Once again this year in Lewes and surrounding villages, from Ditchling to Muddles Green and in a vast circle from Fletching to the sea, the late summer tide of Artwave engulfed the area in a glorious, lavish outpouring of creative talent. Three weeks in September, where on almost any day you could count on being able to attend an art exhibition.
On display were painters, sculptors, etchers and engravers, weavers and stitchers, potters and metalworkers, jewellers, print makers and photographers, mosaic makers and crocheters, furniture designers and woodworkers. There were interactive spaces, street art and installations, activities for children but, best of all, this life-enhancing festival of creativity was completely free of charge.
Talking to Sussex artists
Clutching my Artwave guide, I spent some happy hours during the three-week festival exploring the studios. I only wish that I had had more time to see more, chat to more artists, and to learn more – not to mention more cash to splash around!
The struggling artist is a well-known stereotype, but it was clear that making a living from creativity is hard work in these austere days. It was nevertheless a privilege to meet so many gifted people, enthusiastically talking about their work, so ready to engage with the public whether or not they were in a position to buy anything. And if we couldn’t afford the art, many of the studios offered delicious cakes or goodies for a modest outlay.
Space for art
Another aspect of this wonderful three weeks was the variety of gallery space. Some people linked up with friends and shared sitting room walls in private houses. There were shepherds’ huts and garden offices, as well as public spaces like the Depot and the Linklater Pavilion.
Other venues included farms, barns and garages, farmyards and gardens, and spaces so small that were quite a squeeze for more than two or three people at a time. The local churches joined in, filling their sacred spaces with this festival of human talent.
Inspiration and influences
Much of the work on display reflected the surrounding countryside and coastline, the natural world, but it was not limited to the purely rural, with townscapes and industry past and present also represented. History and local heritage featured as well.
A peaceful world, wellbeing, diversity, climate change and the value of waste were other themes. Though many artists reflected our local and national concerns, faraway places and the wonderful wilds of imagination also found a place.
Trails of creativity
Iford Church, on the rural trail, hosted a group of local artists exhibiting jewellery, pictures and sculpture. I particularly loved a goat fashioned out of different materials, wildly graceful and looking like bronze. Maddy McClellan, another Iford resident, carried us into her ‘Garden of Wonder and Delight’, inspired by her love of nature and folklore.
Hamsey Church, atmospheric and isolated, was also transformed into a gallery, showing the work of Paul Evans and Keith Pettit, both of whom are inspired by landscape. Keith Pettit used 5,000-year-old bog oak, found in a pond in Pevensey, for his extraordinary figures set in the Chancel. Three torsos that he ‘released’ from the wood sit aptly and dramatically in that church, looking like a crucifixion.
Another village, Kingston, was home to contrasting talents. Rachael Stedman’s and Anna MacLeod’s landscapes were lovely and I could have taken any one of them home. ‘Trespassers’ at Lovebrook Farm contained large scale and interactive sculptures and asked the question ‘Who owns the rights to the land?’ Sculptures by artists Rachael Nicholson, Melissa Pierce Murray, Steve Bannatyne and Jane Sarre took us in and out of the farm buildings and from then up to a standing stone, which was a joy for those with more energy to spare.
Lewes artists at the epicentre
The epicentre of the Artwave was Lewes and it did not disappoint. There was so much to see and absorb, from established locations like Star Community Pottery and the Sussex Guild to the Lewes Creatives in the All Saints Centre. There, I talked to Caroline Chalton Hellyer, whose ceramic vases and bowls were absolutely lovely. In Cranedown, I visited Sarah and David Blackaller, who were exhibiting their work at home together with that of a friend, Geoff Hands. Sarah’s abstract pictures are inspired by landscape and travel and have an enormously peaceful quality to them. David’s pottery is quirky and stylish.
There is no way that it was possible to view every artist’s work, let alone give adequate critiques. This is a snapshot of the open studios I saw and by no means comprehensive with regard to the range of talent on display. For me, as a whole, it celebrated one of the best aspects of human nature – the desire to create and take joy and meaning from it in the process.
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