Only entries from within our circulation areas will be accepted
Please don’t enter if you are not in a Round & About Magazine postcode region One entry per householder. You must supply a name, address and telephone number or your entry will not be accepted
One lucky winner can win a limited edition Quentin Blake / Roald Dahl print of Nine Hundred and Seventy-four, worth £109 from The Art Of Illustration.
The Art Of Illustration sells limited edition prints by fine illustration artists across the UK, the USA and worldwide.
Featured artists include Sir Quentin Blake, Shirley Hughes, Ronald Searle, Chris Wormell, and many more.
We’ve teamed up woth Julian at The Art Of Illustration to offer one lucky winner a limited edition print, mounted and cellophane-wrapped by Quentin Blake / Roald Dahl – “Nine Hundred and Seventy-four”, worth £109.
To enter our prize draw, fill in the form below before 12pm on Friday 24th November 2023.
Image: Museum of the Moon by Luke Jerram. University of Bristol, UK, 2017. Photo (c) Carolyn Eaton
Newbury BID welcomes you to enjoy the festival of the moon for three weeks of moon-related events!
Newbury Business Improvement District (BID) are holding a three-week festival between 15th August and 2nd September with over 100 unique events! With such a large number of events there is something perfect for everyone.
The centre of the festival is the globally renowned museum of the moon, where a seven metre, lifelike installation of the moon’s surface is displayed, created by artist, Luke Jerram and captured through NASA images. Accompanied by a beautiful soundscape composed by BAFTA-winner Dan Jones, you will feel as if you are transported straight to the lunar realm.
However, the excitement does not end there, as there are plenty more events taking place. Feel soothed by the moon-themed wellness sessions, engaged by films and interactive storytelling or compelled by talks that will leave you thinking. With a grand number of events, it is easy to spend multiple days at the festival. Especially exciting events, to name a few, include an outdoor cinema, paddleboarding and live music! For the younger ones, and adults too, there are some free arts and crafts to try your hand at.
Operations manager, Alison Drummond, at Newbury BID expresses how the ‘lively community and commitment to arts and culture shine through in these events’, and encourages you to come and join in.
“lively community and commitment to arts and culture shine through in these events.”
When attending, entry to the museum of the moon is complementary, with a range of time slots available, including evening sessions for a beautiful night-time lunar experience.
Self-taught artist Alison Molan was thrilled to receive a letter from Her Majesty after sending her a quirky pup portrait
A letter of appreciation for her artwork from Her Majesty Queen Camilla was not something Farnham based artist, Alison, would have believed possible when setting up her business, Pup Goes The Easel last summer.
Alison tells us: “I recently sent one of my coronation-themed, Charlie cards and tea towels to Queen Camilla because I thought it would be fun to know that something from Farnham was being used at Highgrove House, Clarence House or even Buckingham Palace! The letter of thanks and praise from Her Majesty for my work was a real surprise and such a boost for my business.”
“The letter of thanks and praise from Her Majesty for my work was a real surprise”
Alison is a self-taught artist, who, in mid-life founded an exciting new creative business. She produces distinctive greeting cards, prints, tote bags and tea towels from her fun and vibrant paintings of pups. Her business was inspired by her family pet, a rescued Lurcher called Parker. “He was the sweetest pup and brought joy to our lives” says Alison. Having previously only painted her family’s pets, her family encouraged her to take what was “just a hobby” to the next level. So, she painted more pups (family and friends’ dogs were her muses) and, with a huge leap of faith, set up her small business.
Since last summer Alison has successfully sourced UK based, suppliers who ensure her products are of the highest quality and are sustainably made. She has sold her unique images as high-quality cards, prints and gifts through local and London markets and through her Etsy store. “Meeting customers and seeing their positive reactions to my artwork has been very uplifting”. Alison has sold her products locally at the Farnham Maltings Monthly Market and Esty Guildford. In London she has had success at the Crafty Fox Market the De Beauvoir Christmas Trail and the BBH International Women’s Day Market. “I look forward to attending other events in the future including Curated at the Dorking Halls and at Denbies Wine Estate as well as more markets in Farnham, Alton and Guildford.”
Setting up a creative business in mid-life has brought many challenges but it has also been exciting and inspiring. “I have thoroughly enjoyed creating products from my images that capture the essence and personality of a pup and love seeing customers interact with them.
