IMAGE CREDIT: Julie Snowball, ceramicist, Nomadic Ladies series.
UPDATE: 13 SEPTEMBER: SUM RAISED CONFIRMED AS £928.30: There was praise this week for organisers of the groundbreaking exhibition held at St. Wilfrid’s Hall in Pevensey Bay Bay on Saturday 27 August, as sisters Val and Christine Racher confirm that the event raised over £800 for local charity, St. Wilifrids Hospice.—Bay Life, 11 September 2016
Talking to subscribers to their web platform, Rachers on Canvas, co-organiser Val Racher said , “a massive thank you to everyone who supported the fundraiser”.
Adding to her message she said, “the Art, Crafts & photographs Exhibition in Pevensey Bay on Saturday 27 August was a great success and thanks go out to the following people:
“Nigel Greaves who officially opened the event, our very generous sponsors, all our exhibitors, demonstrators, musicians, authors and reader, visitors who came on the day, people who purchased exhibitors work and raffle tickets and our willing team of helpers.
“You should know that your combined efforts have helped us to raise over £800 for St Wilfrid’s Hospice, Eastbourne.
“That figure will increase further once the donation buckets have been emptied and additional fees from some commissions have been paid.
“ It was a brilliant day and a lovely way to remember our late friend Jeanne Gamson. We were especially pleased that several members of Jeanne’s family, including Dawn & Petra, were able to join us at the exhibition.
The exhibition which saw a variety of creative media represented, celebrated art, crafts and photographs in a way that that attracted interest from all kinds of local people.
Artist Julie Snowball with her unique nomadic ladies series of ceramics was a hit, with one of her works selling for over £100. Talking to Bay Life she explained how much she was enjoying being at the exhibition and showing some of her work. Julie greatly admires the work of Giacometti and Klimt, the latter particularly for his unique deployment of colour and pattern.
Her association with the Chalk Gallery in Lewes has enabled her to work alongside other artists.
Exquisite in detail and noteworthy in one of her series of Nomadic ladies series of ceramics, was a piece that had encrusted in the headscarf of the figure, a button that belonged to her grandmother, positioned like a jewel.
Brighton based photographer John Fox, with fifty years experience, showed some of his metre long panoramic scenes of shopping areas of East Street in the city. They were stunning in sharpness and detail. As he explained to Bay Life “they give an entirely different perspective on Brighton”
As well as readings from local writers by former West End and TV star Alan Baker there was also music, and art and craft demonstrations from local people skilled in their area of specialism.
Mary Foster, who has lived in Pevensey Bay for 11 years told Bay Life, “I think it was very well put together and so well planned, a lot of work had gone into it and I wanted to say that to have got together many talented artists on the day was a great achievement.
“The variations were so wide and the quality was there, gelled, is not the right word, but what I am trying to say is that there were so many talents all there on the same day, it was as an amazing achievement.
Bay Life noticed the set planning for the event, with wide spaces centred around the artists who were positioned so that they were forward from their tables to enable them to talk to people one to one.
Val and sister Christine Racher, the two key organisers, should be congratulated for the detail of their organisation.
As Mary Forster told us, “what I wanted to say was that the arrangements and the planning was so good that credit is due to Val Racher”.
Co-organiser, sister Christine Racher, said after the exhibition, “the event attracted a lot of people throughout the day and we would like to thank all those who contributed to making it such a success”.
The event is widely being seen as a way of working in the creative arts locally that has raised the profile of the area
Confirming the final amount raised, Val Racher told Bay Life explained the sum raised for St Wilfrid’s Hospice was £928.30.
She said, “showcasing an array of local talent, in a diverse range of mediums, the standard of work on display highlighted the wealth of individual creativity in and around the Bay.
“We also had a wide range of ages represented with the youngest being two brothers, aged six and eleven years old, and one more mature artist in his nineties taking part”.
Asked about whether the event might become a seasonal fixture in the creative life of the village, with a thoughtful pause and grin, Val Racher told Bay Life “I have got a few ideas”.
Bay Life saw an event of quality, range and depth, joining many top rate local artists, craft makers and photographers.
The event has raised the bar. It was a demonstration of what can be done in the locality to profile the cause of art.
We must wait to see what may come next for the team and organisers behind the show.
Somehow appropriate that the event was planned in one of the two parallel roads in Pevensey Bay that celebrate key Pre-Raphaelite families, Val Prinsep and Gabriel and Christina Rossettti who have seen their names honoured in Rossetti Road and Val Prinsep Road.
Without question, the Art, Crafts & photographs Exhibition in Pevensey Bay set the benchmark for more like minded events that may follow.
