Dear Blogger
Message from Willow Gallery, Oswestry
Borderland Visual Arts Open Studios - this weekend and next
| UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS Exhibition by members of the
Shropshire Guild of Contemporary Craft
29 June-17 August
Showcasing a wide variety of craft disciplines
 Stitched Boundaries
29 June-17 August
A new collection by textile artists Alison Holt & Suzette Smart
 | | | A WAY OF SEEING WITH REG TURRELL PAEONIA AND THE BEE
 I had intended to paint the Tree Paeonia in watercolour, but quickly realised how complicated was the arrangement of the petals. I therefore decided to start by using layers of tissue, and found the subtle blends of yellow and wrinkles achieved the delicacy of the petals. Wool soaked in Indian yellow ink was glued down in the centre to depict the stamens, and on the end of each stamen I put a blob of gold to indicate pollen. This ended up as a collage - not what I had first intended!
I was pleased with the 3D effect (not obvious in the photo). I did notice a large bumblebee on one of the flowers, so I put one in the centre of the collage. | | | | UPCOMING WORKSHOPS AT THE WILLOW See your world in new ways through art Whether you're a beginner, want to refresh your skills or to advance your knowledge, we offer many different kinds of art and craft workshops - and are always adding new ones. Places are limited to a maximum of 10, with plenty of opportunities for individual support and advice. Full details on our website.
Learn batik art with Susan Mulcock
| | RECENT SALES AT THE WILLOW  | | | Other Local Events & Information | |  Back on Saturday 8 June from 12-3pm at Llanfyllin Public Institute where skilled volunteers will help fix your broken items in an eco-friendly way.
Please book your item in beforehand at osbordersrepaircafe@gmail.com so organiser Elaine knows which experts to invite and what tools they need to bring. | | | | West Midlands architecture award
for 'grandparent' of skyscrapers
Shrewsbury's Flaxmill Maltings, built in 1797, has landed the accolade of West Midlands Building of the Year in the Royal Institute of British Architect (RIBA)'s annual awards. Reflecting a time when Shropshire led the way in engineering, the five-storey mill was the world's first iron-framed structure and a forerunner of modern skyscrapers. The building will now be considered for a highly-coveted RIBA National Award, to be announced in July. The Flaxmill is also known as the Maltings from its later use
| | | Tate Britain acquires first painting
by pioneering English female artist
For more than a century Louise Jopling (1843-1933) was dismissed by the art establishment as an amateur, her huge body of work and professional career overlooked by successive curators of the national collection.
Now Tate Britain is hoping to fix that with its first acquisition of a painting by Jopling, a self-portrait she made while pregnant with her son, Lindsay, in 1875. The three-quarter-length Through the Looking Glass depicts the artist painting herself from a refection behind an oriental screen. It is being shown alongside two of her other paintings in the gallery's new exhibition exploring female artists in British history.  Through the Looking Glass by Louise Jopling, 1875, acquired by the Tate
Born in Manchester, Louise Jopling studied art in Paris under the romantic portrait and landscape painter Charles Chaplin from 1867-68. She went on to develop a lengthy professional career as an artist, and painted portraits, interiors and landscapes to considerable critical acclaim. Ellen Terry and Lillie Langtry - Britain's most famous actresses of the time - posed for portraits.
>From the late 1860s, she exhibited at the Royal Academy and the Paris Salon. Major patrons included the de Rothschild banking family as well as aristocratic families such as Sir Coutts and Lady Lindsay, founders of the Grosvenor Gallery. She  moved in social circles including Oscar Wilde and associated with artists such as James McNeil Whistler and John Everett Millais, both of whom painted major portraits of her. She was also much photographed - in her studio, teaching students at her art school and as a fashionable woman about town. She was a long-term suporter of the Suffragettes. | | | | POMPEII
Dazzling new frescos uncovered after 2000 years
A banqueting room replete with well-preserved frescoes depicting characters inspired by the Trojan War has been unearthed among the ruins of Pompeii. The city was famously destroyed in AD79 by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, but excavations are still yielding ancient discoveries - and experts say the newly-discovered frescoes are among the finest ever to emerge at the renowned archeological site. One of the newly-discovered artworks depicts [ABOVE] Paris, Prince of Troy, meeting Helen for the first time. According to legend, the resulting elopement between the two sparked the Trojan War of the 12th century BC. Another fresco in the room [BELOW] depicts the naked Greek god Apollo trying to seduce the priestess Cassandra.
 | | |  A vibrant, not-for-profit art space packed full of contemporary artwork 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
June 2024 | | | | | |
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