commission4mission's Greenbelt market stall

Many thanks to everyone who contributed at short notice to our market stall at this year's Greenbelt Festival, in particular Barbara and Harvey Bradley and Jonathan Evens who staffed the stall for us. As well as sales of work and general publicity, the stall also generated new contacts and useful conversations about aspects of our work.

We showed a selection of original work from Hayley Bowen, Harvey Bradley, Ally Clarke, Elizabeth Duncan Meyer, Jonathan Evens, Mark Lewis, Caroline Richardson, Joy Rousell Stone, Henry Shelton and Peter Webb. This included cards, jewellery, meditations, notebooks, prints and t-shirts produced by our artists for sale, as well as information about our work on commissions, exhibitions, events and publications.

commission4mission's Greenbelt market stall

commission4mission's market stall at this year's Greenbelt Festival has been organised for us by Harvey Bradley, who will be showing ceramics and paintings at the stall.

Harvey's work will be supplemented by a selection of original work from Hayley Bowen, Ally Clarke, Elizabeth Duncan Meyer, Jonathan Evens, Mark Lewis, Caroline Richardson, Joy Rousell Stone, Henry Shelton and Peter Webb.

Additionally, we will have cards, jewellery, meditations, notebooks and t-shirts produced by our artists for sale, as well as information about our work on commissions, events, exhibitions and publications.

Please do come to see us if you will be at Greenbelt this year.

Annual Report 2012-13

Incarnation exhibition at Wimbledon Library Gallery

In 2012/13 commission4mission has made a significant contribution to the mission of the Church during the Olympic and Paralympic periods through our involvement in the ‘Run with the Fire’ project. We have also held a launch event in South London, exhibited at venues across London and collaborated with a wide range of visual and performing artists. Our committee has also prepared plans for commission4mission to have a greater online presence from 2013 onwards.

During 2012/13 commission4mission has:

• completed our ninth commission, heads of Christ and Mary Magdalene as painted wooden reliefs, by Peter Webb for Dagenham Park Church of England School;
• exhibited at All Saints West Ham, the Strand Gallery as part of the Pentecost Festival, All Saints Woodford Wells as part of the Barking Episcopal Area Arts Festival and at Wimbledon Library Gallery for a Christmas show entitled ‘Incarnation’ curated by Wendy McTernan;
• contributed to Run with the Fire, in partnership with CANA and Veritasse, which saw events run using the digital exhibition in Aldersbrook, California, Devonport, Harlow, Leicester, London, Sacramento, Streatham and Woodford;

Steve Scott performing at the Run with the Fire exhibition’s launch night

• organised art talks (by Jonathan Evens, Mark Lewis, Glenn Lowcock and Steve Scott), an art demonstration by Harvey Bradley, a Big Draw workshop led by Mark Lewis, Francesca Ross and Peter Webb, and performance evenings featuring Colin Burns, Tim Cunningham, Jonathan Evens, Jane Grell, Malcolm Guite, Alan Hitching, Jenny Houghton, Tamsin Kendrick and Steve Scott;
• published, through Seed Resources, a collection of images and meditations on the Passion of Christ by Jonathan Evens and Henry Shelton; 
• contributed articles by Jonathan Evens, Helen Gheorghui Gould and Steven Saxby to a special arts edition of franciscan magazine; 
• donated £668.46 to Safer Places, in support of their work with victims of domestic abuse, this being the charitable element from our third year of operation. 

We are very grateful to: all members for their support and involvement; all committee members (Harvey Bradley, Rev. Helen Gheorghiu Gould, Mark Lewis, Wendy McTernan, Henry Shelton and Peter Webb - Chair) for their direction and guidance; our Patron, Bishop David, for his ideas and interest; and Ranjit Solomon for his independent examination of our accounts.

