SATURDAY 9TH MARCH
The warm welcome from Sharon Harvey and her husband Dave at The Sanctuary Gallery for the Artists’ Talk made the visit very special. The tea/coffee, cakes and savories reflect the generosity of the owners to make visitors feel at home when viewing the beautiful range of work on show in the gallery.
The three artists who spoke about their work gave real insights not only concerning their processes but also their ideas and reflections.
Bev Campbell from Bristol showed the audience of 25+ in the upstairs of the gallery (Sharon’s studio space), sketches made capturing birdsong. She explained the vocabulary of mark-making developed to record different birdsong on a very large roll of paper. It was fascinating and helped one begin to interpret the range of subtle marks and lines used in her large paintings.
Painter Perienne Christian explained how she has recently returned to live in the Forest of Dean and how the woods have captured her imagination. She loves nothing better than to walk in the forest collecting interesting items to draw. Memories and dreams combine with observation to achieve a patchwork of stories and layers of ideas in her paintings. Perienne explained how she paints using egg tempura which adds another layer of reference to her work. Originally egg tempura paint was made using egg yoke to combine dry pigment. The small works exhibited combined a sense of mythology and landscape.
Jeweller Uschi Arens Price wore a jacket and trousers of bright emerald green and fushia pink, complimented with one of her statement bold silver and glass pendants which reflected the same colours she was wearing. Uschi passed several of her silver brooches around the audience to examine first hand how the marks had been made to achieve various textures. She explained how she was amazed with the tools, hammers, saws, drills and files used in silversmithing which made her attracted to the whole process of jewellery making. The colour and sparkle of dichroic glass compliment the surface and texture of some of the silver pieces which can be quite large and flamboyant. Absolutely beautiful. The Sanctuary Gallery plans to continue to showcase Uschi’s work throughout the year.
It is always a privilege to attend these insights into how other artists think and work, their inspiration and process. Afterwards I always feel I know them and appreciate their work on a different level.
Thank you to all involved.
Sara Rickard
Canopy Creative Network 