ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT
KENT ARTIST PROFILE
KIMMY McHARRIE
BRINGING A FRESH AND PASSION-FILLED APPROACH TO THE ANCIENT ART OF MOSAIC, THE TALENTED KIMMY McHARRIE IS KNOWN AND CELEBRATED FOR HER FINE ART MOSAICS HANDCRAFTED USING VENETIAN GLASS, SHELLS, GOLD LEAF SMALTI, SEMI-PRECIOUS STONES AND OBJECTS THAT SHE FINDS. PREPARING FOR HER NEXT EXHIBITION AT SEASALTER’ S THE SPORTSMAN GASTROPUB, KIMMY’ S WORK TAKES GREAT INSPIRATION FROM THE NATURAL WORLD AROUND US, RESULTING IN A THOUGHT-PROVOKING DISPLAY OF LOVE AND LIFE.
Kimmy, please tell us about your artistic journey so far. As a child, I was lucky to have a mum who let me make a mess through painting, cutting and sticking, and I have carried on doing that all my life! I went to art college in the Isle of Man, where I was born and brought up, and in Newcastle upon Tyne. Moving to London after my degree, I worked for various publishing companies designing and illustrating, and it wasn’ t until 2001 that I went to Ravenna in Italy to learn traditional mosaic. I feel that this is the medium for me and I have gone full circle from winning an art competition when I was eight with a picture made from broken scallop shells!
What fascinates you about the wonders of mosaic art? Do you have a favourite material to work with? Why? Mosaic is one of the most ancient artforms and I love the way historically it was used to depict significant events, as well as a purely decorative artform. It isn’ t a particularly well-represented artform in this country as a great many mosaics are bland and lacking in life. I strive to make my artworks full of life, which is tricky when they are made from such‘ hard’ materials. My favourite material to work with is traditional‘ smalti’, which is handmade in Venice; it comes in many different colours and I hand cut each piece using traditional mosaicist tools called a hammer and hardie. It is much more beautiful than machine-made glass and it inspires me in the same way handmade watercolour paper does! I also use stone and toughened glass, and any found objects that I have saved.
Where do you find your inspiration? Does Kent influence your work? The inspiration for my work is the natural world and the environment. I feel strongly about the conservation of endangered species, in particular marine life. I am also influenced by medieval and Renaissance art, and many modern artists. Both the Isle of Man and Kent, Whitstable and Dungeness have played a large part in inspiring my work; I love walking on the beach and watching the birds and the seasons change, all sparking ideas for future work.
What’ s the concept behind your upcoming exhibition at The Sportsman? I have been lucky to have been exhibiting every two years at The Sportsman in Seasalter since 2006 so this exhibition, my eleventh, marks 20 years of exhibiting there. I don’ t have a concept as such, as I make whatever comes into my head, but it’ s always nature-driven and as a result comes together … hopefully! The exhibition runs from 11 May to 2 August and can be viewed with any table reservation, or on Sunday and Monday evenings from 6pm to 9pm.
Any other exciting projects in the works for 2026? I only exhibit every two years at The Sportsman as the work takes a very long time to produce and I need many pieces to fill the walls. This makes it tricky to fit in other projects, but I am usually asked to do private commissions when I have an exhibition, so I’ m not sure yet what those may be. I am hoping to work on some marine conservation projects and to find another venue in a different part of Kent to exhibit in. I’ m not sure I’ ll top the commission from Culture Vannin, Isle of Man, to produce a 3m x 1.5m basking shark surrounded by plankton called Interdependence which now hangs on permanent display in Ronaldsway airport, or the set of official stamps produced by the Isle of Man Post Office, but who knows? I am always open to suggestions!
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