SPRING AWAKENING

FARO returns to Artspace Woodbridge with SPRING AWAKENING alongside artist, Victoria Hall .

The exhibition showcases Hand-crafted homewares, Textiles and Watercolours from the verdant Kashmir Valley, the deserts of Rajasthan and the British countryside in a delicate spring palette to brighten our homes and lives.

Farheen and Ozma, sisters whose backgrounds are in fashion, textiles and design lead FARO and work with artisans in their motherland India to create items using heritage crafts of blockprint, papier-mâché, embroidery and weaving that bring exuberance and make every day feel special.

Victoria Hall has created Cluck Cluck! a country homeware & lifestyle brand featuring her bird drawings and original paintings.

ART-FORMS is a pioneering show introducing 140 emerging artists from Year 8 to Year 13.  Each was given the challenge of making an artwork for a public display.  Each had to make the work, in their own time, outside of the curricular timetable. There was no brief other than to be yourself. 

Opening times:

7-11 March 10:30am-3pm

8 Suffolk Women Artists show Work in Progress

Geraldine Spiller

Valerie Armstrong

Claudia Silva

Lisa Berry

honor Surie

Kate Reynolds

Claire Fried

Marie-Anne Bartlett

Please contact me about the space at enquiries@artw.co.uk

Thank you Artists and Collectors,Visitors and Friends for contributing to make 2024 a great year for Artspace Woodbridge. We have had fabulous shows and astonishing sales. ,

John Roberts

Collections of everyday domestic architecture often surprise the viewer with a feeling of excitement and elegance - and not just in Woodbridge.

Local artis, John Roberts, resident painter for 60 years, has recently explored some of the world’s other quaint corners to add to his forthcoming winter exhibition.

Wendy Raynsford - Painter

Garry McGee - Ceramisist

Louise Sant- Jeweller

Geoff MacCormack

The Geoff MacCormack Collection 

Geoff MacCormack is lifelong friend of David Jones who later became Bowie. From discovering the birth of Rock ’n’ Roll together as 8 year olds, to travelling around the world in the mid seventies, as a band member, on his first major world tour as Ziggy Stardust to the recording of Station to Station album, Geoff took the occasional photograph over a period of three years. The photos were stored away for many years and forgotten about until renowned music photographer Jill Furmanovsky evaluated the importance of the collection aesthetically and historically.

Geoff has toured his images in hugely successful shows in the USA, St Petersburg (Russia) and the UK, including a major show at The Brighton Museum Gallery.

He is the author of 2 books, Station to Station and Rock ’n’ Roll With Me.

Geoff shall be in the gallery everyday for signing from 13th - 17th included

@geoffmaccormackcollection

For the Love of Landscapes -  An exhibition showcasing the beauty of East Anglia. 

Drawing on her love of the sea and a passion for the natural landscape Photographer Gill Moon presents a collection of images showcasing the beauty and diversity of the East Anglian landscape. 

From the fluidity of the ever changing coastline to the tranquility of the estuaries and the Broads the exhibition portrays Gill’s love of this diverse area through a series of evocative and ethereal landscapes and seascapes. 

Gil Moon

Gill is a freelance photographer based in Woodbridge. She specialises in landscape photography and runs workshops and individual tuition sessions along the Suffolk Coast. She has written several books and produces a range of local cards and calendars which will all be on display during the exhibition. 

Her instagram is https://www.instagram.com/gillmoonphotography

Gill also writes a weekly photography blog on Substack. gillmoon.substack.com

NATURE REIMAGINED

 Brigitte Girling & Klair Bauly

  Brigitte Girling and Klair Bauly exhibit together for the first time, connected by their love of nature and wild gardening. Brigitte, previously a professional floral designer now expresses her love of the natural world through painting. Klair, a textile graduate, has an ethos of working with sustainable materials as much as possible and is either to be found in her garden or creating in her studio.

Brigitte Girling

 A local contemporary artist, Brigitte creates bold, colourful, quirky art bringing you joy and smiles to brighten up your home. Always inspired by her wild, wildlife garden and daily walks through the Suffolk countryside, she paints untamed, tangled imagined landscapes alongside quieter, more whimsical, imagined still lifes.

 @brigittegirling

Klair Bauly

Working with natural materials, using papers made from plant fibres, stitching with linen thread, Indian ink and 100% natural paints, Klair creates her images using the natural order as inspiration. Her work is in direct response to the environment. She also prints directly onto silk and linen, constructing hand stitched vessels. A graduate of West Surrey College of Art & Design 1976-79.