Rev. Jonathan Evens, Secretary – June 2013

Passion collections: Downloads and use

There have been 365 downloads to date from The Seed of Henry Shelton and Jonathan Evens collections of Passion meditations and images, the most popular being The Passion pdf. Use has been made of these collections, often during Lent and Holy Week, at churches including Cafe Church Kingsley, Churches Together in Cleadon, St Gabriel's Aldersbrook, St John's Seven Kings and St Margaret's Barking.

Churches Together in Cleadon used The Passion meditations and images for their Good Friday walk. Lay Anglicana used a Mark of the Cross image for their post of intercessions for the Second Sunday of Easter. Rev. Steve Santry used Mark of the Cross at Cafe Church Kingsley and wrote that its "stunning artwork and thought provoking words will open up the events around Easter in a new and imaginative way."

Newsletter No. 15 – January 2013

Christmas Exhibition: Incarnation

Wendy McTernan curated and organised an excellent commission4mission exhibition entitled ‘Incarnation’ at Wimbledon Library Gallery in December 2012. commission4mission's South London launch took place at a well attended Private View. We were encouraged by the interest shown by all who came both in the conversations that took place and in the works that were sold.

Those who came appreciated the look and feel of the show, our invigilators had several valuable conversations with those who came, we also made a number of new contacts and gained new members. Midnight Church by Elizabeth Duncan Meyer and Transforming Power by Caroline Richardson were amongst several works which sold. 

Those exhibiting included Harvey Bradley, Colin Burns, Christopher Clack, Ally Clarke, Valerie Dean, Elizabeth Duncan-Meyer, Jonathan Evens, Ken James, Sarah Ollerenshaw, Caroline Richardson, Janet Roberts, Francesca Ross, Henry Shelton, Sergiy Shkanov, Joy Rousell Stone and Peter Webb.
 

franciscan: The Gospel in Art

Three commission4mission members have written articles on the arts for the latest edition of franciscan, which is published three times a year by the First Order brothers and sisters and includes articles on Franciscan themes, as well as book reviews and news of the Society (http://www.franciscans.org.uk/franciscan-january-2013). 

The three articles are:

• ‘Facets of faith: the gospel in modern and contemporary art’ by Jonathan Evens
• ‘Father Andrew the artist: Plaistow friar, who never lost his boyhood enthusiasm for all things artistic’ by Steven Saxby
• ‘Re-imagining the gospels’ by Helen Gheorghiu Gould

The article by Jonathan features the work of Ally Clarke, Caroline Richardson and Sergiy Shkanov while Helen's piece includes interviews with Henry Shelton and Peter Webb. 

To order a copy of the magazine contact the subscriptions secretary using franciscansubscriptions@franciscans.org.uk. 

The Seed 

The Seed (http://seedresources.com/) has an expanding collection of over 40,000 resources to download and use throughout the Church year including Digital Worship resources and inspirational articles. The Seed and seedresources.com is a collaboration between the Leaders of Worship and Preachers Trust and Twelvebaskets Ltd. 

Among the available resources are two by commission4mission artists, both of which raise funds for c4m. They are:

• Mark of the Cross which features 20 poetic meditations by Jonathan Evens on Christ’s journey to the cross and reactions to his resurrection and ascension complemented by a set of semi-abstract watercolours of the Stations of the Cross and the Resurrection created by Henry Shelton.
• The Passion: Reflections & Prayers: Pictures, poems and prayers by Henry Shelton and Jonathan Evens enabling us to follow Jesus on his journey to the cross reflecting both on the significance and the pain of that journey.

New publications

Christopher Clack and Jonathan Evens feature in a new Dutch book entitled Jezus voor ogen (Eyes on Jesus) with visual meditations and word & image Bible studies for Lent. The visual meditations included in the book have all featured previously on the ArtWay website (http://www.artway.eu/artway.php?lang=en) and include the meditation which Jonathan Evens wrote on Christopher Clack's Descent II.

