Swindon Open Studios

Swindon just got more Exciting than ever

2012-02-24T03:37:00.001-08:00

Next week is a particularly exciting one for Swindon.
There's the Film Society's Launch of their Film Festival at Artsite on Thursday 1st of March from 6-8pm, this is featured in the Tourist Board's information website, take a look: http://www.enjoyengland.com/English-Tourism-Week/
How good is that?
It's not too late for artists to prepare to submit a film inspired piece of work on Wednesday 29th February, and find out if they've won a prize at the launch on Thursday.
To find out more look at: www.artsite.ltd.uk
and www.swindonfilmfestival.org

Preview Night Photos of the 6 artists 6 months on exhibition at Artsite

2012-02-22T09:57:00.000-08:00

This exhibition is on until the 26th of February, it features the work of 6 recent graduates from Drawing for Fine Art practice at Swindon College.

This is an installation by Monika Tobel, there is also a fascinating video of Monika building a shelter out of used art works while naked.

Here are two views of a drawing by Hannah Pajak with some of the leaves cut out, resulting in a lacy effect.

An example of fine drawing by Christine Smith, this one uses Barry Andrews as it's subject.

Heather Dash has used copper corroding as a basis for her delightful artwork above.

The photograph does not do this piece by Cidalia Dias justice, her work needs to be seen in person to be fully appreciated.

The same applies to this piece by Dee Levy. There are some excellent photos on Facebook which I'll link in here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Artsite-The-Post-Modern/193615744020945
And more photos at: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150625572684089.399192.703949088

Walking from Emsworth to Chichester and a visit to Bramdean House

2012-02-19T14:05:00.000-08:00

On the walk from Emsworth to Chichester we saw 25 Avocets feeding beside the shoreline, stunning when they flew about and showed off their white feathers with black wing tips.
Bosham village is a half way point with it's much painted church, and nearby shore famed as the spot where Alfred the Great thought he could turn back the tide. It's a wonderfully picturesque village, well worth a visit.

The Anchor Bleu is a great pub with views of the estuary where the tide cuts off the road and catches the unwary.

There is a cafe and craft centre well worth visiting, a card I bought of Bosham Harbour gives an alternative view of Bosham.

Bramdean House is one of the first places to open in 2012 under the National Gardens Scheme, it's in Alresford, Hampshire SO24 0JU ngs.org.uk

The snowdrops and aconites were glorious.

This is the apple house in the furthermost part of the garden, it was built in the late 19th Century as a focal point for the long vista. It has espalier rosemary either side of the door.

New exhibition at Artsite- Down the Line...6 artists 6 months on.

2012-02-16T07:11:00.000-08:00

The new exhibition at Artsite opens next Monday 20th February with a private view form 6pm-8pm when you will get an opportunity to talk to the 6 artists taking part in the exhibition, and see what they have been doing in the last 6 months since they graduated.

www.artsite.ltd.uk

The Blue Gate Poets, Fieldfares and Redwings

2012-02-14T02:41:00.002-08:00

A bit tenuous, but the last entry turned out to be without an image, so it seemed a good idea to add three photos of birds from the garden, and then mention the wonderful Blue Gate poets.

With the snow last week came Redwings and Fieldfares to eat the Crab apple and Cotoneaster berries. Last year there were waxwings as well, but it has been milder this winter, so they haven't visited Swindon.

Fieldfares above and a Redwing below.

The previous blog entry was intended for the Blue Gate Poets, to find out more about this varied and interesting group visit www.bluegatepoets.co.uk
They have monthly meetings and a varied events programme open to all.

Poetry Competition on Climate Change- Carol Ann Duffy Judging

2012-02-14T01:47:00.000-08:00

Poetry Competition on Climate Change

for adults and children
Closing date: 31st March 2012
Judges: Carol Ann Duffy (English entries) & Elin ap Hywel (Welsh entries)

Prizes :
Adults: 1st £500; 2nd £100; 3rd £50
Children: 1st £50; 2nd £30; 3rd £20

Entry fee:
Adults: £3 per poem or 4 for £10
Children: £1 per poem or 4 for £3

Contact:
email: ehinshelwood@awelamantawe.co.uk
website: www.awelamantawe.co.uk

Entry details:
All poems submitted must be original work of the entrant. They cannot be returned so please don’t send your only copy. Each poem should be no more than 40 lines on any aspect of the theme of Climate Change. It must be typewritten. Please don’t put your name or address on the poems. Instead, you should put your name, contact details and titles of all poems submitted on an accompanying piece of paper.