 @klairbaulyartist

BRIN EDWARDS SWLA

BIRDS AND LANDSCAPES

WITH JEWELLERY BY HELEN WALLACE

Brin Edwards presents a new collection of colourful expressive acrylics and oils of birds and landscapes. His work has a distinctive slightly abstract feel with strong a emphasis on light effects.

As a member of the Society of Wildlife Artists Brin is mainly known for his depictions of the natural world with birds a favourite subject but in recent years he has started to explore landscapes.

“The simple act of just leaving the birds out of the picture has felt liberating in a way and this has taken my work off into some unexpected directions”

Brin will also be showing some highly decorative ceramic bowls and ceramic sculptures of birds alongside beautiful silver jewellery by Helen Wallace which explores natural forms and textures.

Instagram brinedwards_art

Facebook  Brin Edwards Wildlife Art and Illustration

Paul Green

Paul Green is a self-taught artist and sculptor.

With a lifelong interest in nature and art, Paul is known for his sculptures of wild birds in the UK and overseas, using only wire and a pair of pliers.

Having watched birds since being a very young child, Paul’s passion eventually led to a career as a nature reserve warden at Minsmere. A passion for art ran alongside his career, as he found inspiration from the birds he was protecting. During lockdown, Paul spent many hours wire sculpting the birds in his garden. This resulted in an appearance on ‘Grayson Perry's Art Club’ and a subsequent invitation to exhibit in Manchester Art Gallery.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paul.green_wildwire/?hl=en

“In the Light”

Joe and Tom Davey are a son and father exhibiting together for the very first time.

They are both self-taught, sharing a lifelong passion for painting and drawing.This leads them to experiment with all kinds of media, playing with different mark-making to find fresh means of expression. Working independently from each other, there are still common themes of light, mood and atmosphere that will show through in a shared exhibition space.

Joe is an artist/illustrator perhaps best known locally for his charcoal drawings and monochrome oil paintings.

Tom is an Ipswich-based oil painter who is returning to exhibiting after several years, though he has never stopped painting. His artistic practice has ranged from portraiture to landscapes to abstract work, following inspiration wherever it appears.

Joe Davey

"I'm always on the lookout for moments of remarkable light in everyday settings. I hope to capture something of the motion, texture and magic of real life."

Instagram @joedaveyart      

Tom Davey

“I like to retain a vitality to my paintings by not overworking the scenes and valuing the authentic spontaneity of a sketch.”

Instagram @tomdaveyartist

Other works -

Small Works 2024 – Ipswich Art Society

 Ipswich Art Society is celebrating its eighth year at the gallery.

This is a varied show of paintings, prints, sculptures and ceramics by the talented members.

 The Ipswich Art Society has been putting ‘Art at the Heart’ of Ipswich this year with a programme of events to celebrate its 150th Anniversary year and to shine a light on the cultural life of the town and its environ.

 This two week exhibition, at Artspace Woodbridge, rounds off their main programme where  members come together to exhibit a series of artworks no larger than 40 x 40cm for paintings and prints and within a 30 x 30cm space for 3D sculpture and ceramics.  

Instagram : @ipswichartsocietyuk

Samantha Barnes

“I’m thrilled to be returning to Artspace for this, my second solo show of 2024. Following the enormous success of my first earlier in the year, I am hugely excited to return with more home-orientated line drawings, recent animal studies, and some new large-scale flower paintings now ready to leave my studio.

Observational drawing is my North Star and at the root of all the work I make.
I work hard to keep my hand playful, my work affordable, and for each piece to lift our spirits a little higher.

I’d love for you to pop in and say hello during my exhibition at Artspace.”

Samantha

Insta. samanthabarnespaints

Fur, Feathers and Fauna

Virginia Dowe-Edwards and Carolyn Hinchliffe 

" Fur, Feathers and Fauna"will be the first time their work has shared gallery space together.

Virginia and Carolyn met while studying for art A-level. Through their shared love of art they forged a friendship that continues more than thirty years on.Together they went on to Ipswich Art School, where they chose different specialist areas; Virginia choosing illustration and sculpture, and Carolyn choosing textiles and printmaking. Despite Virginia moving away from Suffolk and after her degree setting up her business in Warwickshire, the pair remained firm friends. When Virginia moved back to Suffolk, they began to plan their dream of a joint exhibition.

