Dear Blogger
Message from Willow Gallery, Oswestry
Lots to see and buy – including wood craft, ceramics, textiles, fashion accessories, glass art, festive gifts and decorations; also books by local authors
Free event – All welcome
The gallery is also open as usual,
along with our shop and café | | Winter Exhibitions Until Wednesday 24 December
Borderland Visual Arts Winter Collection
Borderland Visual Arts provide a network for practicing artists living in and around Oswestry. Members meet on a regular basis to share ideas, support each other and organise events.
Cheshire Artists' Network
Cheshire Artists' Network is a thriving artists' collective with members from all corners of Cheshire who work independently across multiple disciplines and come together to exhibit.
| | A Way of Seeing with Reg Turrell
CURTAIN CALL
The autumn colours have been so intense this year that I have often thought the trees have been on fire!
To capture this impression in this painting, I used broad washes of watercolour for the leaves. To create more intensity, I used FW acrylic, Flame Orange and Process Yellow. Tree trunks and roots were drawn with acrylic Prussian Blue and granulation medium that allowed the ink to trickle down and create shadows. Twigs and fence were drawn in with a brown Inktense pencil.
This autumn, I have also noticed large flocks of jackdaws - with always one struggler trying to keep up. I included this bird to give more interest to the painting.
| | | | Upcoming Exhibitions
New Year Open 2026
Saturday 10 January to Saturday 28 February
High-quality contemporary art from emerging and established artists from the local area
Spring 2026 Open Exhibition
Saturday 7 March to Saturday 25 April
Featuring Ped4ir Môn Photography Collective | | | Art & Craft Workshops We offer a diverse range of artist-led workshops that allow you to develop your creative practice or just enjoy an absorbing day out. Classes consist of small groups, ensuring that everyone receives plenty of individual attention and guidance. We are now scheduling workshops into 2026. Please see details on our website. At David Bannister's recent Landscape in Charcoal Workshop, students used willow and compressed charcoal to explore texture and mark-making to create their own landscapes - with great results. | | | Other local events and information
Warm Spaces 2025 Shropshire Libraries are again offering a Warm Welcome this winter for those for whom the cold months bring hardship. If your home is chilly, if you need support or just fancy a change of scene, come to your local library, sit and read, chat with friends, work, study and explore all that libraries have to offer. You may stay all day and there is no charge.
For more information to support you this winter, visit A Warm Welcome in Shropshire | Shropshire Council | | National Day of Remembrance
Sunday 9 November
Oswestry residents are invited to come together for the town's annual Remembrance Day Service and Parade. As per tradition, the Parade will assemble at Bailey Head at 10.30am. Porthywaen Silver Band will lead the procession to the town park's Memorial Gates where a Remembrance Service will be followed by two minutes' silence before wreaths are laid. The Parade will then return to the Guildhall for a short dismissal ceremony.
Born in Oswestry on 18 March 1893, Wilfred Owen was a poet who wrote about the brutal reality of war and the sadness of lives lost from his own frontline experience serving in the British Army during World War One. This was considered unpatriotic at the time. He was killed in action on 4 November 1918 - just a week before the Armistice was declared. He was 25 when he died. He was awarded the Military Cross (posthumously) for his leadership and bravery. | | | Oswestry & Borders Repair Café Bin it? No way! Oswestry Memorial Hall
Saturday 8 November, 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.
You can also bring your repairs to the Midweek Mend sessions at the Climate Action Hub in Oswestry's Bailey Street (Wednesdays 11am-2pm).
| |  This major exhibition marks 250 years since the birth of JMW Turner, exploring both the artist's own work and his enduring impact on later generations of artists. The exhibition includes National Museums Liverpool's collection of Turner's oil paintings, works on paper and prints, alongside modern and contemporary artworks that delve into themes of travel, landscape, and artistic experimentation. A number of important and influential loaned works also feature. | | | | Swifties flock to see German museum's
Ophelia painting A museum in the central German city of Wiesbaden has been unexpectedly overrun by Taylor Swift fans flocking to admire Friedrich Heyser's Art Nouveau depiction of Shakespeare's Ophelia. Heyser's oil-on-canvas painting, dating back to around 1900, bears a striking resemblance to the opening scene of the star's new music video The Fate Of Ophelia, the lead single of her blockbuster new album The Life of a Showgirl. TOP: Detail from Friedrich Heyser's Ophelia, on display at Wiesbaden State Museum BOTTOM: In the video, Swift's white dress and pose, along with the water lilies and background, all mimic Heyser's work 'We are having an absolute Ophelia run at the moment and are quite surprised and happy about it,' says museum spokesperson Susanne Hirschmann. 'We're really enjoying this attention - it's a lot of fun.' Many visitors, she says - 'a lot more teens than we usually see!' - are posing for photos in front of the painting, showcasing a rare crossover between pop culture and classical art. 'We are surprised and delighted that Taylor Swift used this painting from the museum as inspiration for her video,' said museum director Andreas Henning. 'And it's a great opportunity to bring people to the museum who don't know us yet, and also just to talk about art.'  Initially it was thought that Swift may have found her muse in the eerie 1852 work by Pre-Raphaelite John Everett Millais on display at London's Tate Britain. Swift's flowing white gown and ethereal, dreamlike pose however point much more to Heyser's lesser-known version as the likely source.
| |  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
November 2025 | | | | | |
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WILLOW GALLERY Oswestry 
