Willow Gallery, ReMix & Textile 21 Artists Tomorrow

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Message from Willow Gallery, Oswestry

Join us this Saturday for Meet the Artist with ReMix & Textile 21, 11am to 3pm, All Welcome,

WILLOW GALLERY Oswestry   Newsletter 24 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026 View this email in your browser MEET THE ReMix & TEXTILE 21 ARTISTS on Saturday 26 September, 11am-3pm EVERYONE WELCOME Left: The places we carry [detail] - Mixed media on board by Rachel James Right: Birds of the Heavens [detail] - Textiles & mixed media by Nikki Parmenter ReMix EXHIBITION & TEXTILE 21 EXHIBITION Until Saturday 24 October ReMix A creative group based in Delamere in the heart of Cheshire 'Arrivals and Departures'   Through the diverse media of paint, print, photography, 3D, stitch and textiles, this innovative group of artists have set out to explore the themes of journeys (both literal and metaphorical), movement, change, the passage of time and those transformative experiences that define moments of coming and going. More information about ReMix can be found on their website Textile 21 Textile and mixed-media group work with fabric and stitch along with non-textile materials to produce high-quality innovative art   'The Discerning Palette' The focus in this exhibition is how colour can be a powerful tool to inspire and tell stories. For some of the exhibiting artists, the intricacy of colour becomes a way of expressing complex ideas in an increasingly polarised world. Other artists are using colour in an expressive way, delighting in the physicality of different media and the worlds they create. More information about Textile 21 can be found on their website A Way of Seeing with Reg Turrell   'SILVER DOLLARS'   I love drawing and painting honesty and their 'silver dollars'. Instead of trying to capture the silver sheen of the seed pods with various materials, this time I decided to apply the pods and seeds directly onto a painted background. For this I chose dark pigments that I wouldn't normally use. Alizarin Crimson and Phthalo Turquoise were applied thick and creamy - and, while still wet, I pressed the seeds and papery pods into the paint. I laid clingfilm over the surface, used several heavy books to press the material down - and left everything overnight. Once the paint was dried, the clingfilm was removed. Because clingfilm crinkles, it leaves various marks in the dried paint. Also, at this point I can remove paint or darken chosen areas - and I like these random patterns that can be altered to a greater or lesser degree. Naples Yellow paint applied with a fine brush linked the seed pods to a main stem and unified the composition. The brushstrokes also created rhythms which made the composition more interesting. Art & Craft Workshops  Please see our website for details and booking Students' work from Susan Mulcock's recent felting workshop At this two-day wet-felting workshop, students used  summer landscapes and their boundaries as inspiration. Says Sue: Thank you to this group for a really enjoyable weekend. A lot of hard work, a lot of talent and a lot of fun and good humour - so thank you for your company. Some lovely work produced - and I can see peoples' personalities and styles developing. Upcoming Exhibitions BORDERLAND VISUAL ARTS & CHESHIRE ARTISTS' NETWORK JOINT EXHIBITION Saturday 31 October to Thursday 24 December Winter Craft Fair Saturday 7 November Meet and converse with talented local craftspeople who create one-of-a-kind products you won't find anywhere else. Also browse our shop and enjoy a range of refreshments in our café. Other local events and information Guided walk: Fungi Foray around Oswestry Old Racecourse Sunday 27 September 2026, 2-4pm Fungi expert John Hughes leads a walk around Oswestry Old Racecourse, searching for fungi in the woods and grassland Meeting point: Oswestry Old Racecourse car park what3words: ///procures.clearing.eggshell SWT members: £3 | Non-members £4 | children free Heritage railway and museum Next running events are October half-term and then Santa/Mince Pie specials Click here for timetable and here for tickets. OSWESTRY INDEPENDENT CINEMA  Visit www.maonacinema.com for screenings and bookings HERMON ARTS Click HERE for upcoming music events Oswestry & Borders Repair Café Bin it? No way! Memorial Hall, Smithfield Street, Oswestry Saturday 24 October, 12-3pm   A team of skilled volunteer repairers give their time and expertise for free to help people fix items that might otherwise be thrown away. TO BOOK YOUR FREE REPAIR email: osbordersrepaircafe@gmail.com You can also bring your repairs to the Midweek Mend sessions at the Climate Action Hub, 36 Bailey Street, Oswestry (Wednesdays 11am-2pm). Art world   Wacky Lady in Blue: New Fourth Plinth sculpture A new sculpture, created out of a desire to bring a contemporary 'everywoman' to Trafalgar Square, has been unveiled on London’s Fourth Plinth. Lady in Blue, by New Yorker Tschabalala Self, replaces Mil Veces Un Instante (A Thousand Times In An Instant) by Teresa Margolles, and is the 16th artwork to feature on the famous plinth since 1998. A new sculpture is installed roughly every two years. Cast in bronze, Lady in Blue strides forwards in high heels and a flowing dress painted a vibrant blue. The jewellery worn by the five-metre-tall figure mirrors the shade of lapis lazuli, a rare rock used as a pigment by artists since antiquity. Self's Lady in Blue was chosen from a shortlist by the Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group (chaired by Ekow Eshun) whose selections have  always sparked debate and controversy.  Rather than commemorating a monarch, military commander or other figurehead of the kind traditionally found on public monuments, Self’s sculpture celebrates someone deliberately ordinary: a young metropolitan woman striding confidently through the city. Says Self: 'She's an everyday person, like many of today's Londoners who occupy the square daily.' A vibrant, not-for-profit art space packed full of contemporary artworks from local and national artists. We host exhibitions, art classes, craft fairs and other community-focused events - bringing together creative individuals and art lovers from our local communities and beyond. CONTACT US Tel: 01691 657575 email: willowgalleryoswestry@gmail.com Website: willowgalleryoswestry.org Facebook: Willow Address: 56 Willow Street, Oswestry, Shropshire SY11 1AD Gallery/Café open Tues-Sat 10am-4pm (3.30pm café last orders) Closed: Sundays/Mondays/Bank Holidays Editor: Hilary Moorcroft 24 September/October 2026 FORWARD TO A FRIEND               SUSAN CUNDALL Awakening III Acrylic, gelli plate and collage

