Category: Exhibitions

Farewell Exhibition, Hello HOS

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by Jacky Pett

Our wonderful Summer Exhibition at The Hillier Gardens came to a close, and less than a week later we are on display — actively — at the Dovetail Centre.

Exhibition hits the heights

Despite the heatwave, there was a steady flow of visitors. Thankfully the temperatures dropped a little for the final weekend. Total sales were in the region of £6000, and a great many cards were in that total!

When I visited I gained an excellent impression from the layout. Obviously, most art groups that use the space have the same general flow, but the hanging was particularly well done. The Seascapes were beautifully brought together and provided each other with more distinction as a result. Each contrasted with the other, and the different media emphasised the manifold aspects of the sea.

In other areas, someone with a particularly good eye for colour, contrast and surprise had used their talents well. I don’t remember being so impressed with the impact of the display in the past. And the ceramics have gone from strength to strength. Maybe it’s just me.

I wonder how we are going to improve on that!

And so to HOS

Hampshire Open Studios started on Saturday, and the turnaround from Hillier to Chandlers Ford was achieved seemingly without any pressure at all. I doubt whether the organisers would agree.

I visited on Monday, after a busy weekend with good sales, and most were anticipating a few more visitors than had arrived. It’s just Monday in Chandlers Ford I think. The displays were all excellent, but unlike the exhibition, there is the opportunity to talk to the artists about their work, and watch them as they create it. This is not only interesting, but you get to learn some tricks you might not have thought of yourself. All this, and refreshments too!

The exhibits change daily, with some artists doing one or two days, some maybe more when space allows. Altogether we have fifteen artists taking part this year, with only two days not fully booked. I’m on standby, but I doubt I’ll be needed! Thank you to Alex for all his hard work on this event, which has its own complications, not least liaising with the HOS county team for most of the year.

Thank you to everybody who takes part, in front of the public or behind the scenes. It’s a terrific effort, as the results show.

Our HOS studio continues until 4 pm on Bank Holiday Monday.

Remember, remember the 8th of November

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Yes, forget Guy Fawkes, November is all about our Autumn Exhibition.

This flyer is available for you to download and print if you want to hand it to your friends, or to post on your social media, or send by email to friends, whatever ways you can think of to get people you know along to our exhibition on Saturday and Sunday 8/9 November, 10 – 4 at the Dovetail Centre Large Hall. And don’t forget the Dovetail cafe is open on Saturday morning, too.

If you’ve entered an artwork, make sure to submit it in line with the instructions on Friday afternoon/evening (it’s dark now!), and collect it again (if it doesn’t sell) on Sunday afternoon from 4.15.

What else is in store for November?

Life drawing happened on Sunday 2nd, and will happen again on Sunday 16th. You have to be booked in for this.  Details

The Drop-In Session takes place on Wednesday 12th at the Community Large Hall on Hursley Road. If you’re free, take advantage of this FREE dedicated workspace and get your project done or progressed. If you’re making something for a Christmas display or gift (or our social – see below), you’ve not long to finish it! – Details

Monday 17th sees another attempt by our Sketching Group to get out and about in the neighbourhood. The weather has not been kind for the last two months, but Storm Melissa should have passed, so maybe we’ll have a few settled days by then.

Wednesday 26th sees our last Zoom Demo of the calendar year (the art group year runs to the end of March) Elizabeth Hammond will be doing something about the Life of Plants. Details here, and the zoom link will be emailed to members a few days beforehand.

Christine Marlow Christmas Tree

Don’t forget that we have our Christmas Social evening on Wednesday 3rd December. It’s Christmas, it’s social, there’ll be nibbles and drinks, and also, bring your artwork on the themes “Winter Light”, “Frost and Flame” or “A Touch of Sparkle” (your choice). You could win a prize! Details

And finally, our first Basic Art Course will conclude on 29th November. I’d very much like to report on it if somebody (or more than one person) would like to send me some thoughts on it, what they gained, and whether we should do another. With photos, if possible. Email to cfagweb[at]gmail.com

Just three events in August

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There may be just three events in August, but they account for twenty-one activity days!

August 13th sees the Drop-in session at its usual venue at the Community Hall on Hursley Road. This is for members only, and continues to offer free refreshments! It’s a chance to work on your projects away from the turmoil of home.

