E17 Art Trail @ St Barnabas Walthamstow

Fr. Steven Saxby has provided information about the diverse range of artists which St Barnabas, Walthamstow is hosting this year for the E17 Art Trail. Their private view and "meet the artists" event is tomorrow evening (Thursday 2nd September) from 8pm - 9.30pm. Click here for subsequent opening dates and times.

Anna Newson-Lyons presents 'From here to there', a collection of pictures including Funky Big Ben and Double Vision; London at night taken on the South Bank of the Thames. Mara Love and Pride are from a collection of wildlife photographs taken in the Masai Mara, Kenya. The collection also includes from dusk to dawn landscape pictures of Australia in Sunrise at Uluru and Sunset Storm in The Maldives. Handmade cards are also included in the collection of local winter scenes and summer flowers taken in Waltham Forest.

Anthony Lane presents “Lano” – two oil on canvas works.

Cinthia Oram presents two flower arrangements characteristic of her work which specialises in creating unique flower arrangements using fruits, vegetables and various materials.

Emma Scutt presents "E17 Portraits, Past & Present" inspired by the theme for this year’s Art Trail, 'Welcome to Walthamstow', which made her think of all the different people who live in the borough, and also St Barnabas church itself.

Johanna Melvin is exhibiting seascapes taken from old-fashioned nautical engravings. Jo has exhibited widely including the Royal Academy of Art, Contemporary Art Society, Flowers East Gallery and has work in several provate collections including Whitechapel Gallery Archives, John Cass Faculty of Fine Art and the Colony Room collection.

Pen Dalton presents a large wall installation 5 x 20 feet, concerned with issues of identity and entitled “Does your mother come from Ireland?” The title comes from a popular song in the early 20th Century. The installation uses documentary writings and images from the twentieth century: familial, legal, educational, popular, medical, academic, religious and cultural to show how people – in this case Pen's grandmother – interact and change their identities in and through the social world.”

Rebecca de Quin and Louise Loder are art school trained silversmiths. De Quin is a Master of Arts of the Royal College of Art where she teaches part-time. Loder received her Master of Arts award from London Guildhall University. They have shared a workshop in Walthamstow for six years where they work independently but enjoy the benefits of sharing knowledge and discussing ideas. Both explore the potential of silver to capture the imagination of a contemporary audience, but achieve very different results as shown in their exhibit 'The Art of Silver'.
Sean Pines - Fashion Photography. With a career in photography spanning over 20 years, Sean has kept ahead of current trends, consistently producing fresh, concept based images which present not only the garments, but the fantasy also.

WACVC (Walthamstow Amateur Cinevideo Club) has been going strong since 1949. The club will be exhibiting some its productions on local history and special-interest. This will include DVDs such as "Hollywood E17" which uncovers Walthamstow's secret history in the early years of the cinematic industry. Find out what the club is about and take part in a workshop on ChromaKey where we place you somewhere else using a green screen.

St Barnabas Walthamstow itself is a work of art, an architectural gem. It is a Grade II* listed building designed by W.D.Caroe and completed in 1903. The church also houses a wonderful collection of art works, some of which are highlighted below:

- ‘Veni Creator Spiritus’, lettercutting on slate behind the font (1994) by Charles Smith.
- Statue of St Barnabas (1946) by Faith-Craft Works
- a carving of ‘Christ the Good Shepherd’ (c.1890) by Peter Brunner and originally part of the Children’s Shrine at St Martin’s-in-the-Fields.
- Statue of Our Lady, Mary (1936) by Faith-Craft Works
- ‘Christ the Man of Sorrows’ – C18th copy of the painting by Luini.
- Reredos from children’s chapel of St John’s, Red Lion Square (c.1925) by Christopher Webb.
- East Window stained glass, depicting ‘Our Lord in Majesty and Twenty Four Elders casting down their Crowns’ (1903) by Clayton and Bell.
- 1902 Foundation stone (behind the main altar) by Eric Gill, then articled to W.D.Caroe.
- Statues of St Michael and two angels (by and above the main altar) (1910) by Alec Miller
- Organ corbels of David and Miriam (2000) by Charles Gurrey
- Oak Rood (large crucifix hanging above chancel steps), designed by W.D.Caroe and carved by Nathaniel Hitch (1921)
- Statue of St James (c.1950) by Faith-Craft Works
- Green reredos designed by Julian Litten (1989) and incorporating panels of the four evangelists (painted c.1860)
- Stations of the Cross – currently lying flat on pews in south aisle.

