Name: Emmi Manteau from Baby Brave

Current Location: Comfy sofa, Wrexham

Favourite place, and why? : An onsen (hot spring) in Japan – got to be THE most relaxing experience … with the most delicious food and beautiful mountains. Would love to play a festival over that side of the world.

Favourite Reindeer?: Rudolph, everyone loves an underdog (underdeer?).

Describe yourself in 5 words: An open-minded, fun-lovin’, self-doubting wordsmith.

What is your current practice and what have you been up to? Writing loads of songs! Baby Brave is a noise-pop band making new music full of guitars, beats and catchy hooks. We’ve just released our 2nd EP called ‘Tacky Birthday’ on the label Drum With Our Hands. It’s on vinyl (!!!), which is a first for us and for DWOH too. And it’s brilliant, if I’m allowed to say that…

How long have you been a practising musician for? I’ve been writing songs for about 10 years now… Time flies! Baby Brave have been playing as the four of us for about 2 years now!

At what point in your life did you know you wanted to be an musician? One specific time springs to mind… So we used to post songs up on YouTube when I was in a my first band, an acoustic duet called The Snowball Effect, ending all our videos with us playfully yelling ‘Schnooooballl!’. We got booked to play at a birthday party in Bangor, via our YouTube channel, and to our ultimate surprise, at the end of every song the whole crowd yelled, “SCHNOOOOBAAAALLL!” We had no idea it was a ‘thing’, it was so surreal, but that was it – I was hooked!

If you could buy your 10 year old self anything for Christmas what would it be? Great question. I’d stick with the purple glittery My Little Pony I got, …it was amazing!

Is there anything in particular you are looking forward to this Christmas? Playing a show with Campfire Social on December 19th at Telfords Warehouse! Then going home back to Chesterfield and being with my family. I’ve not been able to be home properly for Christmas for about 5 or 6 years, so this one will be really special!

Have you got any plans for the New Year? We’ll be touring the new EP, including playing at Focus Wales Winter Fayre (30^th January at the Stiwt Theatre in Rhos) doing some music videos and starting work on our next record! We have loads of new material too, so I’m looking forward to getting back into the studio to start jigsawwing it all together. It’s a great collaborative process. Hoping to experiment with some new techniques of creating songs this year.

If you could get anything for Christmas this year what would it be? A new guitar would be nice! A Gibson Firebird, if we’re being specific… Thanks THIS project! Hope you have a truly Tacky Christmas!

If you would like to follow other shenanigans that Emmi and Baby Brave are up to please feel free to follow them on the social media platforms below.

Official Website: www.babybrave.co.uk
BandCamp: http://babybrave.bandcamp.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/babybrave
Instagram: http://instagram.com/babybraveyeah
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BabyBraveYeah

The post 12 Days of Artists: Emmi Manteau from Baby Brave appeared first on This Project.

Name:
Tim Humphreys-Jones

Current Location:
Wrexham (On my sofa)

Favourite place, and why?
Coedpoeth, view of town from there in the night, or fog over Wrexham in the morning is wicked.

Favourite Reindeer?
Don’t have one.

Describe your self in 5 words:
ginger. married. writer. honest. optimist.

What is your current practice and what have you been up to?
At present I am trying to broaden my horizons in terms of my poetry and looking at going over music. I am also Artistic Director of Voicebox (Spoken Word night in Wrexham) and I am hoping that it continues to grow as it has done over the past 2 years.

How long have you been a practising Poet for?
Almost ten years.

At what point in your life did you know you wanted to be a Poet?
15/16

If you could buy your 10 year old self anything for Christmas what would it be?
Tickets to the FA cup final to see Liverpool win against Arsenal.

Is there anything in particular you are looking forward to this Christmas?
I always look forward to the family meals and getting to spend time with my relatives. this year, I’m cooking. Should be fun.

Have you got any plans for the New Year? 
2016 Will be one of firsts for Voicebox as we branch out to potentially have; our first slam, hiphop special, beatbox battle and spoken word play. I am definitely looking forward to all of them too. I am hoping to find an a venue for my next book publishing venture too but I don’t know how that will pan out just yet.

