Galleries

Local WORDS

The years 2020 and 2021 may have delivered more difficulty than any of us could ever have wished for, but they have also given birth to voices from within. Here is a selection of some of the books that local writers have recently published.

Something of the Marvellous

By Andrew Pastor with illustrations by Patricia Barrett. Something of the Marvellous charts the days of British Summer Time in 2020. Described by Andrew as ‘a year like no other, a year of Pandemic and Lockdown, when the world outdoors called more loudly than ever, and we all of us looked for ways to break free.’

Seas the Day

By Rachael Boughton Since lockdown Rachael Boughton has become a keen wild swimmer and trail runner, and recently ran a half marathon to raise money for Dorset Mind. This book is inspired by wild swimming and how it helps to connect with Nature, reduce stress and improve wellbeing. Rachael also

Gemini Day

By Bruce Harris Gemini Day is the rollercoaster epic of an Englishman and an American woman who meet and fall in love in the Spanish Civil War. They are both journalists forced to flee to southern France. In an old farmhouse, Ruth gives birth to their child, Susannah, on the same day as a fugitive Spanish

Words on the Table

By Jim Potts Words on the Table is a collection of over 200 poems written over six decades in many parts of the world: Greece, Czechoslovakia (as it was), Australia, England, the Nordics (especially Sweden), the USA, China and Ethiopia, and other countries. The collection is arranged in four broadly

Early in the year when gloom was threatening to overtake us all, Andrew began writing a short daily image of the world in his garden and within walking distance of home. His lifelong friend, Patricia Barrett, living in industrial Lancashire, responded with drawings to produce a beautiful and poignant record. Available from Little Toller Books, Beaminster at £9.95.

writes about wellbeing in nature and has a blog called Girl Gone Wild about the mental health benefits of spending time in nature.

Seas the Day is a wonderful collection of poems, journal extracts and photographs. It is the diary of a Dorset sea swimmer and is available from Rachael’s website www. girlgonewild.co.uk/shop £8.50 + P&P.

woman shot by Nationalists gives birth to a son and dies almost immediately. Ruth and her husband Bob adopt the boy and call him Rafael after his murdered father. They name the day when their children were born as Gemini Day, and the story tracks the Gemini Days of the future. Published by The Conrad Press it is available from Amazon and good bookshops.

thematic sections. In November, Jim celebrates twelve years of residence in Dorset. He has published three books in that time (all published by Colenso Books), including a volume of 43 short stories This spinning world, many of them set in Dorset. Jim grew up in Castle Cary in Somerset. Words on the Table is published by Colenso Books and is available from Amazon.

Alas the day By Ben Robinson available at writingandpoetry. com Chesil Beach By Judith Stinton available from harlequinpress. net Coping with Death By Leslie Scrase available from unitedwriters. co.uk Long Shadows By Michael Gardner available as an e-book from Amazon. West Bay By Elizabeth Gale available at Bridport Museum, TIC and local outlets. A Pottery Journal By Alan Ashpool available at Waterstones.

January

GALLERIES

1 - 31 January

Kit Glaisyer: Cinematic Landscape Paintings an evolving exhibition of West Country landscapes with a range of works on show in gallery and studio. Open Weds & Sat 10-4pm. Bridport Contemporary Gallery, 11 Downes Street, Bridport, Dorset DT6 3JR. 07983 465789 www.bridportcontemporary.com @ bridportcontemporary

Until 3 January 2022

Eduardo Chillida was one of the foremost Spanish sculptors of the twentieth century. Also Thomas J Price ‘Thoughts Useen’ Price’s multidisciplinary practice confronts preconceived public attitudes towards representation and identity. His inaugural exhibition with Hauser & Wirth presents two decades of conceptual enquiry spanning film, early sculpture, and the artist’s largest figurative bronze to date. Hauser & Wirth Somerset, Durslade Farm, Dropping Lane, Bruton, Somerset BA10 0NL.

4 - 29 January

Exhibition of prize winners from 2021 OPEN Art Competition Ilminster Arts Centre TA19 0AN Free. 9.30am - 3.30pm 01460 54973 www.ilminsterartscentre.com

8 January - 19 March

The Blackdown Hills: A Photographic Portrait by Pauline

Rook A photographic exhibition documenting two decades of farming life on the Blackdown Hills. Somerset-based photographer Pauline Rook has photographed this hidden landscape for almost 20 years. Over this period she has explored hundreds of miles of country lanes and paths, getting to know the individuals, countryside and buildings that make up the distinctive landscape of the Blackdowns. Includes a selection of Pauline’s most recent work which has been captured using an infrared sensitive camera.Open 10.00 am – 5.00 pm Tuesday – Saturday, booking advised Somerset Rural Life Museum, Chilkwell Street, Glastonbury, Somerset BA6 8DB 01458 831197 Charge: Normal admission applies/FREE for Museum Unlimited pass holders SRLM. ORG.UK

Until 9 January

Philip Sutton Colours through Life Philip Sutton’s exuberant paintings express the poetry he sees all around him. At the age of 93, he still paints and draws every day as he has throughout his life. His work is full of bright colour, painted with a freedom and clarity reminiscent of Matisse but entirely his own. His treatment of his varied subject matter is full of wonder, sometimes combined with humour. As The Times critic John Russell Taylor wrote, ‘All you need to understand and appreciate Philip Sutton is a lively eye and open mind. You do not have to make your way painfully towards him: his art will welcome you with open arms.’ Sladers Yard, West Bay Road, West Bay, Bridport, Dorset DT6 4EL. 01308 459511. gallery@sladersyard. co.uk. ‘Sou’-Sou’-West Winter Open’: mixed open Sou’-Sou’-West Arts Gallery, Symondsbury Estate, Bridport DT6 6HG. Open daily 10:30-4:30. Free admission & parking. Contact 01308 301326 www.sousouwest.co.uk. SSW Gallery’s annual Winter Open, this year with a focus on smaller pieces of original work, in a variety of media. Wildlife Photographer of the Year Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery. Queen Street Exeter EX4 3RX. 01392 265 858. https://rammuseum.org.uk/ Ti Parks A Retrospective Survey Messums are delighted to host this explorative retrospective of an artist whose core believe was in playfulness and the importance of change. Intuitive and intellectual, his ideas found wide-ranging expression in collage, etching, paintings, sculpture and performance. Mostly presented and performed in Australia, this exhibition brings together key elements of his practice to better understand his work. Messums Wiltshire, Place Farm, Court St, Tisbury, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP3 6LW. E: info@messumswiltshire.com. T: 01747 445042.