The closing date is 31st March 2012. Prize winners will be notified by May 2012.
A prize-giving evening will take place on June 8th 2012 at Pontardawe Arts Centre.
Copyright of each poem remains with the author, but Awel Aman Tawe has the unrestricted right to publish the winning poems.
You may submit as many poems as you like as long as your entry is accompanied by the correct fee. Cheques payable to Awel Aman Tawe.

Please send your poems, accompanying details and payment to:
Awel Aman Tawe Poetry Competition
76-78 Heol Gwilym, Cwmllynfell, Swansea, SA9 2GN

You can also enter online and pay via paypal: www.awelamantawe.co.uk

Awel Aman Tawe is a community energy charity (charity no: 1114492 ) committed to tackling climate change. This poetry project is part of its Arts and Climate Change programme currently being funded by Countryside Council for Wales and Environment Wales.

Cystadleuaeth Farddoniaeth ar ‘Newid Hinsawdd’

i oedolion a phlant
Dyddiad cau: 31 Mawrth 2012
Beirniad: Carol Ann Duffy (Saesneg) & Elin ap Hywel (Cymraeg)

Gwobrau :
Oedolion: 1af £500; 2ail £100; 3ydd £50
Plant: 1af £50; 2ail £30; 3ydd £20

Ffi Ymgeisio:
Oedolion: £3 am gerdd neu 4 am £10
Plant: £1 am gerdd neu 4 am £3

Cysylltu:
ebost: ehinshelwood@awelamantawe.co.uk
gwefan: www.awelamantawe.co.uk

Entry details:
Rhaid mai gwaith gwreiddiol yr ymgeisydd yw pob cerdd a gyflwynir. Ni ellir eu dychwelyd felly peidiwch ag anfon eich unig gopi. Dylai pob cerdd fod yn 40 llinell ar y mwyaf ac ar unrhyw agwedd ar y thema Newid yn yr Hinsawdd. Rhaid bod y gwaith wedi’i deipio. Peidiwch â rhoi eich enw neu gyfeiriad ar y cerddi. Yn hytrach, dylech rhoi eich enw, eich manylion cyswllt a theitl pob cerdd a gyflwynir ar ddarn o bapur amgaeëdig.

Y dyddiad cau yw 31 Mawrth 2012. Hysbysir enillwyr y gwobrau erbyn mis Mai 2012.
Cynhelir noson wobrwyo yn Canolfan Celfyddedau Pontardawe, 8ed Mehefin 2012.
Cedwir hawlfraint pob cerdd gan yr awdur, ond bydd gan Awel Aman Tawe yr hawl digyfyngiad i gyhoeddi’r cerddi buddugol mewn blodeugerdd ac ar ei gwefan, ac ar ddeunydd perthnasol at ddibenion Cysylltiadau Cyhoeddus.

Gallwch gyflwyno gymaint o gerddi ag y dymunwch cyhyd â’ch bod yn anfon y ffi gywir gyda’ch cynnig (siec yn daladwy i ‘Awel Aman Tawe’). Anfonwch at:
Awel Aman Tawe Cystadleuaeth Farddoniaeth, 76-78 Heol Gwilym, Cwmllynfell, Swansea, SA9 2GN

Gallwch ymgeisio ar-lein hefyd a thalu drwy paypal: www.awelamantawe.co.uk

Mae Awel Aman Tawe yn elusen ynni gymunedol (rhif elusen: 1114492) sy’n ymrwymo i fynd i’r afael â’r newid yn yr hinsawdd. Mae’r prosiect barddoniaeth hwn yn rhan o’i rhaglen Y Celfyddydau a’r Newid yn yr Hinsawdd gyda arian o Cyngor Cefn Gwlad Cymru ac Amgylchedd Cymru.

