Maureen's Studio Visit

On Thursday 21st the Forum was invited to the studio of member Maureen Toomey over at Earlswood Craft Centre. After a quick look at her working space we viewed a lot of her paintings which had been displayed in the café.

Over coffee and biscuits Maureen discussed the work she produced for her Masters Degree and the paint techniques she had explored. She went on to explain the concept behind her work – ‘Either/Or’ and its relationship to the philosopher Kierkegaard. Maureen’s latest work is related to the ‘Either/Or’ and the concept is passing horizons.

Horizon 2 Cobalt

Lively discussion followed about possible collaborations for joint exhibitions and sketching trips during the summer.

Solihull Hospital Joint Exhibition

Mark Tilley and Jackie Mackay, members of Solihull Artists Forum, are holding an exhibition in the Education Centre at Solihull Hospital. This collaboration is a spin off from the Artists Forum group exhibition 'Hands On' held in 2008. Eight years ago Jackie developed Rheumatoid Arthritis, a chronic autoimmune disorder that occurs when the immune system attacks tissues lining the joints, resulting in pain, inflammation and deformity and used the condition as a starting point for paintings.

Jackie Mackay - "Working initially with drawings of my sister’s rheumatoid hands, the pieces developed organically as an emotional response to my own illness. Other paintings were derived from sketches of Mark Tilley’s work Tormented produced specifically for this exhibition."

Mark’s sculpture refers to the work of the 16th century anatomist Vesalius and he has made a number of flayed flesh, écorché models in clay.

Mark Tilley - "For the 2008 Hands On exhibition in Solihull I just threw in everything I had, my experience with ecorche work, some hands from the family, my stock of clay, some oxides and the heat of my kiln. I scrounged a couple of palettes down the road and cut the willow from out the back. There was a ball lying in the garden and I threw that in too. I have drawn on this to make one more hand for this show. Diseased to nightmarish proportions, the skin drawn back, fired for a day to reach a white heat, then cooled rapidly leaving the remaining skin shrunken and torn, the colour darkened, I call it Tormented."

The exhibition runs until Thursday 25th June - access to Education Centre on Ist Floor 9.15am - 4.15pm.