Friday 31 August 2012

Wednesday 29 August 2012

Next c4m event and exhibition



c4m's next event and exhibition will be part of the second Barking Episcopal Area Arts Festival (http://www.chelmsford.anglican.org/arts-festival.html) which will run from Saturday 6th - Sunday 14th October parallel to the Woodford Festival (http://www.woodfordfestival.org.uk/cms/index.php). 

As part of these Festivals, we are organising a Big Draw event at St Marys Woodford (http://www.stmaryswoodford.org.uk/) on Saturday 6th October. This will be part of events for the opening of the Festival which also include an organ recital and an art exhibition.

A c4m exhibition will be held at All Saints Woodford Wells (http://www.asww.org.uk/) from 10.00am - 7.30pm on Saturday 13th October prior to an evening concert at All Saints by the Meljon Singers (https://www.facebook.com/events/246345185469093/). This exhibition will include work by Jonathan Evens, Alan Hitching, Francesca RossJoy Rousell Stone and Peter Webb, among others.

In addition, Jonathan Evens is involved in organising a 'Celebration of Poetry' evening (poetry readings with musical/storytelling interludes) at St Paul's Woodford Bridge (http://www.stpaulswb.com/) on Friday 12th October from 7.30pm which is likely to involve Tim Cunningham (http://www.timcunninghampoetry.co.uk/), Jane Grell (http://www.janegrellstoryteller.com/) and Malcolm Guite (http://malcolmguite.wordpress.com/), among others.

Member's update: Harvey Bradley



Harvey Bradley is an artist coordinator for the first Billericay Art Trail which runs  from Friday 31st August to Saturday 9th September. The trail is intended to be a showcase of local artists’ work, exhibited in venues across the town. The main focus of the trail will be the busy High Street with its many shops, cafes and restaurants allowing art trail visitors to walk between several of the venues. The Fold, the centre for the Arts in Billericay, is a key location for the art trail and will host artists for the duration of the trail alongside its own exhibitions.

Harvey's work will be shown at Masons of Billericay. Harvey writes: "When ‘throwing' and my pottery is going well, there is nothing like it. I do enjoy ‘turning’ pots too and, particularly with porcelain, it gives a distinct refinement to the form. On my kick wheel it is a calming and relaxing process."

Monday 20 August 2012

Newsletter No. 13 – August 2012

Steve Scott performing at the Launch Night for the 'Run with the Fire' exhibition

Running with the Fire – events, exhibitions & coverage

California, Devonport, Leicester, London and Streatham. ArtServe, ArtWay, Church & Art Network, Down The Line and Transpositions. These are just some of the places and publications where Run with the Fire, the arts project for the 2012 Olympic year organised by CANA, commission4mission and Veritasse, has featured to date.

c4m organised a Run with the Fire exhibition at London’s Strand Gallery for the Pentecost Festival.  Original work by 17 c4m and invited artists complemented the Run with the Fire digital exhibition (featuring the work of 25 international artists) to create a stimulating and exciting show with an eclectic mix of styles and media which explored the broad theme of running life's race with passion and spirit.

The exhibition also included a day of art talks (by Jonathan Evens, Mark Lewis, Glenn Lowcock and Steve Scott), an art demonstration by Harvey Bradley and a packed Launch Night performance evening featuring Colin Burns, Jonathan Evens, Malcolm Guite, Tamsin Kendrick and Steve Scott.


Tamsin Kendrick performed vibrant, earthy poems based on the parable of the Prodigal Son and Psalm 139, Steve Scott shared work in progress based on incidents from John's Gospel, Colin Burns played three pieces from his debut CD Emerald&Gold, Jonathan Evens read his Run with the Fire poem and a Mark of the Cross meditation, while Malcolm Guite made a great job of linking themes from the artworks and other performances with poems from his sonnet sequence for the Church Year and from his CD Dancing through the fire.

Oak Hills Church in Folsom, California has shown the Run with the Fire digital exhibition at their Art&Soul Gallery throughout the Olympic period. Oak Hills wrote that they were "pleased to be a part of this international event [showing] the amazing works of Christian artists from around the world." The digital exhibition also featured at the Inflame exhibition organised by Love Streatham for this year’s Streatham Festival and at Colours of Life, an assembly for the Diocese of Leicester held at Samworth Enterprise Academy.

Run with the Fire has also stimulated a community art exhibition with creative workshops project organised by Army of Artists. Joy Lawrence wrote in the ‘Plymouth Herald’ of this project – “This is my kind of art: beautiful, touching, stunning, understandable ... If you want to be inspired, encouraged, uplifted, dare I say – touched by the presence of God, take a visit to the Run With The Fire Exhibition at St Aubyn's in Devonport.”

Articles about the Run with the Fire project have featured in the publications of ArtServe, ArtWay, Church & Art Network, Down The Line, and Transpositions. In these pieces Steve Scott of CANA has said that an event like “Run with the Fire” creates opportunities to build partnering relationships, while using a “current event” (like the Olympics) as a platform for engaging and working with artists and communities. When we combine [the digital exhibition] with an opportunity for local or regional response in the form of an accompanying exhibit of artwork, we are building bridges between cultures using the latest technology and creating space for local artistic response. An exhibit like this not only opens the door for mission but also represents, via the arts and cultural diversity, something of the expressive and learning life of a healthy church.

Copies of the Run with the Fire DVD can be purchased via http://www.veritasse.co.uk/cards-prints/most-popular/run-with-the-fire-dvd-pack/. A preview of the Run with the Fire digital exhibition can be seen at  http://youtu.be/nFBGZDgFaw4, while for up-to-date news of the project see http://runwiththefire.blogspot.com/.