If you could get anything for Christmas this year what would it be?
Tickets for an all inclusive holiday trip to Barcelona for Jade and I.

If you would like to find out more about Tim and Voicebox please feel free to to follow on Facebook and Twitter!

Voicebox Facebook

Tim Humphreys-Jones Twitter
Voicebox Twitter 

Latest in Voicebox events! Buy tickets now

The post 12 Days of Artists: Tim Humphreys-Jones appeared first on This Project.

Here at THIS Project we like to support a range of artist, musicians and poets so for our 6th day of artists we are proud to feature emerging comic’s artist Heather Wilson! Since completing her degree at Glyndwr University Heather has always shown enthusiasm for exploring complex and often over looked areas of history, science and current political issues through the means of graphic novels, in aims to break down barrows and  help make complex information accessible.

Name:
Heather Wilson

Current Location:
Wrexham, Wales, UK, Earth, The Solar System, The Milky Way, The Universe

Favourite place, and why?:
I found this question too hard because all of my favourite places are actually pretend. The Silver Sea, which is like this shallow water-lilly filled sea from the Chronicles of Narnia, is one of my favourite places to pretend to be, there’s just something about the vivid descriptions of the sunlight and the clear water that I really love. (I actually can’t bring myself to watch that one of the movies because I know I’ll be disappointed.) Blackreach cavern in the game Skyrim comes a close second. Imagine these like ancient underground Dwarven ruins, inside of an expansive dark cave, filled with glowing mushrooms and torchbugs. It’s like a starlit sky, but deep underground. Sometimes I just go back there to walk around and hang out even though I did all the quests ages ago.

Favourite Reindeer?
Rainbowdash. Oh wait no. That’s something else.

Describe your self in 5 words
Your Average Manic Pixie Nightmare.

What is your current practice and what have you been up to?
November was all about getting ready for the Thought Bubble Festival, which is the UK’s biggest comics festival. If you’ve never been, its a huge festival with loads of stalls, guests, events and a super friendly and positive atmosphere. As well as all the usual cosplay and book signings you might see at another big comics conventions, Thought Bubble does loads to showcase independent creators and small press work. You can buy some of what I was selling there via my online shop: http://missheathercomics.bigcartel.com You can find everything else I’ve been up to this year at: www.missheather.co.uk

How long have you been a practising Artist for?
I have been doing freelance illustration and running workshops for a little over two years.

At what point in your life did you know you wanted to be a Artist?
I can remember other children telling me that I should be an artist when I grew up at about eight or nine. I didn’t think much of the idea though, because so far as I was concerned, I was going to be something “useful”. Now most of my arts practice is geared around education and social causes. Which might be cheating.

If you could buy your 10 year old self anything for Christmas what would it be?
The pivotal things that I was interested in at ten were metallic nail polishes, learning dance routines to S Club 7 songs and reading books about magical children with very poor adult supervision. However, if I could give my past self anything, it would be a reasonable haircut that looked like it actually belonged in the year 2000.

Is there anything in particular you are looking forward to this Christmas?
I will probably really look forward to seeing my two nephews… up until the moment that I’m playing my eighth game of Wii tennis and would really rather like to sit down.

Have you got any plans for the New Year?
A lot of my attention is going to be focused on  launching a new art supply subscription box service with my good mate Kirsty Gaughan (of THIS Project fame). Its called Art Block Its really exciting to be doing such a different project from what either of us have ever worked on before. You can check it out at artblock.cratejoy.com

If you could get anything for Christmas this year what would it be?
Time Machine. Obviously guys, obviously.

If you would like to follow Heather and her wonderful adventures please free to follow her on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

The post 12 Days of Artists: Heather Wilson appeared first on This Project.

Name:
Mikey Jones

Current Location:
Wrexham

Favourite place, and why?
Bristol – student days were fun with great people and lots of interesting things happening down there in the arts and Music scenes.

