Latest exhibition news [ October 12th, 2009 ] Posted in » Exhibitions & Shows, General

I’m really pleased to be taking part for a second time in the Wakefield Hospice Art Exhibition at QEGS. Held in support of the hospice, 20% of all sales fees go to the hospice funds, to help with patient care.

The exhibition will be open to the public from Saturday 31st October to Monday 2nd November between 10.00am and 6.00pm at the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Northgate, Wakefield.

From December 7th, I will also be exhibiting work in the ‘Big Hang’ exhibition at Sheffield’s exciting new Arts Centre, Bank Street Arts. With work from a wide range of artists on sale, this will be a great exhibition to take in during those tedious Christmas shopping trips and could well be the place to head for some unusual and creative Christmas gifts this year.

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Art in the Pen

This weekend saw me travel up to Skipton to exhibit some of my fine art photography at the ‘Art in the Pen’ art show 2008.

Skipton Auction Mart, more commonly used for the sale of livestock, underwent a mini transformation, as artistic swags and finishes were applied to the pens by more than 50 regional artists who were on hand to showcase and sell their work. With everything from Alison Thompson at Art in the Pen 2008paintings and photography to textiles and ceramics, there was unique art to suit all tastes and budgets.

For me, it was an interesting two days. I hadn’t done this particular show before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but as several thousand visitors turned up during the two day event, there was ample opportunity to meet and chat to some very interesting people, including a couple who spotted my fine art print of a Sunset on Bonaire and explained that they are shortly moving out there and this view will be the one that they have from their terrace!

It’s a small world… emphasised by the fact that in the ‘pen’ next to me was a very talented photographer called Jon Scurrah, who specialises in 360 degree panoramic images – whilst chatting we discovered that we had both owned houses on the same street in Leeds within the last decade.

If I met you during the show, thank you for dropping by to check out my site and my other work. If you bought something from me during the show, I hope that you are enjoying your purchase, but either way, if I can be of any help, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me.

August 19th, 2008 | Comments Off

Medicinal weeds and wild foods

Identifying Sweet CicelyToday I set off to find out more about medicinal weeds and wild foods. I didn’t have to travel to the Australian outback and hook up with Ray Mears, I simply set off for Forge Dam in Fulwood, Sheffield and joined a guided walk being led by local herbalist Calder Bendle.

It proved to be a completely fascinating two hours. About 10 of us trundled along after our expert, who explained that there would be plenty of opportunity to taste things along the way. We all swapped apprehensive glances, as he clearly wasn’t referring to a tea break at Forge cafe.

We needn’t have worried though, as he most certainly knew his stuff. The first tasting was of Sweet Cicely, which has a beautiful sweet aniseed flavour and can be used for all manner of things, from sweetening sour fruits in cooking, to the creation of herbal remedies for disorders such as indigestion. Although it looks uncannily like Cow Parsley at first glance, it wasn’t long before we got the hang of the differences and we all started making our proud identifications of the plant as we wandered along. You wouldn’t think that Forge Dam was so full of plants, but during the walk we discovered the amazing properties of no less than 20 plants that we wouldn’t have given a second glance to without the endless knowledge and enthusiasm of ‘Bendle’

The event was organised by Sheffield Environment weeks and is one of more than 200 activities taking part throughout the city, which aim to promote environmental awareness.

I went along out of personal interest, but it was very valuable and I’m sure that some of the information I gathered will be of great use as I develop my new range of greeting cards called ‘natural healing’.

May 14th, 2008 | Comments Off
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