commission4mission AGM and exhibition

St Paul's Church Goodmayes is hosting an Art Exhibition for commission4mission
Monday to Sunday ~ 1st to 7th July 2013. Open 10:00am to 4:00pm daily. Admission is free and Light Refreshments will be available.

The Art Exhibition will begin with a formal opening night including artist presentations, a talk on the work of John Piper by Mark Lewis and the Annual General Meeting for commission4mission on the evening of Monday 1st July 2013. Drinks and nibbles will be served from 6.30pm giving the opportunity ...to also view commission4mission's exhibition. From 7.30pm there will be several art talks - Harvey Bradley and Peter Webb speaking about aspects of their work and Mark Lewis on the work of John Piper - followed by commission4mission's AGM. All are welcome.

Artists exhibiting include: Ross Ashmore, Harvey Bradley, Anne Creasey, Michael Creasey, Valerie Dean, Elizabeth Duncan Meyer, Jonathan Evens, Mark Lewis, Danielle Lovesey, Caroline Richardson, Joy Rousell Stone, Henry Shelton and Peter Webb. Some of the exhibits will be for sale.
The last day of the exhibition will coincide with the 'Our Community Festival', an annual event co-ordinated by the London Borough of Redbridge. This will take place in Barley Lane Recreation Ground directly opposite the church and will run from 12 noon to 4:00pm on Sunday 7th July 2013.

St Paul's has been a generous patron of the arts through the generosity of the Parochial Church Council and many ad memoria by it's loyal and faithful membership throughout its history. The church is home for a large selection of stained glass, many from the original William Morris workshops at Walthamstow, now a museum.

 The Church is proud to own a set of contemporary 'Stations of the Crown of Thorns' a series of 14 individual pieces featuring a large Triptych. These were created by the local Goodmayes artist Henry Shelton the founding member of commission4mission. You can explore St Paul's permanent artworks by going to http://www.stpaulsgoodmayes.org.uk/the-artworks-of-st-pauls/.

For details on how to find the Church, please see http://www.stpaulsgoodmayes.org.uk/how-to-contact-us/location/.

c4m exhibition: St Paul's Goodmayes

St Paul's Church Goodmayes is hosting an Art Exhibition for commission4mission
Monday to Sunday ~ 1st to 7th July 2013. Open 10:00am to 4:00pm daily. Admission is free and Light Refreshments will be available. 

The Art Exhibition will begin with a formal opening night including artist presentations, a talk on the work of John Piper by Mark Lewis and the Annual General Meeting for commission4mission on the evening of Monday 1st July 2013. All are welcome.

Artists exhibiting include: Ross Ashmore, Harvey Bradley, Anne Creasey, Michael Creasey, Valerie Dean, Elizabeth Duncan Meyer, Jonathan Evens, Mark Lewis, Caroline Richardson, Joy Rousell Stone, Henry Shelton and Peter Webb. Some of the exhibits will be for sale.

The last day of the exhibition will coincide with the 'Our Community Festival', an annual event co-ordinated by the London Borough of Redbridge. This will take place in Barley Lane Recreation Ground directly opposite the church and will run from 12 noon to 4:00pm on Sunday 7th July 2013.

St Paul's has been a generous patron of the arts through the generosity of the Parochial Church Council and many ad memoria by it's loyal and faithful membership throughout its history. The church is home for a large selection of stained glass, many from the original William Morris workshops at Walthamstow, now a museum.

The Church is proud to own a set of contemporary 'Stations of the Crown of Thorns' a series of 14 individual pieces featuring a large Triptych. These were created by the local Seven Kings artist Henry Shelton the founding member of commission4mission.

You can explore St Paul's permanent artworks by clicking HERE.

For details on how to find us, please click HERE.

c4m artists update (5)

Sergiy Shkanov will be exhibiting work at St Andrew's Leytonstone from 17th - 24th July while the Leytonstone Festival is underway.

Michael Creasey will be having a one man show at the Visual Arts Centre, Frances Bardsley School, Romford from August 23rd to 28th.

