Exhibiting at the Silverstone Classic

Last weekend I exhibited at the Silverstone Classic Car Event through The Historic Car Art Gallery with sixteen other artists in a marquee. Last year the event concept changed from being purely classic motor racing based to include live music concerts and this continued this year with performances by Dr Feelgood and The Yardbirds on Friday Evening, and Rick Parfitt Jr on Saturday evening. There were over 100 classic car clubs displaying over 5,000 members cars inside the venue and over 700 rare classic race cars worth well over £100 million were driven by around 1000 owner/racers including Sterling Moss.

Sales were not that good, I didn't sell anything but picked up three commissions which will keep me off the street corners for the rest of this year. I was also invited to show at the Guards Club at Windsor on two weekends, one of the weekends I already have an exhibition booked but may be able to attend the other. Stuart Spencer

Completion of 'Calamity'

Hello, my name is Nigel Ireland, I'm a sculptor and jeweller and the newest associate member of the Solihull Artists Forum. By way of introduction I'd like to show my latest sculpture 'Calamity' and how it was produced.
It is a sculpture and a fountain which I have been planning for some time. Getting my hands on the constituent parts proved a little harder than I expected but feel my patience has paid off. To plan the construction I built a scale model of the pond and fountain so I could accurately plan the structure (Picture 1).


Picture 1, Scale Model
Picture 2, Drilling Cups (Bottom)

Picture 2, shown above, shows probably the most stressful part of the build, drilling the cups. Slow and steady really does win the race. With the cups drilled, I glued in the flanged pipes ready for assembly onto the tray.


Picture 3, Recreating The Model
Picture 4, Pipe Work (Bottom)

With a lot of balancing and adjusting I recreated my model and brazed the pipes into place (Picture 3). If you're a plumber please don't look too closely at picture 4 which shows the pipe work connecting the teapot and cups to the manifold. Once connected to the manifold (Yes it is a Tupperware container !), I applied sanitary silicone around the lid and shut it tightly. Having to wait for the sealant to dry was frustrating but I had saucers to fit to my tray to occupy my time. The saucers were fitted by brazing copper plates to bicycle spokes and gluing these to the underside of each saucer. By fixing spoke nipples to the tray I could then screw each spoke in position. When the sealant had dried and it was in place I attached the feed hose and crossed my fingers. With very little time tinkering with the water pressure I was really happy with the result. I'm pleasantly surprised with how striking the white ceramic is against the green in the garden and I'm quietly hoping the shallow pools in the cups will attract birds, the not fish-eating variety of course!


Picture 5, 'Calamity'

LSA Summer Exhibition

I went over to Leamington with Marcus for the LSA Private View of their Summer Show at Warwickshire College this Tuesday, 13th July. As I have only recently joined LSA this was the first time I had submitted work to the Summer Show - all members are guaranteed to have at least one piece shown, and several other members of SAF had their work up which was good to see.

We were impressed by the event in several ways – O.K., first things first, the wine was delicious which is not always the case at Private Views. Second, we were warmly and professionally welcomed as we arrived, firstly by Dominica Vaughn who is the gallery director for LSA’s Gallery150, and then by Dave Phillips who takes an interest in SAF and our struggles to get the recognition and council sponsorship we deserve – in his opinion. The work was well displayed in the college environment, with adequate space between pieces, allowing the work breathing space. It was well lit and the fact that the work was so varied made it interesting to look at – and included sculpture, ceramics, textiles, mixed media, pencil, oils and acrylics. Prices ranged from £50 to several thousand. An eclectic collection!

The attendance was high and the atmosphere lively – a good evening and a very professionally co-ordinated event. The exhibition ends on 24th July and is well worth a visit. Paula Hamilton

A Day in Touchwood Shop Space

Jackie, Avril and Maureen spent Tuesday 13th July in the shopspace in Touchwood showcasing their work. It was extremely busy especially after Veracity was delivered. To those who don't know Veracity she is a sculpture created by Mark Tilley, standing over six feet high with a very voluptuous stance. After her entrance a lot of remarks and interest were forthcoming, one likened her to his wife whereas others disliked her instantly. Whatever the remark her appearance brought people into the space where we were able to discuss the group and also our work.

Jackie had printed a leaflet about SAF which we handed to the visitors and hopefully this will encourage new members.

The end of the day we were met with a downpour which soaked us whilst loading the work into the cars, despite this we all decided the day had been worth it and time had passed very quickly. I think the coffee and doughnuts were also a great help despite Jackie and Avril protesting they were not good for us. Maureen Toomey

Summer Evening at Usha's

Ushas Studio showing works inpired by a visit to Petra

Last night Usha Khosla kindly invited SAF members to her studio as part of Warwickshire Arts Week. She had a fabulous display of work on show and talked us through the process from initial inspiration to the production of pieces (a lot being of coiled clay) and the application of slips, oxides and glazes with some works being fired many times. Afterwards in the garden we were treated with wonderful samosas, nibbles and drinks. We discussed the benefits, problems and development of Art trails of which Usha has many years experience giving us food for thought on our up coming Trail in September.

Usha's studio is open until Wednesday next week and is well worth a visit - the little jugs she makes specifically for the trail are delightful and from £7.50 unbelievable value. Go and buy one! Jackie Mackay