Monday 1 December 2014

Kentish Town paintings at Mario's Cafe



I recently had the pleasure of producing a small series of gouache paintings of Kentish Town. They were displayed in Mario's Cafe on Kelly street. It was a successful show and I now have a selection of the originals and limited edition prints available on my online shop! 
www.mennajenkins.com/shop


Saturday 11 October 2014

Jealous East!

 

 As many of you are aware I have known Jealous for a few years now, I was introduced after winning their MA Graduate prize in 2012. Since meeting the Jealous gang I have interned at the Jealous Print studio, worked for the gallery, and we have become firm friends!

This summer Jealous underwent some very exciting developments. It started with an expansion of the print studio on Luke Street, spreading out over 2 floors, and adding artist studios to the third. Then the cafe at the bottom of the building became available and Jealous East was born! What was a pretty normal looking east London cafe, is now a beautiful white and polished concrete gallery space.


I had the absolute pleasure of attending the opening night of Jealous East. It was in true Jealous style, very cool, and very Jealous! On arrival we were greeted with Espresso Martinis, and throughout the night we feasted on delicious fancy Burgers and Chips, washing it down with tasty Camden lager. The art on the walls was (and still is currently) a showcase of Jealous work made since opening 6 years ago, like a tiny retrospective of the studio's work since the beginning.


The party spilled out into Luke street, and the buzz was amazing! We even got the chance to sneak up on to the roof for a view of Shoreditch, and the party going on below. I wish Jealous East the best of luck as it settles in to the Shoreditch scene, and I look forward to making work with Jealous Print Studio very soon!


Monday 29 September 2014

Ghosts of Gone Birds Project

This weekend I had the pleasure of working with the Ghosts of Gone Birds project at The Forge as part of the Camden Migration festival.

The projects aims to remember and reincarnate extinct birds through the medium of visual art. This is the fifth exhibition by the project, and this time artists were asked to take part in a live art studio, creating the work for the exhibition in situ. 

I was the second artist to use the live art studio and over the day made two reduction lino prints, reincarnating the Bishop's 'O 'O and the Tahiti Rail. The prints are on sale at The Forge in Camden until the end of October. For more information about the festival click HERE.








Tuesday 19 August 2014

Merci Beaucoup Teatowels

This summer I am having a little holiday in France, and luckily I get to stay at a friend's family home. As a little thank you present I though I would make some teatowels- this might sound like a stange gift, but they have actually just put their new kitchen in, so it makes sense! (I hope!)


The design was really simple, just one colour, and a bit of typography- simples! I printed the towels at K2 Screen, with some help from Paul- thanks Paul! I used Plastisol ink which is often used for printing tshirts, hopefully this will mean that after plenty of washing a drying the design will really last.


Friday 25 April 2014

Current Exhibition - Time of The Month @ Jealous gallery


I am excited to say that my work has been included in the latest show at Jealous Gallery in Crouch End, London. Here is a quick description of the show...
We have chosen our funniest and most original female artists, the best to come through the Jealous studio, for an all-girl show entitled 'Time of the Month'. The show will feature a collection of Jealous print editions, both old and new, as well as a few unique pieces from the likes of Magda Archer, Sadie Hennessy, Miriam Elia, Ceal Warnants, Shuby, Sarai Vardi, Jess Wilson and Menna Jenkins. With hilarious takes on vintage and contemporary culture, naïve innocence and naughtiness, this work is bright, brash and well, brilliant.


Tuesday 8 April 2014

UWC AC 03-05

Just in case some of you didn't know I went to school (just 6th Form) in Hogwarts, aka Atlantic College in a castle in South Wales. Surprisingly there were no spells or broomsticks, but instead a totally international college where I shared a bedroom with students from Venezuela, Kenya, Norway and Italy. HERE is their website!

The school is an incredible place to learn (we studied the international Baccalaureate) and has an ethos of peace and international understanding. I met some of my best friends there and I have many fond memories of my time there.

I was lucky enough to be awarded a scholarship to attend, without which I would not have been able to go. As part of Young Alumni giving month I have made this print which I am giving away free to those from my year at school who donate. I am a bit cash strapped so this is my way of helping the cause! (DONATE HERE)




If you are UWC AC 03-05 and want more info then email me mennajenkins@gmail.com or get in touch on Facebook as we have a group there. 

Friday 4 April 2014

Snazzy new press!!

I have been browsing for a small portable press for a while, after borrowing my mum's. It is so handy to quickly print something, and I would love to start teaching lino printing to others. Also though i have see small etching presses before my preferred press is a platen press. This is when the paper and block have pressure applied from above, rather than being squeezed through mangle style!


Anyways... printing brand Speedball has been making inks and small printing kits of years, but they seem to have recently expanded their offerings, and developed a mini platen press! I bought mine from Amazon US, and with shipping it was still under £70! Amazon uk were selling the exact same one for £113 + £7 shipping! There were some helpful reviews on the amazon site, and a couple of recommendations of how to slightly adapt the press to make it work even better, which I am looking forward to trying out. So far though i think its pretty great, i am yet to get a tip top perfect print, but I think it just need some time playing around to get it right.


I am super excited to have this press, and really looking forward to posting new work soon!

Friday 21 March 2014

WTF?


I'm embarking on a new project, a new alphabet to be precise! The letters are going to be much smaller than in the last alphabet, only 7.5cm x 7.5cm. Im hoping that this will allow me to make up load of phrases to make limited edition prints by each. The set in this picture were printed totally by hand as I don't have access to a press at the moment. I do quite like the rustic effect that hand printing produces, but I hope to get access to a press for proper editioning soon!

Monday 10 March 2014

Menna at the Saatchi Gallery!!!





So I am very very excited to announce that my work will be on show at the Saatchi Gallery throughout the month of March. If you would like to go and see my work- and the other work of the Jealous Prize Winners 2013/14, then pop to the Saatchi and head downstairs to the basement prints and editions gallery. (Oh and there is a Damien Hirst print on show too...)

If you would like to come and celebrate this awesome exhibition with me and a glass of beer then why not come to the private view on March the 18th? Event details HERE

Monday 20 January 2014

Lovely post on CreativeBloq!

Thank you to CreativeBloq.com fro featuring my Peckham Alphabet! Their post entitles '10 beautiful examples of linocut illustration' says some very nice things, and my work is in very good company with 9 other excellent artists!

http://www.creativebloq.com/illustration/linocut-11410303


Cards by Art Angels, exciting!


I had had a great start to the 2014, with a lovely package in the post from Art Angels, a greeting card publisher based in Norwich. They make beautiful cards, and I am very honoured to be part of their collection. I will keep you updated on where to buy them...