Favourite Reindeer?
Dasher

Describe your self in 5 words.
Odd, fun, determined, sensitive and optimistic.

What is your current practice and what have you been up to?
I have been painting and exhibiting my Wales in Colour series and doing some commissions of the local area. Recently I produced the outline for the Reimagine Wrexham boards for Wrexfest which can now be seen in the Old Burtons on the Hight Street. I’ve done a few art give-away’s recently and made some Calendars of the Wales in Colour series and there’s still a few left.

How long have you been a practising Artist for?
4 years

At what point in your life did you know you wanted to be a Artist?
When my University tutor said ‘Mikey I think your more of an artist than a Architect’, this obvious hit me hard at first.

If you could buy your 10 year old self anything for Christmas what would it be?
Oil paints

Is there anything in particular you are looking forward to this Christmas?
Lots of mulled wine

Have you got plans new year?
I’m off to Jerusalem in February for 11 days to commence my new series ‘Jerusalem in Colour’ which I can’t wait to get stuck in to as I’ve been planning it for months now. Also got a couple of Wales in Colour exhibitions lined up in Llandudno in April, a special one in the Norwegian Art Centre in Cardiff Bay in July and not to forget I will be exhibiting Wales in Colour in the Botanical Garden of Wales Gallery. I also have plans for another Bristol Exhibition later in the year but it’s all under wraps at the moment

If you would like to contact Mikey Jones or keep updated with the rest of his work please feel free to follow him on, Facebook, Twitter or  his website www.mikeyjonesart.com

Currently Mikey is selling a limited number of Wales in Colour calendars!

The post 12 Days of Artists: Mikey Jones appeared first on This Project.

Name: Liam Stokes-Massey   

Current Location?
Undegun, Wrexham

Favourite Reindeer?:
Comet. Because that is one badass name.

Describe your self in 5 words:
Relaxed, Critical, Focused, Unfocused, Inconsistent

Favourite place, and why?:
I have many favourite places. I’ve just about settled into my studio and nearly got it feeling as comfortable as possible, so that’s certainly one. I go to local coffee shops to paint regularly as I really enjoy the vibrant atmospheres and talking to people.

But my favourite place of all places in the world has to be Iceland. I went on holiday earlier this year and fell in love. The mountains, the waterfalls, the people, the green expanses were the most beautiful things I’d ever seen. I hope to go back next year.

What is your current practice and what have you been up to?:
Currently I’m a pencil portrait artist primarily but have recently been exploring watercolour painting. I am colourblind so this has proved, er, ‘interesting’ at times but am slowly getting to grips with it and enjoying myself very much. I like to make little ‘pop culture’ and personal paintings which have proved very popular indeed with my customers.

How long have you been a practising Artist for?:
After a long hiatus (since school), I’ve been drawing properly for around 2-3 years.

At what point in your life did you know you wanted to be a Artist?:
My last job was working in a bank. I think some people who know me well might have raised an eyebrow when I got the job because it certainly isn’t ‘me’. After just over a year I decided to stop ignoring my gut and leave to become Self-Employed as an Artist. Mental.

Is there anything in particular you are looking forward to this Christmas?
I’m spending it with my girlfriend and her family, so that’ll be really lovely. Spending time with my family too, of course! Christmas just isn’t Christmas without a Massey clan kneesup!

Have you got any plans for the New Year?:
In the New Year I hope to take part in a couple of exhibitions – something I’ve never done before which is quite exciting! So I’ll be putting a lot of thought into original pieces to contribute. I hope to practice painting a lot more too! The beauty of being in this line of work is that the possibilities are truly endless. And that is really, really exciting.

If you could buy your 10 year old self anything for Christmas what would it be?
My 10 year old self had everything he could have ever wanted, so nothing! (Thanks Mum x)

If you could get anything for Christmas this year what would it be?:
My girlfriend has really knocked it out of the park with my presents this year. One in particular is probably the answer to this question, so she’s nailed it.

For more information about Liam or to contact him please feel free to follow these sites
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/liamstokesmasseypencilportraitartist
Instagram: @pencilcraftsman

The post 12 Days of Artists: Liam Stokes-Massey appeared first on This Project.