Virginia Dowe-Edwards 

When Virginia was little she had a big tub of plasticine that she loved to model into all kinds of creatures great and small, but especially dogs.  After completing a degree in Ceramics at Wolverhampton University in 1997, Virginia turned a childhood passion into a career.

Over the years she has exhibited in galleries across the country and her work has been sold at art fairs world-wide.

In 2020 Virginia enjoyed taking part in the BBC ONE series ‘Home is where the Art is’, sculpting Scout, a gorgeous deaf and blind lurcher.

At home in her Suffolk Studio, Wilf and Dixie, a wire haired pointer and dachshund keep Virginia company as she creates her unique ceramic sculptures.

Instagram virginiadowe

Carolyn Hinchliffe 

Carolyn paints colourful and bold acrylic paintings inspired by nature.

Growing up in the Suffolk countryside, she has always had a fascination with the natural world. Carolyn has recently returned to her love of art

Carolyn's favourite subjects are botanicals, butterflies and birds. She is captivated by fleeting moments, such as the turquoise flash of a kingfisher in flight. She is inspired by colour in nature, and her paintings invite the viewer to look closer, depicting delicate details of flowers petals or birds feathers.

She regularly exhibits her work around East Anglia.

Instagram carolyn_hinchliffe_art

Kate Roocroft describes herself as a Contemporary / Abstract Landscape Artist and is based in Woodbridge Suffolk. Creating work influenced and inspired by the local River and Coastal walks she has enjoyed all her adult life.

Kate  started exhibiting in 2021 following years of deviation for other work and family commitments. Kate’s captivating work includes soft emotive riverscapes and coastal scenes.

 Clever use of layered oil and mixed media capture the very essence of some of the most enchanting and beautiful locations in Suffolk

 ‘Sharing these incredible places with people though my own expression and techniques is the aim of my work, and I hope this enables people to experience these wonderful locations.

Instagram @Katiegallerywall

“Journeys”

Jill and Seth Draper exhibit together for the first time.

“The exhibition charts the journeys we have both made but in totally different mediums. It shows our mutual interest in all things coastal and the common threads that run through our individual works over the years.

Jill offers some rarely seen landscape embroideries from her personal collection alongside her recent watercolours. 

Seth shows his latest collection of seaside themed automata, sculptures and wall hangings, made from driftwood and recycled materials along with work from throughout his career including some of his early ceramics .

Jill Draper

“After gaining a degree in Printed Textiles, I spent many years using fabric dye and machine embroidery as my mediums for depicting the landscape. I learnt the possibilities and limitations of these, and wanting a change of direction and challenge, have now chosen to concentrate on working in watercolour and water-soluble pencils on paper. 

In both disciplines the process of analysis is the same- working out a sequence of layering to achieve the finished image, and my obsession for detail is undiminished. I have always been fascinated by the textures, patterns, colours and play of light in the landscape and within water, and trying to capture them is my passion.”

Instagram jill.draper.artist

Seth Draper

“I make a mixture of sculptures, wall hangings and automaton inspired by the sea and coastline that I grew up around. My work is made using driftwood, recycled tin cans and any other bits of flotsam and jetsam that I can find. 

 I grew up on the coast in East Anglia and spent many happy days taking in the delights of the seaside; from crabbing at Walberswick to trawling the local beaches for shells, that elusive piece of amber or maybe even a fossil.

Having moved to Cardiff for University my beachcombing continued. I developed a love for the bits of driftwood with flaky paint and gorgeous rusty patina that washed up on the rocky Welsh coastline. At University I began to make my playful ceramic boats. Over the years I have developed my work in driftwood and tin and I am hopefully carrying on that playful theme in my current work.” 

Instagram. @sethd77

Nicola Slattery RBA

Nicola Slattery is a member of the Royal Society of British Artists.

Her distinct style is known to art lovers across the UK and beyond. Winner of art awards and prizes her work is in contemporary art collections worldwide.

 Much of her work involves painting using imagination and acrylics however she is also an accomplished printmaker. An experienced tutor who enjoys teaching, she offers several popular weekend art courses at her Norfolk studio each year.

Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/nicolaslattery_artist

 'About Trees' 

Recent works by Lisa Berry

“My artistic journey this year has meandered more than usual. Most of my recent works are semi abstract, atmospheric landscapes, through which I continue to enjoy exploring colour.

If the fire gods permit, there will be a new range of smoke fired ceramic pieces on display at this show too!”