Drawing into the Forest

"Drawing into the Forest" is a weekend of creative mark-making at Debden House in Epping Forest, Friday 10th September to Sunday 12th September 2010 which will be led by Mark Lewis.

During this intensive and dynamic residential course you will focus on sketchbook technique using rapid mark-making responses to the Forest to capture a 'sense of place'. You will be encouraged to draw with objects and material found in the Forest and many more explorative techniques. There would then be an opportunity for making larger drawings with various dry media indoors, further developed with various collage effects.

Costs are: Newham Resident (waged) - £100; Newham resident (unwaged) - £85; and Non-Newham Resident - £135. For further details, email info@RosettaArts.org or Mark Lewis: pharos@sketchbook.wanadoo.

Michael Creasey's BASH exhibition

Michael Creasey will be exhibiting at the Visual Arts Centre in Frances Bardsley School, Romford as part of the Big Arts Submission Havering (BASH) programme. Michael's exhibition runs from 23 - 27th August beginning with a Launch Night from 7 - 9.00pm on 23rd and continuing from 9.30am - 3.00pm.

Michael is a largely self-taught artist, specializing in portraits and figurative work, mostly nudes. He says, "I am not especially a religious painter, as I mainly paint portraits and figure studies, but I do also paint abstract works which tap into emotional and spiritual aspects of my life and reflect my Christianity."

Updating West Ham exhibition

'Deposition' by Henry Shelton

'Seed' by Jonathan Evens

Works by Jonathan Evens & Sergiy Shkanov

Works by Jonathan Evens & Sergiy Shkanov

 

Works by Jonathan Evens, Caroline Richardson & Henry Shelton 

Works by Jonathan Evens

Works by Colin Burns & Joy Rousell Stone

Our ongoing exhibition at All Saints West Ham has been updated this week following sales and artists reclaiming work. The current exhibition features work by Colin Burns, Jonathan Evens, Mark Lewis, Caroline Richardson, Henry Shelton, Sergiy Shkanov and Joy Rousell Stone. The exhibition can be viewed during All Saints' usual opening times which include their regular services and between 9.00am and 3.00pm most Tuesdays. To visit at other times or to confirm opening times, phone the All Saints office on 0208 519 0764. 

Peacing Together One World exhibition

Our next exhibition will be held at St Mary Magdalen Billericay from 16th - 23rd October. The exhibition is to be entitled Peacing Together One World as it will be held during One World Week. We are also planning to hold a Peacing Together One World performance evening on Friday 22nd October, also at St Mary Magdalen Billericay, featuring commission4mission members and others. More information on this, the exhibition, and other related events will be available nearer the time.

Newsletter No 5

 Bishop David, Fr. Ben Rutt-Field & Henry Shelton

Stations of the Crown of Thorns dedicated

Our second completed commission was dedicated by the Bishop of Barking on 17th July at St Paul’s Goodmayes. The commission, undertaken by Henry Shelton, was for a contemporary set of Stations of the Cross which has become known as the Stations of the Crown of Thorns in that, as part of its semi-abstract imagery, Christ is depicted throughout only by the Crown of Thorns. There are 15 paintings in all, as the scheme includes a resurrection Station depicting Christ present in the Eucharistic elements. A tryptich incorporating Stations XI, XII and XIII forms the central focus of the scheme. This tryptich has inventively incorporated an existing metal crucifix into its design to form Station XII; 'Jesus dies on the cross'. The colour scheme of these 'Stations' harmonizes with the existing stained glass at St Paul’s Goodmayes and the paintings feature the minimal flowing lines that characterise Shelton’s semi-abstract style. Parish Priest, Fr. Ben Rutt-Field wrote an original set of meditations to accompany the Stations and these were prayed by Bishop David as part of the Service of Dedication. A networking afternoon featuring members speaking about their work preceded the Dedication.