The post Screen Printing with One69A appeared first on This Project.

THIS Project wanted to find out a little bit more about the band before they play a launch show for  ‘Car Deborah’, their latest EP, at Undegun on the 5th June, with support from Castles and Heavy Petting Zoo.

Before the launch, Seazoo’s Ben Trow and Steffan Owens will be making a special appearance on Calon Fm on Wednesday 3rd June from 1pm to talk about the event, but before that THIS Project wanted to ask about the music and how they have found the past 12 months and what else they will be up to in the near future.

Thank you for agreeing to answering a couple of questions, it is always great to find out more about the bands that we have performing with us at Undegun. So over the past 12 months, what have been your highlights?

Been really busy over the past 12 months. Loved playing the summer festivals, highlights include Greenman, Festival No.6, Howlin’ Fling on Eigg, Focus Wales and SWN.

We were honoured to be asked to play a BBC session at Maida Vale in London, in the famous Studio 3! Also, we’ve played a packed out show in London for Huw Stephens which was amazing!

We’ve also recorded the EP, released a single from it, and have been fortunate to have been supported by BBC 6 Music, radio 1 and the BBC in Wales. Again, honoured to be asked to do a live session for Marc Riley on BBC 6 Music.

Was also great to be a part of the BBC/Arts Council in Wales scheme – Horizons. Got to meet lots of new people and have our music heard by lots of different audiences world wide.

A definite highlight though, was our last launch show at Undegun! Was a great atmosphere up in the small room. Love Wrexham!

With your latest release ‘Car Deborah’ we have already had the pleasure of listening to its first release ‘Martyn and Jayne’. With this song in particular there seems to be a layer of distortion over the guitars, is this a particular direction Seazoo are taking with their latest album? Or something the band are currently playing around with?

I guess the more distorted sound is a direct result of playing live as a band. Seazoo was set-up as a home recording project, and we never planned on playing live. We then formed the live band after being asked to play the Llangollen Fringe Festival, and found the fun in making the songs more distorted and loose. Live though, feedback really helps in covering mistakes as we don’t get chance to practice a lot! Our more recent recordings now reflect the live show a bit more.

For the past week you have all been back in the studio recording. How have you found it? And what else has the band been up to?

Yep. We’ve been down near Hay on Wye, recording the drums for the debut album. Very exciting! We record everything at home, and usually do the louder things when the neighbours are out. However, it’s just not possible to get through 15 drum tracks like this. So, we went to a residential studio, and took all our own gear down. 3 days, 15 drums tracks. And also got chance to record some Fender Rhodes too.

Next, we’ll finish it all off at home!

When the album is released what will the band be up to next?

Hopefully we can get the album out this year. We have a mountain of songs to work though, so guess we’ll just crack on. Hopefully be able to start recording the second album before the end of the year too, so there’s not a huge gap between the next batch of releases.

In your Facebook bio, I had noticed that it mentions another member that was briefly in the band for a short time, when the band only consisted of two humans and a teddy bear from a charity shop. What happened to the Teddy bear? Does the teddy bear have a solo career and will there ever been a reunion?

The bear is still about. He’s in the upstairs bedroom right now. Gathering dust. When we started playing with actual humans, we realised how rubbish he really was. He’s never leaving that room hahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHA.

Also check out Seazoo’s latest video Martyn and Jayne

For more information about their upcoming EP launch at Undegun please click here.

And you can listen to Seazoo on bandcamp and soundcloud and follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

The post Interview with Seazoo appeared first on This Project.

Artist David McBride has previously documented landscapes through his photography but has recently shifted his interest on to navigational structures such as road markings and paths. All these things link to the infinite possibilities of the journey we have through our lives. For the exhibition McBride has been working on a series that documents the nature of the road markings – manhole covers, traffic cones and so on.

McBride comments; “Since my initial explorations I have increasingly become fascinated with many aspects of the colour that I have sought on my travels. I have further expanded upon these musings to experiment with these findings and to treat and investigate colour through photography as a whole.”