Mules at Pradoe Church

Dear Blogger

Pet Service at Leaton this Sunday 27th September, reminds me of the service for mules at Pradoe Church, West Felton.

MULES IN THE BURMA CAMPAIGN - John Kenyon Burma Star and Military Cross

Colonel John Kenyon fought in the 1944 battle through the Burmese jungle with no land communications.
John`s unit, as part of the 7th Indian Division, was involved in intense fighting in Burma from 1943 to the end of the campaign.   As well as John`s Indian Mountain Regiment there were men involved from across the British Empire, including East and West Africa.  The lack of transport infrastructure placed an emphasis on military engineering and air transport to move and supply troops, and evacuate the wounded. 

The only communication with the outside world was by aeroplane and their valuable cargo of mules, these were loaded and then parachuted into the jungle to supply the army with food, Medical supplies and armaments 

 This gave John Kenyon a lasting affection for these sturdy animals so much so, that in 2006 he held a service to give thanks for all those animals who had kept the army supplied and accompanied them through the jungle.

See attached picture of the Mules at Pradoe church

News from Whittington Music Festival

Dear Blogger

News from Whittington Music Festival

Save the date! Whittington Music Festival 13-16 May 2027   Where did the summer go? Suddenly autumn is upon us, which can 18only mean one thing - Whittington Music Festival will be back next spring! Repairs to St John's church Whittington will commence next month, and are scheduled for completion in February 2027, so our spiritual home should have a lovely new floor for May.    We'll be celebrating 200 years since the death of Beethoven in various ways. Excitingly, one of our brilliant festival regular violinists, Rosa Hartley, will collaborate with Sophia in a performance of the monumental (and fiendishly difficult) Kreutzer Sonata. Janácek's Kreutzer Quartet provides a counterpoint. Written in 1923 when he was sixty-nine, this his first quartet was inspired by Tolstoy's novella 'The Kreutzer Sonata'. It will be interspersed with readings by Braimah Kanneh-Mason who will also be playing violin in the Janácek.     We are thrilled that all members of our in-house Whittington Festival String Quartet - Rosa, Braimah, Ami-Louise Johnsson and Nina Kiva - are returning in 2027, along with Christina Schoonakker (viola), Daniel Brandon (cello) and clarinettist Mebrakh Haughton-Johnson, who were such a hit with our audiences this year. We're delighted that Katherine Hunka will also be joining us again.   Katherine's UK premiere of 'Break Out' was one of the highlights of 2026, and following in the footsteps of Jeremy Sams and Katherine we hope to commission a new short chamber work for clarinet quintet by Flintshire-based pianist and composer Cameron Biles-Liddell, whom some of you might already know. This will be another world premiere for Whittington. More details in our October mailing.  Our first fundraiser of the season is a harp recital by Bethan Conway whose biography is on the home page of our website. I guarantee a delightful afternoon of beautiful music, with tea and home-made scones to tempt you even further! The venue is Christ Church, Oswestry, due to building work at Whittington church and the road closure on the A483/A495 roundabout at Whittington Rd. Please come along and support the festival.     Supporting the Festival    As an independent, volunteer-run community organisation your support is vital. We receive no direct government or local authority funding, and so every penny from Friends' subscriptions, concert sponsorship and individual donations goes towards the festival itself.   By donating and becoming a Friend, Benefactor or Sponsor you help us to support emerging artists and bring world class performances to rural North Shropshire. You also make possible our exciting outreach sessions for primary school pupils and students at Derwen College in Gobowen.    If you are able to support us, we'd be very grateful. Go to www.whittingtonmusicfestival.org.uk/support-us-friends-scheme/