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    In ‘Bourdon Street Chippy,’ Lucy Sparrow Celebrates a British Culinary Institution in Felt

    Photos by Alun Callender for JBPR. All images courtesy of the artist and Lyndsey Ingram, shared with permission

    In ‘Bourdon Street Chippy,’ Lucy Sparrow Celebrates a British Culinary Institution in Felt

    August 7, 2025

    ArtCraftFood

    Kate Mothes

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    From fried cod to red saveloy sausage to the carb-lover’s chip butty—a simple sandwich made with chunky fries on a buttered roll—the menu at Bourdon Street Chippy resembles what you’d expect to see at a traditional British fish and chips shop. The only real difference, despite the delectable-looking cones of deep-fried treats and perfectly formed pies, is that everything from the jarred, picked eggs to the battered haddock to the wall decor is made from felt.

    The brainchild of artist Lucy Sparrow (previously), Bourdon Street Chippy is the latest in a series of elaborate, large-scale, interactive installations highlighting quotidian places like supermarkets, pharmacies, and bodegas that we visit all the time but rarely think of much in the way of aesthetics. Crafted in soft fiber, many of the artist’s renditions of merchandise and food sport cute, smiling expressions while faithfully replicating iconic dishes and products.

    Bourdon Street Chippy is presented by Lyndsey Ingram Gallery, which is located on Bourdon Street in London. While the scampi and chips that Sparrow whips up aren’t edible, they are available for purchase. Visitors are welcome to peruse the menu and order their takeaway directly from the artist. “As much theatre as art, the familiarity of…these spaces disarms the viewer, taking them to a playful, often nostalgic place,” the gallery says.

    The exhibition includes handmade banquette seating and a wall-to-wall gallery of sewn portraits of the chippy’s famous patrons. Read fabric menus, have an even tougher time than usual getting ketchup to come out of the Heinz bottles, and be reminded not to feed the seagulls. All in all, the installation includes more than 65,000 individual felt pieces, including 15 chip shapes in different colors.

    The exhibition continues through September 14. Find more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

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    Xanthe Summers Weaves Themes of Labor and Visibility in Bold Ceramic Vessels

    “The Weary Weaver” (2024), glazed stoneware, 39.4 x 28.4 x 28.4 incjes. Photo by Southern Guild and Hayden Phipps. All images courtesy of Xanthe Summers, shared with permission

    Xanthe Summers Weaves Themes of Labor and Visibility in Bold Ceramic Vessels

    August 7, 2025

    ArtCraftSocial Issues

    Kate Mothes

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    “Clay is an incredible medium to hold narrative,” says Xanthe Summers, who turns to the medium as a way to explore themes around domesticity, craft, and so-called “women’s work” like cleaning, mending, working with textiles, and caregiving. When it comes to clay, she says, “I think mostly I am invigorated by its ability to hold—to hold water, to hold function, to give shape, to carry stories, and to carry meaning.”

    Currently based in London, Summers grew up in Zimbabwe, where she observed inequities within the social structure that mirror many places around the world, especially in terms of gendered labor within the domestic sphere that often goes largely unseen and unacknowledged.

    “Common Threads” (2025), glazed stoneware, 23.6 x 21.7 x 21.7 inches

    She explains that “many homes have cleaners and gardeners who exist within this ‘invisible’ framework: caring for children, cooking their meals, and sometimes traveling for hours—and their work is underpaid, undervalued, and considered unskilled.”

    Summers taps into ceramics, especially the archetypal vessel motif, to join the ever-evolving continuum of the medium. Throughout millennia and across myriad distinct cultures, the earthen material has found endless applications in the home, industry, and art.

    “Clay has the unique ability to cross the boundaries between functionality, art, craft, class, and culture, and because of this, it is a vital medium to hold stories about humankind,” she says. “I understand clay to be an archive for the stories of humans.”

    The vessels often take on figurative proportions, standing tall on plinths and exhibiting saturated hues, bold patterns, and tactile textures. Some of the pieces crumple, especially toward the top, as if hit with something or caving under some invisible weight.

    Installation view at Southern Guild, Cape Town. Photo courtesy of Southern Guild

    The artist’s vessels tread the boundary between form and function and delve into another craft often associated with women’s labor: weaving. She describes how everything from the sheets we sleep on to the carpets we tread across to the clothes on our back can be “extrapolated to speak more broadly about domesticity, women’s work, and racialized spaces in Zimbabwe and the Global South.” She adds:

    Weaving can be used as a wider metaphor for social cohesion—or lack thereof. This predicament is significant in Zimbabwe but is apparent the world over, where women’s work is undervalued.

