Carolyn Bushell - Poets, Poseurs and Paraphernalia

Just closed at Oakapple Studios, Mears Ashby, Carolyn Bushell showed a collection of musically inspired pictures great and small, which drew a lot of enthusiast attention ...

I particularly enjoyed being reminded of the strident imagery of Punk and the Sex Pistols ...

... and I bought several greetings card reproduction of Carolyn's iconic portrait of a mature but ever striking David Bowie.  All very subtle and skillfully created original works.

Keep an eye out for Carolyn's next exhibition.  

(all rights reserved)

'Kettering High School' at the Museum 30 March - 8 June 2013

Barb showed me round the Kettering High School exhibition at the Manor House Museum the other day

It is 100 years since the High School opened at what are now the Council Offices on Bowling Green Road.   Many of you won't need me to tell you that ...

This is clearly an exhibition that will mean a lot to generations of local families and indeed people were trying to spot old friends and family members in some of the period photos on show whilst we browsed.

A big thumbs up to the exhibition team who have done a great job presenting the stories and memorabilia in an interesting and arresting way - I'm a more recent arrival, but even I was fascinated to see Kettering in days gone and the council offices in their former guise.

Definitely worth a visit as when you are at the Heritage end of the town centre ... and if you are a former student, there is a display by the Old Girls association which might interest you - maybe give you a chance to renew long lost friendships ...

Entry is free, as always, and the exhibition runs for a couple of months ...

Arthur Bell: a Friends talk at the Alfred East Gallery

(some of the collected work of Arthur Bell illustrating the Friends Kagam talk)

On Thursday evening, David Boswell presented a fascinating and well illustrated appreciation of the work of Kettering-born artist Arthur Bell (1897-1995) ...

Arthur Bell was born in Kettering and originally studied in the town before attending Bournemouth School of Art after the Great War.    He subsequently had a long and well respected teaching career, first in the South West, then moving to Gloucestershire and the Cheltenham Colleges. 

(Arthur Bell: wartime drawing)

There are a number of Bell's works on the BBC yourpaintings resource   

Arthur Bell was elected an associate of the Royal West of England Academy in Bristol (RWA) in 1935 and exhibited regularly there until 1994.   He specialised in etching and watercolour and had work selected on a number of occasions for the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition.

(Arthur Bell: illustrations)

The talk was illustrated both with slides and a large number of items and illustrated booklets for people to browse and gave an engaging impression of the life and work of one of Kettering's less well-known artists.   

A great contribution to the life of the Alfred East Gallery courtesy of the Friends.

(Arthur Bell: Tuscan watercolour)

Gilty Pleasures opens at AEG

Friday evening saw the opening of the first art show of the New Year ... Gilty Pleasures - a bigger and better version of last year's triumphant Hidden Treasures salon hang.

The largest display of the Alfred East Gallery's Permanent Collection.

The new exhibition embraces all the galleries and displays nearly 400 works from the collection, celebrating diversity in a kaleidoscope of art spreading over every wall.

(John Wilson contributes a few words on behalf of the Friends of the Gallery)

This is an ideal occasion - hopefully annual, now - to get an impression of what is in the town's extensive collection ... so, especially if you missed Hidden Treasures, make sure you call in and have a look around.  Entry is free, and you may well feel you want to come again, there is so much to take in.

Friday's preview was warmly introduced by Gallery Officer, Katie Boyce, Deputy Mayor, Keli Watts, and Chairman of the Friends, John Wilson.   2013 is a big year for Kettering's Alfred East Gallery ...  marking the centenaries both of the opening of the Gallery and the passing of Sir Alfred East whose great idea the project was.

Another first, the opening saw the launch of the first comprehensive guide to the collection - currently available in a limited edition anniversary cover.  192 fully illustrated pages including catalogue details with biographical essays covering the major artists at the heart of the collection and the story of the gallery and exhibits.

 
Collecting so much knowledge in such an accessible single volume format is a great achievement made possible both by generous support from the Friends, KDAS, Alfred East's family as well and the editorial effort of the Gallery Officer and her team.


Gilty Pleasures runs until March 16th and is the first of a high profile series of exhibitions and events celebrating this anniversary year.   It got a very warm reception and has got the year off to great start.

It really is a show not to miss.

(opening night at Gilty Pleasures)

Great News from Westminster

In response to one of a series of questions asked by Kettering MP Philip Hollobone, the DCMS has agreed to look at loaning out its Alfred East watercolour for exhibition in Kettering as part of the 2013 Alfred East Centenary celebrations.

One hundred years on, 2013 will be a big year for the Alfred East Gallery, and its staff, friends and supporters are putting together a fitting programme of events: follow this news page for more details as they emerge.

My thanks to Philip Hollobone and Paul Johnson for forwarding the latest news.

Carol East's Stumpwork - 15th November 2012

Friends Evening Talks at the Alfred East Gallery, Kettering

Many of you will have seen examples of Carol's work in the craft showcase in September.

Carol kindly agreed to join the Friends of Kettering Art Gallery and Museum for the evening and share her world of stumpwork.

(a fascinating evening at the Alfred East Gallery: the November Friends talk)

As well as relating her own roller-coaster journey through the various personal and creative episodes that led her to this particular form of embroidery, Carol brought along numerous examples of her work and explained the historical context ...

Originally Jacobean, the essence of stumpwork is the raising of the needlework off the backing by means of stuffing, wire supports and related trickery.

(3 Dimensional embroidery: stumpwork by Carol East)

Early stumpwork featured buildings and people as well as floral motifs and insects and beetles etc.  A contemporary exponent, Carol tend to focus more on highly detailed floral items.

This was an illuminating and quite fascinating look into the world of a form of needlecraft entirely unknown to me.   The skill involved is remarkable and the 3D effect often very striking.  A very interesting evening at the Gallery!

If you missed this talk, but get the opportunity to see her work elsewhere, or listen to Carol's take on the topic, it is highly recommended

(Carol East with some samples of her work at the Alfred East Gallery)

Playgrounds of War - a Cold War Heritage

Playgrounds of War by Gina Glover is now on at the Alfred East Gallery.

A core component of the work are the photographic essays on the remains of the nuclear missile base at RAF Harrington (on the Lamport Road).

In coordination with the exhibition, Gina led a photographic workshop which began with a field trip to the launch pads...

 I joined the photographers and lecturers on the trip ...  These are some of my pictures ...

 

As a first timer to a Kettering Art Workshop, I have to say I found it excellent value and extremely interesting.   I had long had Harrington on my list of heritage sites to explore, and could not have wished for a more interesting way of doing so.   I think I also learned a little about the way skilled practitioners go about finding and setting up their photographs.

I hope we might encourage some of the participants to contribute pictures to the album I have set up on the Museum and Gallery Facebook Page.

Within days of the workshop visit, and with the exhibition on at the Gallery until 17th November, it has been announced this week that the Thor Missile Bases at Harrington and North Luffenham have been listed by English Heritage.  Guardian News article.  BBC News.

If you ever wondered how up to date the Kettering Museum and Art Gallery content was, now you know.  Already open by the time the BBC broke the heritage status story on the national news.

What did a Thor Missile look like?

Imagine that!

Harrington Museum
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