Blog

On the 14 October 2020 I will be talking about my collaboration with Cathy Faithfull and our collaboration eARTh. To keep up to date with this collaboration please visit our website.

Due to Cambridge Open Studios being cancelled many members have been taking part in Cambridge Open Windows.

Each week I have been displaying work outside on my front drive. It has been lovely to interact with people who have come along to appreciate a wee bit of normality.

Last weekend coming up 25/26 July. Come along and say hello.

I have spent the last couple of months developing a range of work that I have wanted to do for several years.

I am a city dweller, originally from London but now living in Cambridge UK.

This new range will incorporate my favourite cities.  I have began with Cambridge and New York.

I will be showcasing them for the first time in my windows during every weekend in July 2020. Thereafter you will be able to purchase them online or through Cambridge Contemporary Art.

For more information contact me at jo@jotumer.com

I've been experimenting with woodcut printmaking again this past week. I remember a wood engraving class I attended at Edinbrurgh Printmakers a few years ago with Angie Lewin. Angie said 'protect your blacks'.

Still work in progress.

In June 2020 I will be hosting a zoom talk with my fellow  collaborative artist Cathy Faithfull.  This is a brief description of what will be discussing.

"Artists Jo Tunmer and Cathy Faithfull met whilst undertaking their MA at Cambridge School of Art. On completion of their degrees the passion they shared for the changing landscape spurred them on to work collaboratively under the name ‘eARTh’. They use recycled materials to open up new dialogues that are primarily focused on climate change issues. Their current enquiry repurposes clocks and jigsaw pieces that illustrate the need for action and how time is of the essence in this climate emergency.

So much of the resistance to mitigating climate change has come from those who insist that 'society is hard to change'. The global response to this current pandemic has shown that this is actually not true. Huge changes made on how society operates have been acted upon in a matter of weeks. It is apparent that when lives and livelihoods are at stake, individuals are prepared to make sacrifices and changes in order to have a future.  So by applying this new 2020 vision it is possible for us all to accept a ‘New Normal’ where not only caring for one another is paramount, caring for the planet also becomes second nature".

Date will be announced soon.

On Saturday 4 April 2020 I came down with Covid-19. Extremely high temperatures, cough, heavy chest and a sore throat for 7 + days and although I'm now on day 13 I am still not well. As I am susceptible to flu and chest infections I knew the differences of this virus instantly.

In early March 2020 alongside my art practice I started a new part time job at Cambridge Contemporary Art - the beloved gallery that has represented me for the past 10 years who support over 500 artists between 2 galleries.

Although I am a new recruit I have been enveloped into this remarkable family of staff who have helped keep me going these past weeks. However due to the current situation many small businesses are now facing closure. CCA are fighting hard to keep going by continuing to trade online but also by crowd funding. For every £2.50 donators can collect greeting cards once the store can reopen. Then you can send all the cards you get back to those you care about about too and make their day just that bit brighter Hopefully in a weeks time I'll be back on my feet in the meantime - go take a look here.

I am not out of the woods quite yet and taking one day at a time.

I am taking part in an exhibition with Cathy Faithfull at Anglia Ruskin University from 1-30 April 2020.

Go to our website for further information.

I have just signed up to take part in 2020 Cambridge Open Studios. I will be opening my doors during weekend 2 and 3.

For this event I will be exhibiting oil paintings, solarplate and woodcut prints and my latest collaborative contemporary artwork for eARTh with with Cathy Faithfull.

I am currently in an intense period of research and experimentation. My collaboration with Fine Artist Cathy Faithfull focuses on environmental aesthetics in relation to the changing landscape (eARTh). The work produced will be on display mid-2020.

The collaboration is for an art residency with AA2A at Cambridge School of Art. I am using a mixture of found objects and printmaking.

For more information please visit the AA2A website.

I have been awarded a place on the AA2A residency programme. The AA2A project provides placements for visual artists and designer-makers in higher and further education institutions across England.

The placement has begun my collaboration with fellow MA Visual Artist Cathy Faithfull.

The mandate of our collaboration - EartH is to investigate our human relationship with the changing landscape and respond with artwork.