TerraMater Art: Degrees

THE TERRA MATER ARTISTS CONSIDER THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE

Following a well-received show at Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens, the Terra Mater Art group visits the Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro with Degrees, an interactive exhibition of paintings, ceramics, sculpture and jewellery considering the effects of climate change.

Terra Mater Art is a group of women artists and makers living and working in Cornwall. Members share a concern for the escalating and alarming issues of global warming, climate change, biodiversity loss, water and air pollution and deforestation. They have joined together to make a statement through their work and creative processes about the damage being inflicted on the planet, and the increasingly devastating effects not just on human society but also the animals and plants with which we share it.

The show title Degrees refers to the critical rise in temperature of two degrees. Eight local artists and makers have considered the extent to which people will be affected by these changes, depending not only on where they live on the planet (degrees of latitude and longtitude) but also on their social and economic situation.

Art jewellery maker Sarah Drew is planning a collection of big collage necklaces, wall panels and riveted found plastic rings and brooches, all based on her favourite sci-fi films such as Star Wars and Dune. “Much as I love these films, I think they can partly be seen as a warning of what could happen if nature is not protected,” she says. “The thought of us turning our planet into a desert like Arakis or Tatooine, or a drought-ridden place with dangerous storms, is sobering to say the least. We need to be the Rebel Alliance and resist the forces of greed that are ignoring the climate emergency.”

Karen McEndoo’s paintings pay homage to trees, especially those in towns and cities, often damaged, pollarded, planted in poor soil or just overlooked. “By depicting them as black spatial forms they become negative spaces around which everything else tessellates, the blackness symbolising the trees’ ability to absorb light, carbon and pollution in return for oxygen and lower temperatures,” she explains.

The exhibition will also feature paintings by Dana Finch, ceramics by Laurel Keeley, art jewellery by Donna Burns and sculpture by Whitney Manning.

The exhibition aims to be as interactive as possible. Saturdays will see climate change-themed jewellery-making and art workshops in collaboration with the museum's art club (free for 11 to 18-yearolds): make sci-fi inspired found jewellery with Sarah Drew, and have a go at abstract painting with Karen McEndoo. Look out, too, for collaborative artwork within the exhibition. Also, 10% of sales will be donated to Cornwall Wildlife Trust, while the museum shop will stock related affordable eco-gifts.

The group hopes to spark discussions about what is happening now and likely to occur in the near future, as well as considering and suggesting possible solutions and methods to counteract the damaging increase in global temperatures. “Our shows are an invitation to others to work with us to grow a world in which we can all survive and thrive, protecting the boundless beauty, diverse species and energy of the world around us.” l Degrees runs at the Royal Cornwall Museum in River Street, Truro from February 15 to March 26. To check workshop dates and book spaces, email terramaterart@gmail.com

For further information, www.terramaterart.com

CREATIVE & CULTURAL LIVING

COWHOUSE GALLERY

The gallery is run by a group of local artists and craftspeople and offers a wide range of original arts and crafts at very affordable prices. A stroll away is Perranuthnoe Cove with breathtaking coastal walks looking towards St Michael’s Mount in one direction and to Prussia Cove the other. Left: Wrecked by Anne Boss. Acrylic on Canvas Right: Jules by Anne Boss. Pencil sketch Winter hours open daily 11-4. Lynfield Craft Centre, Perranuthnoe TR20 9NE T: 01736 710538 • www.cowhousegallery.co.uk

INSPIRE MAKERS

Located towards the top of Falmouth High Street, Inspire Makers is a creative space showcasing the talent of over 50 Cornish artists and craftspeople. There is a wide range of contemporary work from both wellknown and emerging makers, across jewellery, ceramics, textiles, painting & prints, stationery, and homewares. There is also a pop-up gallery which hosts a year round programme of short exhibitions by Cornish artists, and a dedicated workshop space which offers classes to inspire people to become creative themselves. Check our website for details on what’s coming up. Opening Times: Tues to Sat 10am-5pm Inspire Makers, 5 High Street, Falmouth, TR11 2AB • T: 01326 531176 E: create@inspiremakers.com • W: www.inspiremakers.com A @inspire_makers • G inspiremakers

MARTIN JOHN FOWLER

Martin John Fowler is a professional working artist based in South Yorkshire with strong connections to Cornwall. Displaying in several local galleries, Martin’s work looks to capture Cornwall’s rugged and wild coastal areas, often en plein air when possible, and as a result has had his work exhibition both nationally and internationally in solo and mixed exhibitions. JACKSON FOUNDATION

KENIDJACK: A CORNISH VALLEY Until February 26th. Kurt Jackson has spent over three years painting Kenidjack Valley to explore, re-engage and immerse himself through the seasons from top to tail of this extraordinary watercourse, the UK’s ‘almostmost’ westerly valley.

VALLEY LIVES Until February 26th. Along Kenidjack valley there were shops, a Sunday school, places of recreation and manufacture. Some of these have now gone but a thriving community lives on. This collection of images and artefacts aims to tell the story of this valley.

MERMAIDS’ TEARS From March 19th. This exhibition, originally shown in Scotland during COP26, charts Kurt Jackson’s efforts to address the blight of plastic in the ocean, and draws attention to the resin pellets or nurdles from plastic manufacturing (known as mermaids’ tears) that pollute the environment. In association with Surfers Against Sewage.

CLAY COUNTRY From March 19th. For this project previously exhibited at Wheal Martyn and Worcester, Kurt Jackson worked in situ at the Littlejohns China Clay Works, observing the workers in the pit as they extracted and transported the china clay in an extraordinary manmade landscape. The dramatic (and sometimes extreme) variations in the weather inspired a diverse range of drawings and paintings, perched on the edge of the pit or down in the depths – including the clay and stone itself in the mix.

SALLY BALDWIN - FRAGILE EARTH From March 19th. Textile artist Sally Baldwin’s Fragile Earth is a body of work evoking natural forms such as trees, pods, flowers, insects, sea life, water. The materials used - recycled paper, handmade paper, silk waste, silk, cotton scrim - are ghostly, white and ephemeral, suggesting delicate, fragile, finely balanced and vulnerable landscapes. Please check website for seasonal opening times North Row, St Just, TR19 7LB • T: 01736 787638 www.jacksonfoundationgallery.com

SHARON MCSWINEY

We have moved to a new gallery space exhibiting handcrafted metalwork, jewellery & paintings. Inspired by the sea unique metal seaweed wall pieces & silver limpet jewellery capture the Cornish coast. Sharon McSwiney, Gallery on the Square, Island Square, St Ives TR26 1NX Tel: 01736 448293 • www.sharonmcswiney.co.uk