“You can imagine how absolutely thrilled I was to get this fabulous letter from her and chuffed to bits that she likes my artwork. It has given me a real boost and I thought it was lovely of her to take the time of respond when she must have a million and one more pressing things to deal with at the moment!”
Alison’s next step is to collaborate with retailers so that she can reach a wider audience. Watch this space – who knows, Pup Goes The Easel may soon be ‘By Royal Appointment”!
Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Rooms show at Tate Modern has been extended until April. Liz Nicholls steps inside
Who doesn’t want to be fired up with The Brilliance Of Life?
I’ve followed many an avenue in quest of this. And Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Rooms at the Tate Modern have been lighting up various social media feeds in my orbit all summer.
The installations (originally made for Kusama’s 2012 retrospective at Tate Modern) have proved so popular with visitors that the run has been extended until next spring.
A trip to Tate Modern, and the buzzing South Bank, is always a delight, and this celebration of the stellar Japanese artist, now aged 93, provides a trippy treat for the senses.
Kusama, who has been affected by hallucinations for much of her life, makes art that tries to show things “only the mind can see”, and it’s a fabulous way to highlight awareness of mental health.
A trippy treat for the senses
Seen from the outside, the space occupied by the two installations is tiny, which tickles your sense of time and space. Houses in a hexagonal unit the size of a parking space, stepping inside Chandelier of Grief is a discombobulating experience, fizzing and popping a boundless universe of rotating crystal chandeliers that threaten to smash and splinter.
Meanwhile, the watery walkway through the boxed Infinity Mirrored Room – Filled with the Brilliance of Life seems to offer a sense of limitless serenity. Each visit is two minutes (time enough to grab that obligatory selfie) and I recommend making a return trip in and through, for a different experience, on another level (ie sitting down, or taking a different angle).
Small yet perfectly formed on the outside, the light fantastic space offers a rare chance to step inside the mind of one of the world’s most iconic living contemporary artists. This has been one of the hottest tickets in town this summer, and doesn’t disappoint, offering an all-encompassing sense of wonder and freedom.
Local businesswomen Libby Witney & Chloe Blair tell us more about the RenARTgades Modern Makers Fair – the next one is Saturday 3rd September!
Libby & Chloe wanted to bring more attention to the amazing local makers and encourage people to shop small whenever they can.
They knew each other from going to markets with their individual businesses. Chloe, whose business is Peaches and Tea, is a polymer clay artist who makes jewellery, accessories, DIY kits and teaches workshops at various local locations. Bright and colourful earrings, focusing on bold shapes and designs are Chloe’s speciality.
I never have a plan of what I want to make, I just start making and follow the journey
She says: “I just make whatever makes me happy, what colours I’m drawn to at the time and go with the flow! I want to make things that make people happy – both the person wearing them and the people who notice them! I want to make art for your ears, I never have a plan of what I want to make, I just start making and follow the journey.” Everything is handmade in her Newbury studio and even her small children have shown an interest in clay, the colours, and the need for quality cookie cutters…
Libby is the owner of Magpie and the Mob, an online colourful shop of awesome things for your home and life, all 100% made and designed by independent UK makers. She also runs workshops with The Ugly Duckling Pottery Cafe where you can learn how to paint different styles of lettering on your pottery. The idea for Magpie and the Mob began during the 2021 lockdown, while Libby was teaching art remotely to her secondary school students. “I made it my mission to try and support all these makers who bring me such joy online, by buying from them and spreading the word in a time where physical markets weren’t allowed. When my husband said to me that I didn’t have the space or money to keep doing this, I turned it into a business! And it became Magpie and the Mob!”
RenARTgades attracted more than 700 visitors to their last event, with stall-holders saying it’s just what Newbury needs.
If we don't support local businesses, they disappear
We ask Libby (LW) & Chloe (CB) to share their love for local…
Q. What do you love about this area? CB: “The people! There are so many people who appreciate the tiny businesses we showcase and understand the importance of shopping small to keep these brilliant businesses running.”
LW: “We’ve both lived here all our lives, we went to school here and grew up here. I love being this close to the canal and lovely places to walk, as well as some amazing local business where you will find me spending a lot of my time!”
