Meet the artists

Norfolk Open Studios offers a unique opportunity to meet local artists and find out what inspires them, how they work, and what makes them tick. For a taste of the stories behind the art, here are some short profiles of three of this year’s Open Studios artists.

140 BEN ALDEN

My interest in art began at a young age, my father was a photographer and my mother painted. Later I went on to study painting at Norwich University of the Arts. In my figurative paintings I create snapshot compositions of subjects and explore ideas of interaction and a sense of place, searching for interesting moments within these photos. I began using watercolour and gouache during the pandemic when my previous studio closed. I had nowhere to work on my oil paintings and I turned to water-based mediums which were more forgiving to my living space. Since then, they have become an important part of my practice. My studio is at the bottom of the garden, amongst plants and apple trees. I’ve only been working in the space a year, but in that time, it has become a very beautiful and peaceful place to work. This is my first year taking part in Norfolk Open Studios, and I’m looking forward to inviting visitors to see where I create my paintings and experience the processes I go through; from building and stretching the canvas, seeing works in progress and the final framing.

© Kate Hodges

044 KATE HODGES

I took up art as therapy from depression through an access course at Norwich City College. This led to a degree in sculpture at Norwich School of Art. My access art teacher was fun, lively and inspirational, she not only taught me art but taught me to breath and take back control of my life. With Pyrography I look, squint and constantly turn the wood to see what may be in it…a little like cloud watching. The process is very organic, not pre-planned and no drawing is involved. I have no idea what design may appear as the grain and colouration dictates. I live on a canal boat and my studio is a workshop in the boatyard. I can’t wait to invite people in to see me work, have a cup of tea and hopefully sit in the sun next to the river. This is my first solo experience of taking part in Norfolk Open Studios. I hope to make new contacts, meet old friends, show people what I do and share my creativity and demystify art by letting them have a go.

211 JENNIFER WILLIAMS

I was inspired from a young age by my Nan who was a mixed media artist, and now I am studying my masters in Textile Innovation, specialising in woven textiles. An advocate for sustainability I have a passion to educate others on the impact of fashion and textiles. I hope to inspire and educate on the use of readily available materials. I am currently looking into hair as material in its own right. Finishing techniques of the cloth are another area I experiment with, for example felting, brushing, shrinking and dissolving. I’m also inspired by abstract mark-making using found and discarded objects. I use a large 16 shaft George Wood Dobby Floor Loom and a smaller 4 shaft table loom. My studio is at my home in a detached partly agricultural building with views over fields. Visitors can expect to have demonstrations of my practice upon request and can have a go themselves, with my assistance. I’m taking part in Norfolk Open Studios because of the encouragement and community of the group, and want to offer an insight into what I do.