Dates For Your Diary
Fri 2 Dec. Private View 6.30-8.30pm AF1 & 2 ‘Creative Christmas 2011‘ annual art and craft show.
Fri 2 Dec. Preview 6-8.30pm Burton Gallery Christmas Exhibition. See Exhibitions Elsewhere.
Fri 2 Dec. The Forum and its neighbours along the seaside strip are joining together to switch on
Christmas lights together with a late night opening (’til 7 pm). See Stop Press.
Sat /Sun 3 and 4 Dec. Brenda Hartill open studio at Udimore 11 – 4. New embossed watercolours
and Christmas goodies. See www.brendahartill.com
Sat / Sun 3 and 4 Dec. Tony Wynne and Mark Fisher are welcoming guests this weekend at Sedlescombe
. See Members’ Announcements.
Thu 8 Dec. Late night opening, until 7 pm along the St Leonards seaside strip
Stop Press
David Noble is offering instruction courses in Drawing for the New Year. See detail at the end
of this bulletin.
Kate Guyon. We regret to hear of the death of Forum member, Kate Guyon. Kate, who is believed
to be in her late twenties / early thirties collapsed in Bar Blue while out with friends.
Beccy Lofts. The many friends of Beccy Lofts and her mother, Jean, and partner, David Murphy will want
to send best wishes to Beccy in the Marsden Hospital. London, where she is undergoing treatment.
St Leonards ‘Seaside Strip’ Christmas. The Forum and its neighbours along the seaside strip are joining
together on Fri 2 Dec to switch on Christmas lights together with a late night opening (til 7 pm) on Fri 2 Dec.
A grant from the Council for £500 is being matched by businesses and traders. During December, there
will also be three late night openings until 7 pm on Thursdays, Dec 8, 15 and 22.
Dance. Liberate yourself through dance. Two Forum members, Marybeth Haas and Janet Harding, are
offering separate dance sessions this month. See members announcements
Towner Art Gallery calls for East Sussex artists to submit work for the 2012 open exhibition,
24 Mar – 29 Apr. For more info go to www.townereastbourne.org.uk or call Eastbourne 434667.
South East Open Studios. (SEOS). Forum member, Mark Fisher, is an East Sussex and area
co-ordinator for SEOS, 2012. Open Studios programme will run for two weeks between Fri 1 – Sunday,
17 June 2012. If you register your interest on-line before 25 Dec 2011, you will be eligible for a £95 entry
fee, otherwise, the fee is £105.00. To enter the open studio programme, you need to register with
Felicity Flutter, overall co-ordinator by 31 Jan . See www.seos-art.org . Participation gives you access to
a brochure with 30,000 copies distributed across the south-east. SEOS claims to originate over 20,000
visits to artists’ studios.
Current Exhibition
Creative Christmas 2011 runs in both galleries from 2-11 Dec offering the chance to browse and
purchase works by local artists and artisans. Curated by Angela Childs, choose gifts or indulge
yourself from a treasure trove of jewellery, glassware, ceramics, textiles, novelties, accessories,
felting, painting and recycled wood Christmas trees. Prices start at just a few £s.
Forthcoming Exhibitions
Volunteers Show. AF 2 from 16 Dec – 4 Jan. Free entry to all who have been volunteers this year. Hand-in
date will be 15 Dec.
Chris Roskell, Jo Welsh and Ian Welsh. ”Londoners in Sussex“. Paintings, Etchings and Assemblages .
Dec 16 – 4 Jan. Chris, Ian Welsh and Ian’s wife Jo Welsh have all recently moved to Hastings and are
establishing two studios in an old factory in the town. Ian Welsh makes observations of water and has
been working on this theme for over 25 years. His paintings use a layering process using acrylic lacquers.
Jo Welsh makes assemblages and etchings. She has had numerous exhibitions and is represented in
and has worked in his studio at Parndon Mill for several years. Chris studied fine art in the sixties and
early seventies, a time when the whole validity of painting was hotly debated. Indeed his work towards
the end of his time at art school moved away from conventional painting towards performance when he
worked with dancers from The London Contemporary Dance. Since then Chris has spent time carrying out
specialist decorating commissions on site, using his craft skills as a painter, as well as developing fine
art painting in the studio.
Both Galleries will be closed for annual re-furbishment from 4-18 Jan 2012. Volunteers required: painters,
cleaners, tea-makers, brow-wipers, seamstresses !!
Exhibitions Elsewhere
Burton Gallery. Three interesting local artists and Forum members will be showing at the Burton Gallery
this December: Robin Holtom, John Lipsham and David Reeve. Co-inciding with Degas dancers at the
Royal Academy will be Robin Holtom’s own studies of dancers, continuing his current theme of the
exploration of movement and the female form. Figures move fluidly in space, often echoed by their own
reflections, painted in colours which reflect the influence of the artist’s sojourns in Spain and Italy.
Artist David Reeve never disappoints with his jewel-like Old Town views, and in this exhibition we will also
see a more subdued palette, as his expert eye tackles such subjects as Dungeness and the Marine Court
building itself. John Lipsham continues to explore the hinterland between the representational and the
abstract, with a growing understanding of his subject. In his new work he again uses colour and form to
create arresting images which strike a chord within, and leave a lasting effect in the mind of the viewer.