Q. Why should we all support local? LW: “People are always saying we need more independents but if we don’t support local businesses, they disappear. It’s so difficult for small businesses at the moment with the increasing prices, let alone having to compete with large companies, there are far too many billionaires in the world that don’t need our money!”
CB: “We have more bills and taxes to pay than Elon Musk! Your money to him is a drop in the insanely deep pond, to small businesses it’s dinner for tonight and fuel there and back to get the weekly shop – they need it and vastly appreciate it more than the bigger brands!”
Some countries around the world have even started prescribing creative activities to help people with their mental health
Q. Do you think we all need more colour and creativity in our lives? Both: “YES! Every single person has the ability to be creative, you just need to find your outlet. There are so many benefits to getting creative, some countries around the world have even started prescribing creative activities to help people with their mental health. The world can be so grey and miserable.”
Find out more
The next RenARTgades fairs at The Globe Garden, Newbury, RG14 5HB, are on Saturday, 3rd September, 29th October (a Halloween special), 19th November (Christmas lights switch-on) and Friday, 16th December (evening Christmas fair + live music).
Creating the world in eight million stitches…On Tuesday 17 August Threads Through Creation, a magnificent embroidery display created by textile artist Jacqui Parkinson will go on show at Salisbury Cathedral. Twelve enormous panels, some 8ft by 11ft, will be displayed in the medieval interior until 26 September.
The exhibition took Jacqui Parkinson three years to prepare – a vibrant combination of eight million stitches and layers of silk, using quilting, applique, and specially dyed fabric to tell stories from the book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible.
Jacqui’s magnificent re-creation of the Creation story features all the familiar figures and animals from the serpent in the garden of Eden, to Adam and Eve, who were asked to leave the garden because they ate the forbidden apple. Each work is accompanied by a reading from the relevant excerpt of the bible, accessible by QR code. A visual and poetic feast that is not to be missed.
Threads Through Creation comes free with Cathedral entrance, which can be booked by individuals online – or if you are coming with a group contact either [email protected] or phone 01722 512156.
Supporting the exhibition are a special Children’s Trail and family weaving workshops in the Cloisters. The workshops can be tailored to suit all ages, and children can choose which design they want to make from a range including flowers, turtles and butterflies. Workshop tables cost £6 with space for six (must include one adult) and the sessions run hourly from 10am-2pm (finishing at 3pm) on Wednesday 18 August and Wednesday 25 August.
“From an early age growing up on the family farm, inspiration was never far away, whether it be our rescue dog asleep in the chair, my dad’s herd of Charolais cattle, to the farm buildings around me, I would be sketching.”
Catherine Cook’s desire to draw and create has taken her down several paths since she studied decorative crafts at art college and university, but drawing has always been her starting point whichever medium she is aiming for – glass, digital graphic or paint.
Having gained her degree she worked for a number of years in an auctioneers office but says “the yearning to create was always there” and so she returned to the pursuit of developing her glass artwork.
With the arrival of her two boys, family life took over and creativity was on hold briefly until the creation of a family birthday gift involving a collection of watercolour dog portraits took Catherine back to her paints and pencils and she has been drawing pet portraits continually ever since, working in watercolour, oil paint and pen and ink.
“When I paint a pet portrait for a client, I feel there is a great responsibility to capture the special character, which is achieved through seeing those fine details accurately,” Catherine explained.
“The power of a portrait and the emotional response from clients, when presented with the final artwork can be very moving and rewarding.”
“The process of drawing and observing your subject is a discipline which makes you stop and really look; this is an aspect I especially enjoy. You can become completely absorbed in the process of drawing, it is therapeutic, it is a form of escaping all other busy thoughts. During lockdown weeks, anytime I could find to draw was valued.
”Living in the Hampshire countryside she never tires of watching the seasons change and enjoys having an “endless list of plants, wildlife and breeds of animals to draw”. And her work can be enjoyed through everyday objects such as greeting cards, tea towels and coasters.
Catherine added: “I love constantly seeing new ideas around me on every country walk and during these lockdown months, there have been many!
“I take photos when out and about and use the images to build compositions. Capturing those magical countryside moments of a Robin chirping on a branch or a squirrel busy in the garden, greatly inspires my artwork style.”