Louise works in oils and mixed media creating abstract and semi abstract paintings on canvas, “that are contemporary, joyful and radiate happiness with colour, pattern and design”. 

Colour is primary and is the singular planned element, the starting point of all her work. With no preconception of theme or content she works freely and spontaneously to build layers of paint, feeling her way through the work until she has achieved a sense of balance, colour and composition.

Each painting is the outcome of many transformations and designed to harness and reveal a real sense of the love of painting that she has. 

It is of course a wonderful bonus when they are appreciated and desired by others.

Instagram. @lovingpainting

Lesley Taylor Contemporary Art with guest ceramicist Christopher New

Leslie Taylor

Lesley is a self taught contemporary mixed-media artist, working from her studio in Orford.

This exhibition will feature a wide range of witty three-dimensional boxed and freestanding sculptures, each of which encapsulates a moment in time.  The focus is a seemingly simple, but dramatic, splash of colour against a brilliant white background.  All with her trademark touch of humour!

The exhibition will also include work from Lesley’s recent venture into ceramics.  Quite a departure from her normal style, ‘Flamboyant Fish’ will be available for sale. [Contribution from sales of this collection are to be donated to Suffolk Libraries].

Instagram. @lesleytaylorcontemporaryart

Christopher New

Christopher has been making ceramic sculpture and pottery for 40 years as a hobbyist.  In 2018 he stepped down from teaching Fashion Design at Central Saint Martins, to open BLUEBIRD POTTERY in Sudbourne Park. This is primarily a place where he offers pottery classes, but he is also an active maker himself.

His work is about usable pots, true to the origin of pottery, made as vessels, practical receptacles – things to be used in everyday life.

This exhibition will feature hand-thrown, stoneware bowls, classic shapes but decorated in luminescent combinations of spectacular glazes. Each piece is individual and unique.

Instagram. @bluebird_ceramics

Contemporary Art Exhibition

Boo Compton

Sally Ann Elliott

Dirk Rees

Boo Compton is an abstract artist, living in rural Suffolk.
Boo creates distinctive abstracts with strong visual dynamics, colour and often texture. 

Boo's work is regularly exhibited and she has a worldwide collector base.

@boocomptonart   www.boocomptonart 

Sally-Ann Elliott is an interior stylist and artist, and recently relocated her family to rural Suffolk from North London.       

Sally-Ann has combined her experience of interiors and textiles with her passion for art, and now creates her own 

bespoke pieces inspired by textile patterns and her love of colour and graphic shapes.

@thredwell

Dirk Rees is an award winning advertising and fine art photographer. 

This new body of work is a portrayal of his love of nature and movement.

These are two themes that have carried through his work over many years, 

now brought together to show the beauty and fragility of our 

natural environment through a series of images

www.dirkrees.com @dirkrees 07796208382

Wendy Raynsford Paintings

Garry Mcgee Ceramics

Contrasts: The Art of Two Halves 

Art of Two Halves is an exhibition that delves into the theme of duality. As a potter and painter, each piece reflects the ebb and flow of our individual journeys, yet we always seem to capture surprising reflections of each other's work. This exhibition shows how two very different approaches to our search for expression, can create a cohesive body of work that resonates with the theme of two halves forming a whole.

This collective exhibition will feature work from over ten distinct artists, each bringing their unique style and specialty to the display. Showcasing the remarkable talent of our team and tutors, the event reflects the inspiration we've gathered from our global travels. The exhibition will include paintings, drawings, and sketchbooks, highlighting the diverse approaches of our gifted tutors and capturing the essence of our adventures.

 This collective display by wildlife enthusiasts, plein air painters, and intrepid travellers is a true celebration of Mary-Anne's achievements over the past three decades. Through this exhibition, we aim to convey what Art Safari means to each of us and to inspire a new generation of wanderers to document the world through their sketchbooks.

Art Safari & Close Encounters Travel. ATOL 9916

Holidays for creative travellers

www.artsafari.com   

Harbourmaster’s Office, Ferry Quay, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 1BW

 As featured in The Telegraph, The Guardian, Evening Standard, Travel Africa, Wanderlust,Africa Geographic, Artists & Illustrators, The Artist.

About the artists:
Myrna Richmond, having gained a degree in history, returned in her late forties to her first love: art.  She was taught at the University of Staffordshire; her work has been shown in the West Midlands.  This is her first major exhibition in Suffolk.

Tom Richmond studied film and literature at university before becoming a teacher.  He’s interested in everyday landscapes, rubbish and outer space.  He uses photos, paint and found objects to create works that explore those things.