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Copyright © 2012 Awel Aman Tawe, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you have expressed an interest in Awel Aman Tawe. Our mailing address is: Awel Aman Tawe 76-78 Heol Gwilym Cwmllynfell Swansea, Neath Port Talbot SA9 2GN

Artists Inspired by Film - register your interest asap

2012-02-12T12:18:00.000-08:00

Calling all artists- think of a favourite film, produce an artwork in response to that, OR look through your paintings and find one which could have been inspired by a film. It's the thought that counts.
The work will be displayed at Artsite during the course of the Film Festival, giving everyone good exposure to the film going public.
The Swindon Film Festival are offering monetary prizes for artworks judged as the best, with results announced at their Launch of the Film Festival on the 1st of March at 6pm. The suggested deadline for registering interest has been extended until the 13th of February, so you do need to get going.
If you read the blog before last, you will see all the details there, email artsite.ltd@gmail.com soon, and take your work to the gallery in Theatre Square on the 29th of Feb.
Meanwhile check out the great films being shown at a variety of venues:
www.swindonfilmfestival.org

Our Window Exhibition Opens on the 1st of March and Coincides with the Film Festival launch

2012-02-01T09:45:00.000-08:00

Artists interested in taking part in Open Studios this year are invited to bring artworks to the former Merlin Gallery on March 1st from 6.30pm onwards.

You can then go and join those over the way at Artsite where the 2012 Film Festival Launch is taking place from 6pm www.swindonfilmfestival.org
If you entered their competition, you can find out if you won from 6pm onwards.

The window exhibition will be displayed until the 29th March when paintings can be collected after 6.30pm from the former Merlin Gallery.

Any queries, please email swindonopenstudios@hotmail.co.uk

Artists Inspired by Film -register interest in producing Artwork by Feb. 6th

2012-02-01T07:58:00.000-08:00

At the Post Modern 1st to 10th March 2010
Swindon Film Festival in partnership with Artsite
Swindon Film Festival 2012, running from 1st to 10th March, will bring a wide-ranging mix of films and related events in and around the town. There will be films to fascinate you, to excite you, to make you think, to make you
wonder. Some were made very near to home, and some in faraway places; many will make you laugh, a few perhaps will make you cry....
This year, for the first time, the Festival will be using The Post Modern as a venue to show a number of feature films and documentaries.
Inspired by the space, the Film Festival organisers decided that there would be no better way to celebrate their use of the venue than to hold an exhibition of work by ARTISTS – INSPIRED BY FILM.
Working in partnership with Artsite, and with the generous support of Forward Swindon, we invite local artists to submit their original work for the exhibition and entry to the competition for the Film Festival’s ‘Most Inspired
Artist’ Award. There will be a prize of £100 for the winner, and two runner-up prizes of £25.
Entrants are asked to please note the following rules:
1. All work submitted must be original, but can be existing work, and theme “inspired by film” is open to the artist’s own interpretation.
2. Work in any medium may be submitted, but it MUST be suitable for wall-hanging – the body of the venue will be used for films audiences during the exhibition, so free-standing works cannot be accepted.
3. Work to be exhibited must be brought to The Post Modern on Wednesday 29 February unless prior arrangement is made.
4. A fee of £5 payable to Artsite must be made for each work submitted.
5. To help Artsite plan for the event, it would be helpful if potential exhibitors would indicate an expression of interest to artsite.ltd@gmail.com by 6th February.
6. Anonymous judging of the entries will take place in the afternoon of Thursday 1 March. The prize winners will be announced at the Film Festival and Exhibition launch event, which will take place at The Post Modern on Thursday 1 March at 6pm. The decision of the judges will be final and no correspondence can be entered in to.
Any new work specifically inspired by any of the films or actors in the Festival would of course be especially welcome! There are some images hopefully on the Artsite website because I couldn't save them, that might suggest a few ideas, and you will find information about the film festival at:www.swindonfilmfestival.org
The Artsite website:www.artsite.ltd.uk

