Commissions update

Commissions are regularly being discussed, explored and developed through commission4mission. We currently have two which are rapidly approaching completion.

St John's Seven Kings have commissioned two mosaics as part of the development of their community garden. These were envisaged as bold, bright works to catch the eye of passers by and draw them into the green space of the garden. Viki Isherwood Metzler has re-created her Graffiti Love design for display on the East wall of the church, while Sergiy Shkanov is currently adding a mosaic to the Trinity sculpture in the remembrance area of the garden. This design of circular and triangular lines connecting three granite shapes is intended to symbolise the constant exchange and interconnections within the Godhead. The church hope to have both works installed for their Patronal Festival this Sunday when they can be dedicated by the Bishop of Barking.

A faculty has been obtained for a second set of windows to be etched by Richard Paton to designs by Henry Shelton for a screen at All Saints Hutton. On this occasion, Henry Shelton's designs are of the four evangelists. The new windows will be located opposite those of the original commission.

Other commissions currently being designed and developed include a holy water stoup by Mark Lewis and an altar frontal by Anne Creasey. Additionally through the art workshop, which was held at St Paul's Harlow and led by Robert Enoch and Dr Philip Jenson during our recent Study Day, we have developed a design for a temporary freize at St Paul's which will tell the big story of the Bible.   

Run With The Fire

Run with the Fire  - a tremendous opportunity to reach out to your community by engaging with the 2012 Olympics.

Order your RWTF pack now!

• Includes a DVD of 25 new artworks from international Christian artists, with information about the works
• An event support pack, written by Christian artists and event organisers, covering over 20 different themes, to help you plan and run your community arts event
• Phone or e-mail advice and support

All the artwork is in from our 25 international artists, who have created a new piece of artwork specifically for the Run with the Fire project.

This project is unique in that every participant has started their artistic journey from an idea or vision statement provided by another artist. This has created a sense of community and energy which comes through clearly in the finished pieces. Different artists, different media, different nationalities but one common purpose– to glorify God through their work.

CANA, commission4mission and Veritasse are delighted to announce the names of participating artists:

Ally Clarke, England

Andrew Taylor, England

Michelle Mattingly, USA

Bobbette Rose, USA

Christine Garwood, Wales

Dietske van Winkelhoff, Netherlands

Erland Sibuea, Indonesia

Glenn Lowcock, England

Jen Smith, Wales

Hyun-Young Kim, South Korea

Jae Im Kim, South Korea

Kirsten Borror, USA

Jenny Hawke, England

Heather Distant Taiwo, USA

Karen Burnett, England

Nickolay Steffanov, Bulgaria

Kim Daus Edwards, USA

Diane Fairfield, USA

Michelle Arnold Paine, USA

Miriam Cabello, Australia

Rick Delanty, USA

Seong-Kyoo Jeon, South Korea

Titia Ballot, South Africa

Whojeong Lee, South Korea (Residing in USA)

Sue Newham (Wales)

To order a Run with the Fire pack, e-mail Jonathan Evens at jonathan.evens@btinternet.com or phone 020 8599 2170.

Any profit made after publicity and production costs have been met will be donated to Oxfam.

Current hang @ All Saints West Ham

The latest hang of work by c4m artists in our exhibition space at All Saints West Ham features work by Harvey Bradley, Colin Burns, Elizabeth Duncan Meyer, Jonathan Evens, Mark Lewis, Caroline Richardson, Henry Shelton and Joy Rousell Stone. The works can be viewed during church opening hours - click here for details.

The value of public art

The value of public art was under discussion yesterday at St Paul's Harlow with delegates to a commission4mission study day touring the Gibberd Gallery and Harlow Town Centre sculptures as examples of good practice in public planning.

Those attending the study day, organised by commission4mission and supported by both Art and Christianity Enquiry and the Harlow Art Trust, heard from the Rt Revd David Hawkins, Bishop of Barking, and Benedict Read, Trustee of the Harlow Art Trust and Deputy Chairman of the Public Monuments and Sculpture Association.

Bishop David argued that our towns and cities are increasingly dominated by multi-national brands and images that overtake communities visually and commercially. Within this context, "Public art helps to create the identity of a place by providing a rallying point around which people can be formed, as well as providing an opportunity to look beyond the humdrum in order to live better lives with more inspiration."

In his presentation, Benedict Read summarised the history of public art in the West in order to set in context the outstanding collection of public art in Harlow: "In their context, Harlow's commissions placed an emphasis on restoring the social fabric. Sir Frederick Gibberd saw public sculpture as a sign of civilisation and much public art is about exploring what should be valued in society."

Delegates visited the Gibberd Gallery to see the current John Mills retrospective and the Frederick Gibberd Collection of British watercolours and drawings before taking a tour of the Town Centre sculptures. An art workshop for members of St Paul's Harlow was led by Dr Philip Jenson of Ridley Hall and commission4mission artist, Robert Enoch. The workshop was used to plan a freize for St Paul's Harlow telling the big story of the Bible to which the congregation and the wider community will be able to contribute in future. The day ended with a cream tea at St Mary's Little Parndon.