While in-person events have not been possible – and much missed – you can discover Catherine’s work at thecatherinegallery.co.uk and shop on Etsy.com
Love your kitty? Adore your doggy? We always knew that we Brits loved our pets passionately. But the last year has deepened our appreciation for our animal companions!
April is National Pet Month, and National Pet Day is on 11th April. To celebrate, we’ve teamed up with Surrey artist & pet-lover Bri to offer you the chance to win a portrait of your pet…
Artist Bri had planned to launch her drawing and painting workshops for beginners in March 2020… until the world put a stop to that! She jokes: “Timing has never been my speciality but this takes the mick!”
Keeping motivated
Bri decided to offer free pet portraits to local people… “This was an exercise to get some practice and to bring a smile to people’s faces,” she tells us. “I know how important a pet’s company is: I live alone with my dog. She’s my best mate, haha! And I couldn’t have been more grateful for the distraction she gave me. Also, she was a legal reason to leave the house! I thought pet portraits would be nice to keep me motivated as I was unable to tutor. I’d never done a pet portrait before but after I put up a couple of posters I was inundated.”
Hundreds of responses
Bri completed almost 50 portraits, 31 alone last April. “When I first thought about the type of work I could offer free to encourage people to commission me, pets were the subject I thought would attract most interest,” she says. “But hundreds of responses and the copious positive feedback was on a scale I didn’t imagine! It proves we’re a nation of animal-lovers. From dogs to cats, and the odd gecko thrown in, we love our pets. It’s particularly worthwhile to hear how someone got genuine happiness from seeing a pet who perhaps isn’t with them any more celebrated in paint.”
Rebranded as The Isolating Artist, Bri evolved to virtual workshops. “Online teaching is a fantastic way to communicate in what otherwise would be an impossible situation, but classroom tutoring is the best way to learn to draw and paint,” says Bri. “I hope soon to bring together a beginners’ art group. I want to introduce students to the fun of art and give people a chance to be creative, to look at the world differently. If there’s anything we need after all this it’s to leave the house so what better reason than an art class?”
As for influences, Bri says: “As a kid, art was the only thing I was any good at, so that was a natural inspiration. I remember coming across a book about Francis Bacon at school. It changed my opinion on how I should draw and paint; something I’ll never forget seeing for the first time”. Bacon remains one of Bri’s favourite artists, alongside Frida Kahlo, Vincent Van Gogh, Egon Schiele, Edward Hopper and many more.”
Visit isolatingartist.com to find out about Bri or sign up for an art class.
WIN your pet’s portrait!
We want you to share your love for the pet in your life. Share a picture, poem or photo of your beloved animal companion on our social media channels. Tag Round & About (our links below) and #petportrait in your post and Bri will select the winner who will be immortalised in portrait form! Deadline: Tues 4th May.
Discover millions of creative and crafty ways to share your life stories for future generations
In the time of the most advanced technology on record, the most money humankind has ever had, and more ways to get entertained you could possibly wish for, the strange truth is that the levels of stress, depression, and anxiety are also the highest they’ve ever been.
According to studies, children doing GCSEs today experience the same levels of stress as veterans in the times of the Vietnam war. How did it happen exactly that as we’re moving faster and faster toward the next thing exclusively designed to make us happy, we often feel like the most important thing is missing?
How does today’s lifestyle affect our mental health and what psychological benefits can art provide? Is it true that art cleanses your soul? And if it does, could it make you feel so much better you’ll actually feel the difference?
According to the world-renowned scientist Mikhailo Csikszentmihalyi, the feeling of flow created by intensely crafting (for example, writing, scrapbooking, working with clay) can cardinally change your life, infusing it with never before seen clarity, passion, purpose, and quantifiable changes in happiness. Don’t take our word for it though!
Although it can feel like modern technologies have taken over our lives to the point where our phones are controlling how we feel, how much time we spend with our family, and who watches our every move, you’ll find that there is one simple solution that includes a surprisingly old technology.
Have you ever felt that visceral emotion brought back by music or perfume or place when you remember your loved ones? Memories could very well be the most important thing in our lives, and it would be a great shame for them to fade with time.