First Class- a Fine Art exhibition at Artsite 31st Jan-4th Feb

2012-01-31T08:22:00.000-08:00

It seems quite a while since there was an invitation to a preview at
Artsite, The Post Modern, Theatre Square, Swindon, SN1 1QN.
It opens at 6pm and you can arrive any time before 8pm.
The exhibition features Fine Art: drawing for fine art practice from BA(Hons) students at Swindon College of Art in association with Oxford Brookes University.
Here's a copy of the poster, more images to follow:

http://artsite.ltd.uk

And here are some photos taken at the launch:

Above a piece by Kareen Jackson has created a painting that has been scraped back and repainted. www.kareenjackson.co.uk

Kevin Fitchett biro and marker on paper

This is one of Jamie Moss' Plinths of Time. He says 'Time, process, repositioning of objects and reuse of found items are all considered in creating a work of collaborative language, which can be replayed against each other. By playing on object status and moving beyond face value here is a playful yet unsettling document of time itself.'

Lots of people enjoying themselves at the first Artsite 'do' of 2012. May there be many more.

Swindon Arts Centre Craft Fair 11th February

2012-01-30T07:29:00.000-08:00

This is 'Fiesta' by Carmen B, it is a mixed media piece.
For more information visit Carmen's website
www.carmenbnorris.com
Carmen sent me an invitation and asked for it to be generally spread around.

You are cordially invited to visit my stall (just in time for Valentine's Day)at:

"Swindon Arts Centre Craft Fair"

Saturday, 11th February

10am-3pm

Swindon Arts Centre

Devizes Road

Old Town

Swindon

SN1 4BJ

To find out what else happens at the Arts Centre visit:www.swindon.gov.uk

'Fresh Air' an exchibition by David Bent at the Royal Air Force Museum for just over a year.

2012-01-28T11:34:00.000-08:00

Above David shown painting 'Red Arrows and Bluebells', and below that the finished painting.
To see more of David's work: www.bentartgallery.co.uk
And below, details of the 13month exhibition at the RAF Museum:

DAVID BENT EXHIBITION

Museum to display Fresh Air, 21st May 2012 to 30th June 2013
The Royal Air Force Museum, London will be displaying from late May a year long retrospective of the work of renowned aviation artist David Bent in an exhibition entitled Fresh Air
Over the last decade David Bent’s modern and distinctive style has won a plethora of devoted fans including the Red Arrows, with whom he has collaborated as Artist in Residence. Considered as challenging, thought provoking and innovative, his works combine art with technology and compel the viewer to stop and take notice. Each composition demands time for re-examination as details, previously hidden when first seen are revealed anew forcing multiple re-interpretations of the works viewed.
His work is considered by many to be a breath of Fresh Air in the world of aviation art.
Andrew Cormack Keeper of Visual Arts, Medals and Uniforms at the Royal Air Force Museum states:
‘The RAF Museum is delighted to host an exhibition of the work of aviation artist David Bent. He brings a new look to the subject, at times witty and charming, at others subtly menacing, but imbued with a deep respect and affection for the Royal Air Force and for all who conduct their business in the heavens.
He combines in his art a deep knowledge of aviation with a quirky view of flying. Be prepared to see the Royal Air Force in a way that you have not thought of it before. His view is, so to speak, through an unfamiliar prism, at times humorous, at times fantastical and at times linking his admiration for the shapes of the natural world with his interest in aeronautical structures.’
Commenting about the exhibition, David Bent said, ‘As an artist in love with aviation, I am honoured that such a historic and brilliant place as the RAF Museum is hosting this exhibition of my work.’
The exhibition will also be supported by a series of activities and trails enabling unique opportunities for children and young people to interact and to be inspired by the Art and the stories behind it..
Further details on these activities will be posted on the Museum’s website during the next couple of months.
Entry to Fresh Air is free of charge to visitors; as is entry to the Museum. The exhibition will be shown daily from 10am to 6pm until June 30th 2013. For further details please visit www.rafmuseum.org/whatson or dial 020 8205 2266.
Local Swindon school, Churchfields Academy, will be working closely with David in the build up to the exhibition and at the museum. Headteacher Steve Flavin explained “David is a great artist and we delighted to be working with him. We will make sure that our students get to see David at work in his studio, as well as visiting the gallery in London. His work is stunning artistically, but also hugely relevant to our pupils for the technological aspect and the rich history that it covers. We’ll be working with David across a number of subjects, and believe that his international profile and adventures can inspire our students.

