Kirsten Schmidt - Faith, Philosophy and Flutes

Kirsten is one half of E17 Picture Framers and Gallery, an experienced artist and has been in Walthamstow for 16 years and has seen the creative community pull together through the Art Trail over the years. Quite a few artists on this years gigantic trail will have more than one place to see their work at and Kirsten is tells us about her exhibitions and where you can see them on your trail travels!:

I have two exhibitions in this years trail:

1. E17 Art House -No 77: 'The Magic Flute'
I'll be showing a mixture of drawings and linoprints of birds, bunnys, squirrells and more. My work has been inspired for a long time by Japanese wood cuts as well as William Morris' beautifull designs . I have really enjoyed 'going back to the drawing board' using pen and ink and doing washes in bright colours.

2. St Barnabas Church-No 88: 'Winds of Change'
A large scale (3 metres by 1) drawing for the altar using pencil, acrylics and gold leaf. I am interested in the visual language that surrounds faith and philosophy and have accumulated symbolic images such as Ivy (Immortality), Lions (Strength) and birds (the egyptians thought that your soul left your body in the form of a bird). It is called 'Winds of Change' as 'change' and renewal features largely in both religion and philosophy. 

You can also see where I do my art work in Mitre Studios (No. 57) where I'll have sketches for these two exhibitions and previous work on display.

I have enjoyed the art trail for many years now and it is also nice for me as an artist to see how my work progresses and changes from year to year. The art trail creates a real sense of community each year and connects people in the area.