The National Forest Art Gallery

Oona Richards

"Cup n Plate, n Rusty Spoon"

Oona Richards says of her three dimensional "works my interpretations are there to spur the observer to reflect about their own emotions and the world around them. Manipulating or re-creating existing items with a different material, purpose or identity, helps the scale of my work develop intuitively through the creative process".

Anne Harrison

"A Summers Day"

May 2009 Exhibition - Anne Harrison

Born in Leicestershire, England and gaining an honours degree at Lougborough University of Art and Design, Anne Harrison worked in industry as a Textile Designer for several years only leaving when she married and started a family. When her two sons began their full time education, she continued to develop her interest in the three-dimensional quality of the combined use of watercolours/inks and hand/machine embroidery can bring to artwork.

Anne says, “my passion of walking in the English countryside , throughout its glorious seasons, together with my love of creative gardening inspires me to explore the depth and texture which "Thread Painting" can add to the palette of the fine artist.

Painting directly onto the canvas I begin to build up the image with the embroidery , highlighting texture onto the details of the landscape, including trees, hedgerows and flowers.

Finally, I extend the embroidery onto and through the mountboard to give a feeling of continuous perspective.

I stage several exhibitions throughout the year in the U.K. and will consider commissions as I love a challenge!”

Sara Taylor

"Fun Designs For Everyday Living"

This month, the National Forest Art Gallery is pleased to host an exhibition by an internationally renowned surface designer and illustrator, Sara Taylor. Sara is particularly interested in graphic, hand drawn illustration and textile design, drawing inspiration from nature and photographs taken around Derbyshire, as well as Japanese illustration creating vibrant patterns and fun designs for everyday living. 

Sara’s branded products are unique because of her distinct design style, the way the design flows and the appearance of them being seamless, not just a functional product, but a piece of art to be used and enjoyed. Her designs have recently been developed into limited edition canvases and coasters, a vibrant but funky collection that appeals to all ages, bringing fun, colourful contemporary design into the home.

Sara Taylor’s work has been exhibited at the British Embassy in Tokyo in Japan as well as Top Drawer, Pulse in London and Grand Designs in Birmingham. She has worked closely with Derby Museum and Art Gallery to launch her first solo exhibition called SURFACE and is returning to SURTEX 2009 in New York, launching her new designs into the American market.

Sara has recently been awarded her first major Art Commission and will be designing an installation of 50 tiles for a Building Project Commission, to be launched in Autumn 2009. Additionally, the Sara Taylor brand has also licensed designs to ‘Carlton Cards’, ‘International Greetings’, ‘Gibson & Hanson’ and has worked with ‘Faith’, on fun designs to be used on shoes. She has recently collaborated with a New York based company to transform some of her iconic designs into clock faces.

Expect the unexpected at this exhibition, but there will certainly be plenty of colour within the walls of the art gallery! The exhibition is designed to appeal to all ages and families are strongly encouraged to come and take a look, whilst visiting Conkers for a day out.

The exhibition will be available for public viewing from Saturday, August 1st until Monday 31st August. Visitors coming specifically for the exhibition, may also utilise the Gift Shop and Restaurant for free, upon registration at Reception. Conkers is open from 10.00 a.m. until 6.00 p.m. in August.

Pollyanna Pickering

"Pollyanna Pickering"

Pollyanna Pickering is widely recognized as Europe's foremost wildlife artist, and is the most published fine artist working in Britain today. She is an honorary patron of The Wildlife Art Society International, and a signature member of the Artists for Conservation Foundation and the Society of Feline Artists. She is also a full juried member of the New York based Society of Animal Artists.

Pollyanna was born in Yorkshire, and is pictured left making an early start on her career! She began her real art training at Rotherham Art School, where, in her first year she won the award for most promising student - and met her future husband, Ken Pickering, an industrial designer. She went on to study for a further three years at the London Central School of Art, graduating with distinction.

Pollyanna's original work has been exhibited in top galleries internationally, including the Royal Academy. Her paintings hang in private and corporate collections world-wide from Siberia to Australia, and celebrity collectors of her work include John Hurt and David Bowie, while Sheik Mohammed has a specially commissioned series of paintings of his ascot winners. Her work has been presented to Princess Anne, and she has even been commissioned to paint Her Majesty the Queens' favourite racing pigeon!

Pollyanna's work will be familiar to most people through her extensive range of published work. Her limited edition and fine art prints, books, ranges of greeting and Christmas cards and gift ware are sold throughout the UK and exported into over eighty countries world-wide.

A small selection of books, calendars and greetings cards will be available to purchase whilst the exhibition is running.

The exhibition will run from Saturday 3rd October until Sunday 1st November.

Members of the public may visit the Art Gallery, Gift Shop & Restaurant for free – just register at reception. Conkers is currently open to the public from 10.00 a.m. until 5.00 p.m.

Changing Faces: The Morph Group

"Changing Faces: The Morph Group"

Formed in 2003, ‘Morph’ is a Derby based group of contemporary semi-professional and professional artists, most of whom are graduates from the University of Derby.

‘Morph’ implies that many aspects of the group’s growth and represents the creative dynamics of the metamorphosis of ongoing changes and development. This is particularly relevant for this exhibition which will showcase 6 members from the group over a 2 month period – hence the title ‘changing faces’.

The first 3 members to exhibit, during December are Del Coombs, Christine Rozynska, and Keith Foster.

Del says of his work: “I work slumping and fusing glass bottles to create functional and decorative vessels and sculptural forms. In my fine art works my creativity derives from my commitment to reusing materials, my fascination with making processes and reflecting on randomness in life. The outcomes I achieve are generally in the form of prints, collages or small sculptural pieces.”

Christine Rozynska draws her inspiration from the smaller things surrounding us: “I am fascinated by microscopic images both natural and man made which cannot be seen without the use of a microscope where fine details of objects can only be appreciated with the use of magnification. These images form a starting point for many of my abstract sculptures. I have worked in a variety of media to produce work varying in scale and situation, from smaller gallery pieces and installations to work in the natural environment. Much of my work of late, has involved the use of wire, cement and plaster.”

By way of contrast, Keith Foster’s paintings depict local images but with a distinct theme running throughout: “I am a Barbados born artist who has lived in England for many years. I respond to environments where there is evidence of human activity that is to say, where people have made an impact on their surroundings, i.e. changes made to the landscape, the creation of towns, villages, canals, harbours etc. I like the tension between man made structures and the natural landscape. I am uncomfortable in a landscape where there is no evidence of man. This striving for serenity yet avoiding virgin places may be due to my being the product of a much crowded island, where people appreciate neighbourliness, yet value their private space above all else. People are not present in my work but evidence of their impact is paramount.

A primary objective of the group is to take modern and contemporary art to a wider audience by showing work in non-gallery as well as conventional gallery spaces. The works include paintings, drawings, sculpture, glass, textiles, installations and printmaking.

This selection of artists will be exhibiting in the National Forest Art Gallery at Conkers Discovery Centre from Wednesday 2nd December until Sunday 3rd January 2010. Visitors may visit the art gallery, gift shop and restaurant for free, if registering at reception.