 Sarah Lucy Baker and Tori Elliott
Sarah and Tori will be exhibiting 'Eden' -an exhibition of paintings and sculptural works exploring the theme of a sustainable paradise. Through investigating the nature of the eternal conflicts between male and female and between paradise and temptation they intend to discover how we can more clearly understand the relationships we have both with each other and the world around us. Central to the exhibition is the message that “Paradise is now!”- the idea that we should make the most of the world around us through an increased understanding and curiosity about how we might attempt to preserve it. www.eden-exhibition.co.uk Nick Viney
Nick is a South West Devon artist. Nick's beauvine sculptures 'Beau Viney the E-Cow Warrior'
and'Calf Pint' will be paying a visit to the festival. Beau is on a green mission to make dairies
and supermarkets rethink the way they package their milk.
Anna Keleher and Claire Long
Anna Keleher (Devon) and Claire Long (New Mexico) have been collaborating since October, 2007.
The pieces exhibiting at the festival are part of a project in which people of many nationalities
are invited to share aspects of their lives and cultures with the original inhabitants of prehistoric
dwellings. It all began on a wet and windy day in a Bronze Age Dartmoor roundhouse and the
archive of participants is still growing. In 2009 the project travelled to a Tijeras Pueblo
Archaeological Settlement in New Mexico. The pieces exhibiting were assembled by Anna for
the "Art, Ecology and the Economy" exhibition (CCANW and Duchy Square Centre for Creativity
2010) using funding from National Lottery through Arts Council England.
Cea Blyth
Cea Blyth is an artist based near Ashburton. Her practice has ranged from portrait and performance
painting to exploring art forms, such as conceptual installation. Cea was an artist in residence
for Dartmoor National Park and has work on permanent display at Postbridge Information
Centre and Bellever Youth Hostel as well as collections around the world.Since 1994 Cea has been
painting with earth pigments, inspired by their rich qualities. Recently Cea has developed the
practice of painting with her feet and making body prints inspired by yoga dance, working in
collaboration with performer and facilitator Michelle Wilkinson of Moving Nature. Instead of using
brushes Cea likes to use raw sheeps wool or pony hair and prefers to paint onto handmade paper
or unprimed hemp canvas.When gathering pigments she tries not to disturb the ecology of a
place and keeps the resource sustainable by taking earth that is already crumbling away and
eroding naturally and by only taking small amounts.
Amanda Pellatt Amanda's painting practice is environmentally based, with each series of paintings having a narrative. Amanda is based at Duchy Square Art Centre in Princetown at the heart of Dartmoor National Park. Amanda's career has focused upon multi-sensory learning and raising aspirations in learners with specific learning differences. Her aim is to create opportunities for participation and re-engagement with the environment. Her belief is that within social, political and ecological change, the artist's imagination can help create new ways of knowing.
Greg Ramsden Greg is a young, Devon based artist whose paintings feature a strong environmental focus. Greg uses materials from the landscape to create texture in his paintings. The elements also play a part in the creation of his works. Greg has been known to leave his pieces outside in the wind and the rain, or subject them to the heat and smoke of a bonfire. Greg's work sits perfectly alongside the environmental theme behind the Ilsington Festival. Sara Gilbert
Sara’s work is often described as “energetic and dynamic”. Inspiration comes from a love of being in the natural landscape, in particular the coastline of the South Hams. Her approach is intuitive and spontaneous as she captures the ‘essence’ of a place through memory and observation, sometimes using quick sketches and photography. Her semi-abstract fluid paintings embody a ‘freeze-frame’ of natural phenomena and are a response to her surroundings. Sometimes it’s just a sensation of something she needs to interpret using colours, textures and patterns.The process of painting is important and the qualities of the paint itself are explored. www.artgilbert.co.ukGraham Gilbert
Graham’s photography is based on the close observation of the natural world, the things that you don’t see unless you look hard or use your imagination. Reflections, re-orientation of images, and the quirky form the body of his work, but there are also some reflective images as well. Graham has been writing poetry for ages and, as he likes art to be fun, began by hanging some of his humorous poetry amongst his photographs at the Harbertonford Open Studios in 2009. He got a real kick out of watching people's faces light up after reading them so this will become a feature of most future exhibitions. Recently, someone said "you should do these on cards" so he’s taken their kind advice and produced "Fluff" as the first of what will be a series.
Adam Bunce With his paintings Adam aims to explore and celebrate the landscapes of Dartmoor and the South West and the inner realms of dream and imagination. Adam is also interested in the myths and legends of Dartmoor: the idea of supernatural beings, and the amazing notion that people have lived here for thousands of years. What must they have been like? How did they perceive the land, the plants, the animals, community, the future? Ideas such as these come through in his paintings, lending them an otherworldly tone.
Barbara Steele Barbara spent many years as a textile artist, both in Canada and England, but then studied for a BA and Post Graduate Diploma in Fine Art.‘This study changed my working practice and I now work across different media depending on the concept, the subject matter, the project. My art practice encompasses site specific art, bookworks, paintings, prints, photography and works on paper. However the work is interlinked in many ways, with concerns about identity of place and personal identity; memories and secrets; disclosure and concealment; reflections, surfaces, layers'. Adam Turnbull
Adam is a self-taught painter who originates from Birmingham, but has lived in Ilsington
for the past 8 years. Adam spends half of his week working in the criminal justice system,
and the rest of his time is spent painting from the perspective of a walker. He is currently
working with oils on board and takes his inspiration from the landscape around him, walking
the south west coast path and Dartmoor. His work is a response to locality, an abstract
interpretation of the fluidity of the landscape and the sensations evoked through the union
of the weather, history and industry, capturing the essence of light, colour and form.
Jane Burt Jane is an eco-friendly artist from Teignmouth, Devon. Jane creates installation works and
paints semi-abstract canvases in oils or mixed media. Her landscape and seascape works are
broadly appealing, mixing identifiable elements and abstract features that lend the work an
original slant. Combining all these aspects with a sensitive approach to colour and texture,
Jane's work is exciting, surprising and enduring.
www.janeburt.com
Richard Thorn Richard was born in Torquay, Devon. The sea figured prominently in his young life and is a constant source of his subject matter. "I love the poetry of the land and the sea. The associations are strong and deep and I try to convey this in my work". Richard uses watercolour, acrylic, body-colour, pastel, ink, coloured crayon and even biro. www.richardthornart.co.uk |