PRESS

The Cambridge 3 Postal Project
circa 2007 - 2018

The Cambridge News, June 2018 - article about the Postal Project by Alistair Ryder

ABOUT THE CAMBRIDGE 3 POSTAL PROJECT

Lesley Birch from Glasgow, Clare Maria Wood from Whitby and Karen Stamper from Hull met in Cambridge in 2001 whilst working as teachers at The Perse School in Hills Road.  They  became great friends, painting and drawing together late into the night in my kitchen, listening to David Bowie and mixing words and art.
 
When Lesley moved to Yorkshire, she received a parcel in the post.  “It was a piece of wood with a map collaged on the front and a few splashes of colourful paint.  A note from Karen said:  “Respond and send on to Clare.”
 
“So I did,” said Lesley.  “I laughed to myself and called it The Cambridge 3 Postal Project.”
 
Clare Maria Wood, former Head of Art at The Perse School, now concentrates on painting and printmaking inspired by walks around the Beech woods near her Cambridge home.   “The Postal Project was a fun way of keeping in touch and we really bounced off each other’s visual ideas.  The thing just kept going … over years,” she said.
 
Karen Stamper went on to became Head of Art at Linton Village College and now devotes her time to creating vibrant collage paintings inspired by docklands and urban shorelines.  “The Cambridge 3 name just stuck and we’ve been collaborating ever since.”
 
The three artists were awarded an art residency in Cape Cornwall which led to a successful exhibition in St Ives in 2017.