Melanie Guy

profile

Melanie GuyMelanie Guy

Galleries

Statement

'In wildness is the preservation of the world'...since 2000 Melanie has used resistant materials to make 3d works. She uses metal for design pieces and for her pewter wall sculptures. These have a strong design aesthetic, a universal language which has become her signature style in her aim to make something pure and beautiful.

 

2018

Rejoicing that New “Biosphere News Search” Web Site Launches to Benefit Global Ecology - "The global ecological system is collapsing and dying as human industrial growth overwhelms the climate and ecosystems. We urgently need to integrate knowledge regarding ecological problems and their solutions -- from the local to the global scale -- to inform advocacy and policy actions sufficient to maintain a habitable planet. Future phases of EcoInternet's Earth IT Project will organize the most important global ecological data sets into a 'Global Ecology Data Vault' using cutting edge data warehousing techniques not yet applied to global ecological sustainability," says Dr. Glen Barry.

‘Since 2004 I have used pewter sheet to make sculptural reliefs and often use an abstract mode, a universal language. This is devoid of cultural reference and it’s my intention to create something beautiful as well as thought provoking’.

She lived on a boat and was sailing for some three years – a floating life, surrounded by water and the natural world. This imprinted on her memory, and the environment and elemental conditions and other interpretations of her experiences emerge vividly in her work. She refines these and the forces and movement of the sea with minimalist, clean lines, and the philosophy that ‘less is more’. When light falls on the sculptural contours of the pewter, the metal is animated and makes an exciting visual effect, ever changing and delicate. This expresses qualities that can be found in the natural world and reflects our constantly waxing and waning empathy with nature.

 

Referencing circumstances from her bank of experiences - ‘My stimulation comes from all things natural, as well as the material and the varied methods that I use. I sometimes cross traditional boundaries and make free-standing sculptures with other materials such as clay or wood’

 

 

...a longer statemenent and a bit of a rant!

* If you don't know what I am riling against see these recent images http://www.hefty.co/truth-in-pictures/

 My influences are from all things natural and with the Zen-like philosophy that ‘less is more’ I shed extraneous material to express the essence of Nature’s energy and refine interpretations of my experiences and emotions.

Having lived on the sea for some years, the elements and the environment, their moods and contrasts, are interpreted. Illumination animates the sensuous, undulating pewter forms and mark-making so that when passing by, light appears on the surface but is gone the next - it is ethereal and resembles transient and delicate qualities in the balance of the natural world. 

The metal is also to some degree reflective and can be seen as a metaphor for self-examination – our own image seen against that of nature; her essence portrayed by simple lines and forms. In making this primal scream on nature's behalf my work is replete with feeling, hoping it will kindle awareness of our ruthless treatment and devaluation of the environment. We are natural products ourselves and need nature to survive, yet our continued disregard is having unimagined consequences on this vulnerable entity.

Perhaps what we need is a cultural shift in our concerns - if we accept that we have to conserve the natural world to survive - Polly Higgins in her second book, 'Eradicating Ecoside', writes about a potential formula for change.

Like the light, our empathy with nature waxes and wanes – a post-industrial whim or a dangerous fact? In this abstract mode I use a universal language which is devoid of cultural reference. I hope to promote a review of nature's plight and to celebrate her beauty and amazing ability to regenerate."

 

 

Biography

2020Crafts Council Directory
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2018Honorary Fellow Society of Designer Craftsmen
2015First Prize Winner in 'Art Has No Borders' on-line sculpture competition
2015Crafts Council Directory Selected
2009DACS exhibiting artist
2007Member South West Sculptors Assn
2004Fellow Society of Designer Craftsmen
2002/3p/t lecturer Plymouth College of Art & Design
2002Member Plymouth Society of Artists
1999BA (Hons) Applied Art
1983-98Head Art Dept St Joseph's School Launceston Cornwall
1971Cert ED & Diploma in Art & Design - Ceramics

 

Melanie’s extensive experience includes a family and a career in education; she has been a professional, exhibiting artist for more than fourteen years working in metal, before that, in ceramics. She is a co-director of the family 3d design company. 

