< PreviousIn the pursuit of style, it’s easy to end up with a carefully curated interior that tends more towards the sterile. Sure, it’s attractive, but it may come across as a picture in a catalogue, rather than a home. Charm is an oft-overlooked attribute when it comes to interior design and décor choices. Perhaps that’s because it’s often thought of in the same way as camp. Yet many of the best interior designers and furniture brands have a certain charm to them and this is absolutely something you should look to cultivate in your own home. Of course, what exactly constitutes ‘charm’ will differ from person to person. In many ways, it’ll be instinctive – you’ll just know it when you see it. The issue, then, is to expose yourself to a wider array of furniture and décor choices. With society set to re-open again, it’s worth visiting flea markets, artisans, furniture stores – the works. Try to find some pieces that not only possess their own charm, but will add oodles to what you’ve already got. If you’re stuck for inspiration, we’ve compiled this helpful selection to get you started. HOME TRENDS Charming 20 LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY 3 2 1 20-21.qxp_Layout 1 26/03/2021 15:02 Page 11) A warm brown coated glass decorative vase with an abstract facial impression make a fun feature piece for your decor. Available from Beaumonde. 2) The Claverton gracefully walks the line between dining chair and armchair, looking just as at home in your sitting room as at the head of your table. Its dark green linen upholstery and solid oak frame give this Regency-style design a 21st-century twist. Available from OKA UK. 3) This lovely print is of a Miao girl dressed in red and adorned with a traditional Miao silver necklace. It is a print from Shimu of an original painting in acrylic by the artist Rachael Khan and is available either framed or unframed. 4) Looking for a unique design, striking and expressive, combined with a functional luminosity by the use of modern LED technology? Then look no further than the Ashley ceiling light from Lighting Style. This stunning light will add effective illumination and a cozy atmosphere within your home. 5) Using collaged Victorian illustrations this quirky shade from Mountain & Molehill is made to order on fine art paper and finished off with an exquisite hand-applied gold detail ensuring that no two are the same. 6) Handmade in South London, this soap dish from Florence and Blank is beautiful, practical and also encourages the use of less plastic too. 7) This stunning match striker from iWOODESIGN is made from Japanese Tamo Ash, a wood favoured by Bentley cars for their dashboards. 8) The charmingly romantic Aurelia candelabra from The French Bedroom Co are hand- finished, so each candelabra has its own unique patterning. It is painted in a French grey and heavily distressed to mimic an aged patina beneath. 9) Swirls and splashes of violets and dashes of pink make up this modern, marble effect, trendy drum lampshade from Katie Victoria Brown. LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY 21 5 8 4 6 9 7 20-21.qxp_Layout 1 26/03/2021 15:02 Page 2As Grayson Perry continues to bring joy and helps the nation escape the woes of social distancing, one can’t help but think on the celebrity of being an artist. Indeed, many of the nations’ best and most beloved artists have attracted no small amount of celebrity – especially where the Young British Artists are concerned. Their public persona becomes itself a kind of artwork, a sort of performance. That’s also as true in reverse with artists like Banksy depending on their anonymity and mystique. Ryder is one such an artist, but where Banksy’s works are confrontation, charged with socio-political power, Ryder instead offers escape, a whimsical, welcoming enchanted space cast off the difficulties ourselves. That’s prudent now more than ever. Ryder keeps their identity a closely guarded secret, offering no backstory, no personal details, nothing beyond their artworks. In doing so, they separate creator from creation and force audiences to focus entirely on the artwork. Casting aside the heavy weight of preconception, we gain the 22 LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY ARTISTIC LINCOLNSHIRE artist This month, we explore the enchanting works of enigmatic artist, Ryder. Death of the freedom to form our own opinions on the work. As we wander through this magical world, shrouded in mystery, it is the art which becomes the narrator, rather than the creator of the work. Far from gimmicky, it’s liberating. ‘Artist’ is an all-encompassing term that wraps many a discipline up in a cultural blanket of human expression and progress. Occasionally, an individual emerges that blurs the lines between these disciplines, breathing narrative into visual art and illustration into the twists and turns of fictional writing. In 2002, the world-famous Pompidou Centre in Paris devoted a headline exhibition not to an artist but a to literary critic, and that critic was Roland Barthes. For the purposes of penetrating the veneer of mystique around Ryder, we must take as our reference text Barthes’ critical essay entitled ‘Death of the Author’. In it, Barthes surmises that one must disengage with the author to appreciate text in its truest form. In essence, he asserts that we as an audience have subjectivity imposed upon us – that our knowledge of an author, painter or poet ultimately colours our opinion of, and attitude towards, 22-23.qxp_Layout 1 26/03/2021 15:03 Page 1LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY 23 ARTISTIC LINCOLNSHIRE the piece itself. He urges us to look beyond the constraints of the simple answer, the easy route, and to judge each creation on its own merit. The more thought one gives to this notion, the more weight Barthes’ argument carries; what a tragedy if one were unable simply to appreciate the beauty of a Van Gogh without searching for signs of madness within its composition. ‘Death of The Author’ promotes empowerment and gives us back control; no dictatorial biography, instead a metaphorical blank canvas for us, the audience, to take charge and form our own opinions. Thus, we come to this collection. Ryder is no more, no less than a name on a piece of paper. No THE LITTLE RED GALLERY Love art? Then we’d love to meet you, please call in for a cup of tea and a chat. The Little Red Gallery are feeling ‘Love’ with a fantastic range of pieces and perfect gift ideas. 