Artists
Featured Artists in the Gallery
Graham Dore
Graham produces a variety of artwork ranging from wall hanging pieces and small items for use indoors, to larger sculptures for our outdoor display. The outdoor sculptures makes a perfect focal points for gardens, lawns or patio areas.
‘Since childhood whilst working with my father, I have developed a keen interest in handicraft of all types including both woodwork and metalwork. Throughout my adult life I have continued to hone these skills, keeping up to date with emerging techniques and enhancing my workshop with better and more professional equipment as household budgets have permitted. More recently I have focused my lifelong interest in metal craft towards metal sculpture and in March 2010 I took voluntary redundancy and early retirement from a professional engineering career to allow time to cultivate this new found passion.
‘I get inspired when I am out and about kayaking, running, cycling or walking; apart from being out in nature these times are when my mind has a chance to wander.’
Roy Dutton
Roy Dutton loves to work with reclaimed or found objects and breathing new life into them with alternative uses. He has a humorous take on objects, creating sculptural pieces to surprise and amaze.
'I have been making sculptures from mainly reclaimed or found objects as a living for about eight years. It all started whilst recovering from illness.
I found myself with plenty of time on my hands but low on finances, hence trying to create work from discarded scrap metal to give me more scope. Lately the metal side seems to be taking over from the wood.
I like to think my work contains a degree of my own sense of humour. I love giving things a new lease of life, sometimes in a way they were never intended to. If it makes you smile then it's worked.'
Leila Godden
“My paintings aim to evoke feelings and experiences unique to each individual, expressed through my connection with the sea. The vast panorama of changing light, dramatic weather and powerful water, framed by rocks solid with history, yet transient with time and the rhythm of the earth. The minutiae of rock pools juxtaposed against the expansive sweep of sea and sky. Here, I feel a completeness incorporating time and space, stillness and movement.
Drawing from within, artist interacts with the materials to create an “inscape”. This embodies the idea that the inner and outer world meet in the consciousness of an individual, and into this space a person will project their own uniqueness. The painting becomes a threshold in a dialogue between inner and outer. Beyond words, but sensed and understood”.
Leila prefers a water based medium, which also has substance and sculptural qualities when required. Acrylic paint responds well to textures, working in layers, burnishing, or flowing freely as water is applied in various ways, allowing the pigments to interact. She prefers to limit her palette, to create harmony and a sense of continuity.
She is a member of the United Society of Artists (UA), regularly exhibiting in London, and Chairman of artist run Chalk Gallery, in Lewes, East Sussex.
Michelle Hall
Michelle Hall has developed a wonderful skill for creating birds and animals in a variety of materials.
She says: 'Growing up in Somerset with an artistic family background, I soon developed my own artistic identity shaped by my love of animals and the countryside.
My work begins through a process of photography, drawing from life and making experimental moquettes. I construct my original sculptures using traditional materials such as clay, wax, plaster and often incorporate found objects. A mould is made from my original and my finished pieces are made from ceramics, bronze and bronze resin.
Through my sculptural practice I seek to celebrate natural forms, capturing the vitality, essence and presence of the creatures I depict; a tangible glimpse of the natural world.
I hope to covey the importance of the relationship between animals, humans and the environment.
I previously worked in a bronze casting foundry, where I developed a range of sculptures. Recently I have focused on producing a body of work in ceramics, which I cast and fire myself. I am also concentrating on creating some larger scale sculptures in bronze resin.'
Heather Jolliffe
Heather is an experienced art teacher and practising painter, who runs regular art classes and workshops from venues in and around Lymington in Hampshire, as well as to other organisations, such as Hampshire Libraries, and to art groups up and down the country.
Her formal art training was at Bournemouth and Poole College of Art, before completing a degree in Fine Art at the prestigious Royal Academy Schools of Art. Heather also has a qualification in teaching adult learners.
Deeply inspired by the coast and countryside of her native Hampshire, Heather has shown work in many exhibitions, including the Royal Academy of Art, the Mall Galleries and St Barbes' Museum.
Jessica Jordan
Jess lives in West Sussex, very close to the South Downs and the beach. Her surroundings are a big influence on her work.
She develops her ideas through drawing, print and paint within her sketchbook of ideas; using the inspiration from natural objects, the human figure and corroded surfaces. she loves corroded surfaces, the contrast of rough and smooth lines, patterns and textures that are found on stone, wood, glass and metal that has been weathered and broken down from natural erosion.
What makes Jess’ work unique is that each piece is individual and a real one off, the pattern, texture and form of each piece is different due to the way she creates them. The work changes each time you look at it or move around it, there is always something new to see. Her work is a combination of contemporary ideas with traditional making techniques. The work can take many forms which include vessels, sculptures, pieces of jewellery and wall hangings.
Each piece is hand built using either stoneware or porcelain clay that has been washed over with oxides and/or coloured slips to highlight the textures that are already on the surface.
Hannya Robinson
Hannya was born in Manchester and has lived in and travelled to many corners of the world. Her paintings signify and represent her adventures. An experienced sailor and nature enthusiast, Hannya paints with a mixed media in all sizes.
Hannya's creativity is not bound to her studio, she packs her paints and takes them on her travels. She's been known to paint on flights, on a stormy sea or safe on the ground, in her studio in the New Forest, UK. She's had a long standing and creative career in art, fashion and design, and has painted since she was a child.
Terri Smart
Terri Smart's secluded pottery workshop nestling next to the garage of Cherry Cottage, Back Lane, in East Clandon affords a peaceful view over open fields of Surrey. Here, enjoying the quiet and solitude, save for the companionship of BBC Radio 4, with her own wheel and kiln, her clays, glazes, and colours, she creates a unique range of pottery items. For Terri, her work is a passion, even a compulsion. She is fascinated by the feel of the clay, the adventure of experimenting with new techniques and the excitement of taking the finished article out of the kiln.