Jonathan Evens' new book, The Secret Chord, is jointly authored with Peter Banks of After The Fire, and is an impassioned study of the role of music in cultural life written through the prism of Christian belief. A website for The Secret Chord (http://www.thesecretchord.co.uk/) has news, bios, additional links, comments and views. The Secret Chord is available in paperback as well as a Kindle book. 

Member Profile: Gillian Barritt

Gillian Barritt is a ceramics artist whose work is expressive and sculptural. Her work reflects her Christian faith as well as capturing a love of Cornwall where she lives and was born. Gillian incorporates words with clay pieces which include scripture and also poetry. She also has an interest in recycled media like sea china and glass.

The Seed: Mark of the Cross and The Passion

The Seed has hundreds of resources for you to download and use throughout the Church year. Digital Worship resources and inspirational articles are available to download and read online. You can choose free weekly resource downloads from an expanding collection of over 40,000, with the option of purchasing more.

The Seed and seedresources.com is a collaboration between the Leaders of Worship and Preachers Trust (LWPT) and Twelvebaskets Ltd.

Among the available resources are two by commission4mission artists, both of which raise funds for c4m. They are:

Mark of the Cross features 20 poetic meditations on Christ’s journey to the cross and reactions to his resurrection and ascension. These meditations focus on the mark of the cross in his life and body and were originally written by Jonathan Evens as part of a community arts project in Hertford. They are complemented by a set of semi-abstract watercolours of the Stations of the Cross and the Resurrection created by noted religious artist, Henry Shelton.

The Passion: Reflections & Prayers: These pictures, poems and prayers by Henry Shelton and Jonathan Evens enable us to follow Jesus on his journey to the cross reflecting both on the significance and the pain of that journey as we do so. Their aim in these reflections has been to pare down the images and words to their emotional and theological core. The mark making and imagery is minimal but they hope in a way that makes maximum impact.

Eyes on Jesus

Christopher Clack and Jonathan Evens feature in a new Dutch book entitled Jezus voor ogen (Eyes on Jesus) with visual meditations and word and image Bible studies for Lent. The visual meditations have all featured previously on the ArtWay website and include the meditation which Jonathan Evens wrote on Christopher Clack's Descent II.

Marleen Hengelaar-Rookmaaker, who edited the book, writes:

"For us this book is a milestone that marks what ArtWay has been given to accomplish in the past two years. The book will hopefully function as a springboard to a new and broader audience, so that the website and its resources will be used by even more people and churches. We hope that an English version will be published next year.

In Jezus voor ogen the focus is on Jesus. While working on the book it struck me that images of Jesus can start to function as ‘models’ to us. In the book I expressed this as follows:

‘Jesus hangs on the cross as the image of the ideal human being. This is how humans are meant to be: full of love, obedient to the Father, willing to serve and suffer, resisting temptations, putting others above oneself. If we are honest, this is not really our idea of an ultimate hero. For this very reason it is of such great importance to keep on feeding ourselves with this and other images of Jesus. For deep inside of us live all kinds of other ideal images that drive us and that we bow to time and again, because they are our idols. Our ideal picture of our successful self: the slim figure, the imposing house, the fat car, the ideal partner, the golden job, the huge happiness. Christian art can replace these with new ideal images that can help us to become people of unified character: people whose inside corresponds with their outside, whose deeds rhyme with their words – people for whom Jesus on the cross is a source of inspiration for who they want to become and be.’"

Member's update: Henry Shelton and Jonathan Evens

The Passion: Reflections and Prayers with images by Henry Shelton and words by Jonathan Evens is now available from The Seed as a pdf, powerpoint presentation and as individual images.

These pictures, poems and prayers enable us to follow Jesus on his journey to the cross reflecting both on the significance and the pain of that journey as we do so. With this series Henry and Jonathan have aimed to pare down the images and words to their emotional and theological core. The mark making and imagery is minimal but they hope in a way that makes maximum impact.

The Passion is the second series by Henry and Jonathan to be available through The Seed. The first, Mark of the Cross, was described by Steve Santry on Revster's Ramblings as "Stunning artwork and thought provoking words [which] open up the events around Easter in a new and imaginative way."