St Paul's Harlow is a key part of the artistic heritage of Harlow being a modernist church designed by Humphrys and Hurst which includes an impressive mosaic by John Piper, on the theme of the Emmaus Road. St Paul's is also, as a result, one of the churches which features in the Art Trail for the Barking Episcopal Area. Recognising the significance of the Arts to Harlow and wanting to contribute to the understanding and development of public art in the Town Centre were two of the reasons why St Paul's Harlow chose to host this study day and involve commission4mission in exploring new possibilities for artwork in the church building. A photographic display, which can still be seen at the church, had also been commissioned to show hidden aspects and unusual perspectives of the church building as part of stimulating thought and encouraging fresh thinking. 

For more on the presentations at this study day click here and here.

78th National Society Exhibition

c4m members Peter Webb and Michael Creasey are currently exhibiting in the 78th Annual Exhibition by the National Society of Painters, Sculptors and Printmakers.

Dates 14th - 24th September [closed Sunday 18th | closes 4pm Saturday 24th] Times 11am - 6pm | open late thursdays & fridays until 8pm. Location The Menier Gallery Ground Floor Menier Chocolate Factory 51 Southwark Street LONDON SE1 1RU

The National Society was formed in 1930 to meet a growing desire among artists for an annual exhibition in London which would embrace all aspects of art under one roof, without prejudice or favour to anyone.

This legacy has continued as a guide and inspiration to creative artists ever since. The freedom to experiment and explore new media or techniques has created a society that is totally professional while allowing individual artists to realise their full potential.

Members [to name only a few] who have gained worldwide fame include:

• Mark Gertler • Jack B Yeates • L S Lowry • David Bomberg • W Russell Flint • Henry Moore • Bernard Meninsky • William Nicholson • Graham Sutherland • C R W Nevinson • Frank Dobson • Bernard Adams

Some of the above artists' highly acclaimed works were first shown in the National Society's Annual Exhibition, and current members now exhibiting may well gain similar recognition in future years.

The National Society is, therefore, a society that offers a challenge to all creative artists of the highest ability from any school of thought. By its very nature it strives to communicate with the widest possible audience, to excite, interest and involve the public by showing a broad spectrum of contemporary and innovative painting, sculpture and printmaking. Among the wide range of work included in the exhibition, I was particularly struck by the work of Minne Fry and Norma Silverton.

Art competitions - 'Drawing the Culture' and 'Images of Hope'

The Tokarska Gallery, run by c4m member Nadiya Pavliv-Tokarska, is delighted to announce the winners of their “Drawing The Culture” Annual Competition: Nathan John–Baptiste - First Prize; Kathryn O’Sullivan - First Prize; Sofia Shann - Second Prize; and Steven Peralta - Third Prize. The competition was judged by c4m member, Mark Lewis. The Award Ceremony will be on 14 September, 6pm - 8pm and the drawings will be on display at the Tokarska Gallery from 15 – 22 September.

St John's Seven Kings, where c4m member Jonathan Evens is Vicar, is currently running an Art Competition for Bible Year 2011 called 'Images of Hope' which challenges local schools, churches and the wider community to illustrate their Bible story of hope. This competition, based on materials from the Bible Society, invites people to illustrate a Bible story of hope and brings communities together as they think about hope and its meaning. The closing date is 23rd September and the competition is open to children and young people in the following categories: Under 7s; 7-11s; 11-19. All entries to the competition will be exhibited at St John's Seven Kings on Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd October, their Patronal Festival, with a prizegiving ceremony held on 1st September at 2.30pm. c4m artist, Henry Shelton, is among the judges of this competition.

c4m, churches and the E17 Art Trail

c4m Associate, Rev. Steven Saxby has overseen the involvement of St Barnabas Walthamstow and St Saviour's Walthamstow in this year's E17 Art Trail. Among the artists exhibiting at St Saviour's is Henry Shelton whose Stations of the Cross, previously exhibited at York Minister and St Barnabas, can be seen at St Saviour's this weekend as part of the Art Trail, and subsequently at the usual church opening hours.

Three c4m members - Valerie Dean, Rosalind Hore and Henry Shelton - have completed series of Stations of the Cross and would be interested to discuss the possibility of these being located in local churches. To discuss this possibilty further and to see images from each series, please contact tel: 020 8599 2170 or email: jonathan.evens@btinternet.com.

Work being shown at St Barnabas this year includes banners, cartoons, flower arrangements, jewellery, photograms, photographs, silver. Artists include: Rebecca de Quin, Lorraine Huddle, Lano, Louise Loder, Anna Newson-Lyons, Sean Pines, J.A. Saxby, Kirsten Schmidt, Sandra Shevlin, Simplystems, Paul Tucker.

St Saviour's is also showing paintings by Elizabeth Pell and soft sculptures by Harriet Hammel. For the last 20 years Elizabeth Pell has been an art tutor in Adult Education. There is also a display of work by Jonathan Carthy, Kofi Serebour, Susan Collins and Alyson Scott who are members of a class which she currently teaches at Scope.

Current commission4mission exhibition

The latest commission4mission exhibition includes work by Harvey Bradley, Colin Burns, Jonathan Evens, Mark Lewis, Elizabeth Duncan Meyer, Caroline Richardson, Henry Shelton and Joy Rousell Stone and is being held at St Mary Magdalen Billericay until 18th September (10.00am - 5.00pm) as part of the A127 Art Trail. The exhibition also a number of exciting sculptural works by Vin Harrop, founder of the Basildon Arts Trust and Heritage Director in Basildon.