A Pressing Engagement

In a joint initiative between Severn Hospice and Shropshire Art Society, two printing workshops for patients were held in October, and the resulting prints are amazing.

SAS and Severn Hospice Print Workshops artworks 2022
A glimpse of the work from the SAS – Severn Hospice Print Workshops 2022

Paul Cronin from the Shropshire Arts Society led the workshops. He is our SAS Print Club organiser and was thrilled with the shared experience at Severn Hospice. He said,

“The creativity each individual brought and the skills they picked up during the two workshops enabled them to produce some really outstanding prints. When you consider that the vast majority had no experience whatsoever of printing, their results are simply awe inspiring.”

Holly Dyer, Severn Hospice’s art therapist, was also very happy with how things turned out with the joint venture, saying:

“It was fabulous to see our day patients so enjoying the lino print workshops and they were so inspired by Paul. His enthusiasm and gentle encouragement saw them produce some beautiful pieces, prints of which are now on display in our studio at Bicton. It was fabulous to see them develop the confidence to produce intricate pieces and, at the same time, be in the moment with their work. Paul is an amazing artist and an incredible teacher and it was a joy to see him work with our patients.”

Following the success of the workshops, plans are afoot to continue the initiative in the form of a Severn Hospice patients’ “Print Club” in the future. 

The images above give a glimpse into the excellent prints created by the group.

Thanks to Paul for being so pro-active in making this super experience happen. He also continues to lead our own monthly SAS Print Club, for which we are grateful.

Shropshire Art Society Autumn Exhibition 2022 winner announced…

Our annual Shropshire Art Society Autumn Exhibition is currently being held at the Bear Steps Gallery, Shrewsbury. The Exhibition Social event was well attended by our members and their guests on Saturday 8th October and was a fantastic opportunity for us all to get together and enjoy the exhibition.

SAS Autumn Exhibition 2022 Bear steps Gallery, Shrewsbury
Our Autumn Exhibition 2022 is on at the Bear Steps Gallery, Shrewsbury

Phil Hadley, our Chair, welcomed everyone to the event. Then Wilfred Langford, our President, spoke of the exceptional quality and variety of the art works submitted, and thanks were given to John Willets, our Exhibition Secretary, and his team of volunteer members who helped him with the organisation and hanging of the exhibition this year.

Wilf introduced Phil Langstaff, Chair and a Trustee of VAN (Visual Art Network) and Co-Organiser of the Shrewsbury Arts Trail. Phil told us he was delighted to adjudicate the exhibition competition and award the R. Harrison and H. Walker Prize for the artwork that “best represents the Shropshire countryside”.

SAS winner Val Littlehales with Phil Langstaff Chair of VAN
Phil Langstaff presenting Val Littlehales with the Silver Salver, 2022
The winning painting by Val is titled, “Harvest Moon”

The R. Harrison and H. Walker prize of a Silver Salver was first presented in 1985, in memory of two former members of the Society, and is traditionally awarded at each Shropshire Art Society Autumn Exhibition. This year, the Silver Salver and prize money were awarded to Val Littlehales for her pastel painting “Harvest Moon”. Phil explained that he had chosen this work as the winner for its composition, the beautiful use of light and how the work spoke strongly of Shropshire and its wildlife. He had been drawn to the painting and felt it truly fulfilled the award brief of reflecting the Shropshire countryside.

Charlotte Tenneson’s lino-reduction print “Herbal echinacea” was mentioned as highly commended, as was the work by Jane Beesley, “Timeless land”.

As well as thanking Phil for being our adjudicator this year, we must thank Margaret Rowson for organising the refreshments at the Social event, and also the Bear Steps Gallery for hosting our exhibition. Thank you too to Tamara Hackett and Anne Linton for some of the lovely images and words included here.

SAS Autumn Exhibition Social event
A few moments from our Exhibition Social event held on Saturday 8th October

The exhibition continues at the Bear Steps Gallery, Shrewsbury until lunchtime on Saturday 15th October. Do visit and see our members’ work!

Autumn Exhibition 2022… join in!

We realise that, sometimes, our members can feel unsure about whether they should take the plunge and enter their work, perhaps for the first time, in a Shropshire Art Society exhibition. So, at the last Committee Meeting, we asked one of our first-time exhibitors in our Summer Exhibition to share her experience. Thank you to Gillian Mortimer for telling us her encouraging and inspiring story. We hope it encourages YOU to take part in our Autumn Exhibition 2022!

Gillian’s story

I have no formal art training or background, it’s just something I love doing. The thought of showing my work to others was pie in the sky. But I started sharing my pictures online during lockdown, and found my friends quite encouraging. Several of them asked me if I was going to exhibit. A terrifying prospect.

But the SAS Summer Exhibition was coming up, and I thought ‘Why not give it a go? If my paintings are not very good they’ll get lost amongst all the other wonderful work, so it won’t matter.’ I chose my three best pictures, used some frames I’d bought years ago and never used, held my nose and jumped. And guess what? All three of them sold, to my utter amazement.  