Summer Exhibition

On Friday evening, 15th August, we have the hand-in of artworks for our Summer Exhibition. As the entries have already closed, and we’re only open for a short window, Roy is amenable to requests for inclusion from those who missed it. But only for the next few days, so act fast. Helpers for setting up the exhibition should also contact Roy if you haven’t already done so.

The Summer Exhibition opens at 10 am on Saturday morning, and runs until BH Monday, 25th August. Please tell your friends, get as much publicity as you can, and bring people along to take a look. The Dovetail Cafe will be open in the mornings Tuesday-Saturday.

Hampshire Open Studios

Once you’ve viewed the exhibition, go to the rear of the complex, where our Open Studio will be in full swing for the duration of the exhibition (16 to 25 August). This is part of the Hampshire Open Studio tour 2025, and leaflets are available to give to friends, visitors, and anyone interested. In addition, the local artists have produced a guide to the Chandlers Ford area studios.

The projects our artists will be working on are diverse, and many artists will be there for only one day, at most two. Practice varies from oils and acrylics, and watercolour landscapes, through printmaking, needlework art, and collage to book illustration.

Many artworks will be for sale in both rooms through the ten days.

Spring Exhibition starts tomorrow!

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Our Spring Exhibition at the Hillier Gardens opens tomorrow Thursday 24th April at 10 am, closing at 5 pm, continuing daily until Tuesday May 6th when it closes to the public at 3pm.

And if you’re reading this thinking, ‘oh yes I must get my picture handed in’… you’re too late! Hand-in was today 9.45 to 10.30. Contact Roy immediately to let him know you’ve forgotten and see what he says.

Artists of the Day, wonderful artworks, cards and browser pieces all ready for you and your friends to purchase. Come one, come all!

And the Gardens are looking wonderful, too.

Autumn Exhibition surpasses expectations

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The Autumn Exhibition never gets quite as much attention as our summer one, but this year saw not only excellence in the exhibits, but a very healthy visitor footfall, especially on Saturday. Even better, we sold a good number of artworks across all categories on both days.

As always, the artists in residence each day added much interest, and probably brings the whole event to life. Thank you to all those who gave up their time, marshalling and setting up/taking down, as well as centre stage!

A taste of the exhibition on Saturday afternoon…

photos © Jacky Pett

Summer exhibition in full flow

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We are just over halfway through our wonderful Summer Exhibition at the Hillier Gardens. The weather has often been kind, giving us a downpour during the set-up and handing in, and mostly warm and sunny since. Just the occasional heatwave day, which certainly cut down on visitors.

The artwork is stunning, as always. Several artists have sold more than one piece, the 3D works have been much admired. The wonderful warthog would probably get best in show if we did such a thing. Why don’t do that? Something to mull over.

We have also enjoyed the activities of our artists of the day, intriguing visitors as they work, and discussing all matters of their craft.

There’s still plenty of time to visit, we’re open till next Tuesday, when instead of closing at 5pm, we close at 3pm. Then we do the take down. Visit before you miss it, and do take in the gardens and refreshments while you’re here. Full details here.

Spring Exhibition – exposed!

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Well we did have a jolly time…  a good number of visitors, too. There were lots of compliments, and lots of membership enquiries!  

Thank you to all who put the stands together and transformed the church hall. Thank you to Barry Fry, who, with assistants, waved a magic wand with the hanging. It is not easy to place 98 artworks in half an hour, creating a beautiful art gallery that looked as if it has had weeks spent on it! Our ‘hand-in’ and ‘hand-out’ volunteers managed to make the whole process go like clockwork – well done. Thanks are also due to our Artists of the Day, who bravely sat (and it was a bit chilly!) all day, painting and chatting with visitors. 

Our Saturday Artists of the Day

Thanks also to all who stewarded, and those who came along with friends and relatives to show them what we have been up to. The hall looked wonderful. Roy did his best – he took some photographs on Saturday, but forgot all about his camera on Sunday!  We need an Official Photographer to produce pictures at all of our events. If you would like to do this please speak to Roy! 

Our ‘bric-a-brac’ table was popular with our visitors, most of whom went away with useful books or other ‘arty goodies’. Proceeds from this table amounted to £106.80 which will be added to the £530 made at our recent ‘Bring & Buy + Fish and Chips!’ event.  Thank you to everyone who contributed, either by donation, or providing goodies for sale!  All proceeds will go to Naomi House, a hospice for terminally ill children and young people.

