Creative flow of arts inspired by river view

AN exhibition featuring works inspired by rivers and by the creative process opens tomorrow (Saturday, July 12) at the River & Rowing Museum.

FLOW has been organised by Buckinghamshire Craft Guild, which has a shop and gallery in Stoke Mandeville.

Organiser Rachel Wright, from Shabbington, says: “There will be work from almost every member of the guild and there are about 33 members.

“We have a range of disciplines that members cover, everything from jewellery, ceramics and paper cutting to textiles and glasswork. It will be quite a range on display up in the Community Gallery.

“Some of the work has been influenced by the idea of the river and the water, also more conceptually thinking about the flow of ideas and starting from a source point and that broadening out as you go along.”

Sonning Common woodturner Keith Appleby, 74, joined the guild two years ago and will be exhibiting some of his works.

“For some of the pieces, it’s the texture and pattern of the wood that emphasise the flowing nature of line throughout the piece,” he says, “so you’ve got the figuring in the wood producing a flowing pattern.

“In other pieces, it’s the flow of line and I’ve carved lines into the wood.

“Another one uses ripples, so it’s the flow of movement out from the centre when you drop a stone into the water. It’s also the notion of reflections and reflected patterns breaking up the vision on the surface of the water.”

Keith, who is also chair of Oxford Sculptors Group, works with large pieces on sculptural forms.

“I will take a piece of wood and when you start turning something you start to uncover the patterns in the wood.

“There are some pieces where you have to work in a particular order, for instance, the hollowed pieces that I’ve produced which are carved inside and have rings, I have to produce the ring, take the ring out, produce the next ring, take the ring out, then hollow out, carve and put the rings back and reassemble it, so you have to decide on what you’re doing.”

Works on display will include a rowing-themed paper cut by Graham Lester, textiles by Janet Edmonds and ceramic bowls by Susan Day. Janet is passionate about drawing and stitching the infinite detail of organic surfaces. During walks in the countryside, she observes nature close up and appreciates the subtleties of colour, shape and texture.

Susan Day, 66, who lives in Taplow, took up ceramics in the early Nineties.

She says: “I have always hand-built but I have thrown on the potter’s wheel and just recently I have been doing more of that.

“The collection at FLOW will be thrown pieces and bowls, with a painted decoration which is actually quite different to my previous work.”

Although she will be exhibiting her porcelain pieces, Susan is best known for her collection of lamps, which are inspired by the ever-changing shapes she sees in nature.

“The River Thames has been part of my life for a long time,” she says.

“I’m lucky enough to live close enough to walk to the river in Taplow, so I do walk down to the Jubilee River and then on to the Thames a lot.

“I have always been interested in the colour of water, the way it flows.

“Henley has been a place that I have visited for years, so the river and the landscape are what influences my work.

“The work that I’ve got in FLOW is linked to the landscape.

“My journey from home to the craft shop is via the Chiltern Hills and the rolling hills and the colours in there, that also influences my work. I’ve driven down from Ibstone into Henley.

“For the lamps that I make, I collect grasses and flowers from a particular place, often from beside the Thames or the Jubilee River, and whatever I find in a particular area, that is what I put on my lamp, so it’s a record of a particular time and place and it just makes a beautiful image when the light shines through it. I use various grasses and clover and vetch.

“They’re different from year to year because everything is slightly different each year. Some of the grasses and the flowers have opened earlier or later and so you get a very slightly different arrangement of the grasses.

“If I’m collecting from beside the river, that’s usually warmer, so they’re a bit earlier than some other areas and I just find that quite fascinating. They will grow taller in some places and then shorter in others where they might be mowed or grazed and I usually find more clover in areas that are grazed. That’s what interests me.”

Tomorrow, there will be workshops from 11am to 1pm where families can drop in.

Animator Hilary Audus worked on The Snowman and co-wrote and directed The Bear and The Snowman and The Snowdog. She will be showing children how to draw the characters.

Ceramic artist Maud Eager will be doing workshops with clay, while Kate Wilkinson will be helping children to make junk jewellery.

Rachel and Heather will be demonstrating and from 2pm to 4pm, there will be a chance to meet the maker as some artists will be available for a chat.

l FLOW is in the Community Gallery at the River & Rowing Museum in Mill Meadows, Henley, from tomorrow (Saturday, July 12) until Sunday, August 31, open from 10am to 4pm daily. For more information, visit rrm.co.uk/event/flow or www.buckinghamshirecraft guild.co.uk