Check out Beverley Greig- exhibiting in the Grant Bradley Gallery, Bristol

2012-01-27T03:19:00.000-08:00

It's always great to hear about Swindon Open Studio's participant's exhibitions, Beverley's work appears in the Grant Bradley Gallery next month grantbradleygallery.co.uk

Here are a couple of images of Beverley's latest work on a fruity theme:

To find out more about Beverley and her activities, have a look at her website:www.beverleygreig.com
and sign up to her blog. http://beverleygreig.blogspot.com/

I have included the information about the details of the 'Snapshot' exhibition below, along with the poster, Bev assures me, bearing her name. Yes, she's second on the list:

The Grant Bradley Gallery, Bristol

SHOWING 4TH - 25TH FEBRUARY, WITH THE PRIVATE VIEW ON FRIDAY 3RD AT 6PM

SNAPSHOT

The diversity and creativity of Bristol's artists right now! The Grant Bradley Gallery is showing its commitment to the visual arts community in Bristol by putting on an exhibition of work that has been submitted by as many artists as possible. Called 'Snapshot' the... exhibition will present the breadth of talent and ideas of artists at work in the city right now. Natasha Jochman, Gallery Manager at Grant Bradley, assisted by artist, Stuart Nurse, who organises artists-connect.co.uk, an on-line coalition of artists, set out to present a show that celebrates the diversity and creativity that makes todays Bristol arts scene so vibrant. The exhibition has taken just 2 weeks to mount from the call to artists to the opening day and is a tribute to the determination of all the artists who have contributed to bring their work to the public eye. It truly is a 'snapshot' of whats going on in the visual arts in Bristol.

'They Take Art Seriously in Swindon' exhibition opened today by HRH the Duchess of Cornwall

2012-01-25T10:58:00.000-08:00

The exhibition of twentieth-Century British Art at the Swindon Art Gallery opened today to a great fanfare and a wonderfully glossy brochure.
It's worth getting to the gallery to look at the exhibition and get a copy of the brochure, the front page of which is shown below:

This is the first page:

And this is a hastily scanned page showing how the paintings are depicted. There are 8 to a page with a few whole page spreads.

It's a gorgeous brochure is an offprint from the Public Catalogue Foundation's Wiltshire and Gloucestershire catalogue. Those who would like a copy are advised to visit the gallery as soon as possible, brochures are selling fast, and at £10 represent an excellent chance to study the collection at your leisure.
An amusing tale from the reception: one of the people who hung the exhibition was asked to talk to the Duchess of Cornwall about the process of hanging. She was so intruiged by the tales of the paintings cramped storage conditions that she wanted to go and see for herself, and so spent some of her afternoon in very close quarters with Paul.
To find out more about The Public Catalogue Foundation, go to:
www.bbc.co.uk/yourpaintings

Wow- great excitement over the opening of the New Exhibition in Swindon

2012-01-23T13:46:00.001-08:00

Helen Culture

http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/diary/wednesday_25th_january_2012_23539632.html

Guess who is coming to see our amazing Art Collection?!?

The Prince of Wales - Wednesday 25th January 2012

www.princeofwales.gov.uk

A Preview of the New Exhibition at Swindon's Museum and Art Gallery and Exciting News

2012-01-22T13:00:00.000-08:00

The Builder's Choice exhibition at the Swindon Museum and Art Gallery, SMAG, has now been replaced by an adventurous exhibition showing more work than would normally be thought possible at one time.
On Thursday evening when the Friends of SMAG met, I took a few photos and thought how good it looked how good it looked. I think we need to ask Denys Hodson who has already talked about the previous exhibition, to come and talk about some of the individual paintings.
Looking for more information on the exhibition and the opening date, I came across the following announcement on Facebook:

'They Take Art Seriously in Swindon' is an exhibition of Twentieth-Century British Art, and the exhibition will be opened by the Patron of the Public Catalogue Foundation HRH The Duchess of Cornwall on 25 January.

