| Season's Greetings from the Willow
The gallery will close on Christmas Eve (our café on Friday 22 December) and re-open on Saturday 13 January with our New Year Open Exhibition | | | | A thank you from the Willow Gallery Team
My team and I wholeheartedly thank all our visitors, supporters and subscribers for your support and good will throughout the past 12 months. The start of the year was full of unknowns and significant pressures on the economy as businesses came back from the pandemic. Now, looking back, we've had a full programme of exhibitions and events - including, in the summer, our 'Stitch by Stitch' textile exhibition that attracted visitors from far and wide. A big thank you to artists Alison Holt and Suzette Smart for organising such a memorable exhibition.
Over the course of the year, visitors have had the opportunity to meet many of our regular artists and find out more about their inspirations and creative processes. We have also hosted many workshops in a wide range of art and craft disciplines. One of our tutors, Anne Byrne, went all the way to this year's semi-final of the Sky Arts Landscape of the Year (we think she was robbed!). Anne also featured in Alan Titchmarsh's TV show Love your Weekend.
As always, I am grateful to our artist-in-residence, Karl Robinson-Bray, for all the additional tasks he takes on at the gallery; also to Hilary Moorcroft for her editorial support. With regard to our monthly newsletter, special thanks to Reg Turrell, creator of beautiful paintings of nature, for sharing his artistic work and insights. In our café, Margaret and her team have worked diligently over a busy year to provide a warm welcome and great food.
This year we have said farewell to some dear friends. Steve Shepherd was greatly valued for his wide-ranging practical and inventive skills, setting up in the early years much of the gallery's infrastructure that is still very much used to this day. Bob Guy was an illustrator, printmaker (a specialist in woodcut) and musician - a real talent lost. John Vidal was not only a brilliant journalist in the major league but also, closer to home, our gallery director for eight years. Like his brother, gallery founder Peter Vidal, John's passion for community and Oswestry was fierce. I hope to continue their legacy, and am ever grateful for their belief in me to manage the Willow.
We wish all our friends, supporters and makers the very best for the festive season and a happy new year.
Anthony Smith
Director/Curator
The Willow Gallery
December 2023 | | Borderland Visual Arts Winter Collection & Cheshire Artists' Network
Until Sunday 24 December
Browse and buy some of the best local art, all in one place
 | | UPCOMING
NEW YEAR OPEN EXHIBITION 2024
Saturday 13 January to Saturday 2 March
An open exhibition across all media and subjects | | | | A WAY OF SEEING WITH REG TURRELL FIERCE PROTECTOR  This winter, I have been intrigued by the duality of holly trees. Their fierce spines protect the leaves from animals, but the bright red berries attract birds in the winter.
I like the idea of holly as a traditional Christmas theme, but wanted to do a more modern interpretation. I emphasised the spikiness of the leaves and hinted at spines in the background with freely-drawn lines. I used colours and textures that were aggressive to portray the protective role the spiny leaves play. In contrast, the red berries were painted in a more realistic manner. Their colour and juicy roundness are attractive and inviting.
Once I had finished the painting, I started remembering the thistle images by Graham Sutherland and how he depicted their spikiness. His images must have been lurking at the back of my mind all the time I was painting! | | |  Gifts for Christmas at the Willow In our shop, browse our wide selection of Christmas cards and gifts, featuring art and artists of every kind
RIGHT: Glass art by Siân Hughes
| | | Seasonal cards from original hand-drawn black ink dot drawings by Machynlleth-based Myfanwy Brewster | | | Baltic amber in shades of light yellow to cognac mounted in sterling silver | | | Teardrop bags in wool felt by Leicestershire-based felt-maker Karen Stewart | | | Hanging ceramic bells made by Cardiff-based Sandro Provini. Each brightly-glazed bell is different and, with a string for hanging, would make a wonderful Christmas gift. | | CREATIVE WORKSHOPS AT THE WILLOW  Learn a new skill or polish old ones. Classes take place in small groups with experienced and talented artisit- tutors. Please see our website for details of upcoming workshops. | | | BOOK LAUNCH The gallery was delighted to host the launch of local author RJ (Ron) Turner's latest novel (his fourth) The Stolen Valley, inspired by the beautiful landscapes of North Wales and the construction, in 1889, of the Vyrnwy Dam. This was a convivial and well-attended event. There was an array of tasty nibbles, readings from the book, and Ron also gave a very interesting talk about the creation of Lake Vyrnwy for drinking water for Liverpool and how he brought life to his characters.
Ron is among a number of authors whose books are published by Leaf by Leaf Press in Oswestry. 
