One Ash: Tamsin Loveday
The One Ash project launched in 2020 with the aim of giving young people from four Andover schools a greater understanding of the role of trees in our lives. The project connects the school children with crafters, artists and other people who work with wood on a daily basis.
On 13th February 2020 the children, crafters, artists and wood-workers witnessed the felling of an ash tree on the Englefield Estate near Reading. The tree was then divided and distributed to the individual wood-workers and you can follow the journey of the wood and the many different forms it will take through the One Ash journal pages.
Here we catch-up with One Ash participant, Tamsin Loveday, a Wiltshire based Artist exploring book art, print and mixed media.
So what have you been up to with your blank of the ‘One Ash’ since felling day?
I was sad to not be able to go to the felling day, but enjoyed going to select and collect my share of the tree exactly one year ago.. I know that because Facebook popped up a memory with pictures. I remember feeling excited and nervous at the same time because it was during our first lockdown, I didn’t know anyone and didn’t know what to expect. Wendy and the team were very well organised and helpful. It was so interesting to meet the other Artists and Makers there that day and I learned a lot about Ash timber and how it can be used,
I selected 2, bark-on, sliced sections of trunk, a large block that I was advised could make good “book matched” boards due to the even grain and a few rounds. My plan was, and still is, to try to use some timber to make books and to work creatively with the other pieces. Progress has been slow, with a lot of research and learning about Ash trees. I have been getting to know my pieces of the tree through drawing and making rubbings. The large block has been milled down to create book matched boards. I have been researching traditional methods of attaching wooden boards to books, including Coptic binding which is an ancient way of binding books. Unfortunately, every 2nd board has warped so I am rethinking how to approach the challenge.
Do you often use wood in your art or are you exploring something different here?
I have made 2 books with driftwood covers previously, but wood on this scale is a new challenge. Usually, the only wood in my art is pulp in paper or gathered twigs. This is definitely new for me.
Talk us through your creative process - where do your ideas come from? Where do you draw your inspirations?
Curiosity and experimentation, play and practice are central to how I go about things. I am obsessed with paper, print and books, but not limited to this. I am definitely a multi-passionate or multi-disciplinary Artist. Materials, colour and texture drive a lot of my work, and ideas flow from working and interacting with the materials. Recently I have been making Book-Art with found objects, including forked twigs and an inner tube from a tricycle wheel. I often do not have a finished design idea in mind when I start working on something, things frequently evolve into a surprise.
Did you go to art school? How has your journey led you to where you are today?
I did go to art school! but as an adult on a “career break” from a healthcare role. Foundation in Art and Design at KIAD in Maidstone when I was 35, (the best year ever!) Then onto BA-Hons Fine Art Printmaking at Winchester School of Art, with an ERASMUS exchange to The Beaux Arts in Paris, graduating in 2009.
After that I lived a strange double life for a while; healthcare professional by day and practicing Artist by night. Last year I retired early from my healthcare career for mental health reasons and now am self-employed, full-time practicing Artist, Bookbinder and Creative Tutor. I own The Barefoot Bindery and recently opened my studio at Fisherton Mill is Salisbury.
Working in a sketchbook is a big part of your creative expression. Can you share a bit about the role your sketchbook practice plays in your work?
Oh my, I could not function without a couple of different books by my side!
I have what I call my “Companion Book” – like a commonplace book, where I journal, keep notes and sketch daily, recording ideas thoughts and feelings.
Then I usually have a dedicated sketchbook for each project I am working on.
SO for the One Ash project, I made myself a lovely big chunky soft cover sketchbook, with lots of different interesting papers in it, to contain my research and sketches. My sketchbooks are like the compost of a project. Everything goes in there, no matter how insignificant, because you never know what will become the seed of an idea that will grow and bear fruit later. In fact, I found a note to myself this morning, that at the time I jotted it down did not mean much, but today resonated with me. (It was, “You have to fish in the right pond!”)
I think the research and sketchbook phase of a art project is possibly my favourite bit.
What are your favourite ways to feed your creativity?
I love learning new things and try to have an open mind about opportunities to try new experiences that come my way.
I enjoy chatting with other Artists and Creatives of all kinds. There is something really special that happens in the spaces of conversations between like-minded people with diverse interests. In the Winter lockdown, I started hosting an online networking group for Artist called Studio Hang Out! which has been a lifeline and has developed into a lovely supportive community of makers from all over the place.
When I can, I like to visit at galleries and museums, not just the big shows but also the quieter collections rooms. I am attracted to artifacts of everyday living, the things people used with their hands such as flint-stone knives or earthenware pots. And bones.
I read a lot and enjoy odd films that make you think.
Nothing beats having new material, often foraged or found, to play with. I’ve recently been exploring making plant-based inks and dyes for example.
And when I am feeling stuck nothing eats getting out for a walk and to spend time moving around with nature.
If you would like to find out more about Tamsin’s work with the One Ash project follow her journal.
You can read about all the crafters, artists and wood-workers on the One Ash project page.
An exhibition of the One Ash project, including Tamsin’s work, is planned for 2022 and will form part of the 10-year celebration of all that Andover Trees United has achieved, including the completion of planting in Harmony Woods.