Conquering Quiet Barriers: Exhibiting at Kernowine
This week, I accomplished something truly amazing for myself.
As someone who has quietly battled social anxiety for years, putting my work out into the world has always felt far more daunting than actually making it. Creating in solitude is safe. Exhibiting is vulnerable. But this week, I stepped beyond that fear.
For the next two months, my original works and prints are being exhibited, and are up for sale, at the beautiful Kernowine in Falmouth. A winery filled with craft, care, and atmosphere. Somewhere refined and thoughtful, and honestly, somewhere that feels a little fancy.
Whether anything sells or not doesn’t matter to me. I’m simply so happy and proud that my work is up somewhere like that at all. For me, this is about growth. About showing up. About conquering something internal that once felt immovable.
I’m Ellie Jane, an artist originally from Bristol, now based in Cornwall, caught between the energy of urban life and the calm of the coastal landscape. These two worlds have shaped the way I see and make art. I’m drawn to contrasts, rhythms, and the subtle stories that exist in the spaces we move through.
The layered textures of city walls, concrete, fleeting conversations, they stay with me. So does the stillness of tidal water, mineral-rich cliffs, salt air, and eroded stone. My work exists somewhere between those energies.
My practice spans painting, sculpture, and mixed media, but one of the defining features of what I do is my relationship with materials. I make many of my own handmade mineral pigments from earth, stone, charcoal, and plant matter. I build textured surfaces by hand using recycled canvases and found materials. I incorporate cement and locally sourced mineral stream water.
This process is not just about colour, it’s about connection. It’s about grounding the work in place, honouring the natural world that inspires me, and working in a way that feels conscious and sustainable. The materials aren’t decorative; they’re part of the story.
Each piece I create is shaped by where I’ve been, what I’ve seen, and what I care about, from environmental themes to personal memory and reflection. I want my art to be felt as much as it is seen. I want it to invite people to slow down, look closely, and consider their own relationship with both place and material.
Currently Showing at Kernowine
‘Mizu no Konseki’ (Water Traces), 2025
Textured canvas on wood frame, cement, handmade mineral pigments, acrylic & locally sourced mineral stream water
Price: £450
A study of the quiet marks water leaves behind, erosion, memory, and the subtle shifts of time.
‘Midori no Seishin’ (Green Spirit), 2025
Textured canvas on wood frame, handmade mineral pigments, acrylic & locally sourced mineral stream water
Price: £160
An exploration of growth energy, resilience pushing gently but persistently through stone and soil.
‘Mizu Bon’ (Water Basin), 2025 — Original
Textured canvas on wood frame, handmade mineral pigments, acrylic & locally sourced mineral stream water
Price: £200
A meditation on stillness and containment, the calm held within a vessel.
‘Mizu Bon’ (Water Basin), 2025 — Framed Print
Smooth matte finish, 200gsm, 0.26mm (42 x 59.4 cm) in glass & wood frame
Price: £85
‘Mizukami no Mai’ (Dance of the Water God), 2025 — Framed Print
Smooth matte finish, 200gsm, 0.26mm (42 x 59.4 cm) in glass & wood frame
Price: £85
Seeing these works hanging within Kernowine feels surreal. Textured surfaces built from earth, effort, and vulnerability, now part of a public space.
For someone who once struggled to even speak about their art aloud, this feels monumental.
I didn’t just exhibit artwork this week.
I conquered barriers.
I showed up.
And that means more to me than any sale ever could.
With love and minerals,
Ellie Jane