Dear Blogger
Message from Willow Gallery, Oswestry
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Season's Greetings from the Willow
The gallery will close Christmas Eve at 4pm
Our café will close Friday 21 December at 3.30pm
Gallery & café will re-open
Tuesday 14 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 year. It has to be said that it has been a difficult year for many businesses trying to balance their books, with the arts industry taking a sizeable part of the brunt of the financial instability across the nation. In addition, small makers have had numerous new legislation hoops to jump through, and it's more vital than ever to support independent artists and craft-makers.
Even with these pressures, we've had a great year at the gallery, with strong footfall and support. In summer, we hosted the Borderland Visual Arts Open Studios, welcoming visitors from across the country, followed by a very successful Shropshire Guild of Contemporary Craft exhibition - as well as welcoming new creatives across our exhibitions. In an uncertain world, the ability to create, exchange ideas and challenge ourselves is more important than ever, and I'm proud to work with such inspiring people to create a unique space to appreciate art and craft.
We've also had a great year of workshops with several new tutors and many new as well as returning students. I hope you will have a look on our website at the range of creative classes we are lining up for next year.
The gallery is a fantastic place for young people to learn about artistic styles, movements and artists, and we continue to welcome visits from school groups and also to offer work experience to older students with an interest in pursuing a career in the arts and heritage sector. 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 gallery assistant Alison Head and Hilary Moorcroft for her editorial support. Special thanks to our regular newsletter contributor Reg Turrell 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 tasty food. We wish all our friends supporters and makers the very best for the festive season, and a happy and peaceful new year.
Anthony Smith
Curator
The Willow Gallery
December 2024 Painting by Reg Turrell | | | Borderland Visual Arts Winter Collection & Cheshire Artists' Network Until Tuesday 24 December
Browse and buy some of the best local art,
all in one place
 | | | THANK YOU ? DIOLCH YN FAWR We are most grateful to everyone who came along and supported our November Craft Fair. Also, a big thank you to our fabulous makers: it was great to see such beautiful displays, and we hope you were all pleased with your sales.
 
Left to right: Local authors Vicky Turrell, Bernard Pearson and Ron Turner, members of Leaf by Leaf Press. Reports Vicky: 'We had a wonderful time at the Willow Craft Fair: there were so many interesting stalls and lots of people. We had record sales for Leaf by Leaf Press.'
| | A WAY OF SEEING WITH REG TURRELL
PATTERNS IN TIME
 Abandoned farm buildings have always appealed to me because of the changes they go through over time. The regular pattern of roof tiles is interrupted when some tiles slip or slide off the roof, leaving an array of gaps. Diagonal rafters poke through the spaces. Shiny metal and corrugated sheets are randomly placed. Stone walls lose their carefully-placed positions over time. Gate posts lean and farm gates fall. Vegetation grows in the gutters and sprouts between the stones, creating a pattern of colours and shapes.
To show changes in time, I used acrylic inks and granulation medium to create staining on old walls. Iridescent medium was used to indicate shiny metal. To emphasize some patterns, I did some overdrawing with a black pen and scratching with a sharp blade.
| | | | ART & CRAFT WORKSHOPS
WITH EXPERT TUITION
We host creative workshops structured for beginners to get started as well as for those with more advanced skills. Places are limited to a maximum of 10, allowing plenty of time for individual support and advice. Our workshop programme for the first part of 2025 is currently being finalised – so please keep an eye on our website for details. Left: Waterfall Felting with Susan Mulcock Right: Summer Roses Hand-Embroidery with Rachel Davies | | Christmas shopping at the Gallery See our selection of gifts and seasonal decorations
 Also check out our Christmas cards
 | | Upcoming at the Gallery New Year Open Exhibition 2025
Opening Tuesday 14 January | | | | Art World New Keats statue
A new sculpture of Romantic poet John Keats has been unveiled near his birthplace in London's Moorgate. The work of British artist Martin Jennings, the sculpture is a bronze cast of an enlarged life mask of Keats that was made when he was 21 (he died of consumption four years later in 1821).
Patination of the bronze
at Pangolin Editions Foundry
Photograph: Steve Russell Studios
A plaster cast of the life mask is owned by Keats House in Hampstead, and it was scanned and digitally enlarged as the basis for the sculpture which is mounted on a stone plinth. The plinth in turn is set in a circular slate base inscribed with some words from Keats' Ode on Indolence.
 The statue was funded by former City of London Corporation Alderman Bob Hall who has donated it to the City of London Corporation. Mr Hall has previously funded a statue of poet John Donne (the work of Nigel Boonham) that sits outside St Paul's Cathedral.
Keats was the son of an ostler at an inn and livery stable called The Swan and Hoop that stood not far from modern-day Moorgate Station.
The new sculpture of John Keats with Lord Mayor of the City of London Michael Mainelli
Courtesy of the City of London Corporation | | | Notre Dame rebuilt
Notre Dame Cathedral reopened on 7 December 2024, welcoming visitors for the first time since the 2019 fire. The restoration was a massive undertaking involving approximately 2,000 craftspeople, 250 companies, and over £700 million, demonstrating the immense scale and complexity of the work on a tight deadline. Despite the major milestone of opening before the end of the year, the restoration works are not yet complete, and they are scheduled to continue through 2026. Photograph: Stépane de Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images | | |  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
December 2024 | | | | | |
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WILLOW GALLERY Oswestry 
