Phoenix in Carew… and How I Joined the Artists
“Oh Pandora, what have you done now?”
This is really exciting and not a little scary. Until last year I would never have thought about creating and sharing art with anyone unless they were looking over my shoulder and commenting on my doodles… something I have always done in meetings to stop me going bonkers. I suspect I have an attention deficit issue. Drawing I found helped with when I have been expected to keep still and stay awake.
Mermaid
Anyway… it was while I was in hospital last year for four months that the artist Anna Water contacted me and asked if I would like some art materials from the VC Gallery. For those who don’t know, the VC was set up to support services veterans and the wider community with mental health through engagement with the arts. It’s an amazing project and it really helped me to keep calm and occupied.
I started joining workshops on Zoom and, along with meeting some fabulous people, I started to draw and paint. Such was the encouragement that I stopped censoring myself, stopped telling myself quite so loudly and emphatically how rubbish I am, and started to make images for the fun of it. I learned how to find ideas and how to use different media and found I could make pictures that not only helped me get through a challenging time, but also seemed to give other people some pleasure. I sent out greetings cards to everyone I thought would like them and, when I came home, moved onto some larger canvases.
“I hadn’t planned to stay so long”
It was while doing a piece on Breaking out of the Gallery that I thought: “Why not?” and submitted a little piece called The Green Man which is on the wall of the creative café in Haverfordwest.
I wanted to uplift and filled my canvases with colour and images. If not exactly accomplished technically, I hoped to make people smile. I wanted to fill the frame with images and colour so there was a lot to look at in a small space.
Secret Bathers
The next exhibition I had notification of was the Phoenix exhibition which opens next week in Carew. Speaking to Muriel, organiser, inspiration and artist who is also delightful and very encouraging, even after seeing some of my daubs, I decided to submit four items. Muriel also introduced me to some of the other artists and I have written about them in this magazine too.
Crazy Cat Lady
So, that’s the source of my excitement and anxiety and never one to avoid sticking one’s head into the heart of my fear, I thought I would post another advert for the exhibition, by sharing some of my stuff.
I hope you will come to the exhibition and enjoy the cream teas on offer along with the proper artists’ work and my whimsical little creations.
Might see you there.
