Out with the New-In with the Old an exhibition by Andy Preston

Andy Preston has an exhibition of art from this Saturday at 12:00am until Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 11:30pm.
Do have a look, there will be labels there by now. I arrived as Andy was positioning the pictures.

• At the Old Merlin Gallery Theatre Square

• The work is in the shop window, for more information on Andy, have a look at his website. Photos taken this morning of the work with varying degrees of success due to reflections on the windows:

Edge Effect - Art & Design - Fine Art

www.edge-effect.co.uk

Edge Effect. Electronic music, digital arts, design and production from Andy Preston of Swindon in the U.K

Eric Gill Exhibition at the Wetpaint Gallery in Cirencester- last 4 days!

The Wetpaint Gallery is currently holding an exhibition of prints of Eric Gill's wood engravings. They are all beautifully framed and for sale.
The gallery also has a well picked selection of work by other artists on display. As a first time visitor, I was delighted by the exhibition space; it's housed in a former chapel, and is intimate, yet large enought to show work off to advantage.
Here are some photos of the Eric Gill prints:

There are several prints of these, they are from a series of 50 nudes; difficult to see here, but fabulous.
For more information on Eric Gill, can I recommend the book 'Eric Gill' by Fiona McCarthy published in 1989, ISBN 0-571-14302-4 by Faber and Faber, now sadly out of print, but obtainable on Amazon.
In case you do not manage to visit the exhibition before Christmas, there will be other interesting exhibitions in 2012 in the Wetpaint Gallery. Here are a few photos of the gallery:

The Wetpaint Gallery is easily reached from the A419 going north, take the second Cirencester turning, not the industrial estate one, turn left off the A419, then go straight ahead at the first roundabout, and the Wetpaint gallery is situated on your left, if you drive past the gallery and take the first left, there is a handy car park to be found there.
Address: The Old Chapel, 14, London Road, Cirencester GL7 1AE
T 01285 644990
E cah@contemporary-art-holdings.co.uk
W www.wetpaintgallery.co.uk

Robbo's Extravaganza at the Beehive tomorrow 19th December

Monday Dec 19th 7.30pm Robbo's Xmas Charity Extravaganza 

- Fundraiser for the Horn Of Africa Famine Apppeal and Swindon Night Shelter 

featuring: Good Things Happen In Bad Towns, The NoMarks, Missin' Rosie, Swindon Samba, The Amateurs, Poets, Face Painting, Raffle and more!!

Come along for what promises to be a great night out.
For more information on Christmas at the Beehive: www.bee-hive.co.uk

Lucy's New Studio is now Officially Open

An invitation to the opening of a studio on almost the shortest Saturday of the winter was too good an opportunity to miss.
Lucy, a recent graduate in Ceramics, has moved back to Swindon and will soon be on the Open Studios circuit we hope.
Her magnificent studio is in the garden, and her impressive kiln is housed next to the tropical fish in the garage.

 Long shadows falling outside the studio, and warmth and sunshine inside thanks to the insulation and 500 Watt heater.

 Here's Lucy with the kiln, and below the inside of the kiln.

 There are always unexpected delights, just look at the cake and mince pie stand beside one of Nicky's mosaics and below two more of Nicky's mosaics. Maybe mother and daughter could have a joint open studio?

And Lucy was wearing one of Tim's art box ceramics as a necklace.
More info at:www.LucyFoakes.com      Lucy.J.Foakes@googlemail.com

How about a Two Week Sketchbook Journey to Southern India?

Well how about it? The trip leaves on the 16 February 2012 and returns on 29 February 2012, it has been specially prepared for Maxine Railton who has considerable experience in running these sketching trips to India, by Steppes Travel.

Here is some of the information on the trip:

A SKETCHBOOK JOURNEY TO SOUTHERN INDIA

This very special journey to southern India has been designed for those who wish to experience a fascinating culture with a chance to develop the art of quick and vivid sketches.
During your first week you focus on developing and practising your drawing skills, whilst based at the college campus of SCAD (Social Change and Development). This environment has been chosen as it provides wonderful opportunities for drawing and fascinating insights into SCAD’s impressive work with the rural communities of Tamil Nadu. Part of the cost of your trip will make important contribution to their work
Each day will be led by Maxine Relton as you visit the local initiatives and villages in the area and receive guidance as you choose your subjects to draw.

The second week in contrast is not so focussed on sketching but allows you to travel through the beautiful region of Kerala, experiencing stunning mountains and river scenery which will hopefully continue to inspire you to practise your drawing skills. Maxine will be on hand to assist if need be but in a less structured way than in week one. The journey ends with a few days to relax on Keralan Backwaters.

www.steppestravel.co.uk
www.scad.org.in

Latest News from the Platform and a Hard to Resist Invitation to a double bill on the 22nd

Bea and I went down to the Platform this morning to meet Paul Ashman, the Music Development Leader, to discuss hiring the magnificent space as a venue again this year.
 We agreed to hire the main room, the railway carriage and to use the newly converted space upstairs as a possible 'hands on' art session for young people.
 We were also invited to a gig at the Vic. on the 22nd of December to hear the Monkey Dolls and The Raker Project, both Paul's bands. Should be a great evening.

www.thevicswindon.com

I have included adverts for Swindon Young Musicians

 Swindon Rock School and the Rock Pod.