AGM: The c4m AGM was held in June 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.

Charitable donation: This year our annual charitable donation - which in 2012 amounted to £668.46 – has gone to Safer Places in support of their work with victims of domestic abuse.


Member profile: Ken James Ashby
Ken studied Fine Art at Camberwell School of Art and considers himself to be of the romantic school of art, responding to the beauty he sees around him and painting in different styles depending on the subject itself. He draws influences from many different quarters, also painting in response to modern ugliness, whether it is torture, terrorism or environmental disaster/global warming.

Saturday 18 August 2012

Member's update: Harvey Bradley



Pottery by Harvey Bradley can currently be seen at the Anglian Potters Summer Selling Exhibition 2012, The Old Library, Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Private View at 6.30 p.m. on Saturday 18th August, then runs from Sunday 19th August through to the last day Wednesday 5th September. Opening times: Mondays to Saturdays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Harvey's workshop is dedicated to working with porcelain with the challenge of the whiter body and the potentially smoother, glasslike, qualities that this more expensive clay offers.

Monday 13 August 2012

Bestow - the 2012 E17 Art Trail

c4m member Rev. Steven Saxby has once again organised an amazing line-up of artworks for the E17 Art Trail at St Barnabas and St Saviours, both in Walthamstow. Click here for information about the 16 different displays/events at St Barnabas and here for the 7 displays/events at St Saviours.

Another c4m member Nadiya Pavliv-Tokarska is contributing two displays at the Tokarska Gallery. Click here for details. Nadiya's own cityscapes of Finsbury Circus are currently on display at the gallery until 25th August - don't miss the opportunity to see these works!

When deciding the theme for this year’s E17 Art Trail the organisers knew they had to find an expression to reflect the generosity of all who make this such a rich festival programme. Bestow giftwraps the invitation of almost 3000 practising artists and creative contributors, an invitation to enjoy the vision, to relish the gifts and to consider the ideas of our creative community. Doors are open to you revealing new compositions in artists workspaces and homes. Poets, playwrights, musicians, and comics will captivate you with stories old and new. You will encounter art that is joyous, challenging, confrontational, delightful, humourous, distinguished, ambitious and enterprising. Enjoy your visit, and treasure the memories. The E17 Art Trail 2012 will open on Saturday 1st September with a launch event.

Tuesday 7 August 2012

Member's update: Pouka








Pouka is currently exhibiting paintings and sculptures (including the 18 metre long 'I AM' painting) at the African Village in Kensington Gardens, just opposite the Royal Albert Hall, which is there for the duration of the Olympics.
Also his series of paintings of the Queen are being exhibited at Brent Salon des Arts
(The Gallery at Willesden Green Centre, Willesden Green) from 7 - 31 August with the private view on 9 August 6.00 - 9.00 pm.

Monday 6 August 2012

Westminster Arts Inspired by the Games Festival














Chris Clack is part of exhibitions at Westminster Abbey, St Margaret's and Methodist Central Hall celebrate the Cultural Olympiad with a range of artistic forms from sculpture, carvings and glasswork to art installations, photography and paintings in various medium. A huge canvas - 18 feet high by 72 feet long painted by artists from every corner of the globe - is among an amazing array of artwork inspired by the Olympic Games and now on display across Westminster in Central London.

The exhibitions are in partnership with More Than Gold, the agency established by all the main denominations to help churches make the most of the Games. The ‘Westminster Arts Inspired by the Games’ Festival is open throughout the Games and incorporates work from a number of celebrated artists from around the world. Details on contributors can be found at http://www.morethangold.org.uk/art.

‘With such a wide array of nations represented at the Games, it is exciting to see artists from around the world collaborating on these art exhibitions. The displays, housed in iconic London churches, are important because they help connect themes from the Christian faith with the Olympic vision,’ says Andy Frost who leads More Than Gold’s Creative and Performing Arts team.

Westminster Abbey features the work of the British-born sculptor Eleanor Cardozo, combining her classical training in sculpture with personal sport experience: ‘With twenty years as a professional sculptor I have used my knowledge of the human anatomy and my experience as a gymnast to create a collection of bronze gymnasts to celebrate the London 2012 Olympic Games. Each sculpture perfectly conveys the Olympic philosophy of combining in a balanced whole, the body, will and mind,’ Eleanor Cardozo said.
Next door to the Abbey, St Margaret’s Church hosts a free exhibition which features a range of artistic disciplines from textiles to fine art.

Methodist Central Hall will host two exhibitions during the Games, one of which is a huge canvas 18 feet high by 72 feet long. This piece is comprised of 141 canvasses painted separately by individuals and groups of artists from every corner of the globe. The canvas, entitled Key of David holds the biblical promise that it ‘opens doors that no one can close and closes doors that no one can open’.

Bryan Pollard, a Creative Director from New Zealand, has orchestrated the artists to create a piece which ‘truly celebrates the unity amidst diversity spirit that is a trademark of the Olympic Games’ Each artist joining this international project sees their personal contribution as a living testimony of their creative gifts given by a Creator God.

Additionally, a selection of work from the Methodist Collection of Modern Christian Art is on display in Methodist Central Hall Westminster and offers the public a rare opportunity to view works from this impressive, yet little known, collection. On show are artworks by key twentieth-century figures, including, but not limited to: Graham Sutherland, Edward Burra, Eric Gill, Patrick Heron, Elizabeth Frink, Jacques Iselin, Georges Rouault, and Craigie Aitchison. This exhibition should attract Modern art enthusiasts, individuals with an interest in religious art, and curious members of the public alike.