ANDREW WADDINGTON has recently spent time on the moors and marshlands of Scotland.  He brings to waders, song birds and ptarmigans his inimitable abstract/figurative interpretations in paint and pastel.  (See Spring Song web pages for other images).

As a stained glass artist, ROBINA JACK’s work has been exhibited and collected for many years - and four new panels adorn the gallery windows in this exhibition.  The last few years have seen a change in direction, however, and now her decorated ceramic bowls and platters have become equally popular.  Pattern and wildlife combine in glorious colour in this new collection.

SAM TAPLIN inevitably absorbed much of his father GUY’S vision and woodcarving skills in his formative years, though his own work is distinctly different, both in stylisation and decoration.  A keen fisherman from a young age, Sam specialises a little more in carved, painted fish - though several birds are included in this collection too.   Old scaffolding planks are his raw material which he transforms into a finish reminiscent of weathered, sea-bitten wood.  His colour is joyous and dramatic!

Both painter and printmaker, ANGELA HARDING often depicts the rural landscape seen through her studio window as backdrop to her bird imagery.  Her stylised treatment of flora and fauna is reminiscent of the mid-20th century artist-designers she admires - Eric Ravilious, David Jones and others.  Her paintings are acrylic on canvas and most of the prints are a combination of lino-cut with silkcreen.

An M.A. in Ceramic Design at Central St Martin’s led JACQUELINE LEIGHTON BOYCE back to her home environment of Exmoor in 2003 to develop her skills as a ceramic artist and illustrator.  Her pots are hand-built and her narrative imagery is created through layers of slips, underglazes, glazes and finally, lustres.  The natural history of her surroundings offers a rich source of inspiration for each piece of her original work.

JUDITH ROWE’s glazed earthenware pottery is essentially for use, sitting as happily on a kitchen shelf or dining table.  A very intuitive potter, despite formal training at Farnham College of Art, her love of pots derives from the influence of Cardew and the Winchcombe potters who were neighbours during her childhood. Her keen observation of nature brings delightful images of birds and plants into the decoration of her work.

FURSE SWANN’s clay farmyard fowl and sea birds are virtually life-size and illustrate his love of pattern and detail - as well as capturing the essential nature of these creatures.  Working from a studio in Dorset, he is an enthusiastic naturalist and his clay work spans a broad range of wild animals and birds.  Most are made as pairs, though can be sold singly.

The beauty of unusual coloured semi-precious stones attracts DUIBHNE GOUGH’s eye and guides her impeccable sense of design in creating necklaces and earrings.  Most are combined with silver and 18ct gold which she works in the time-honoured fashion with a simple jeweller’s hammer.  Duibhne learnt her craft from her father, Breon O’Casey, and the popularity of her jewellery is now on a par with his.

Details and prices of all these necklaces and earrings on request.  01736 786425

Details and prices of all these necklaces and earrings on request.  01736 786425

A small collection of work by JOHN MALTBY is also on display in the
exhibition, including the following sculptures:

PAUL CONNELL’s wood and granite sculptures in the gardens reflect, in their composition, something of his training - both as a furniture maker (at John Makepeace’s School for Craftsmen) and an architect, a profession he followed for several years before moving to a farm in West Penwith.  Here he keeps South Devon cows and is planting acres of woodland. At the same time he constructs sculpture from timber, hedge granite and steel.  These are intended to live outdoors, moving with the wind and weathering in sun and rain.