This exhibition came to me as a blast from the past - taking me on a bit of a nostalgic trip. I had first come across John Masefield's name in 1984 in the BBC TV adaptation "The Box of Delights". It was so magical and was great to go on the adventures every week. I later bought this on DVD when it came out to revisit its fantasy world.
The above image is from the 1984 TV adaptation
This was the lovely autumnal view just outside the Oriel in Wrexham
Willie Carter
I had come across this artist's work before in last year's Helfa Gelf 2012 and had liked his use of vibrant colours. I felt the colours had accentuated the characters in his art work.To me they seemed to make the characters more "alive" and appear as happy, feel-good sculptures. It was interesting to see more pieces that he has been working on, and to me his work is recognisable because of his use of colour and upbeat characterisation.
Paul Bommer
I spent a long time looking at this art work because there was more to see than first met the eye.Some were based around the piece of music "Noye's Fludde" by Benjamin Britten as a theme.
Many of the prints on display were interesting for me to see as I then found out that they were one finished image made up of many colours. This was the case in Paul's image of the sailor and I liked the way his tattoos were portrayed. To me it seemed to look as if the tattoos were in the body as a filling rather than on the body as a surface decoration. The was based around John Masefield's Poem, Sea Fever. Here is the 1st part of the poem:
I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.
As pictured below
This image reminded me of a local pub that Wrexham used to have with the same name 'The Green Dragon'.The dragon makes me think of England's patron saint, St. George, Wales and also the aroma of summery cut grass.
Jennifer Collier
There were many other items that this artist had made but it was the dress in particular that took me back to childhood memories. It was made out of a sewing pattern and reminded me of when my mother would make my clothes as a child. The items were very creative and I found visually pleasing on the eye.The paper which was used looks like it could be illustrated will the Welsh folk tales, possibly from The Mabinogion.
Vanessa Conyers
I stood looking at this work for a long time trying to figure out how they were constructed, as it looked as if the pieces worked with were broken pieces of china that had then been placed back together. I liked what appeared to be golden studs and the added glaze appeared to bring out the strength of the colours and emphasised the 3D effect.
Barry Morris
I looked really close at these images as I hadn't seen many magpies used as subject matter before. The feathers to me looked so realistic and carefully placed and at close inspection I could see every fine pencil stroke. The detailing was really life-like.
Rosemarie Sharman
This work showed the character behind the fox and true to the description as being "cunning and sly". The use of the dark colours enhanced the feel the artist was trying to portray and to me makes the image more powerful.
These figures, which are characters in Beatrix Potter's tales, were being portrayed as having a dark side - a total contrast to what we expect her characters to be, which is soft and lovable. The eyes in the Jemima model give a sinister feeling to the figure where as in the original story she is a slightly silly character or so I am led to believe.
Melanie Tomlinson
The above piece of work was just as visually stunning but I don't know exactly what material it was made from but it was carefully crafted. With its combination of what looked like bright, individual shapes, painted or applied lines and 3D detailing,put together to create one form; the completed structure reminded me of the old-fashioned German-made tin toys.
Desdemona Mcannon
These characters remind me of Paddington Bear I used to watch when a child, due to the fact that aspects of the animation appeared static.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCPnsqxDKf4
Yadzia Williams
From one glance you could see that a lot of work had gone into making this mobile. Clearly visible, it has been hand crafted with many individually made creatures and foliage. Many hours of work have been put into its construction and it is very hard to see exactly how each piece has been put together as a completed piece of work. Due to the fact that I used my phone to take these images, I have failed to capture the beauty of the shadow cast by the lighting. In reality, I think this piece of work is unusual and this may be due to the fact that it is also used as a traditional decoration in Poland.
Sian Bailey
Many of her images I was drawn to. The above angel reminds me of the Christmas Story. The angel is there to guide the shepherds to Bethlehem. The colours and use of lines in varying directions is what appeals to me and completes the image to my mind.
The detail, colour and also subjects such as the rocking horse and horse pictured below are not often seen portrayed in this way. The rocking horse is out of context not being shown in the children's nursery. The second photo below shows what appears to be a Trojan Horse set on a plinth or wall; but the image is different because of the flowery background. I associate this horse with Greek stories. The hare is attractive to me because the hare is looking up to the moon, obviously at night. I have only seen images of hares in the daytime and normally they are boxing! This image, together with the previous ones, makes me think of images I would normally associate with dreams and therefore would seem to be a little "out of the box" in their situations.
There were many more artists on display than shown here, I enjoyed seeing this exhibition with its many artists because there was lots I took away visually from each one.