 Rosalind Hore at the Grace & Passion exhibition

Grace & Passion exhibition

Rosalind Hore and Helen Gould organised a successful Passiontide exhibition held at St Laurence Upminster which featured the work of 15 members. Central to this exhibition was the first showing of a contemporary set of Stations of the Cross by Rosalind Hore. Also on display was work from Rosalind’s series of clay and plaster sculptures. A booklet featuring Rosalind's Stations was produced for the exhibition.

Exhibition space at All Saints West Ham

c4m now has an ongoing exhibition space at All Saints West Ham which has been used initially to hang a small group show by a selection of members. This exhibition formed a part of this year’s West Ham Festival at the church. This space enables work by members to be viewed on an ongoing basis and it is hoped that a changing display will include solo and paired exhibitions, in addition to group shows.

Strategic development

At our AGM we agreed a Development Strategy researched and prepared for us by Helen Gould. The strategy was based on a survey of members and an external review and includes: registration as a charity; development of regional cells; creation of an advocacy team; and exploration of opportunities for partnership with similar organisations. This work will be taken forward by a c4m committee comprising: Harvey Bradley; Jonathan Evens; Helen Gould; Mark Lewis; Henry Shelton; and Peter Webb. Our thanks go to former committee members Alexander Chaplin and Steven Saxby who stood down from this role at the AGM.

Current commissions

The Baptism of Jesus, an oil painting by Rosalind Hore is awaiting installation at St Edmund’s Tyseley. Caroline Richardson has designed two windows on the theme of abundant life for St Peter’s Harold Wood while Henry Shelton is designing etched glass windows for All Saints Hutton.

In memoriam: Peter Shorer

Jewellery maker and conservator Peter Shorer died in June. His life was celebrated at a service held in St John’s Seven Kings. Our webpage includes a tribute to Peter taken from this service.

Member’s profile: Michael Creasey

Michael Creasey is a largely self-taught artist, specializing in portraits and figurative work, mostly nudes. He says, "I am not especially a religious painter, as I mainly paint portraits and figure studies, but I do also paint abstract works which tap into emotional and spiritual aspects of my life and reflect my Christianity." Michael will exhibit at the Visual Arts Centre of Francis Bardsley School, Romford, from 23rd to 27th August.


Barking Area Art Trail

c4m has been successful in gaining funding from London over the Border to develop an Art Trail for the Barking Episcopal Area. Churches have for many years been significant patrons of the visual arts and the Anglican churches in the Barking Area are no exception containing works of art by artists such as Eric Gill, John Hutton and John Piper, among others. Mark Lewis is currently undertaking research for the project and will prepare a leaflet to highlight artists, artworks and churches and to set out the Art Trail created for the Area.

BASH exhibition: Caroline Richardson

Caroline Richardson's current exhibition at the Visual Arts Centre in Frances Bardsley School, Romford, ends tomorrow but is well worth seeing. Caroline plays with colour, light and reflection in beautiful works which utilise fused glass, silk paints and textiles to explore natural themes and imagery.

Caroline says:

"Glass is a wonderful medium to work with; the unexpected is always just around the corner. Light plays a big part in the design considerations as the glass may look completely different in different lighting or at different times of day. This gives each piece a life of its own, variety unlike any other."

A second commission4mission artist, Michael Creasey, will also be exhibiting at the Visual Arts Centre as part of the Big Arts Submission Havering (BASH) programme. Michael's exhibition runs from 23 - 27th August beginning with a Launch Night from 7 - 9.00pm on 23rd and continuing from 9.30am - 3.00pm.