Ron Turner (far right), along with fellow authors (left to right) Trixie Roberts, John Heap, Vicky Turrell and Bernard Pearson Copies of Stolen Valley are in stock at the Willow Gallery and are also available from Amazon. | | | | A full house for Meibion Jacob at the Willow this December, bringing live music back to the gallery | | | Other Events & Information | |  WILD ABOUT WINTER
Join the Wildlife Trusts for 12 Days Wild and do one wild thing a day
from 25 December to 5 January Why not fill those quiet days between Christmas and New Year with little wild acts that could help nature - like recycling your Christmas wrapping paper or feeding the birds. Or find ways to connect to the natural world - like taking in the wonders of the winter night sky or photographing sparkling frost on a crisp morning walk.
| | | | John Moores Painting Prize 2023 Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
The UK's longest-running painting competition
Until 25 February 2024
Graham Crowley has been announced as this year's winner with his work Light Industry, a painting inspired by a visit to a motorcycle dealership. | | | | ROS HORNBUCKLE Ymyl Y Dwr - Water's Edge
Tapestry Weaving
Until 25 February 2024
Oriel Ynys Môn, Llangefni, Anglesey
Tuesday-Sunday ? 10am-5pm
Admission Free 
'Water's Edge', an exhibition of more than 40 woven tapestries, is about rocks, water and sky. Ros explores the textures, colours and light found at the edge of water - mountains, sunsets, water splashing over rocks and into pools, and reflections.
| | Jesse Darling wins the 2023 Turner Prize The Berlin-based artist uses motifs of the British state to conjure a dystopian
end-of--the-world environment. He is known for working with unconventional materials, including metal barriers, hazard tape, office files and net curtains. The Turner Prize Board praised his work as conveying a 'familiar yet delirious world' that 'unsettles perceived notions of labour, class, Britishness and power'. | | Sunak cancels Greek PM meeting
in Parthenon Sculptures row
 For over 40 years, the Greek government has been pushing for the repatriation of the classical marble friezes, created over 2500 years ago to adorn the Parthenon - the temple of the goddess Athena on the Acropolis of Athens. Then in the early 19th century, the 7th Earl of Elgin authorised the removal of the sculptures (using untrained labour and crowbars) and their transport nearly 2000 miles away to Britain. He claimed he had been legally allowed to do so by the then Ottoman rulers of Greece, but there appears to be no surviving documents to support this claim. The sculptures were subsequently sold to the British government and then deposited in the British Museum, where they became amongst its prize exhibits.
The British Museum has always maintained that the carvings were safest in London. That argument was undercut as far back as the 1930s when they were damaged in a cleaning scandal that was covered up until 1999. The honey-coloured stones had been scraped and scrubbed with wire brushes, copper chisels and harsh cleaning materials to look more white, destroying details and the ancient patina.
In December last year, it emerged that British Museum chair George Osborne had been engaged in 'constructive talks' regarding the transfer of the artefacts - one idea floated being that they return to Athens on long-term loan in exchange for other ancient treasures not previously seen in the UK. At the same time, 3D imaging could be employed to create perfect copies of the sculptures, and these would stay in London.
For many years, further opposition to relinquishing the sculptures was Greece's lack of a suitable location for their display. If the marbles were now to return to Athens, they would be housed in the spectacular, state-of-the-art Acropolis Museum at the foot of the ancient citadel. It is now ranked as one of the best museums in the world. The original Caryatids have been housed there along with other classical treasures, now safe from the effects of air pollution.
Now relations between Britain and Greece are strained once again over the return of the friezes. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was due to meet Rishi Sunak in London on November 28, but No 10 cancelled the meeting at the last minute. Mitsotakis reportedly declined a UK offer to meet Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden instead. There followed some fiery exchanges in the Commons.
Mr Mitsotakis told reporters he was deeply disappointed by the abrupt cancellation of the meeting. He said he had hoped to have had the opportunity to discuss Greece's position with his British counterpart, and accused Mr Sunak of sidestepping the issue. He added: 'Those who believe in the rightness and validity of their positions are never afraid to confront the arguments.'
Polls suggest that Sunak's refusal to contemplate the sculptures' return to Athens is in opposition to the views of many British people. Mitsotakis meanwhile has Greece squarely behind him – and perhaps now really is the time for the UK to think again about the right place for some of the finest Ancient Greek sculptures ever made. | | | | Gaza artist killed Heba Zagout is one of an unknown number of artists, writers and musicians - part of Gaza's once thriving arts scene - among nearly 20,000 deaths in the coastal strip since the war between Israel and Hamas began on 7 October. Heba was killed with two of her children in an Israeli airstrike. Her husband and two other children survived. She was 39. Many of her paintings were destroyed in the explosions. 
In this self-portrait, Heba can be seen dressed in a black thobe with tatreez embroidery, standing in front of a colourful village scene
Heba was born in the Al Bureij refugee camp in Gaza, and went on to study fine art at Gaza's Al-Aqsa University. Her art was very inclusive. She painted scenes of Jerusalem's Old City, Al-Aqsa Mosque - the third-holiest site in Islam - and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, precious to Christians. She also pained traditional villages, brightly-coloured landscapes and many images of women in traditional thobes, some holding a dove, a key or an oud - symbolising respectively peace, the return to home, and ancient culture. 
Jerusalem's Old City and the Dome of the Rock
Heba participated in many exhibitions and was known globally for her powerful and vibrant artworks. She also taught art to primary school children in Gaza.  Woman oud player and woman holding a dove
| |  A not-for-profit community-oriented art space hosting around six exhibitions per year alongside workshops and other events 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
December 2023 / January 2024 | | |
WILLOW GALLERY Oswestry 