It wasn’t anywhere near as as scary as I expected, and other Society members are so lovely and willing to advise. So if you are not sure, why not give it a go yourself?  You could be as lucky as I was. 

Here’s a glimpse of Gillian’s framed paintings:

Gillian Mortimer's painting SOLD in the SAS Summer Exhibition
Gillian Mortimer's painting SOLD in the SAS Summer Exhibition
Copyright Gillian Mortimer, thank you for sharing your paintings with us!
Gillian Mortimer's painting SOLD in the SAS Summer Exhibition

So what are you waiting for, Shropshire Art Society members both new and long-standing? The Autumn Exhibition Information, Conditions of Entry and Entry Form are included in your August 2022 edition of Focal Points (coming soon), which also has some extra, helpful guidance about framing your work for Shropshire Art Society exhibitions.

We look forward to receiving your entries! Join in!

Shrewsbury Arts Trail 2022, visit us!

Hot on the heels of our recent Summer Exhibition come our two Shrewsbury Arts Trail 2022 Exhibitions, giving another great opportunity to see our members’ work in two very special Shrewsbury venues throughout July and August.

Invited by the Development Officer at St. Mary’s Church to participate in the Shrewsbury Arts Trail 2022, members of Shropshire Art Society have nearly fifty paintings on display in St. Mary’s Church, and at the Orchard Cafe at the Cathedral on Town Walls.

Shropshire Art Society Arts Trail Exhibition, Orchard Cafe, Town Walls
Shropshire Art Society Arts Trail Exhibition, Orchard Cafe, Town Walls
Shropshire Art Society Arts Trail Exhibition, St. Mary's Church
Shropshire Art Society Arts Trail Exhibition, St. Mary’s Church

Complementing the stunning, world-class stained-glass windows of St. Mary’s Church and the Cathedral, which include work by the celebrated stained-glass artist Margaret Agnes Rope (1882-1953), the exhibitions provide an inspirational view into the range of work produced by our talented group of both professional and amateur Shropshire artists.

Work on show includes an eclectic mix of subject matter and mediums employed, including charcoal, watercolour, acrylic, collage, pastel and fumage.

All work is for sale and can be purchased via the cafes in both venues.

Both our Shropshire Art Society Arts Trail 2022 Exhibitions continue throughout July and August, until 30th August. We’d love you to visit and enjoy our members’ work.

2022 Summer Exhibition news

Our 2022 Shropshire Art Society Summer Exhibition is now open and on until 1pm on Wednesday 6th July (daily 10am – 4pm, except Sundays). It looks splendid, with an exciting range of great work by our members. We were very pleased to welcome Katherine Garnier DL, Deputy Lieutenenant for Shropshire, to open the exhibition on Saturday 18th June. Thank you so much Katherine. She is pictured below with our Chair, Phil Hadley, and our President, Wilf Langford. The other pictures give a flavour of some of our members and their guests at Saturday’s preview, a very happy occasion.

SAS Summer Exhibition Preview, opened by Katherine Garnier DL

Alan Townsend, Jane and Sally (with Joanna on Whatsapp!) very much enjoyed judging the Judy Townsend Memorial Prize, awarded this year to Paul Cronin for his uplifting reduction lino-cut print, ‘Gannetry‘. Sally and Jane spotted the print as soon as they walked in, knowing their mum would have loved its vibrancy, energy and movement, as well as its strong and clever design. The whole family agreed that it would be a wonderful piece to wake up to every morning, and they couldn’t resist buying it. Paul is pictured below with ‘Gannetry’ and with Alan, and we’ve also included details from the other shortlisted paintings: from top right going clockwise, Vase of Late Summer Flowers (Rachel Savine-Jones, pastel); ‘Gannetry’ (Paul Cronin, winner, print); ‘Natal Hill’ (Melanie Houlder, print); ‘Honda Super Sport 400’ (Bob Spendlove, watercolour); ‘Bridled Guillimot’ (Karen Sillar, print).

Congratulations Paul! It’s lovely that Paul is the organiser of our new-look-for-2022 Print Club and also that three of the shortlisted works are prints. Perhaps we could say, it’s ‘the year of the print’ 😊

The exhibition is vibrant and we heard many compliments about it and its artworks on hanging day. We must thank John Willetts, our Exhibitions Organiser, and his team of volunteers for all the hard work that makes the Summer Exhibition possible. And, of course, we are grateful to St. Mary’s Church for allowing us to exhibit in such a stunning venue, with its world-reknowned stained glass windows, quiet atmosphere and friendly cafe. The photos below give a flavour of the exhibition and we do hope you will visit, if you haven’t already, and vote for your favourite painting in the ‘People’s Prize’. Thank you to all our members for exhibiting their paintings, and here’s to a very successful Summer Exhibition for the Society and for you all!

SAS Summer Exhibition 2022, St. Mary's Church, Shrewsbury
SAS Summer Exhibition 2022, St. Mary's Church, Shrewsbury