Summer Exhibition Round-up

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So, the summer show is over for another year. Obviously, the Church Hall does not get as much passing foot traffic as the Hillier Gardens, but it is a great venue, and the Cafe is an added attraction. It has also made a huge difference that we now can store our own exhibition stands in the room adjacent. Thank you to everyone who got involved in making these, from a single nail hammered in to a finishing coat of our special grey paint.

Thank you also to Roy and Gill not only for all the amazing work they do for the group, but also for the daily sales update. Members can access the spreadsheet to see who sold what and when, but here’s a brief taste.

The exhibition in figures

We achieved sales on every day of the exhibition. Tuesday 22nd was the lowest (and was it the wettest?) with just cards sold – about 15 in all.  It’s odd, really as Monday 21st was our most successful day – we took over £700 that day, of which over £500 was for displayed artwork (which includes framed, canvases and sculptures). Browser sales also went reasonably well, with over £100 taken on the first Monday and the last Sunday.

Ruth Ann Lewis and Richard Waite each sold two artworks. Jenny Morgan, Trish Brant, Wendy Sleeman, Jocelyn Halfpenny, Patricia Dorling, Peter Maule, Tony Eaton, Chris Benning, Jane Nash, and Joan Willingham were the other successful artists.

Ruth Ann Lewis – Hanging Around; sold on the Saturday

In all we sold 254 cards. The most successful card art came from Nicola Williamson (29), closely followed by Ruth Ann Lewis (28). Totals in the teens came from (in no particular order) Angela Sweet, Colleen Cockroft, Elizabeth Saunders, Gill Brophy, Jenny Morgan, Lynette Vickery, Pradeepa David, Sue Bowery, Susie James and Veronica Bliss.

The browser sales came to fourteen in all, and several members sold more than one, including Angela Chambers, Ruth Ann Lewis, Trish Brant and Nicola Williamson. Jane Nash’s Dunstan Burgh was the last artwork sale of the show.

We didn’t keep track of the number of visitors, but there was a steady trickle most of the time, i.e. there was usually one visitor present! Roy would be interested in any of your ideas for increasing our footfall.

HOS23

The Open Studio in MR3 for HOS 23, organised by Alex Phillips, was a very enjoyable place to be. It was usually buzzing with activity, creativity, coffee, tea and biscuits. Artists reported several delightful discussions with visitors, and many sold pieces they’d been working on at the event. Lynette Vickery sold some of her jewellery, too. This operated separately from the Summer Exhibition, so we don’t have detailed sales figures.

A notable first came for Hisham Edakandathil, who joined us on Monday, took part in the HOS workshop on Wednesday, and sold a picture! May it be the first of many, Hisham.

Here’s a short (14 seconds) clip (on Youtube) of the HOS activity.

The show and HOS are both time consuming to prepare, and can’t take place without the many many helpers. However small you might feel your contribution is, it is invaluable. Thank you so much.

Watch for details of the Autumn Exhibition, scheduled for 11/12th November.

Summer Exhibition in photos

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Although it wasn’t busy on the first Sunday of our exhibition at the Dovetail Centre (Church Hall), we did have visitors, and the purchase:visitor ratio was excellent!

Members are receiving a daily email update on sales and activity at the exhibition, so if you haven’t got it and you’re a member – check your spam box. If you’re not a member – contact us to join.

Here are some photos Roy took on Sunday. Thank you to the visitors and stewards for adding some life to the still life.

Don’t forget to come and visit any day from 10 till 4 until Monday (Bank Holiday). Bring your friends!

One week to the Summer Exhibition and HOS23

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Just one week to go until we hand in our exhibits for the exhibition on Friday night and Saturday morning, 19th August.

The committee and many helpers have been working flat out to make the new hanging stands, and get everything ready, including labels for every submission, every artist, and more.

Forty-eight artists are represented, with 164 artworks, not including browsers and cards. Most are for sale.

The exhibition opens on Saturday 19th, at 10 am, in the Church Hall at the Dovetail Centre. It runs through to Monday 28th, 10 till 4 daily.

You can’t miss the banners already outside the Methodist Church, so tell your friends, and everybody else you know, bring them along, have tea of coffee one morning in the Dovetail cafe…

Hampshire Open Studios HOS23

And while you’re visiting, don’t forget to visit our Studio set-up for Hampshire Open Studios this year. Artists will be working on their projects, as well as showing examples of their work.

Artists change from day to day so come back for a second visit and see some different approaches!

This will be in Meeting Room 3 (MR3), which is between the Church Hall and the car park at the rear. Times and dates as for the exhibition.