Swindon Music Service took over the building in April 2011 with the aim of expanding their offer to include concerts, workshops and activities to keep the love of music buzzing in Swindon. To find out more visit: www.swindonmusicservice.org or ring Paul on 07590 688808
The Platform is the the former Railway Museum on Faringdon Road, SN1 5BJ

Treberfydd Embraces Digital Art with Born Digital Art Awards

Treberfydd House which hosted a 10 day art exhibition in the summer, has now focused attention on digital art.
The organisers say on their website- 'Born Digital Art Awards is a new competition that will showcase the finest digital art from some of the most exciting and challenging artists worldwide.'
It looks like an interesting prospect for all digital artists, to find out more:
www.borndigitalart.com/

Treberfydd House and grounds.

Kitty and Pete's Wedding Day plaque

Wedding day pottery figures on a flat pottery background are a wonderful way to commemorate the day. The detail is fantastic.
I've commissioned Tim do make one of our day.

www.timcarroll.co.uk

Coleshill Village shop - what a Gem

Minna Stevens' exhibition finishes tomorrow, with an afternoon tea from 2pm -4pm in the village shop, but if you miss it, do try and go along  another time.
It's well worth a visit, it can easily be found by turning right at the first cross road just as you enter the village from Highworth, the Carpenter's Yard is first on the right. There is plenty of parking and apart from the gallery space, there's a well stocked shop and a cafe.
The post code is: SN6 7PT and tel. 01793 763619
I am hoping we might be able to book the space for Open Studios in 2012.
Have a look at  the cafe part and gallery:

 And the photo below of the shop

 The next four photos show Minna's work, it's now obvious to me that it's hard to see them properly, her website has much better images: www.minnastevens.com

The Ashmolean's New Galleries of Ancient Egypt and Nubia are Fabulous.

Last Saturday, 26 November, saw the opening of six new galleries of Ancient Egypt and Nubia. This is the second phase of the Ashmolean's redevelopment, redisplaying the world renowned Egyptian collections and exhibiting many objects that have been in storage for decades.
This £5 million project has received lead support form Lord Sainsbury's Linbury Trust along with Selz Foundation and other trusts and individuals.
The Ashmolean is open Tuesday-Sunday 10am-6pm, has free admission and can be found a bus ride away from Swindon on Route 66, well bus number 66. It's situated 5 minutes from the bus station on Beaumont Street, Oxford, OX1 2PH
T 01865 278 000     www.ashmolean.org
There is also a Claude Lorrain exhibition entitled 'The Enchanted Landscape' running from 6Oct-8Jan. Entry fee to this is £5 until 13December, after that, it's £9/£7

 I took 3 photos in the new exhibition, unfortunately I did not make a note of the information given with them, so I'll add the reasons why I photographed them.
The limestone piece above was part of a beautifully carved wall.

 This was a gorgeous statue very dramatically displayed and lit.

 A beautifully depicted crocodile.

 This arts and crafts woodcut was outside the gallery showing musical instruments.

Key Dates for Swindon Open Studios 2012 announced

'Hay Bales- North Meadow Margaret Sadler
www.corethread.co.uk

I am really excited and pleased to be able to give the key dates for our Open Studios event in 2012:

May 18th from 7.30pm onwards a Promotional Evening, all those interested in joining Open Studios, or finding out more about the event, are welcome. Venue: Artsite, The Post Modern, Theatre Square, SN1 1QN.
June 19th closing date for entries to Open Studios 2012.
August 1st brochure available in hardcopy.
September 7th Launch Party from 7.30pm at Artsite.
September 8th/9th Open Studios weekend 1
September 15th/16th Open Studios weekend 2

We are hoping to have an exhibition for those interested in March, more details to follow.
There will be a slide show at the Promotional Evening, please send JPegs to swindonopenstudios@hotmail.co.uk as soon as you can, it is good to have a stock of new images for posters etc.
More information can be found on our website:www.swindonopenstudios.org.uk

To the Manor Reborn starts tonight, BBC 1 9pm

Presented by Penelope Keith and Paul Martin, The Manor Reborn sees a team of historians, experts and volunteers reinterpreting 500-year-old Avebury Manor in Wiltshire, putting the country house in to a national and historic perspective. The house will be restored as an immersive experience - it will be one of only a few National Trust properties open to the public where they can touch, sit on and enjoy all aspects of the house.
And it's just up the road.