As a family business, we know there’s nothing more important than family. With Fusions Craft, you can discover a panacea to stress, frustration, and a way of stopping the frenetic rat race and slowing downtime to a halt so you can spend it in a truly Buddhist fashion, inspecting scrapbooks you created.
In the days to come, the next generations will cherish these and learn about you with tender wonder. It’s one thing to hear about your grandma’s life story, but it’s entirely different to see the photos and feel the smell of the ink.
Fusions Craft specializes in the almost lost art of keeping your memories alive. Starting off as a small hobby, the craft unfolded and grew like a flower leaning toward the sun; soon it became a family business that specializes in scrapbooking supplies: if you need
• Paper & Card,
• Scrapbooking paper,
• Stencils,
• Embossing powder and Moulds
• and tons of other supplies you can possibly think of, you’re in the right place.
Why Fusions Craft?
Fusions craft is about so much more than photo albums. We provide you with every tool you can think of so you can produce nothing less than works of art to tell the most amazing stories, like so:
With stencils, moulds, flowers, embellishments, stamps, sprays, and much, much more, you can discover the magic of artistry that can be taken with you anywhere.
Learn of a million different ways of decorating the pages of your love stories, family sagas, photos of children and travels, adventures, tales of forest fires and heroic doctors, life wisdom learned from the darkest nights, indescribable beauty and courage and faith – with items that best reflect the emotions that will now, thanks to your contribution, will never be lost to the world.
2020 may have been called the most difficult year in history, but it also saw humans at undoubtedly their best: we saved animals in burning forests, spent more time with our family and loved ones, cried together, got saved by governments we criticized so much, stoically battled the virus and died like heroes, gave each other masks, and helped strangers.
Fusions Craft is your chance to let those who will come after know how we stood together even though we were forced to be apart. Create postcards, panels, decorate boxes, build mesmerizing scrapbooks with photos of your loved ones, adventures, your stories, unique moments caught on camera, and all those things you’d be heart-broken to forget. Now you never will.
It’s up to you what you want to remember. You could choose to remember this year as the toughest on record. Or you can keep documentary proof that along with everything that happened in 2020, it actually didn’t make us less human but instead much more. How will you remember this year?
Fusions Craft isn’t just a shop. It’s a place where you will write history.
Local artists open up virtual exhibition for Oxfordshire Artweeks Festival
Artists looking forward to welcoming the public to their studios for Oxfordshire Artweeks are now doing so virtually until May 25th.
The 13 resident artists and associate members of Ayres House Studios, Wallingford, were looking forward to inviting visitors into the previously derelict building; throwing open their studio doors to exhibit both art work and studio space – now sadly impossible due to social restrictions.
In October 2019 the artists took over Ayres House on Station Road. The building was used as a rectory until the 1950s and had been empty for many years and was officially opened with a launch celebration in December.
Studio Manager, Emma Souter of Adumbration Arts said: “It’s such a lovely building with so much potential, I think it needs us as much as we need it.”
On show ‘virtually’ will be paintings, ceramics, sculpture, textiles, upholstery, jewellery, photography, installations, artist’s books, performance and art restoration. The artists are from both academic and self-taught backgrounds, including those from high art, conceptual, fine art and applied crafts.
Daily content will be shared to provide a creative overview from the studios, highlighting what the artists have been doing before and during the coronavirus.
Among those helping out has been Becky Colwell who has used her textile skills to help make scrubs for the NHS and is looking forward to being able to teach sewing classes when the studios re open to the public.
Emma of Neoteric Dance Company has created a new dance film A Home in Isolation, documenting the experiences faced by so many at this time. Alongside this she is also supporting individuals who may be struggling emotionally and physical at this time, by offering virtual spaces to talk and process their experiences, seeing her transfer her Dance Movement Psychotherapy skills to a virtual platform.
During lockdown the studio is welcoming applications from artists who would like to join the studios and for those who would like to join as associate members. They are also seeking proposals for community and collaborative projects so they are ready for when restrictions are lifted. Once back they will re-open Monday Makers and the various courses, workshops and exhibitions which were suspended due to Covid19.
Until then why not visit Ayres House Studios online from the comfort of your homes throughout May.
For those interested in visiting Ayres House, signing up for a class or joining the studios after restrictions have eased, please email [email protected] or call Adumbration Arts on 01865 819869.
