Hay Festival Virtual Exhibition 2020

Date: 17th May - 30th June 2020

Location: Old Chapel Gallery, Pembridge

Virtual Festival Exhibition at Old Chapel Gallery, Pembridge, to run during Hay Festival Digital 2020 will open on Sunday May 17 and continue to the end of June. We will feature the work of talented British artists and makers from far and near.

Tamsin Abbott

Heading the line up will be a tempting collection of stained glass from ever popular glass artist Tamsin Abbott whose work is influenced by our ancient land and how we are connected to it: the hills, the woods, the plants, birds and animals that live alongside us and the world of myths and fairytales that we have spun around it.

Tamsin works on mainly British made mouth blown glass, in fabulous colours. She completely covers the glass with a special black glass paint which is totally opaque. When the paint is dry Tamsin then scrapes back into it using a variety of simple tools. She uses the paint like a scraper board which is working in the negative to achieve an effect rather like a woodcut.

Stained Glass Raven's Nest — ‘Raven’s Nest’ Glass Sold

Stained Glass Panel ‘Moonrise Hunter’ — ‘Raven’s Nest’ Glass Sold

Click here to view Tamsin’s stained glass panels and limited edition prints

Jackie Morris

We will be showing recent limited edition prints by artist Jackie Morris, famous for her illustrations in children books and more recently for the award-winning ‘The Lost Words’, in which she collaborated with Robert McFarlane, a collection of ‘spells’ with words from the natural world that the junior Oxford Dictionary had removed…Jackie studied at Hereford College of Arts and at Bath Academy.

Premium Print "Silent Flight" — Premium Print
“Silent Flight”

To see more of Jackie’s artwork click here

Kirsti Brown

Ceramicist Kirsti Brown currently produces hand built vessels and bottles in a variety of stoneware clays in sumptuously summery colours reminding us of days by the sea. The slab built bottles are created using thinly rolled clay to create finished pieces which are light and elegant. Coiled bottles are spherical in form, but each one is completely different due to the nature of the construction method.
The bottles made are reminiscent of human forms having defined shoulders and narrow necks. The glazes and decorations are then added to evoke landscapes, seascapes and marks found in the landscape. The coiled forms are reminiscent of washed and worn beach pebbles. She uses a dry turquoise glaze as well as impressed marks highlighted with copper carbonate and over glazed with a satin white glaze. Using a variety of clays, the glaze is altered from a vivid turquoise to a washed out blue.

Stoneware Wide Waves Bottle — Wide Waves Bottle

Stoneware Medium Tall Waves Bottle — Wide Waves Bottle

To view and buy Kirsti’s ceramics click here

Rachel Bailey

Rachel Bailey has been a jeweller for over 20 years. She studied at Portsmouth College of Art in the late ’80’s and then went on to West Surrey College of Art and Design in the early ’90’s taking a degree in three dimensional design – specialising in metals. Rachel’s work explores her love of wild creatures, our native animals and birds and magical realms. The semi precious stones she uses are an integral part of her inspiration as they suggest landscapes in which the creatures inhabit. Each piece is individually made and therefore unique, in sterling silver and Hallmarked in Sheffield.

Silver Pendant ‘Two For Joy’ with Labradorite — Silver Triple Hare Pendant

You can view and buy Rachel’s jewellery here

Kathryn O’Kell

Kathryn O’Kell has been carving wood reliefs for more than 30 years and it is wonderful to introduce her work here for the first time. Using English Lime wood and traditional hand carving techniques she depicts mainly birds, her favourite subjects since childhood. Kathryn only needs to look out of her shed window when working and her inspiration is flying past, circling overhead or resting on the woodshed. Kathryn says: “I’m never entirely sure what I want to make until it is made. The initial idea may be : species of bird, its’ landscape, a colour and the resulting carving develops organically from there.”

Relief Wood Carving Jackdaw - Flight — Jackdaw – Flight

Relief Wood Carving Oystercatcher — Jackdaw – Flight

To view and buy Kathryn’s Relief Wood Carvings click here

Sue Hayden

Artist Sue Hayden will be featuring a glorious collection of landscapes painted whilst on location in Pembrokeshire and several recent paintings of nudes. Sue is excited by the relationship between texture, shape, light and space in landscapes and paints with acrylics and pastels on paper that have been layered up beforehand with paint and paper creating a collage effect. This adds energy, randomness and interest to the subject. Her work is created from sketches and notes based on her impressions of what she is looking at and feeling. She rarely refer to photographs.

Acrylic and Charcoal Original painting "Memories of Caerfai" — Acrylic and Charcoal Original painting

Acrylic and Charcoal Original painting ‘Carn Perfedd:Wet Gorse' — Acrylic and Charcoal Original painting

“I paint the texture, colour and light I see in landscapes, seascapes and the human form. I’m particularly drawn to the Welsh Coast and the forests and hills around Worcestershire, drawing and making detailed notes outside then painting in my tiny studio. I use acrylics, pastels and collage on Saunders Waterford 640 gsm paper for most of my paintings and my Giclee Prints are printed on Fine Museum Paper”

Print ‘Sky Blue Brook’ — ‘Sky Blue Brook’

Giclee Print ‘Leaving Ribbesford’ — ‘Sky Blue Brook’

You can view and buy Sue’s original paintings here and Sue’s limited edition prints here.

Lesley Strickland

Jewellery maker/designer Lesley Strickland is always a firm favourite with Hay Festival goers so we are happy to have a range of her jewellery to compliment your summer wardrobe.

Lesley is a British jeweller specialising in the use of cellulose acetate (derived from cotton oil) combined with sterling silver. The acetate can be layered into a wide range of patterns and can be manipulated into far more fluid forms than other forms of plastics. Lesley’s passion for designing and making jewellery started in 1976 at The City Literary Institute, London, England. Since then she has continued to evolve and develop her personal style. Her inspiration comes from weathered, natural forms and sculptors of the 1950’s. The final finish of each piece is important to her as she likes the wearer to have a very tactile relationship with her work.

Cellulose Acetate Earrings Twirl — Cellulose Acetate Twirl Earrings

Cellulose Acetate Gabo Stud Earrings — Cellulose Acetate Twirl Earrings

You can view and buy Lesley’s jewellery here

Sallie Wakley

The work of Sculptor Sallie Wakley comes from her life long passion for animals and nature. Each piece is as individual as the animals she portrays, starting with the clay and glazes that she makes fro her own recipes to the creature itself which she hand builds over a number of days. The huge diversity of animals gives her an ever growing abunance of inspiration although she regularly returns to her own favourites the fox and the hare which we are showing at the gallery.

Raku Fired Reclining Badger — Raku Fired Strutting Moorhen

You can view and buy Sallie’s sculpture here

Our Garden Sculpture Exhibition ‘Long Shadows’ 2020 has recently opened and we are showing an ever-changing collection of unique garden sculptures to enhance your outdoor space in a variety of media such as stoneware, forged iron, stainless steel, glass and more including the work of several sculptors new to the gallery.

Ceramic Garden Sculpture White Bird on stand

Ceramic Garden Sculpture Golden Unicorn Head

Hot Forged and Galvanised Hanging Leaf Bird Bath with feeder.

Hot Forged and Galvanised Oasis Bird Bath

You can view more garden sculpture exhibition here

Upcoming Exhibition ‘Making Waves’

‘Making Waves’ Summer Exhibition 2020 at Old Chapel Gallery opens online from Sunday July 12 featuring new work by Karen Pearce, Mia Sarosi, Helen Martino, Rachel Wright, Rachael Blakeway, Wanda Sowry and Kathie Barrs