8 Bailgate Lincoln LN1 3AE 01522 589134 art@thelittleredgallery.co.uk www.thelittleredgallery.co.uk To see more of Ryder’s work, to buy prints or commission an original, visit www.enchantedworldofryder.co.uk artist biography to influence your impressions, no collection overview to police your critique, just the art laid bare. If you want to see Ryder’s work for yourself, Lincoln’s Little Red Gallery is having an exhibition of their work from the 14th May. 22-23.qxp_Layout 1 26/03/2021 15:03 Page 224 LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY ARTISTIC LINCOLNSHIRE Originally from the fjords of Western Norway, Karin Christensen has lived in the UK for over 25 years. By her own admission, she has painted for most of this time – albeit with a break for having kids. She began her journey as an artist in earnest with a graphic design education in Norway. Although she was unable to finish due to issues in her personal life, she has always continued to draw and paint. After living in London for almost a decade, Karin moved to Kirton in Lincolnshire with her husband and two children 16 years ago. She had the pleasure of working in the NHS for many years here in our region, and during that time painting and teaching art was an increasingly time-consuming hobby. When she retired from work last year, she could finally concentrate fully on painting. During lockdown, Karin says that she has been fortunate to have a gorgeous little studio in her garden where she can be creative. Of course, as with many of us, lockdown has cost Karin a lot. All of her planned teaching and exhibition activities were cancelled, while her local art groups were forced to stop meeting. It forced a recalibration in the way she looked at things. “I believe priorities have changed for many people during this time and just keeping healthy and sane have been the focus, something painting has helped me with,” she says. When asked about what inspires her, Karin says: “I normally paint what I see around me, and regard myself as a representational painter. When I walk around Boston or Lincoln for example, I feel inspired to draw the shape of houses, the bustle of market stalls and shoppers and street life. Complex scenes with lots going on are always an interesting challenge. Having grown up in the fjords of Western Norway I am also inspired by boats and coastal scenes. This love of boats draws me to paint the Boston fishing fleet and to travel to Cornwall and other coastal areas in order to capture interesting boats and the seaside. I am often looking for personality in what I paint. Old houses, boats or derelict tractors or falling down farm buildings have unique personality of wear and tear, which I find attractive.” Karin’s medium of choice is watercolour and ink, specifically the flexibility of watercolour which, she says, allows her to create both transparent and strong colours. Although she can usually be found in her garden studio or outside sketching or painting, the way she works has changed over time. Now drawing has We explore the stunning ink and watercolour landscapes and still lifes of Karin Christensen, a talented Norwegian artist that has made Lincolnshire her home for almost two decades. Lost in still lifes 24-25.qxp_Layout 1 26/03/2021 15:07 Page 1LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY 25 ARTISTIC LINCOLNSHIRE become more prominent in her work, and she often prefers a combination of strong ink lines and loose watercolour paint. “During lockdown I have taken a sketchbook on some of my local walks, and sat on the side of country lanes sketching farmhouses and village scenes of which we have some lovely ones just down the road from where I live,” she said. “Sketching outside on the streets of Boston or in other locations helps sharpen my observation and can be a good start for a larger painting in my studio.” As well as drawing streetscapes and landscapes in and around Lincolnshire, Karin has also visited farer flung climes. “Sketching on location has become very popular all over the globe, and for some years I have joined the Urban Sketchers movement on various locations such as Amsterdam, Berlin, Chicago and the lovely town of Ely, simply to sit on street corners and draw what is in front of me,” she said. “It’s a great way to travel and to meet likeminded people, and also good practice for drawing. I believe art should be for everybody and one of the things I like about the Urban Sketchers is the openness to beginners and that all abilities are welcome.” Despite the setbacks posed by the lockdown, Karin has some exciting events coming up this year. She has teamed up with the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust to plan 4 Wild Art sketch walks at Gibraltar Point Nature Reserve. As part of the Trusts Dynamic Dunescape project, she will facilitate these relaxed outdoor sketch walks to help raise awareness of this beautiful part of our coastline. The walks will take place in May and June. They are open to everyone, free of charge and a good opportunity to spend time outside, be social and do some sketching. If you are interested in joining, visit Karin’s webpage or contact the Wildlife Trust as the numbers will be limited. Karin will also be participating in the annual exhibition by the Lincolnshire Artists Society at Doddington Hall this spring. The exhibition takes place during the last two weeks of May and many visitors take the opportunity to spend the day and walk around this historic country estate just outside Lincoln. As the exhibition had to be cancelled last year, it will be a great opportunity to see what the society’s members have been up to during lockdown. At present, however, Karin is working on paintings for a solo exhibition to be shown on the west coast of Norway in July. She is also planning on starting to teach art classes again as soon as