'I currently work with pewter extending the possibilities of the metal into expressive forms. Much of my work is sculptural relief, suitable for the domestic or the corporate situations. I use innovative methods to colour and mark the metal. I am a Fellow of the Society of Designer Craftsmen and Plymouth Society of Artists and exhibit with each of them regularly.

I also design for a family company specialising in exciting creative constructions for the natural play environment - www.alastairguy.co.uk '

...and see   www.societyofdesignercraftsmen.org.uk  www.swsculptors.co.uk/melanie guy   www.craftscouncil.org.uk/directory

 

 

 

 

 

Exhibition History

History since-2011...see EXHIBITIONS on menu for recent info or get current info direct from Melanie - meljoyguy@hotmail.com
06/07/11FESTIVAL INTER CELTIQUE, Lorient, Brittany
08/11PEWTER LIVE 2011 Pewterers Hall
03/05/11RECEIVED WISDOM - ARLINGTON ARTS CENTRE, nr.Newbury, Berks.
01/05/2011SCULPTURE AT BUCKFAST ABBEY - Medieval Hall and grounds, Buckfastleigh
26/03/2011ART AT THE WORKS - Art At The Works, Tavistock
22/03/201121st CENTURY FURNITURE III - The Millinery Works, London N1 3JS
29/01/2011PLYMOUTH SOCIETY OF ARTISTS - Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery, Plymouth
08/01/2011DESIGNER CRAFTS 2011 - The Mall Galleries,, London
21/10/2010EXPLORE THIS SPACE - Barrow Centre, Rame Peninsular
2010SEPTEMBER - Open Space Galleries, Penryn, Cornwall
2010SUMMER - SDC Gallery, Shoreditch, London
2010PLYMOUTH SOCIETY OF ARTISTS - Art Mill Gallery
2010ALTERNATE - Exchange, Penzance
2009EXPLORE THIS SPACE - Mount Edgcumbe, Cornwall
Oct-Nov 2009'A CELEBRATION OF INNOVATION IN PEWTER' Duchy Square Gallery, Princetown, Devon
September 2009LIMEKILN GALLERY Calstock Cornwall
July 2009THE GALLERY DARTINGTON Coll of Arts, Totnes Devon SW Sculptors in 'Ways Without Words'
June-July 2009DUCHY SQUARE GALLERY Princetown Devon
June 2009PEWTER LIVE DESIGN COMPETITION Pewterers’ Hall, Oat Lane, London EC2V 7DE
May-August 2009KOWALSKY GALLERY, DACS, 33 Gt Sutton Street, EC1V 0DX
May 2009ARTMILL GALLERY 83Hyde Park Rd, Plymouth-Plymouth Soc of Artists
May-Aug 2009'TEN' at BILSTON CRAFT GALLERY West Midlands
2008-2009'CRAFTED' at Winchester Discovery Centre SO23 8RX
2008SWSA Ariel Centre Totnes Devon TQ9 5JX
2008 and 2009CRUX FAIR Rattery Devon TQ10 9LD
2002 ongoingPLYMOUTH SOCIETY of ARTISTS Plymouth Museums & Arts Galleries
2008 and 2009DRAWN TO THIS PLACE Mount Edgcumbe Gallery PL10 1HZ
2008100% DESIGN Earls Court London
2008DTTV Open Studios at Mary Newman's Cottage, Saltash Cornwall
2008 and 2009WAYS WITHOUT WORDS Dartington College of the Arts
2007 and 2008CUBE3 Gallery Plymouth University - life work with DTTV
2008 and 2009OPEN SPACE GALLERIES Penryn Cornwall
2008THE CONTEMPORARY CRAFT FAIR Bovey Tracey Devon
1999 - 2008DESIGNER CRAFTS 2008 Mall Galleries London
2007 and 2009SDC GALLERY Shoreditch London
2007ROYAL WEST of ENGLAND ACADEMY Bristol
2007LIMBERHURST ARTS CENTRE Cambridge
2003 - 2009RCA Secret Exhibition
2006WESLEY-BARRELL Craft Awards touring, ORIGIN Somerset House
2006GREAT ART FAIR Alexandra Palace London
2006SALTRAM HOUSE Gallery Plymouth
2006ROYAL WILLIAM YARD Plymouth 'Urban Splash'
2004OXO TOWER Gallery London