Surf Wood For Good

Surf Wood For Good celebrate 30 artists who have taken part in an incredible bellyboard campaign and online auction. Surf Wood for Good offers free wooden belly board hire as a positive alternative to cheap, environmentally-toxic polystyrene bodyboards that are so often discarded on beaches around the country.

My board 'Sharing the Surf, Basking Shark’ was created from my own experience of seeing Basking Sharks in UK coastal waters and celebrates how we can peacefully co-exist together. Basking sharks are an endangered species and are a protected species in UK waters and there are strict rules how close boats and other watercraft can go. Sadly, this protection doesn’t stop them from being victims of pollution, entanglement in fishing gear and plastic pollution due to the way they filter feed on plankton at the surface. You should always give them plenty of space if you find yourself sharing the water with them, at least 4 metres away. We need to act now to clean up our act otherwise we will sadly lose them altogether. Globally shark fishing is a massive issue. It is estimated 100 million sharks are killed each year, over the last 50 years there has been a 70% decline in shark populations. Sharks are essential to a healthy ecosystem in the sea and must be further protected here in the UK and globally."

This is an art auction like no other. Starting on the 15th June for three weeks only, the @surfwoodforgood online auction will raise vital funds to fuel Surfers Against Sewage's Ocean Activism.

All the boards for the Surf Wood For Good Auction are currently in exhibition at St Ives Brewery Cafe, St Ives, Cornwall, TR26 2BX. All the boards will be on display until 1st July 2022.

Aerial Seascape Paintings to Coastal Tote Bags & Tea Towels →

I am excited to share with you my Kickstarter campaign that I have been working on for a few months. I have always wanted to take my artwork into making textile functional products that are accessible and also environmentally consciously created. I would love to bring my coastal aerial paintings to initially tea towels and tote bags. I would then like to expand to make up bags, cushions, aprons and oven gloves further down the line.

The tea towels will be in full colour edge to edge printed using organic 100% cotton which is from a sustainable source. The tote bags are a flat design and the full colour print of the main bag also matches the straps, which gives them a unique look. The designs will be printed onto 100% organic cotton which is from a sustainable source. I will be eventually selling them on my website.

My Kickstarter campaign starts this Friday 25th June 2021 as part of the Fri Yay Surprise with Indie Roller. I have 30 days to reach my goal!

Why I care?

I am so excited about being able to offer fabric products and to take a new positive step in my business. I would love to be able to offer unique products that are affordable and share my love of the ocean. I am so passionate about the environment and in making these products I have made informed choices for fair, sustainable, environmentally friendly materials, processes and production.

The company I will be using to create the products is based in the UK and do all the printing and making of the final products in house. The company uses reactive inks that conform to Oeko-tex standard 100 (means they contain no harmful chemicals). The inks used in the production processes are synthetic and no animal products are used. The artwork will be printed onto 100% organic cotton material. They are machine washable.

Project Timeline

The tea towels and tote bags will be printed and shipped out around 2 months after the campaign ends, to allow time for the funds to transfer to me from Kickstarter, and allow for printing and making.

How can you help?

I need you to pledge on my Kickstarter to help me raise enough money to be able to print the tea towels and tote bags.  Aerial Seascape Paintings to Coastal Tote Bags & Tea Towels by Joy Clifton — Kickstarter On the main campaign page, you will see all the pledges available to choose from. There are 6 tiers to choose from including greetings cards, tea towels, tote bags, a bundle of each design (including one greetings card, one tea towel and one tote bag), A4 Limited Edition Print and A3 Limited Edition Print.

If you do enjoy my work and would like to receive your own seascape inspired tea towel or tote bag or both for yourself, or to send someone special as a gift, please make sure you pledge before 21st July 2021, the fate of this campaign quite literally is in your hands!

Please click the link below to see more and pledge to help me reach my goal.

Thank you so much!