Rory Strudwick, a RESORT member and local artist has a digital exhibition with Nice Things in Ramsgate and took part in the SECCADS workshops at RESORT in January 2020. We’ve asked him a bit about his work, how South East Creatives have supported him, as well seven nice things that inspire him, and here they are.

I am an artist, I predominately use printing techniques, screen printing, alongside textile wall hangings with a bit of design as well. My next plan is to start to make rugs, something I have been looking into for a little while. I have recently been working on an exhibition ‘How To Break a Hue’, as a result of coronavirus it is now online at Nice Things in Ramsgate.

When I did the SECCADS workshop in January I definitely felt that I was someone who was right at the start of my career as an artist. The workshop was great, it helped me to realise how to start time planning, months ahead as opposed to week by week. It gave me the right push to try and diversify my mediums and product ranges which is something I am developing.

Here’s a little selection of ‘nice things’ that inspire me, and why:

1. Timelapse and drawing – having taken the approach to not put pressure on myself to create, create, create during this pandemic I naturally fell on the idea of drawing for the sake of drawing, studying light etc. to which I drew what was in front of me, a bottle of corona.

2. Twelve stills from a stop-motion animation I did with a friend for their music video (disco lights by Pynch). However stacked on top of each other they make a wonderful object exploring depth and translucency.

3. These are signs my mum and grandad made for me and my brother when we were kids. The one with my name on features Scooby-do stickers, I clearly thought it could do with some improving as a kid!

4. My favourite artist is Josef Albers, I almost photographed his book ‘interaction of color’ but found this book to be very nice to browse through.

5. A drawing I did of the rooftops in the southern french town of Perpignan a few years ago on holiday.

6. This is a piece of work I made toward the end of my second year at university. I was just using up old inks and pigments and worked almost purely intuitively. It has lived on my wall in various flats and houses since then.

7. My Moroccan Rug. An experience I think everyone should do if they ever visit Marrakesh is to haggle a rug over a mint tea for 20 minutes.