Jonathan Evens and Benjamin Rutt-Field have been involved in the development of a Church Art Trail involving four Anglican churches in the London Borough of Redbridge. Works by Henry Shelton feature in the Trail alongside works by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, Leonard Evetts, Anthony Foster, Derek Hunt, C. E. Kempe & Co. Ltd., William Morris, Jane Quail and A. Wyatt.
Creation of the Art Trail has been supported by Living Streets as part of the Fitter for Walking project and copies of the Art Trail leaflets can now be found in local churches. Fitter for Walking helps residents create streets they can be proud of. It’s funded by the Big Lottery Fund, along with contributions from local authorities to work in five areas of England.

c4m networking event & 'Stations' dedication

The Stations of the Crown of Thorns, a series of 'Stations of the Cross' created by Henry Shelton for St Paul's Goodmayes as a commission gained through commission4mission, are to be blessed and dedicated by the Bishop of Barking on Saturday 17th July at 4.00pm.

The tryptich, which forms the centrepiece of the Stations of the Crown of Thorns, includes Stations 11, 12 and 13 and has inventively incorporated an existing metal crucifix into its design to form the 12th Station; 'Jesus dies on the cross'. There are 15 'Stations' as the scheme includes a resurrection 'Station' depicting Christ present in the Eucharistic elements.

The scheme as a whole is unusual in that, as part of its semi-abstract imagery, Christ is depicted throughout only by the Crown of Thorns. Shelton's trademark flowing lines, which create images through minimal means and with maximum facility, are in evidence throughout the scheme. However, as an artist who often paints with the tones and harmonies of the Dutch Masters, this commission represents a considerable lightening of his palette in order that the colour scheme of these 'Stations' harmonizes with the existing stained glass.

Shelton's 'Stations' complement other existing work at St Pauls Goodmayes, including stained glass by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, William Morris, and Leonard Evetts plus a Madonna and Child by Jane Quail, to create a feast of visual art for worshipper and visitor alike. Parish priest, Fr. Benjamin Rutt-Field, has written a set of meditations in order to pray the new 'Stations'.

Preceding the dedication of the 'Stations' will be a commission4mission networking event also at St Paul's Goodmayes beginning at 2.00pm on Saturday 17th July.

This will be a 20x20 networking event where commission4mission members will be giving presentations of their work (or an aspect of it). The presentation format is contained in the name, as each presentation will involve showing 20 images at 20 second intervals. Each member therefore has a seven minute slot in which to make their presentation.

PechaKucha 20x20 Nights were first devised in Tokyo in February 2003 as events for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public. They have turned into a massive celebration, with events happening in hundreds of cities around the world, inspiring creatives worldwide. Drawing their name from the Japanese term for the sound of conversation ("chit chat"), it rests on a presentation format that is based on a simple idea: 20 images x 20 seconds. It's a format that makes presentations concise, and keeps things moving at a rapid pace.

All are welcome to both the networking event and the dedication of the 'Stations'.

Spiritual Life column

Jonathan Evens has written a 'Spiritual Life' column about commission4mission for the current edition of the Ilford Recorder:

"Last week the artist Henry Shelton’s new Stations of the Crown of Thorns for St Paul's Goodmayes were featured on the Faiths page of the Recorder. Henry Shelton's 'Stations' complement other existing artwork at St Pauls Goodmayes, including stained glass by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, William Morris, and Leonard Evetts plus a Madonna and Child by Jane Quail, to create a feast of visual art for worshipper and visitor alike.

The commission to paint these new ‘Stations’ was gained through commission4mission (c4m) which aims to encourage the commissioning and placing of contemporary Christian Art in churches, as a means of fundraising for charities and as a mission opportunity for the churches involved.

c4m has recently responded to a national consultation by Arts Council England on the arts saying that faith communities are part of the wider community of engagement with the arts and it is important that they are recognised in the matrix of how and why people value and enjoy the arts.

Members of faith communities may enjoy art which (although not exclusively) touches and nurtures their spiritual lives. Members of c4m (as both artists and audiences) talk about the value of art in their spiritual growth and understanding. Art has been an important medium through which communication about faith and belief has taken place over centuries, and as a result the church has enjoyed a long partnership with the arts, though this seems to have eroded in recent decades.

Churches can be significant as: spaces in which artworks are and can be displayed; venues for community art initiatives; places for accessing community members for consultation and/or participation in community arts initiatives; holders of significant arts collections; and as a continuing source of inspiration and encouragement for artists. The recent trend of placing significant art work in church venues (e.g. Antony Gormley, Flare II, St Paul's Cathedral), and the development of church-based arts spaces (e.g. Wallspace) and mainstream artists drawing on Christian themes (Mark Wallinger, Ecce Homo) has to be seen in the context of this.