The Seed and seedresources.com is a collaboration between the Leaders of Worship and Preachers Trust (LWPT) and Twelvebaskets Ltd.

In 2010 Henry Shelton completed a commission for Stations of the Crown of Thorns at St Paul's Goodmayes. Parish priest Fr. Benjamin Rutt-Field wrote meditations for this set of Stations and has now published these together with photographs of Henry's Stations. Copies of this booklet can be obtained from Fr. Ben on b.ruttfield@btinternet.com.

In addition to Henry Shelton, other commission4mission members with completed sets of Stations of the Cross include Valerie Dean and Rosalind Hore. Valerie's Stations have a very clear and intense focus on details which are evocative of the whole, as can be seen from the photographs she has taken of the set which can be viewed here. Click here and here for photographs of exhibitions featuring Rosalind's Stations. Henry, Valerie and Rosalind are all keen to discuss ways of making these Stations available for any church that would be interested in having them. Contact Jonathan Evens on jonathan.evens@btinternet.com for more information. 

Newsletter No. 14 - November 2012

Completed commission: Wooden Reliefs

Peter Webb has recently completed our latest commission - two painted wooden reliefs for Dagenham Park Church of England School. The reliefs are heads of Christ and Mary Magdalene. This commission completes a circle for Peter as he first made wooden reliefs while an art teacher, as an aid in teaching Cubism to his pupils. The commission features as part of the brand new state-of-the-art school building with world class facilities into which the school has recently moved. This building, which was designed by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, has been nominated for a British Construction Industry Award 2012 in the category of Building of the Year.

Christmas exhibition: Incarnation

commission4mission will launch itself in south London with a Christmas Exhibition entitled “Incarnation” featuring 15 artists working in a variety of media. The exhibition will be in Wimbledon Library Gallery, 1st floor, Wimbledon Library, Wimbledon Hill Road, London SW19 7NB. Opening times are 4 - 8 December, 9.30am-7.00pm (2pm on Saturday) with access through the Library. You are warmly invited to the Private View and Launch on Monday 3 December from 6.30 - 9.30pm or a Second Private View on Tuesday 4 December from 6.30 - 9.30pm. On Monday and Tuesday evenings from 7pm, the Gallery can be reached via a side entrance in Compton Road.

Peter Webb, Alan Hitching and Henry Shelton at All Saint‟s Woodford Wells

Barking Arts Festival events

c4m organised two events in October for the Arts Festival of the Barking Episcopal Area, run in parallel this year with the Woodford Festival. Mark Lewis, Francesca Ross, Peter Webb and others provided advice and opportunities to try creating portraits through drawing, painting and printing as part of the Big Draw event at St Mary's Woodford.

We also held an exhibition in the newly opened Atrium of All Saints Woodford Wells which included the 'Run with the Fire' digital art exhibition plus work by Elizabeth Duncan Meyer, Jonathan Evens, Alan Hitching, Mark Lewis, Caroline Richardson, Janet Roberts, Francesca Ross, Henry Shelton, Joy Rousell Stone and Peter Webb.

Together with Kathryn Robinson, Performing Arts Adviser for the Barking Episcopal Area, Jonathan Evens also organised a poetry evening as part of the two Festivals. This Celebration of Poetry featured the poetry of c4m members Alan Hitching and Jonathan himself, as well as that of Tim Cunningham, Jane Grell, Malcolm Guite and Jennifer Houghton.

The Passion: Reflections & Prayers 

Henry Shelton and Jonathan Evens have recently published their second collection of images and meditations on the Passion of Christ to raise funds for c4m. This collection is available initially as a double-sided A3 sheet containing all 14 images, meditations and prayers. The pair have aimed to pare down the images and words to their emotional and theological core. The mark making and imagery is minimal but in a way that makes maximum impact. The A3 format is designed for ease of devotional use and can be ordered (£3.50 + p&p) from jonathan.evens@btinternet.com. Their first collection - Mark of the Cross - remains available as a download from 12baskets (http://www.twelvebaskets.co.uk/view/178/store/pdf/mark-of-the-cross-pdf).

