YOU GOTTA FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT TO BE ARTY!

While investigating the environs of our new digs at MAN West, we were astonished to find some excellent graffiti in a storm drain off a small creek.

It turns out that one woman's art is an unhappy community's major problem. Only one day after these photos were taken a front page story in the local newspaper centered on the problem of gang "tagging". Not only was it defacing community property, but the tagsters had a nasty habit of leaving behind empty paint cans that ended up -- you guessed it -- in the creeks and rivers that the storm drains flow into. Which got us to thinking -- too bad all that talent and voice couldn't express itself permanently -- in tile -- as in mosaics . . . .

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic . . . . someone was doing just that.

A couple of weeks ago, our good friend (and excellent mosaicist) Gary Drostle sent along the most amazing, intriguing and engaging press release we've ever read. Excerpt below:

"The Revolution Will Be Ceramicised: Renegade Potters Create London's most anarchic community mosaic."

This Wednesday, 16th Dec at 7p.m, Carrie Reichardt aka The Baroness and Miquita Oliver will unveil the UKZ's most radical ceramic mural at Mutate Britain's 'One Foot Under the Grove' exhibition. Artists from The Treatment Rooms Collective along side volunteers from the local community have spent the last few weeks making a huge new mural in a previously unused space under the Westway, next to Portobello market. The mural is made in loving memory of two of our fallen comrades, Evie Doggart and Ed Maiden. We are hoping that members of their families will be present as we unveil plaques for them. We will also have a flash mob punk choir present to sing at the event. Please come along, support our work and see cutting edge craftivism in action.

Carrie Reichardt aka The Baroness
Co-Founder of the Treat Rooms - the UK's only ceramic house of resistance.
YOU GOTTA FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT TO BE ARTY . . . . .

Craftivism? Ceramic house of resistance? Flash mob punk choir? The Treatment Rooms Collective? Baroness? Our fingers couldn't google fast enough. And so we tumbled into the world of Carrie Von Reichardt aka The Baroness . . . A world filled with humor, pathos, art, political commentary, and most of all -- purpose.

(Photo courtesy of the artist)

We are going to quote here from an excellent blog post by mosaic artist Kim Grant about The Baroness that first appeared in May of last year.

Carrie graduated from Leeds University with a fine arts degree. She specialised in creating art projects for schools and councils – not necessarily a breeding ground for free interpretation of design. Her creative freedom came about when she started working on her own home and thus The Treatment Rooms was born. With an interest in Outsider and Visionary art as well as graffiti and with partner “Mr Spunky” by her side, Carrie set about creating her own fantasy world. “I liked the idea that on this quaint little street in Chiswick something as incongruous as a house completely covered in mosaic art might exist.”
What we see come through are her strong political persuasions as well as an immense amount of passionate empathy. I, for one, love the message in her art. Her beliefs lie strongly in the cathartic value of art more than the monetary value of art. {Hear Hear!}

The Treatment Rooms are totally amazing and visually rich. (photos courtesy of the artist)

"The ‘Treatment Rooms’ is a privately owned house in west London currently having its exterior walls transformed by a collective of artists, who operate from it under that same name.

We are embarked on a project to cover the entire outside walls of the three- storey house in mosaic art, which is planned as a self-contained conceptual piece. We have just completed work on the front wall, from east to west, in and around the porch, effectively completing the first tier of a planned three."

Going back to the Mutate Britain mosaic, here are photos of the work from construction to installation:
Seriously Beautiful Work + Excellent Installation = Eternal, Arty Graffiti. Gotta love it.

Miquita Oliver, The Baroness and Don Letts at the unveiling.

And then, of course, there is the Tiki Love Truck.


The Baroness came to mosaics and politics at the same time after a serious period of clinical depression. That she has committed her life to issues that she is passionate about -- and is using art -- mosaic art -- to speak to these issues -- and to do it with such excellence and exuberance is something we admire and envy. We say:

All Hail The Baroness!

To read Kim Grant's excellent post, click here.
To see The Baroness' own photos, click here.
To read The Baroness' blog, http://www.carriereichardt.co.uk/

Enjoy -- Nancie