ARTISTS and makers are showing their work in 150 venues across South Oxfordshire in the final week of the Oxfordshire Artweeks from tomorrow (Saturday) to Monday, May 27, writes Esther Lafferty.
In Watlington Club four photographers are showing work that includes images of the natural world, abstract photography inspired by patterns, colours and shapes in nature and hand-printed cyanotypes by debutant Mark Batchelor, who uses natural sunlight and photosensitive emulsion to create images of modern architecture.
At Watlington library, Steph Hicks will be presenting a selection of works inspired by the plants and creatures seen at the seaside.
Her ideal day is spent foraging and she jokes that she likes to cook most of what she finds and then draws the rest.
She says: “I fell in love with all the species while sailing around the coast of the UK last summer with my husband, spaniel and eight-month-old baby.
“It took three months to circumnavigate the UK and although painting on a wobbly boat wasn’t possible, I banked all the different flora and fauna in my mind to paint.”
Alongside a seahorse, a curious crab and Pedro the puffin, Steph’s exhibition includes seaweeds, sea lettuce, and an algae called mermaid’s cup.
Also inspired by coastal scenes, Alexandra Browne produces bespoke hand-painted ceramic tiles on which stylish sunbathers evoke a bygone era.
She says: “I have always loved life drawing and nude art, which inspired my series of sunbathers in this Pampelonne series. Pampelonne is the beach most associated with St Tropez and the glamour of an A-lister lifestyle and the classic woman’s silhouette is simply beautiful.”
At the Tree Barn in Christmas Common, a dozen artists will be showing their works in spaces including the barn, a beautiful old house and rolling lawns.
There will be figurative sculptures by Amanda Moser while Jessica Ingram is showing a variety of historical hand embroidery techniques, from Jacobean crewelwork to silk shading (thread painting), blackwork and goldwork.
Jessica trained at the Royal School of Needlework where she learnt how to conserve and restore historical embroidered textiles. She now works in the school’s commercial studio. She was part of the studio team that worked on several projects for the coronation of King Charles III.
Ceramicist Satnam Bains will be showing his stoneware vessels. He makes them by adding touches of glass, often from a melted Bombay Sapphire gin bottle, to emphasise the colours and light.
He says: “I’m also experimenting with introducing a natural stone finish with small pieces of embedded Bombay glass and adding other clays, like porcelain powder and much darker black course clay into the pieces.”
His latest pieces are inspired by the sights on his morning dog walks in his local woods as the trees and shrubs transition from winter into spring.
Printmaker Beverley Matchette-Downes is welcoming visitors to her studio in Turville.
She will be delighted to share her love of all that printmaking entails, including the processes, the alchemy and the happy accidents.
Her art is concerned with the tangible things which surround her, with pictorial space and composition.
She often uses her camera as a sketchbook and source of inspiration from which to draw and paint her images on to the printmaking plates.
For more information, visit www.artweeks.org