Member Profile: Richard Paton 

Richard Paton is a stained glass artist with 20 years in the trade who started Rainbow Glass Studios, based in Stoke Newington, North London, in 2001. In that time Richard has had hundreds of commissions which have required different techniques and designs to fulfil the very diverse briefs. These range from corporate work to individual commissions from the rich and famous through to work in Churches.

Members' update: Jonathan Evens

Jonathan Evens' book The Secret Chord, jointly authored with Peter Banks of After The Fire, is now available in paperback as well as Kindle. The paperback is being sold directly from Lulu - click here for the link. 

The Secret Chord is an impassioned study of the role of music in cultural life written through the prism of Christian belief.

If you're a Kindle user, then the bumper bargain Kindle version at just £1.95 is available by clicking here. If you're not a Kindle user but would like the online version then click here to download free software to run the Kindle version.

The website for The Secret Chord is also up and running with news, bios, additional links, and room for your comments and views. Click here to access the website.

Jonathan's commission4mission publications featuring his meditations combined with paintings and drawings by Henry Shelton are Mark of the Cross and The Passion: reflections and prayers. These publications enable us to follow Jesus on his journey to the cross reflecting both on the significance and the pain of that journey as we do so.

Passion: pictures, poems and prayers

Jesus dies on the cross

The sun is eclipsed, early nightfall,

darkness covers the surface of the deep,

the Spirit grieves over the waters.

On the formless, empty earth, God is dead.

Through the death of all we hold most dear, may we find life. Amen.

Jonathan Evens and Henry Shelton have published a second set of images and meditations on the Passion narrative. 

Their first set entitled Mark of the Cross (available in booklet, presentation, and individual images formats) has proved a popular download from the 12baskets site for user contributed worship resources.

This second set comes initially as a double-sided A3 sheet with all the images, haiku-like meditations and prayers laid out in sequence for ease of devotional use. 

These pictures, poems and prayers enable us to follow Jesus on his journey to the cross reflecting both on the significance and the pain of that journey as we do so.

Henry and Jonathan have aimed in these reflections to pare down the images and words to their emotional and theological core. The mark making and imagery is minimal but, they hope, in a way that makes maximum impact.

Each sheet costs £3.50, plus £1.20 p&p per purchase. To purchase copies, send a cheque made out to commission4mission to Rev. J. Evens, St John's Seven Kings, St Johns Road, Ilford, Essex IG2 7BB or email to jonathan.evens@btinternet.com for more information. 

AGM & Annual Report

The AGM for commission4mission was held today at All Saints West Ham. The evening included: a drinks reception; viewing of the c4m exhibition located at All Saints; Colin Burns performing tracks from his debut album Emerald&Gold; a talk by Mark Lewis on 'Stanley Spencer - A visionary of our time' followed by personal reminiscences of Spencer as art tutor at the RCA from Joy Rousell Stone. The evening concluded with the AGM itself.

Annual Report 2011-12

Commissions at All Saints Hutton, St John’s Seven Kings & St Margaret’s Great Ilford

In 2011/12, our third year of operation, commission4mission has continued to develop its work, made key decisions for its future, and undertaken work in partnership with other arts and faith organisations.