we are able meet other humans, hopefully by the time this magazine goes to print. To see more of Karin’s work, visit www.karinchristensen.com, and follow karin.sketching on Instagram 24-25.qxp_Layout 1 26/03/2021 15:07 Page 226 LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY GARDENS It goes without saying that lockdown has impacted our health, be that mental health due to isolation over a long period of time or physical by putting on a few inches when the best exercise we can get is walking up and down a flight of stairs. With the weather getting warmer, there’s never been a better time to get outside and whip those gardens back into shape. A garden offers more than an aesthetic twist to a home; studies have linked it to a range of health benefits that can improve the quality of life for people both young and old. Physically, gardening can be a demanding task, though how much will depend on the size of the garden and what needs to be done. Simply walking around can be a good first step but crouching to dig up flowerbeds or pull out weeds is close to a squat in terms of the muscle groups being used. Studies have shown that an hour spent in the garden can burn over 300 calories, which is comparable to an hour walking and playing golf. Heavier work like lifting compost, shovelling or moving debris around can burn anywhere from 400 calories upward, so while the gym may not be the safest place to be right now, the garden might be perfect. It’s not just exercise, though. Gardening has been shown to both reduce stress and the chance of developing dementia, with statistics suggesting it improves cognitive brain function and reduces the chance of dementia by as much as thirty-six per cent What’s more, gardening has been linked with mood boosting effects and positive self-esteem, which may only be boosted Gardening your way to better health With spring finally rolling around and the sun returning, there’s never been a better time to get out in the garden – especially since many of us still can’t get out in the community. 28 Á Gardening your way to better health 26-29.qxp_Layout 1 26/03/2021 15:04 Page 1LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY 27 GARDENS © Shutterstock /FocusDzign 26-29.qxp_Layout 1 26/03/2021 15:04 Page 228 LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY GARDENS more if you do a good job and turn your garden into something to be proud of. It also has been shown to help boost self-esteem in children with behavioural or learning disabilities, as well as building connections between parents and children. Gardening is also a very beginner friendly activity, with plenty of meaningful changes you can make without having to hire in a professional. Of course, there are things that a landscape artist should be brought in for, big projects such as decking, landscaping or installing a large water feature, but also plenty of smaller things that can be done alone with limited experience. If in doubt, Lincolnshire Today regularly covers gardening and projects that can be done month by month, but there is also a wealth of material online, as well as informative guides on YouTube. What’s more, Lincolnshire has an abundance of local garden centres that are safe to visit so long as you wear a mask, and whose employees have plenty of experience and advice to give. Garden centres can also be great sources of inspiration for those who want to get started but don’t know what they want, as seeing displays, accessories and flowerbeds there can help spark the imagination. For total beginners or those well out of practice, something simple like digging a flowerbed or a rock shrubbery can be simple, inexpensive and rewarding. Be sure to ask local businesses what flowers and shrubs will benefit most in those environments, with the hardiest and most resilient ones being the easiest to care for. If you want to try something a little more long-term, why not consider growing your own vegetables? This can be done in either a small plot of land or a sectioned-off planter, and the act of watching vegetables grow, harvesting them and preparing them as food really helps bring the benefits of gardening to the fore. This can also Stihl chainsaw Charles H Hill Ltd of Horsington is synonymous with Stihl chainsaws. This incredibly precise and reliable chainsaw will take care of all your needs. Moreover, the company prides itself on selling quality products strengthened by unrivalled spares back-up and after-sales service, so you’re also buying peace of mind. To find out more, visit wwwcharleshhill.co.uk. © Shutterstock /Juice Flair 26-29.qxp_Layout 1 26/03/2021 15:04 Page 3be a great project for those with children as it lets everyone work together on a long-term project to care for and grow produce. Home-grown vegetables can also be great gifts for friends and family thanks to the amount of hard work and care that has gone into them. Larger projects can certainly be undertaken and there’s never been a better time since many of us are stuck at home anyway. Professionals are probably best brought in if it’s something you haven’t done before, but DIY projects can be fun in their own right. Just be sure to do some research on how much work and cost will be involved and ask at local garden centres and DIY stores to double check, both that they have the required material and to ask them for any advice. Whether you’re turning your garden into a flowering wonderland, growing fruit and veg or installing a new decking, do be sure to involve Lincolnshire’s local suppliers, who have all kept abreast of health and safety requirements, and who rely on the support of all of us in these trying times. What’s more, we at Lincolnshire Today would love to hear or see your progress if you are getting involved. If you have any photos, before and after, please feel free to send them to m.fisher@blmgroup.co.uk as we’d love to highlight our new gardening heroes. LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY 29 GARDENS © Shutterstock /Rawpixel.com Charles H Hill Ltd. Moor Lane, Horsington, Woodhall Spa, LN10 5HH. Tel: 01526 388281 www.charleshhill.co.uk 26-29.qxp_Layout 1 26/03/2021 15:04 Page 4Next >