Living not at home

Nettie Burnett has had countless shows in galleries in Portugal, the UK and elsewhere.  (I asked her how many and she told me she'd lost count). She works on a large scale, making drawings that are both delicate and powerful. Many of these drawings show mature trees often seen from low down or directly beneath so the viewer is awed and at the same time drawn up into the detail. Nettie also works in sculpture and artists’ books. A friend introduced us to Nettie before we moved from the UK; she was one of the first artists in Portugal who we had a connection with.  Lawrence: When and where did you first show your artwork in Portugal? Nettie: I first showed work at Cooperativa Árvore in 2001. It was a shared show with Bartolomeu dos Santos who at the time was head of Printmaking at Central St Martins . (I sold most of my work at that show – doesn’t happen so much nowadays, more’s the pity!) L: Roughly how many different galleries have you shown at since the start of your caree...

Rose Feather is an illustrator, picture book maker and arts facilitator. A few years ago Rose and me worked together in the Learning Team of a museum in Norwich (the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Art). Rose left that job and now works freelance . Last month we had a video call where she told me about her approach to collaboration, about deep listening, and about how drawing and words compete for her attention. Lawrence:  What are you working on at the moment? Rose:  I’ve got a project coming up in Stowmarket this year, making a book with some primary school children, all about the theme of tomorrow. I’m thinking possibly utopia/dystopia. This’ll be my fourth participatory picture book. As I’ve gone on they seem to be more meaningfully collaborative. And my voice gets quieter every time, which I quite like.  L:  How do you begin a collaborative project? R:  Usually I meet the children and the adults together. We never really sit down and say how are we going to ma...