The Burton Gallery Christmas Exhibition, from December 2nd – December 18th. Preview Friday 2nd
December, 6 – 8.30 pm. Open: Friday – Monday 11 -5 pm. The Burton Gallery, 5 Marine Court,
St.Leonards-on-Sea. TN38 0DX. Tel: 01424 719817 www.theburtongallery.co.uk
Penny Hobson will be exhibiting her art through December at The Post Office Tearooms, 40A Marina, St Leonards.
Members Announcements
Marybeth Haas posts: a reminder that Ecstatic Trance Dance, a moving meditation, will be on 14 Dec at
the Performing Arts Studio, (room signposted 1.029), Sussex Coast College, Station Plaza. Please sign in
at reception on arrival. Times: Doors Open 19:00; Begins 19:15, Finish 21:00, Building closes 21:15. More
info: www.conscious-arts.co.uk/dance or call 01424 460477.
Earthbeat is a free form dance session/class – no steps to learn, great music from many different genres
and undeniably dancey. This is a lovely supportive group: no onlookers just fellow dancers. All movement
is at your own pace with a flowing start and meditative end – a really uplifting way to get your body moving.
Why not join the last session of 2011 – a great way to get a little fitter for the party season? Wed 7 Nov,
7-10pm at Sussex Coast College, Room 1029, Station Plaza, Hastings. Cost £8. Please sign in at
reception and head for the first floor: The Performance Dance Studio. Bring comfortable clothes and water.
For more information, ring Janet Harding on 01424 773097.
Mark Fisher and Antony Wynne, have a Christmas Open Studio on Sat /Sun, 3/4 Dec at 10 -4pm. The open
studio will be at “The Den”, Meadow Lane, Seddlescombe. Cards, painings, stained glass, garden art and
more. A glass of mulled wine will greet you.
Film
St Leonards Film Soc has the following screenings coming up in AF 1:
6 Dec. ’Rare Exports : A Christmas Tale’ set in the depths of the Korvatunturi mountains.
22 Dec. ’Its a Wonderful Life!’..a classic gem.
Music
Elizabeth Forbes reviews The Celebrity Gala Concert at St Mary in the Castle on Sunday 27 November came
in two parts: the first half was contributed by members of Barefoot Opera (in whose aid the concert was being
given). A duet and a trio from Cosìfan tuttewere both enjoyable and well directed by Jenny Miller, but the best
and most dramatic excerpt from a Mozart opera was Sesto’s aria, “Parto, parto” from La clemenza di Tito,
sung by Aino Konkka with clarinet obbligato played by Andrew Sparling. There was also a silent Vitellio to listen
to her lover in the person of Krysia Mansfield, who herself sang two items, by Tippett and Borodin. Andrew
Sparling also voiced an attractive, little known song by Ravel; he is very nearly as good a singer as he is a
clarinettist, and that is high praise indeed. The excellent pianist was Nancy Cooley.
The second half of the concert was given by soprano Elizabeth Connell, who was accompanied by Stephen
Rose. She announced her own programme, each aria preceded by several minutes of talk. Miss Connell
made her debut at Wexford as Varvara in Janáĉek’s Katya Kabanova, a performance I vividly remember
though it was quite a long time ago . One virtue she has not lost since those early days is a complete lack
of fear in attack; that was magnificently displayed in Lady Macbeth’s aria “La luce langue” from Verdi’sMacbeth,
while “Dich, teure Halle”, Elisabeth’s greeting to the Hall of Song in Wagner’s Tannhäuser, was also properly
dramatic. Some business with a number of funny hats amused the audience, few of whom were lucky enough
to share my memories of a great artist.
ELIZABETH FORBES
Elizabeth Forbes was formerly opera critic for the “Financial Times” and a director on the board of “Opera”
magazine. Currently, she writes obituaries for “The Independent” and reviews opera for Whittakers Almanac.
Poetry
Join the Poetry Group for pistols drawn on Sat Dec 3, at 5pm, where tantalisingly the theme will be ‘Revenge’.
“Curses!! I’m guessing those Arts Forum poets
Didn’t really like my verses..”
Courses
Exploring Drawing In the New Year 2012, I will be running 10 Tuesday drawing sessions on the following dates:
Jan 10th, 17th, 24th, 31st, Feb 7th, then Feb 28th, Mar 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th.
(9.30am – 1.00pm) I believe that 4 drawing sessions (preferably consecutive) is the minimum amount of time
(14 hours) needed to make real progress with a drawing, especially if your drawing experience is limited, and
I would recommend 6 sessions (again preferably consecutive) if at all possible. Therefore it is necessary to
commit to a 4 session minimum booking although it may be possible to accommodate the dates
non – consecutively depending on the course numbers.
4 day course will cost £95
6 day course will cost £140
10 day course will cost £230
Extra days by arrangement will cost £24 each.
I have to ask for full payment in advance, in order to establish a place on a course and assist in planning. If you
would like to find out more, or reserve a place, please ring me on 01424 882367 or email:
david@heronryhouse.plus.com I will then send more specific details about schedules, materials, location etc.
The courses take place in a rural location near Rye.
The aim of these drawing courses is to equip participants with the knowledge of fundamental drawing skills so
they can accurately represent the visual world in two dimensions. By acquiring the skill to draw you are actuall
heightening your visual awareness. The more you discover you can see, the more you want to draw. Drawing
can become a life enhancing activity. Participants are encouraged to think of drawing more as an acquirable
skill than an art form.
The course tutor, David Noble, trained atthe Byam Shaw School of Drawing and Painting, London (LCAD),
the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne Department of Fine Art (BA Hons) and the Institute of Education,
London University (ATC).