At a time when the Archbishop of Canterbury has said that “the church needs more artists”, the church, Christian organisations and faith communities need to be seen as valid partners for the arts.

And, as the Bishop of Barking has said: “History can demonstrate that it is the Arts that have often provided the prophetic lead that society then follows. At a time in our national life when our society is in danger of losing its way and has been cut loose from its historic Christian values there is a role for the arts to be prophetic in re-establishing in contemporary ways the values that made our nation the great society that it is.”

At c4m we hope to increasingly play our part in that vision with Henry Shelton’s Stations of the Crown of Thorns being an exciting, current example of what the visual arts in Churches can contribute and reveal."

Other current journalism by Jonathan includes a obituary for the artist John Reilly in the Church Times, a review of the Resurrection exhibition at Bury St Edmonds to be published in the next edition of Art & Christianity, a response to an Artz Ville article on the Arts Centre Group website, and an interview with Catharine Pusey (then of the Employer's Forum on Belief) in the current edition of the Faith in Business Quarterly.

Perspectives on commissioning Christian Art (3)

Dr. James Bettley spoke at commission4mission's recent Study Day from the perspective of those advising on the commissioning contemporary art for churches:

Commissioning contemporary art for a church is just about the most difficult thing that a PCC may have to do. It is in a different league from most other decisions because of the element of choice and the sense that it involves discretionary spending. In addition, those involved are unlikely to have had any previous experience of commissioning or to know the world of arts and crafts. As a result, they are likely to need all the advice they can get.

Within the Church of England there is not much that a church can do in this area without getting a faculty. Faculties ensure that: buildings and contents are kept in the best condition for future generations; work is done to a good standard; and wardens and incumbents are protected from personal liability.

Discussion with the Diocesan Advisory Committee (DAC) is therefore essential and their role is to advise everyone involved in the application, from the PCC to the Chancellor who ultimately grants the faculty. DACs have been nicknamed the 'Damned Awkward Committee' but they actually exist in order to show parishes what can be done.

The DACs first reaction to a commission application will be, "Fantastic, tell us more." The DAC Design Awards encourage churches to use individual artists and craftspeople. St Albans Romford is an example of a church going down this route and, as a result, gaining many awards. Commissioning original work may be more expensive but will give better value for money in terms of pleasure and quality, so the DAC is favourably disposed towards commissioning and will steer parishes down this path.

The issue of whether to commission original work or to purchase wares from a Church furnishing company derives from the development of Church furnishing companies in the nineteenth century. Their establishment was a reaction against indiscriminate gifts that churches had felt obliged to accept. Churches should set standards as to what can be given and steer donors towards those items that are needed by the church.

William Morris said, "Have nothing in your homes that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." What is useful in church can also be beautiful, and perhaps should be as churches are special public buildings. Over the years, churches often accumulate artworks but these are often overlooked, taken for granted and unrecognised because they have not been gathered together and sensitively displayed as with works in a museum or gallery. Churches have much to learn from galleries and museums which are warm, dry, sensitively lit and containing interpretation of the works displayed. Revd. Ernest Geldart of St Nicholas Little Braxted said that, "God's house ought to be the finest house and most beautiful house in the parish."

How can we determine what is beautiful though? DAC members have a range of relevant experience to draw on in providing advice. Because they have a great deal of joint experience, they have a good idea of what will work well.

Stained glass is particularly tricky because a cartoon cannot depict colours in light or the absence of light. The essential thing is to look at a range of each artist's work. Advice can also be given on framing, lighting etc; again all in consultation with the artist. There is no point in commissioning if too tight a brief is given to the artist. The CHURCHart website has a directory of artists and is a useful source of information. Don't rush into a commission, look around before commissioning a specific artist. Some areas hold open days for artists which it can be useful to attend. Despite all this alot of art in churches is mediocre.

In the nineteenth century, when much church building and restoration was undertaken, it was considered essential that the architect had to have a faith. Artists in earlier times were also devout Christians. However, those who are not Christians can nevertheless produce work that is appropriate for churches. We have a tendency to select artists on the strength of their faith meaning that those in the pool of artists with a faith tend to do more and more work for churches. We should consider that good artists are not necessarily good Christians and good Christians not necessarily good artists.