During 2011/12 commission4mission has:

·        completed commissions for artworks at All Saints Hutton, St John’s Seven Kings and St Margaret’s Great Ilford;

·        gained commissions for artworks at Christ Church ThamesView and Dagenham Park Church of England School;

·        maintained a changing display of member’s work at All Saints West Ham and organised exhibitions at Holy Trinity with St Augustine of Hippo Leytonstone, St Martin-in-the-Fields, St Mary Magdalene Billericay and Tokarska Gallery;

commission4mission exhibition, Crypt Gallery at St Martin-in-the-Fields

·        held an evening of art talks by Dr Graham Gould and Mark Lewis, led with Dr Philip Jenson an art workshop at St Paul’s Harlow which produced a design for a frieze, and organised a Study Day on the value of public art (also at St Paul’s Harlow);

·        worked in partnership with CANA and Veritasse (Run with the Fire, an international art project for churches in the 2012 Olympic year) and also with Art & Christianity Enquiry and Harlow Art Trust (Study Day on the value of public art);

·        completed the Run with the Fire digital exhibition and event guidance materials and produced a DVD containing these materials; and

‘Running Towards The Goal’ by Erland Sibuea,

part of the ‘Run with the Fire’ digital exhibition.

·        produced Condemned, a creative reflection for Lent  illustrated with contemporary art works by seven member artists, accompanied by the words of Isaiah 53;

·        donated £1,568 split between Sightsavers and SmileTrain, this being the charitable element from our second year of operation.

We are very grateful to: all members for their support and involvement; all committee members for their direction and guidance; our Patron, Bishop David, for his ideas and interest; and Ranjit Solomon for his independent examination of our accounts.

Rev. Jonathan Evens, Secretary – May 2012

'Mark of the Cross' update

This weekend ArtWay have circulated information about 'Mark of the Cross' to those on their mailing list. Look out too for an extract and image from 'Mark of the Cross' as their Ascension meditation following Ascension Day.

Jonathan Evens will be using the 'Mark of the Cross' meditations and images in the three hour devotion at St Margaret's Barking from 12 noon on Good Friday.

Mark of the Cross is a book of 20 poetic meditations on Christ’s journey to the cross and reactions to his resurrection and ascension. These meditations focus on the mark of the cross in his life and body and were originally written as part of a community arts project in Hertford. They are complemented by a set of semi-abstract watercolours of the Stations of the Cross and the Resurrection created by Henry Shelton.

'Mark of the Cross' is available via twelve baskets as a pdf book, a powerpoint presentation and as individual images. They are ideal for use within Lent, Passiontide, Holy Week and Easter services. The PowerPoint would work well with background music played whilst the viewers meditate on the imagery and words.

In a similar vein see the website of St Pauls Goodmayes for images from Henry Shelton's Stations of the Crown of Thorns, a c4m commission for the church, together with meditations by parish priest Fr. Benjamin Rutt-Field.

Mark of the Cross

Jonathan Evens and Henry Shelton have published Mark of the Cross, a book of 20 poetic meditations on Christ’s journey to the cross and reactions to his resurrection and ascension. These meditations focus on the mark of the cross in his life and body and were originally written as part of a community arts project in Hertford. They are complemented by a set of semi-abstract watercolours of the Stations of the Cross and the Resurrection created by Henry Shelton.

These meditations and images are available via twelve baskets as a pdf book, a powerpoint presentation and as individual images. They are ideal for use within Lent, Passiontide, Holy Week and Easter services. The PowerPoint would work well with background music played whilst the viewers meditate on the imagery and words.

Jonathan Evens will be using these meditations and images in the three hour devotion at St Margaret's Barking from 12 noon on Good Friday.

Members update

Valerie Dean has recently completed the set of Stations of the Cross on which she has been working. They have a very clear and intense focus on details which are evocative of the whole, as can be seen from the photographs she has taken of the set which can be viewed here. Valerie is keen to discuss ways of making these Stations available for any church that would be interested in having them. 

Nadiya Pavliv Tokarska has sent information about the next exhibition at the Tokarska Gallery. Mythology in London by Anna Alcock runs from 15th - 31st March. The Private View is on 15th March from 6 - 9pm. Anna Alcock uses Greek and Roman mythological images and populates them with modern day narratives that are of significance to her living in London now. The exhibition will also include an exclusive bound suite of 15 etchings, which will be exhibited alongside etching collages and tabloids of myths with personal modern day stories that she imbues with her unique style and bold colours.