Belinda King trained as painter at St Martins School of Art in London, graduating in 1966. She worked as a printmaker for many years, becoming chairwoman of Gainsborough’s House Print Workshop in Sudbury, before returning to painting.
Her current work is an emotional response to landscape. The images are developed in the studio from very quick pencil field studies, concentrating on the fleeting effects of light and mood at particular moments in time. The paintings are then worked and reworked, pared down and simplified over a period of time.

Her work has been shown in many group and solo exhibitions.

Website: www.belindakingartist.co.uk Instagram @belindakingartist

Ceramicist Ann Lee joins up with painters Valerie Armstrong and Colin Slee for their third year running in Artspace Woodbridge.

The Mind’s Eye 2024

Ann Lee

My work reflects the versatility and pleasure of making ceramics. Exploration is what interests me, rather than the practice of making one thing on repeat. My favourite process is hand building.  Each  centimetre demands close physical and visual contact with the vessel.  I pinch, coil, throw and use improvised moulds, the conventional clay or plaster ones or any object from which I can take an impression or use as a ‘slump’.

How to finish the work is an essential dilemma.  I approach the  surface as a blank canvas using glazes and ceramic colours to enhance the form. The results are often surprising, a gift of constant discovery in making ceramics.

Instagram: @potterybyannielee

Valerie Armstrong

Valerie creates her paintings intuitively, building up layers of information in paint, collage, glaze, and mixed media. Her present work is strongly informed by a past career as an art therapist as she explores the stories within dreams and memories for her subject matter.

This is how she describes her process: “my paintings begin with spontaneous play or experimentation, using collage, mark making and textures; as the painting begins to reveal itself, the layering process becomes like a dance. Gradually the history below is revealed as a mysterious suggestion of what might be and what might have been. Finally, as the process nears completion, the pace slows, colours become more refined and the marks, more thoughtful. With music as my muse, I allow the subconscious to direct, and visual stories to emerge; sometimes surprisingly, always truthfully.” 

Instagram: @valeriearmstrong_artist

COLIN SLEE

Colin was born in Torquay, Devon in 1946, and attended the Newton Abbott College of Art from 1961 to 1964. He worked as a graphic designer for advertising agencies in Exeter and Bristol until 1982 after which he ran his own design studio for 14 years. In 1996 he moved to Suffolk to continue a career as a fulltime artist.

Colin’s aim is to create an expressive response to the UK environment and to portray an atmospheric and emotional sense of place. During his time in Suffolk, he has been selected to exhibit in group exhibitions in the Home Counties and in the Mall Galleries, London. He currently exhibits regularly with The Suffolk Group of Artists, Ipswich Art Society and at selected local venues.

E mail: colinsleeinscapes@gmail.com

Artists and Artisans

Amedeo Castellani - Photographer

The exhibition consist of photographic portraits of Artists and Artisans taken from 1974 to current day. The very first image that was taken in 1974 was of American composer and Rome resident Alvin Curran. A book of the photographs will accompany the exhibition. Artists and Artisans are encouraged to contact Amedeo if they wish to be photographed in the gallery during the course of the exhibition or in their working environment at a later date. This is so they can be included in the next edition of the ongoing book project.

https://www.instagram.com/amedeocastellani/

Ruth Simpson

Ruth Simpson, a Suffolk based Contemporary Artist lives near Ixworth. From here she explores enchanting rolling farmland, ancient woodlands and hedgerows, the captivating heaths, flower rich meadows and wonderful wetlands. Ruth draws inspiration from natures changing moods and seasons and her work, in acrylic and inks, often depicts wildflowers and grasses in exquisite detail.

“A simple grass stem or woodland copse can capture the imagination and help us to see the beauty all around us, so often taken for granted or overlooked.”

Kate Roocroft

Kate Roocroft describes herself as a Contemporary / Abstract Landscape Artist and is based in Woodbridge Suffolk. Creating work influenced and inspired by the local River and Coastal walks she has enjoyed all her adult life.

Kate  started exhibiting in 2021 following years of deviation for other work and family commitments. Kate’s captivating work includes soft emotive riverscapes and coastal scenes.

 Clever use of layered oil and mixed media capture the very essence of some of the most enchanting and beautiful locations in Suffolk

 ‘Sharing these incredible places with people though my own expression and techniques is the aim of my work, and I hope this enables people to experience these wonderful locations’

Instagram. @katiegallerywall