    Next year, Summers embarks on a trip to Guadalajara, Mexico, for a residency at Ceramica Suro, where she will learn from local ceramic artists, glassblowers, and weavers. And this October, you’ll be able to see her work at London’s 1-54, a fair dedicated to contemporary African art, which runs from October 16 to 19. Explore more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

    “Woven Tales Stand Tall” (2022). Photo by Deniz Guzel

    Detail of “Woven Tales Stand Tall.” Photo by Deniz Guzel

    “By the Pricking of My Thumbs” (2025), glazed stoneware, 39.4 x 27.6 x 27.8 inches. Photo by Southern Guild and Hayden Phipps

    “Working Class Femininity” (2023), glazed stoneware, 41 x 19.8 x 19.8 inches. Photo by Deniz Guzel

    “Weaver’s Woe” (2024,), glazed stoneware, 22.4 x 19.7 x 19.7 inches. Photo by Deniz Guzel

    “Of Woof and Woe” (2024), glazed stoneware, 43.3 x 25.3 x 25.3 inches. Photo by Southern Guild and Hayden Phipps

    Xanthe Summers in her studio

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    Xanthe Somers Weaves Themes of Labor and Visibility in Bold Ceramic Vessels

    “The Weary Weaver” (2024), glazed stoneware, 39.4 x 28.4 x 28.4 incjes. Photo by Southern Guild and Hayden Phipps. All images courtesy of Xanthe Summers, shared with permission

    Xanthe Somers Weaves Themes of Labor and Visibility in Bold Ceramic Vessels

    August 7, 2025

    ArtCraftSocial Issues

    Kate Mothes

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    “Clay is an incredible medium to hold narrative,” says Xanthe Somers, who turns to the medium as a way to explore themes around domesticity, craft, and so-called “women’s work” like cleaning, mending, working with textiles, and caregiving. When it comes to clay, she says, “I think mostly I am invigorated by its ability to hold—to hold water, to hold function, to give shape, to carry stories, and to carry meaning.”

    Currently based in London, Somers grew up in Zimbabwe, where she observed inequities within the social structure that mirror many places around the world, especially in terms of gendered labor within the domestic sphere that often goes largely unseen and unacknowledged.

    “Common Threads” (2025), glazed stoneware, 23.6 x 21.7 x 21.7 inches

    She explains that “many homes have cleaners and gardeners who exist within this ‘invisible’ framework: caring for children, cooking their meals, and sometimes traveling for hours—and their work is underpaid, undervalued, and considered unskilled.”

    Somers taps into ceramics, especially the archetypal vessel motif, to join the ever-evolving continuum of the medium. Throughout millennia and across myriad distinct cultures, the earthen material has found endless applications in the home, industry, and art.

    “Clay has the unique ability to cross the boundaries between functionality, art, craft, class, and culture, and because of this, it is a vital medium to hold stories about humankind,” she says. “I understand clay to be an archive for the stories of humans.”

    The vessels often take on figurative proportions, standing tall on plinths and exhibiting saturated hues, bold patterns, and tactile textures. Some of the pieces crumple, especially toward the top, as if hit with something or caving under some invisible weight.

    Installation view at Southern Guild, Cape Town. Photo courtesy of Southern Guild

    The artist’s vessels tread the boundary between form and function and delve into another craft often associated with women’s labor: weaving. She describes how everything from the sheets we sleep on to the carpets we tread across to the clothes on our back can be “extrapolated to speak more broadly about domesticity, women’s work, and racialized spaces in Zimbabwe and the Global South.” She adds:

    Weaving can be used as a wider metaphor for social cohesion—or lack thereof. This predicament is significant in Zimbabwe but is apparent the world over, where women’s work is undervalued.

