“RUsSeT” – ArtHouse embraces Autumn
Although Autumn in Southport is guaranteed to bring cooler temperatures, it will also be welcoming a hot list of regional artistic talent to the town as the ArtHouse in Eastbank Street throws open its doors for its much anticipated, annual Autumn Open exhibition.
Showcasing a truly diverse cross section of practitioners, the Southport Contemporary Arts Autumn Open always champions the diversity and vitality of the local art scene in a cornucopia of both classically inspired and contemporary artworks.
Because the Autumn Exhibition is an ‘Open’ and is not restricted to entries by SCA members, it continually proves a valuable platform for local amateur artists and makers in the wider creative community to exhibit, together with SCA stalwarts, in a joint celebration of their craft and expertise.
Making art more accessible to all, there is always a wealth of skills on display as all the featured artists are keen to show off their latest creations, guaranteeing a variety of artwork to appeal to the most discerning visitor.
Director of SCA, Norrie Beswick-Calvert confirms: “as well as regular exhibitors and SCA Members, there’ll be a few SCA students taking part plus new to us artists, so it’s always a real mixed bag of genre and creative style.”
Taking inspiration from the profusion and diversity of warm, earthy seasonal shades, the distinguishing theme for this year’s Autumn exhibition is ‘RUsSeT’ which Norrie interprets as “not only celebrating the beauty of the Autumn colour palette but also celebrating the beauty in aging of all things”.
Norrie’s own submissions have their origins from her student days: “I’ve always and forever been inspired by the old and overgrown- indeed my GCE Artwork was based on a broken down and overgrown Southport Station (no longer there). As things age they become a different sort of beautiful; the colour and texture changes and to my eye, often for the better. I work in all sorts of media depending on what has caught my attention but the common factor always seems to be colour and texture. The inspiration for my exhibited artwork came from a visit to a car yard where old and beautiful cars are either restored or scrapped and as I wandered around the site the things that caught my eye were the discarded bits and bobs lying around. The 2 found items making up “Junk Weave” required something delicate to accompany them. Using both as a frame for a small weave seemed to fit the bill.”
Similarly attracted to recycling the ephemera of everyday life, mixed-media artist Suzanna Gregg’s ‘Warm-Hearted’, is a further example of her sensitive rearrangements of found materials incorporating imagery scavenged from a wide variety of sources: “As part of a project for World Collage Day 2024 I made a mini-series of mixed media hearts in specific colours. It was a pleasure to experiment with colour, materials and processes to discover interesting and exciting combinations for each piece. My exhibited orange heart includes repurposed wallpaper, kitchen paper (used to soak up excess paint on another project), painted paper, pen and a touch of gold leaf. The aim was to create a sense of warmth using a good variety of different shades of orange.”
Liverpool born artist, Pam Thomas, discovered her love of ceramics during her Foundation Course at Mid-Cheshire College and went on to successfully gain a B.Des Degree in ceramics and textiles from Liverpool Hope University in 2000. Her latest experiments combining clay with found materials reflects her commitment to using her boundless creativity as a means of encouraging a positive change in the world: “I am still dreaming, making and hoping my artwork will make a difference to how people care for ‘Our Fragile World’. ‘Fish’ is the final fragment from a mixed-media series I constructed using metal, glass and clay showing the way marine life are trapped by the pollution in the seas.”
Having moved to Lancashire 2 years ago, painter, Marion Bayliss, is still finding artistic stimulation from her fond recollections of life back in Somerset. Her reflective oil painting, ‘The Lonely Tree’, captures the scene of a solitary tree that sits alone at a famous beauty spot in the Quantock Hills. “This was an experimental piece for me, playing with cubism. I was intrigued by cubism and the forms that could be created, so I wanted to create an image that had solid shapes but adding shading or textures to represent the different elements such as the ferns and purple heather. I chose the contrasting orange of the ferns to give it balance with the streak of orange in the background. It also brings in the feeling that Autumn frosts are approaching.”
Founding member of SCA, Claire Curran relocated from London to Birkdale in 2006 where she taught at Farnborough Road Junior School for 18 years: “Painting and ceramics have been my consistent passion, but my art has taken many forms over the years. I have never really liked to be pigeonholed in any one area because different mediums allow me to pursue my creativity in exciting ways.”
‘Knitting it all Together’ is a contemplative portrait of SCA Director, Anne Burman: “I have always wanted to paint Anne because she exudes a quiet wisdom. This portrait was inspired by a moment shared with friends in her kitchen. The light fell across her in an interesting way and her expression showed a considered response. She was ‘knitting all the facts together’.”
Norrie concludes: “We are hoping that visitors will feel uplifted and intrigued from their visit to the Gallery and that the artists taking part, will feel the positive impact of that creative connectivity, that is such an important part of what SCA sets out to achieve.”