The artwork on display at 1-2 Hope Street was originally exhibited at Galeri 3B on Priory Street. Formerly Laura Ashley this is another property THIS Project have been given the opportunity of using in order to bring back into use empty spaces, and therefore adding something unique, engaging and temporary into our high streets while also furthering the careers of artists by supporting them to try new things, develop new audiences and present new work.

The exhibition, ‘Light Drawing’ was an exhibition of contemporary lens media exploring different techniques and themes offering a wide perspective on photography as an art form and also included collections of photography work by Alan Whitfield and Andrew Sharp.

THIS Project remain active at Undegun on Regent Street which currently exhibits Sivulla/On The Edge, an exhibition of contemporary Finnish artwork as part of a cultural and artistic exchange between artists based in Finland and North Wales.

http://davidmcbride.tumblr.com/

www.thisproject.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/thisproject

twitter: @thishq

The post David McBride – Rituals of Colour appeared first on This Project.

Sivulla is a Finnish word, meaning “On The Edge”. It refers to the geographical location of Karelia, being on the edge of Finland, next to their “Great Neighbour”; Russia. But it also refers to a state of mind, where the person is next to something or someone, but excluded from them. The work in the exhibition is from 7 artists from the region; Paivi Eronen, Maiju Heikkila, Teemu Heikkinen, Tuulia Iso-Tryykari, Jussi Nykanen, Paula Tella and Anne Tompuri. There are seven different responses to the theme, and their subject matter varies from alienation and self sabotage to humorous images of the Finnish close-to-nature bathing culture.

Photo’s below show the opening t on the 1st May. The exhibition will be at Undegun until 6th June. Open to the public Thursday to Saturday 12-4pm.

The post Sivulla/On the Edge Launch appeared first on This Project.

Galeri 3B is a pop-up gallery in the centre of Wrexham town that has been open up to the public since 1st March last year with the aim of giving artists the chance to experiment and push the boundaries of their practice in a supportive environment.

For six weeks between January 23rd and February 28th 2015, Galeri 3B is to host work from three developing photographers. Artists David McBride, Andrew Sharp and Alan Whitfield have all been brought together by artist and curator Marja Bonada. The exhibition, Light Drawing’, opens on January 23rd and is photography based with each artist showing you different techniques and theme giving this exhibition a wide and diverse perspective on photography as an art form.

Artist David McBride has previously documented landscapes through his photography but has recently shifted his interest on to navigational structures such as road markings and paths. All these things link to the infinite possibilities of the journey we have through our lives. For the exhibition Mcbride has been working on a series that documents the nature of the road markings, manhole covers, traffic cones and so on.

McBride comments “Since my initial explorations I have increasingly become fascinated with many aspects of the colour that I have sought on my travels. I have further expanded upon these musings to experiment with these findings and to treat and investigate colour through photography as a whole.”

Alan Whitfield is a visual artist who works within the context of fine art, he is intrigued by documentary, exploring the inner beauty of everyday life through various lend-based media. Notions of nostalgia and social commentary are present, but from a definite northern working class perspective. “I work instinctively, exploring the townscapes of North Wales and the North West, often producing work that reflects the everyday minutiae of life.”

Andrew Sharp has taken inspiration from the River Alyn, Sharp states “ These images are meant as breadcrumbs to lead the audience of the history of the Alyn Valley, there are also references to present use such a sports and modern industry.”

The launch takes place on Friday January 23rd at Galeri 3B from 6pm, with special guests Stan Dickenson (Heal the Last Stand) and Matt Nicholls (Camera) performing live.

Artist Info:

David McBride: http://davidmcbride.tumblr.com/

Andrew Sharp: http://www.blurb.co.uk/b/4666652-the-song-of-the-river-alyn-7-45rpm

Alan Whitfield: www.alanwhitfield.com

Contact Info

www.thisproject.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/thisproject

twitter: @thishq

email: contact@thisproject.co.uk

The post Light Drawing coming to Galeri 3B appeared first on This Project.