    Next year, Somers embarks on a trip to Guadalajara, Mexico, for a residency at Ceramica Suro, where she will learn from local ceramic artists, glassblowers, and weavers. And this October, you’ll be able to see her work at London’s 1-54, a fair dedicated to contemporary African art, which runs from October 16 to 19. Explore more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

    “Woven Tales Stand Tall” (2022). Photo by Deniz Guzel

    Detail of “Woven Tales Stand Tall.” Photo by Deniz Guzel

    “By the Pricking of My Thumbs” (2025), glazed stoneware, 39.4 x 27.6 x 27.8 inches. Photo by Southern Guild and Hayden Phipps

    “Working Class Femininity” (2023), glazed stoneware, 41 x 19.8 x 19.8 inches. Photo by Deniz Guzel

    “Weaver’s Woe” (2024,), glazed stoneware, 22.4 x 19.7 x 19.7 inches. Photo by Deniz Guzel

    “Of Woof and Woe” (2024), glazed stoneware, 43.3 x 25.3 x 25.3 inches. Photo by Southern Guild and Hayden Phipps

    Xanthe Summers in her studio

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    Christina Bothwell Taps into Dream Worlds in Surreal Glass and Ceramic Sculptures

    All images courtesy of Christina Bothwell and Heller Gallery, shared with permission

    Christina Bothwell Taps into Dream Worlds in Surreal Glass and Ceramic Sculptures

    August 4, 2025

    ArtCraft

    Kate Mothes

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    Youthful and mysterious figures emerge from glass and ceramic in the uncanny sculptures of Christina Bothwell (previously). Animals and children form the artist’s primary focus, often embellished with painted florals, nestled in shells, or encapsulated within bird cages. Her husband and collaborator, Robert Bender, often adds wood elements like deer antlers or spider-esque legs. Tender and also occasionally unsettling, the pieces hint at the surreal stuff of dreams, memories, and the spirit world.

    Bothwell’s solo exhibition, Screen Memories, just opened at UrbanGlass’s Robert Lehman Gallery. Presented by Heller Gallery, the show brings together a wide selection of new and recent pieces and continues through September 12 in New York City. Find more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

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    Kirsty Elson’s Spirited Creatures Breathe New Life into Weathered Driftwood

    All images courtesy of Kirsty Elson, shared with permission

    Kirsty Elson’s Spirited Creatures Breathe New Life into Weathered Driftwood

    August 1, 2025

    ArtCraft

    Grace Ebert

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    Wander into Kirsty Elson’s Cornwall studio, and you’ll likely greet a menagerie of creatures alongside scraps of driftwood and rusted bits of metal. Scouring local beaches and embankments, the artist (previously) has an impeccable ability to envision a piglet’s ear or a dog’s snout from a weathered hunk of timber. Once in her studio, quirky characters emerge from scratched and worn materials, their lively personalities shining through the signs of age.

    Elson sells some of her sculptures on her website, and you can follow her work on Instagram.

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    Zim&Zou’s ’80s-Inspired Paper Cassettes and Boombox Radiate with Color

    All images courtesy of Zim&Zou, shared with permission

    Zim&Zou’s ’80s-Inspired Paper Cassettes and Boombox Radiate with Color

    July 28, 2025

    ArtCraftDesign

    Kate Mothes

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    From layered pieces of paper, Zim&Zou recently created a series of patterned cassette tapes and a vibrant portable stereo. Known for their elaborate, large-scale installations, the artists scaled down in size—but not color—for this playful throwback.

    Zim&Zou have recently collaborated with the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris to design an interactive family play area, and a workshop invites visitors to compose a water lily out of paper in reference to Claude Monet’s expansive Water Lilies paintings, which feature in the museum’s collection. See more on Zim&Zou’s website, Behance, and Instagram.

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    Whittled Wood Sculptures by Brett Stenson Conjure Curiosity and Longing

    All images courtesy of Brett Stenson, shared with permission

    Whittled Wood Sculptures by Brett Stenson Conjure Curiosity and Longing

    July 24, 2025

    ArtCraft

    Kate Mothes

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    When Portland-based artist Brett Stenson was studying illustration in college, he hung out with a few industrial designers with whom he pored over how things were made. “We spent a lot of late nights watching 3D modeling tutorials, geeking out over sculpted clay figures, and rewatching the Wētā Workshop DVD about building The Lord of the Rings sets,” he tells Colossal. Stenson was especially fascinated by the world of vinyl toys and wished he knew how to make his own, even though the learning curve felt steep.

    The artist’s interests began to shift as he considered more approachable mediums to achieve what he wanted to make. “Even then, wood always felt like the material I connected with most,” he says. “I was drawn to antique and vintage objects—things that felt like they had been made by hand, with warmth and intention. Vinyl, as cool as it was, never quite resonated in the same way.”