There is great excitement over this announcement and more news of the happenings on the 25th to follow.

The notice on the door

Tim helping put up the exhibition

And this is what is was looking like.

More news on the exhibition when it's available.

The Leonardo Exhibition and other Delights in London

2012-01-21T13:46:00.000-08:00

The Leonardo exhibition is according to the National Gallery's information, the most complete display of Leonardo's rare paintings ever held.
The drawings are exquisite and the paintings breathtakingly beautiful; a particular coup was the chance to see the Louvre and the National Gallery versions of The Virgin on the Rocks together for the very first time.
Three favourite images from the exhibition were:

Portrait of Cecilia Gallerani (The Lady with an Ermine) about 1489-90

The Virgin on the Rocks (The Virgin with the Infant Saint John adoring the Infant Christ accompanied by an Angel) about 1491-1508

The Last Supper about 1520 painted by Giovan Pietro Rizzoli. The painting measures 302cm x 785cm.
The advance tickets for the exhibition have sold out, but a limited number of tickets are available to buy in person on each day of the exhibition from 10am.
The rest of the National Gallery was quiet compared to the Leonardo exhibition, I particularly liked this van Gogh painting:

Farms near Auvers 1890
www.nationalgallery.org.uk

A quite different exhibition at the Redfern Gallery, 20, Cork Street is also well worth visiting. The gallery is holding an exhibition of Kurt Jackson's latest work featuring paintings capturing the Cornish landscape. They are very desirable paintings, I would love to own one.

Here's the poster for the exhibition with a few photos of the paintings to give an idea of their magnificence.

www.redfern-gallery.co.uk

The sculpture of the horse with a dog running behind it is part of the Animals in the War sculpture near Hyde Park.

And last but by no means least, a much deserved rest near Paddington Station at the end of a long day- this is a photo of the tiled fireplace and a detail below in the Fountains Abbey pub.www.taylor-walker.co.uk/Fountains_Abbey

The Edward Burra Exhibition at the Pallant House gallery and Chichester Cathedral

2012-01-16T14:57:00.000-08:00

The Pallant House gallery is a a jewel of a gallery situated a little way from the shopping centre. It is hosting an exhibition of 70 Edward Burra paintings, mainly watercolours, but of the depth of colour and sort you have never seen before. How did he manage to get such detail and depth of colour from watercolour?
You have until 21 February to go and have a look, and buy the book that accompanies the exhibition, I'm sorry that I didn't do so thinking I could buy a book about him elsewhere.

This is the outside of the Pallant House Gallery, a Grade One listed Queen Anne townhouse. The modern part of the gallery is just visible on the left of the picture

One of the 'birds' outside the gallery.

The poster for the exhibition called 'Three sailors at a bar.'. Too many reflections to see it properly.

'Snack Bar' detail 1930, this one is oil on canvas.

On the 26th of January, there is an evening of readings from Burra's letters to his friends.

'Market Day' 1926 watercolour on paper.
To find out more: www.pallant.org.uk
It is also worth looking around Chichester Cathedral, as you approach, have a look at the cockerel on top of the weathervane, it's made form Fairtrade gold fairly mined in Peru.
Here are some of the delights:

The window by Marc Chagall

This is where you put a 20pence coin to light up the mosaic

Above is a tapestry by John Piper

The mosaic pictured above is from the 3rd Century and illuminated by putting 20pence into the carving already shown.

This is one of the two Chichester Reliefs, carved stone panels, examples of pre gothic sculpture.

Above is a Cecil Collins altar piece, 'Sunhead'. It has a great glowing eminence about it in a subtle way.
www.chichestercathedral.org.uk