There’s never a week goes by without something happening in the Isle of Man art scene and this week was no disappointment with a new exhibition opening at the Hodgson Loom Gallery in Laxey at the weekend. I called in to say hello thinking the place would be packed out as there seemed to be cars absolutely everywhere, but it turned that just about everyone was at the Laxey Fair! How rude. Still, it gave me a chance to catch up with Julia Smyth and to meet the very talented Kasia Mirska, who I hope I have persuaded to have a page on the Directory.
There really are some wonderful pictures on display, from Howard Shimmin’s wildly colourful landscapes, to Kasia’s humorous renditions, Clara Nathan’s work with organic materials in muted tones and Rebecca Odessa’s thought provoking collages. It’s a good job I don’t have a picture buying budget at present as I would have been very hard-pressed to choose which to have, and would have wanted at least one of each. But don’t let that stop you – please do go along and buy, buy, buy as then our lovely artists will create yet more gorgeous work for us all to enjoy.
Click on any of the pictures throughout this post to view them in the light box.
As I walked over to chat to Julia, she was just finishing off a little sketch in her sketchbook which was awesome to see her do with such ease and reminded me that I was shortly to face the unknown…. the Frida Kahlo workshop at The Isle Gallery that I had booked myself onto in a moment of foolhardiness a few weeks ago. Still, as promised last week, here are the results of my labour…… OK! You can stop laughing now. If anyone needs a booby prize for a competition just let me know.
I had such a fun time though that I highly recommend you book onto one of the courses available. You get plenty of help and Kate Jerry demonstrates how to go about it and takes you through the process step by step. It’s great value for money and for anyone, like me, who hasn’t tried to draw or paint anything since school, it’s a great way to be able to have a go without committing to buying lots of expensive materials when you don’t know whether you’re likely to ever give it another try. For me, however, I think I have enough to do besides the day-job at present so don’t be expecting any more masterpieces from me in the near future 😉
Here are one or two of the other creations from the workshop to give you an idea of the variety of work produced – it really goes to show how different everyone is.
You may have noticed a couple of new posts going out this last week or so; ‘Neb and Nonsense’ and ‘Art I Own’. If you find any arty ‘nonsense’ do let me know (you can email me: jane@graceandhall.com) and if you have original artwork by a local artist that you would be happy to share, again, please do get in touch. The idea of ‘Art I Own’ is to share pictures of work that is in private ownership which may not have been seen by the public for some time – or even at all! I’ve got a couple of Paul Parker’s pictures from 1991 that I will be sharing in the coming weeks, also one of Adam Berry’s, and others by my mum and my sister. So don’t be shy, please do take a snap and send it in.
I debated long and hard whether or not to go to yoga last Thursday lunchtime, decided it was good for me, and so even though my heart was saying no and my head was saying yes I trotted down to the yoga studio only to find the back door locked. Undeterred at this stage, having made it so far, I headed round the front and up the stairs to find the place pretty much deserted apart from one set of clothes in the changing room. I then successfully convinced myself that it must be a private class and put the rest of my lunch hour to much better use by calling into The Sayle Gallery to see what was going on.
It was lovely to see College graduates Kirsten Penzes and Helen Tate at The Sayle. They are doing a job share in a part-time capacity which, having just finished their BA(Hons) in Fine Art, will be great experience for them. A couple of the windows at the Gallery are going to be dedicated to student work over the summer, with displays being rotated every couple of weeks. I think this is a fabulous idea to help the students gain visibility and to give them the confidence they need to take the next steps in their careers. There really has been some great work produced by the College students this year so I know you won’t be disappointed and like me, will probably find excuses to keep going back. Yoga? Well yes, maybe Mondays when the gallery is closed….
Carola Rush filled me in on some of the up-coming events at The Sayle; Peter Davies’ exhibition, ‘Of time and place’ opens on 1 July and runs right through to 31 July. The press release reads: “Peter has enjoyed a long career spanning five decades in the arts. Born in Moreton on the Wirral peninsula, he was educated at Wallasey School of Art, Birmingham College of Art and Birmingham University, and latterly served as Principal of Bournemouth and Poole College of Art and Design.
Throughout this time he has produced a richly diverse body of work, inspired by his fascination with a sense of time and place, encompassing paintings, drawings, studio pieces, illustrations, collages and prints. Much of this is produced on location, notably around England, France and the Isle of Man, where he records the prevailing weather conditions, seasons or time of day, capturing the unique spirit of a moment in time.”.
Also coming up over the weekend of August 7/8th, is ‘Art in the Park’ which sounds very exciting. A group of around 6-8 artists will be making Art in the Villa Marina gardens and the public will be able to participate. Amongst other demonstrations, Gavin Carter will be doing some wood carving / sculpting and Rob Smith will be doing some large, experimental paintings. These will then be displayed in The Sayle Gallery. It sounds like it will be a lot of fun so pop that one in your diary while you remember.
Svetlana Cameron posted up on FB to say that she is very honoured and delighted to be invited to organise a display of ceremonial portraits and Tynwald Day themed paintings in the Parliament of the Isle of Man. She would be delighted if you would like to see her works which will be displayed in the Tynwald Library between 28 June and 22 July.
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Have a great week!
Jane