    In 2018, Stenson signed up for a workshop at Wildcraft, a studio school based in Portland, to learn how to make Norse carved-wood Christmas ornaments. “Suddenly, I could see the endless possibilities—if I could sketch it, I could carve it,” the artist says. “The tools, the process, even the idea of becoming one of those old guys who wanders around a woodworking store all day—it all felt deeply romantic and aligned with who I wanted to grow into.”

    Stenson started with a simple knife and began whittling away at hunks of timber, only to find that he quickly needed to upgrade to better tools so that the process didn’t take forever. He also introduced clay modeling, composing animals, figures, and other objects in a more malleable material before committing to wood. Focused on whittling bears and other woodland creatures, which often carry freshly plucked fish or flowers, he emphasizes emotional perception through animals—the sweet slyness of a fox or a charming bear proud of its fresh catch.

    “Lately, my obsession with carving bears has started to shift,” Stenson says. “I find myself more interested in exploring the human side of my work.” Since the recent loss of his dog, he’s been exploring a theme that, at least at first, seems unrelated, but outdated technology like retro televisions, satellites, old computers, and disused telecom gear play into what he describes as “a kind of futile attempt to communicate with him again.” He adds that he’s interested in how there “all these tools we built to connect with one another, and yet the afterlife remains out of reach.”

    Stenson is also the Senior Art Director of Young Jerks, a branding and packaging design studio based in Brooklyn. See more work on his website and Instagram, and find screen prints for sale in his shop.

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    Family, Memory, and an Ancestral Craft Converge in Daniela García Hamilton’s Tender Paintings

    “La sala (The Living Room)” (2025), hand embroidery and oil on canvas (triptych), 27 x 60 inches. Photos by @ofphotostudio Yubo Dong. All images courtesy of the artist and Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles, shared with permission

    Family, Memory, and an Ancestral Craft Converge in Daniela García Hamilton’s Tender Paintings

    July 22, 2025

    ArtCraft

    Kate Mothes

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    Through a mixed-media approach combining oil paint with the soft definition of embroidery fiber, Daniela García Hamilton explores intergenerational bonds in tender, narrative canvases. A first-generation American from a Mexican family, the artist metaphorically links loved ones via thread, incorporating symbols of both Mexican and American geography and imagery of relatives drawn from photographs.

    “García Hamilton investigates legacies of tradition, the inevitability of assimilation, and the ways in which family histories replay themselves over time,” says a statement from Charlie James Gallery, which is currently presenting the artist’s solo exhibition, Amanecer / Atardecer (Sunrise / Sunset).

    “Toyota” (2025), hand embroidery and oil on canvas, 24 x 24 inches

    García Hamilton began incorporating embroidery into her work following the death of her grandfather, whose own experience with textiles and exuberance for storytelling deeply influenced the artist’s interest in the relationship between craft, lineage, and memory. Scenes range from memorable events like weddings to everyday moments in which people gather together at home or for a siesta in the back of a pickup truck.

    Derived from photos in her family archive, García Hamilton’s figurative depictions are immanently relatable. Yet within the broader context of the U.S.’s socio-political climate, especially the current administration’s dubious approach to curbing immigration, there is an undeniable sense of precarity and protectiveness. We’re invited into nostalgic, tender, even vulnerable moments in which every individual’s personality radiates through what the gallery describes as an “inner glow,” emphasizing the significance of togetherness, resilience, and security.

    Amanecer / Atardecer continues through August 2 in Los Angeles. Find more on the artist’s Instagram.

    “El Temerario (The Daredevil)” (2024), hand embroidery and oil on canvas, 30 x 24 inches

    Detail of “La sala (The Living Room)”

    “High Noon” (2024), oil on canvas, 56 x 36 inches

    “Sueña (Dream)” (2024), oil and Sharpie on canvas, 30 x 24 inches

    “En el Jardín de mi abuelo (In My Grandfather’s Garden)” (2025), oil on canvas, 30 x 36 inches

    “Self-portrait as child with my Pa” (2024), colored ink on hot-pressed paper, 48 x 48 inches

    “La boda de mi Tía Rosi (My Aunt Rosi’s Wedding)” (2025), hand embroidery on canvas, 30 x 36 inches

    Detail of “La sala (The Living Room)”

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