Spotlight on Studios
Two artists swap their scientific careers for creativity
Starting a new career needs commitment, determination and courage but this is just what Martin Eastabrook and Nina Krauzewicz have done, taking up ceramics, painting and printing as their chosen paths, having set aside their previous jobs.
These two artists will be displaying their work in West Berkshire and North Hampshire's Open Studios for the first time this year, alongside more than 100 others who are opening up their studios between May 7 and June 5 across the region.
Martin Eastabrook lives in Compton and with an engineering and scientific background, worked at Bayer in Newbury for 28 years before taking early retirement. This change in fortune enabled Martin the chance to retrain and take up a life-long interest in ceramics.
Eastabrook is fascinated by the chemistry of glazes and experiments with different ways of applying these to different clays, either in the kiln or by Raku firing.
His attention to detail is testimony to his previous background, keeping meticulous records of the samples of combinations of glazes and clays. He describes this process as glaze alchemy and indeed, displayed in numerous hues and textures on the walls in his studio, they are like works of art in their own right.
Eastabrook said: “The advantage of having established oneself in the world is that it focuses you on what you really want to do and having worked to obtain financial backing it was possible for me to set up a studio at home and get going fairly quickly.”
The satisfaction is being in control of the whole creative process from start to finish, setting his own objectives and timescales.
Having spent most of her career in scientific research in the area of virology and gene therapy, Nina Krauzewicz decided to make a radical change in lifestyle and paint full time.
“I have always enjoyed drawing and painting things in the world around me and now think of myself as a professional artist, specialising in botanical art and illustration,” she said.
Her training in science taught her the patience and attention to detail so necessary in representing plants in watercolour.
She also has a lifelong interest in ancient texts, dating from she first came across the epic original poem Gilgamesh. Since then her imagination has been particularly captured by early and medieval Northern European literature such as the Icelandic sagas, Beowulf, the stories of Merlin and King Arthur which she weaves into her pictures. This lends variation and originality to her work, which can be seen at her studio in her home in Caversham.
Open Studios runs from May 7 to June 5. Details of these artists and their studio opening times as well as others taking part can be found in the directory of artists available from Newbury library as well as other locations or on the website www.open-studios.co.uk
