;
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

W. B. Yeats

The following is from my business plan:

The aim of the business is to re-purpose obsolete furniture re-imagining it to create beautiful unique pieces and home accessories using sustainable materials. The company is owned and managed by Hannah Jessica Wiles, with Heather Read as lead advisor and is structured as a sole trader.

We feel that there is a heavy leaning towards the mass produced and disposable society and wanted to push back against this by offering a product that treads lightly on the earth through re-purposing unloved furniture and turning them into modern pieces of furniture which are unique and will be well loved in their new home.

Art & Science Critical Forum 1: Environment
Rogue Artist Studios and Project space

Although I was a bit late and it was awful weather on a Friday night I'm really glad I went to this. It's been a long time since I've listened to other artists talk about their work and then had a chance to discuss their ideas. Always great for inspiration no matter what the subject matter or medium of the work. Thanks to Annie Carpenter for organising this! Looking forward to the next one :)

The first critical forum will take place at Rogue Project Space (now on the 1st floor). We have the wonderful Alice Sharp and Bianca Manu fromInvisible Dust as special guests. The event will take the form of informal presentations by artists intersperced with discussion. The loose theme for the 1st session is 'environment'. Everyone is welcome to attend but if you would like to present your work please email Annie Carpenter - a.carpenter@mmu.ac.uk.

Kindly supported by Arts Council England.

Rogue Open Studios 2015
October 23rd - 25th 

After 3 years away from the world of art I was thrilled to be welcomed back to Rogue Artist Studios. I am back on the 1st floor sharing a space with two other lovely artists. It just so happened that I got my space back with one week to go until Rogue celebrated its 20th anniversary with its annual open studio event.

It felt great to be back in there in time to celebrate with them. As I haven't made any work for 3 years I opted to show some past work which was the work I did in a residency at Titos in Liverpool which you can read about on this blog. It was four week residency in a derelict bakery in Liverpool supported through The Arts Organisation. I also replicated some of the work in the photographs in the studio space. 

There are over 100 artists in Rogue studios and I didn't take many photographs but it was a fantastic event and a great opportunity to see some of the great work being made in the studios. 

Royal British Society of Sculptors
2011 Bursary Award Winners
17th November - 16th December

I was invited to make a site specific piece of work for the RBS bursary award winners exhibition in London.

The RBS Bursary Awards 2011 is a showcase of current contemporary practice; ten sculptors have been presented with this prestigious award and this unique opportunity of exhibiting their work as part of a group show in London. The rich diversity of work reflects the individual artists’ background and their journey using sculpture as a means to express their ideas.

Sculpture is social. It is restless in its enquiries about space and place. And it continues to thrive. We can see all of these qualities on display in the work of the winners of this year’s RBS Bursary Awards. Ekow Eshun, August 2011

RBS Bursary Award Winners 2011: James Balmforth, David Buckley, Alex Chinneck, Mark Davey, Sian Griffiths, Julia Malle, Kate McLeod, Eric Schumacher, Katie Surridge, Hannah Wiles

You can view the exhibition catalogue here.

There was some lovely work exhibited exploring different ideas of what sculpture is. I took some photographs at the preview evening, they're not the best but give a feel for the evening.