Upcoming

HOMESTART North Dorset SECRET POSTCARD SHOW

Preview Reception: 6pm – 9pm Friday 27th September (REGISTERED GUESTS ONLY)

Hours: 11am – 3pm Saturday, 28th September (Registration Not Required)

Members of the public wishing to attend the Reception on Friday 27th are requested to register their interest by emailing Karen Luard – kp@kpcommunications.co.uk

We are happy to co-host and support the staging of a ‘Secret Postcards’ fundraiser for Home-Start North Dorset at the Gallery on the evening of Friday 27th September (with unsold postcards remaining on show and available for sale the following day, Saturday, 28th ). The Secret Postcard concept was initiated by the RCA over 20 years ago and has been successfully adapted by many galleries and charities since, including the Guggleton.

Over 70 established professional and amateur artists from Dorset and the rest of England have created one – two postcard-size works of art which are signed on the back.   Art lovers are invited to purchase a work of art that appeals (priced at £40 each) and then remove the backing to discover the name of the artist.  Celebrities including Dame Judi Dench, Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen and Sir Anthony Gormley have contributed items, as well as Sasha Constable, a descendent of famous English landscape painter,  John Constable.

All proceeds from the sale of the postcards will go to funding the recruitment and preparation of parent volunteers who provide expert support and assistance to families with young children in the North Dorset area struggling to cope.   The event is co-hosted with the generous input and support of Isabel de Pelet, Deanne Tremlett and the team at the Guggleton Farm Arts Gallery.  For a list of artists who have contributed works of art to the event, please visitwww.home-start-northdorset.co.uk

Home-Start North Dorset (HSND) raises funds to prepare and support volunteer parents provide temporary in-home assistance to young families (where there is at least one child under the age of five) who are struggling to cope – due often to domestic abuse, mental health issues or rural isolation. The volunteers spend time with the families and lend a sympathetic, non-judgemental ear, usually for three – four hours a week and for between three – six months. When a degree of stability and equilibrium has been restored or established, the HSND volunteer is expertly ‘matched’ to help with another family. Last year HSND helped over 70 families but had to turn away about 40% of requests for assistance due to the lack of trained volunteers. www.home-start-northdorset.co.uk

ALEX WILLIAMS – CATTLE

Preview Friday October 4th 6-9 and then 11-3, Tuesday-Saturday until November 1st

Born in 1942, Alex Williams trained at St Martin’s School of Art and The University of Wales. He became an art teacher, later Head of Art, at schools in Hertfordshire before moving to Hay-on-Wye to set up his design and print studio. Moving to the Welsh Border country in the late 1970’s was catalytic in his development as a painter of farm landscapes, animals, buildings and agriculture.
His work was widely exhibited in the UK and Alex then moved to Los Angeles for three years, exhibiting there and undertaking commissions for Tom Jones and Jackson Browne as well as for magazines and companies. His images have been widely used in Tableware and Fine Bone China, Limited Edition Prints and Greetings Cards.
His versatility also extends to numerous TV appearances as artist and art teacher, in Australia as well as in the UK. He has exhibited widely in both individual and group shows and his work is in many public and private collections;
The National Museum of Wales has purchased a number of his landscapes of the Welsh Borders and he has collaborated very successful with the National Trust on a range of products.
His recent show at The Fosse, “Only the Lonely” brought together his love of “Period Rock” (his term) and the lives of farming folk their live stock and rambling buildings.

If you would like a sneaky peak at the exhibition online then click this link to Alex’s website [opens in new window]