The Tokarska Gallery are also publicising their annual 'Drawing the Culture' competition for children and young people (see http://tokarskagallery.co.uk/drawing-the-culture). This is a juried open exhibition of children's drawings.
The next exhibition by the National Society of Painters, Sculptors and Printmakers, of which c4m artists Michael Creasey and Peter Webb are members, will be held at Launderdale House from 13th - 25th March.

Andrew Vessey has set up a website for his art and poetry. He writes that the website offers:

"the chance for making sensible and clear witness to my own Christian values, which have always determined how one paints as much as what I have been trying to achieve. To do theology on line in a website and give voice to the motivation which lies behind many of my ideas is a new challenge. I hope you'll be able to discern more than passing reference to having been a parish priest, or an art teacher for that matter, as the connections I am looking for, and the aspiration for thinking and then developing them as avenues of prayer and reflection, is one I welcome as a very exciting new form of ministry. I trust that my art will help move people on from the very tired language and inadequate symbolism that constitutes so much church art, to one that is rooted in the incarnation within us and divine glory around us."

Andrew will be exhibiting from 29th May - 17th June at Gallery Two, Wingfield Barns, Wingfield, Suffolk. This solo show of 60+ works will have new oil paintings "Looking into Glory" as the major focus, constituting a series of Stations on the Post-Resurrection as described in St John 21.

Jonathan Evens will be speaking on commission4mission and understandings of Christian Art at the February Learning Supper for West Mersea Parish Church (6.30pm, Sunday 26th February). Learning Suppers on Mersea Island include a time of worship, teaching, prayer and a convivial supper of soup, cheese and wine on the 4th Sunday in the month. Jonathan will also be using his Mark of the Cross and Seven Words from the Cross meditations in the three hour devotional which he will be leading at St Margaret's Barking on Good Friday from 12 noon to 3.00pm.

ArtWay Meditation

Jonathan Evens has written the ArtWay Visual Meditation for 9th October based on Descent II by Christopher Clack.

His meditation, which ends with the question 'What would be the impact, I wonder, were we more frequently to take religious images out of their religious context, as Clack has done, and trust them to raise their questions and reveal their meanings in other landscapes, cultures and worlds?', can be read by clicking here.

Descent II will feature in the next commission4mission exhibition to be held at the Tokarska Gallery from 1st - 31st December 2011 (Thursdays - Saturdays, 12 noon - 7.00pm). The next exhibition at the Tokarska Gallery is 4 Man Show from 14 - 29 October.

Also published today on the ArtWay site is an essay by Jonathan about the significance of the imagery of clowns in the life and work of Albert Houthuesen entitled 'The spirituality of the Artist-Clown.' 

Peacing Together One World exhibition

commission4mission's Peacing Together One World exhibition at St Mary Magdalene Billericay (High Road, Billericay, Essex) opens tomorrow and can be viewed until Saturday 23rd October (9.00am - 5.00pm). This varied show includes drawings, glasswork, paintings, photography, pottery, sculpture, and a wood relief. It features the work by Richard Baxter, Harvey Bradley, Colin Burns, Anne Creasey, Michael Creasey, Elizabeth Duncan Meyer, Jonathan Evens, Alan Hitching, Mark Lewis, Caroline Richardson, Joy Rousell Stone, Henry Shelton, Sergiy Shkanov and Peter Webb.

Harvey Bradley, who has organised the show, will be artist-in-residence throughout the exhibition. He will be demonstrating his approach to painting and will be happy to talk with visitors about the exhibition and commission4mission.

Several events are happening during the exhibition including a cake sale on Saturday 16th, a communion service on Wednesday 20th (10.00am) and the Peacing Together One World performance evening on Friday 22nd October, 7.30pm, which will feature poetry readings, original poetry, meditations, images, and music from Colin Burns, Anne Creasey, Michael Creasey, Jonathan Evens, Keith Harman, and Alan Hitching.