Winter 2016 | Open for Christmas

Artists on show included Jonny Hannah and his hand-painted objects inspired by Thomas Hardy, a collection of prints and small sculptures by Jo Sweeting, prints by Tom Frost and Bea Forshall, greenwood pieces by Alex Walshall, wonderful ceramics, an enormous table of our books, cards and even an extraordinary collection of bird callers!

MEET THE ARTISTS

JO SWEETING

Jo Sweeting is a sculptor and letter carver, living and working in Brighton. Her work is based on the concept of ‘Shul’, a passing impression or mark left on the landscape – from a dry riverbed to a hollow where an animal has slept on the grass. She carves these impressions into clay, wood, plaster and bronze.

Her interest is in traces left on our bodies and memories. She uses words, a figure or plant as a starting point and focuses on growth and change. She celebrates a moment in time. Starting points can be poetry, an overheard conversation or the landscape. Stone is her preferred medium, because unlike many other materials,its beginning and end state remains constant. We have commissioned Jo to design the artwork for a memoir on the writer J A Baker, author of The Peregrine. 

ALEX WALSHAW

Alex Walshaw studied with greenwood furniture maker Hugh Roberts on the Island of Anglesey, North Wales, from 1995 to 1998. He then went on to work with various makers while at the same time developing his own style. 

Inspired by nature, being open to a rapport with the land and its inhabitants, he  has developed an ethical approach that reflects this, by only using naturally fallen and reclaimed wood. Walshaw is sensitive to the ecology by not taking too much fallen wood, as dead wood provides vital rich habitat for many species thus continuing the cycle. 

He  love’s to use discarded and forgotten wood, bearing traces of its history, weathered and marked by the elements and previous use. Using a selection of hand tools, and sometimes fire. 

TOM FROST

Print maker and illustrator Tom Frost graduated from Falmouth College of Arts in 2001 returning to his home town of Bristol to work as an illustrator for a number of years. He now divides his time between print making, restoring his crumbling Georgian house in rural Wales and raising a young family. In recent years he has worked with clients including Perry’s Cider, Art Angels, Selvedge Magazine, Betty & Dupree, The Archivist and Yorkshire Sculpture Park. His work highlights a fascination for old matchboxes, stamps, folk art, tin toys, nature and children’s books. 

JONNY HANNAH

Jonny enjoys nothing better than going to his studio to illustrate, paint and savour the odd Tunnocks Caramel Wafer with a fresh cup of coffee. It is under the moniker of the Cakes & Ale Press, a highly successful cottage industry, that he has industriously published his limited edition affordable prints and artists books. Recently he has started to paint the odd objet d’art, painting on guitars, suitcases, toy cars, coffee pots, plates and chairs. Jonny’s inspiration for our Winter Show is Thomas Hardy.

POTTERY WEST

Founded by Goldsmiths graduates; husband & wife team, Catherine and Matt West. Pottery West specialises in simple, functional ceramic homeware for everyday use, inspired by their love of cuisine, botany, landscape, literature and architecture. Each piece is thrown by hand and we have fallen in love with it. We also think they have made the perfect mug, trust us, we drink a lot of coffee.

HELEN BEARD

Helen fell in love with clay whilst at Edinburgh College of Art. It was the immediacy of clay, the smooth texture and its ability to move and react to her every touch that, in the end, resulted in her finding a career as a potter. After college, she continued  her training under the supervision of Edmund de Waal, who taught her to throw on the potter’s wheel and introduced her to porcelain. 

RORY NUGENT

Rory Nugent studied at the Royal College of Art under Paul Huxley and Michael Heindorff. His work focuses on the basic elements of landscape and the ever changing light on the sea, earth and sky. Rory has shown his work at the Barbican, South Bank Centre, Cork Street and the Royal Academy in London. He lives and works in Devon.

AVAILABLE FROM ROOM AT THE END