Dorset Art Weeks Feature

DORSET ART WEEKS returns this year in a slightly different form.

“After the extraordinary eighteen months we have all experienced artists and makers are looking forward to showing work that has been made during this time of lockdown and Coronavirus. Many artists have been unable to travel even to their studios. Some have made work in direct response to the pandemic, whereas others have continued their practice without referencing current affairs. The brochure is online this year, allowing participants to adjust their opening times accoring to government guidelines on opening venues as they happen.

Do click through and explore it and plan your visits.

Some artists have the usual open studio, others require booked appointments, and some are showing their work online; do check before you visit.” We spoke to our own Art Correspondent Edwina Baines, and the following are her personal tips on local studios you should try not to

miss (click the pics to see more):

(BLANDFORD)

Alongside British and overseas wildlife will be Jake’s Horse Racing and Venice scenes, with paintings inspired by the colours of Africa and subjects nearer to home too. Known for his distinctive, dramatic watercolours bursting with light and energy, and the engaging eye contact of the subject. Venue 44 here

(CHILD OKEFORD) Landscapes in oils and watercolour, mostly painted en plein air.

Venue 185 here (IWERNE MINSTER) Dramatic Seascapes in oils and acrylics. With an established reputation as a leading seascape painter, I concentrate on the dramatic, atmospheric and often romantic nature of the sea. Venue 5 here. (HINTON ST MARY) Katie is an award-winning artist specializing in equestrian and landscape themed oil paintings and drawings. She has a distinctive style, blending of strong drawing technique with expressionist feel for movement. Venue 58 here

(BLANDFORD)

Bryanston School opens its art studio to the public for the first time. A large and successful art department with some internationally recognised artists as ex-students. The staff nurturing this talent are all practising artists in their own right working within several disciplines. Venue 74 here (LONGBURTON)

Established Dorset Makers Liz Walsh and Victoria Jardine have teamed up with portrait and lifestyle photographer Katharine Davies and figurative painter, Rebecca Stanley, to produce an artfully woven display of willow sculpture, studio ceramics, portraiture and still life. (CHESELBOURNE)

A collective of artists exhibiting: Jane Chapman - Childrens’ Illustration & Printmaking Colin Robert Davis - Mosaic Art (mosaic owl in image) Gail Davies - Ceramic Forms Bethan Venn - Textiles Noah Warnes - Painting, Printmaking Unwind in our beautiful venue. Venue 10 here

(nr BLANDFORD) Jane specialises in wild-life and animal sculptures for the home and garden. The exhibition will enable you to see some of her work, including recent commissions and drawings, and also visit the garden where her large-scale pieces will be shown.

Venue 46 here

(nr BLANDFORD)

Polly’s latest thrown and hand-built porcelain collection features a range of contemporary, elegant pieces decorated with organic materials found on wild walks in the Dorset countryside.

Venue 46 here

(COMPTON ABBAS)

‘Our House Is On Fire’ Devastation to the Natural world is increasingly evident even in ‘this small corner of Dorset’, and are but a small reflection of what is happening to our home, Mother Earth.

My recent work seeks to balance this reality with delight and wonder that Nature gives so generously. Venue 15 here

(BLANDFORD) ‘Drawing on Dorset’ A mixed exhibition of selected drawings made, ‘in’, ‘of’, and ‘about’, Dorset - all of which celebrate a breadth of drawing practice, made in response to the creative stimulus of Dorset itself. This exhibition is of work featured in Drawing on Dorset, a book published in 2019. (LONGBURTON) Rachel’s evocative paintings and prints are full of light, shadows and the elements. They chart her walks along tracks, rivers and coastlines. Sharing her venue is Emsie Sharp - unique handblown glass reflecting her love of colour and technique. One off pieces and a variety of tableware. (STALBRIDGE)

The Gugg has full time art and craft galleries, a year round workshop and talks programme, artists studios and associated social events. For DAW we will be opening our studios, showcasing our gallery artists and talking about our work.