Amberley Artisans Christmas Market

Wednesday 20th November -Sunday 1st December 2024

Tuesday - Friday 9am - 4pm, Saturday 10am - 4pm, Sunday 10am - 3pm

Evening shopping Fridays - 5.30pm - 9pm

The Setting Gallery and Plot café, Three Storeys, Old Bristol Rd, Nailsworth, GL6 0JE

The Amberley Artisans come together once again to showcase unique handmade artwork and gifts this Christmas.

‘Portraits’ Lucy Milne

Tuesday 12th - Sunday 17th November

The Setting Gallery and Plot café, Three Storeys, Nailsworth, GL6 0JE

Open Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 4pm, Sunday 10am to 2pm.

Lucy has worked for thirty years as a portrait painter in the medium of pastille.  Working from her studio in South Woodchester, she has travelled the country extensively, drawing adults, children, horses and dogs.  She has built up a strong reputation.

In 2022, making a bold decision, she enrolled at the well-renowned Heatherley School of Art in London on a two-year oil portraiture course to satisfy her long held desire to paint in this medium.

She won the school’s Sainsbury prize for Portraiture in her year, and her work was commended by Alistair Adams RP.
This exhibition will include a selection of her paintings from this course, as well as some recent ones of local characters.
Lucy is now looking forward to taking commissions for both oil and pastille portraits.

More information to follow.

‘From the Edge of the Sea’ Laura Dutton and Sylvia Wadsley

Tuesday 5th November - Sunday 10th November

The Setting Gallery and the Plot café, Three Storeys, Nailsworth, GL6 0JE

Open Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 4pm, Sunday 10am to 3pm.

Standing at the edge of the sea, I am captivated by the distant horizon, vastness, space, endlessness and the possibility of setting off into the unknown. 

I paint atmospheric seascapes which aim to impart peace and serenity, calming the anxieties and complications of the times we live in.  My seascape work is for me a meditative form of painting in contrast to my landscape work which is often around environmental concerns.

 I love to observe, absorb, gather and collect at the edge of the sea.

My process involves wandering and wondering at the strangeness and beauty of the anima of the sea and it’s treasures washed up by the wealth of the tide. These glass sculptures try to capture something of the beauty, fragility, resilience and wonder of life within the waves.

‘Sustainable Sadness’ - Dave Swinburne

Tuesday 29th October - Sunday 3rd November

The Setting Gallery and Plot café, Three Storeys, Nailsworth, GL6 0JE

Open Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 4pm, Sunday 10am to 3pm.

Dave is a walking artist based in Gloucestershire.

His artistic vision and style is inspired by the changing landscape and he is passionate about minimising the environmental impact of his photographic practice.  

Dave only works local to where he lives.

‘Gathered’ - Jaqueline Hammond

Tuesday 22nd - Sunday 27th October

The Setting Gallery, Three Storeys, Nailsworth, GL6 0JE

Open Tuesday to Friday 9am to 4pm, Saturday 10am to 4pm, Sunday 10am to 3pm.

‘Gathered’ is a vibrant exhibition of paintings by Jacqueline Hammond inspired by the landscape and nature’s abundance. 

Jacqueline’s first solo exhibition features rural landscapes and small still life paintings of gathered flowers and found natural items. 

She is drawn to the play of light, colour and pattern, her paintings capturing a sense of time and season, as she seeks to express the feeling of being within nature in a moment in time. .

An exhibition of ceramics by Kathy Clare

Tuesday 22nd - Sunday 27th October

The Plot café, Three Storeys, Nailsworth, GL6 0JE

Open Tuesday to Friday 8.45am to 4pm, Saturday 10am -4pm, Sunday 10am to 3pm.

Irish born, Kathy Clare moved to London in the 90’s where she enjoyed a career within finance, finally settling as an artist in the Cotswolds. In 2016 Kathy got an opportunity to study Fine Art achieving a BA (2018), followed by an MA (2020) at Cheltenham University.

Surrounded by beautiful Cotswold cottages, floral gardens and ever-changing sessional views, these dreamlike surroundings inspired her study for her master's. 

'My style is unique; I have developed my own skills by experimenting with materials and process. My hand casting timings are key to achieving translucency in the porcelain walls of my lamps, which are then hand painted in delicate floral patterns using ceramic paints and lustres.’

Kathy will be showing her work in the Plot café.

Kathy Clare Ceramics (@kclare.co.uk)

www.kclare.co.uk

Taster exhibition - Autumn Arts Trail

Tuesday 8th - Sunday 20th October

The Setting Gallery and the Plot café, Three Storeys, Nailsworth, GL6 0JE

Open weekdays 8.30am to 4pm, Saturday 10am to 4pm, Sunday 10am to 3pm.

The Autumn Arts Trail is a window into each artist’s practice; it’s enticing, inspiring and impressive.

Building on the success of last year, Autumn Arts has a total of over 50 artists and makers on the Trail, both in their studios and in exhibitions around the Five Valleys.

A selection of work from participating artists will be on show in this ‘Taster Exhibition’ in the Setting gallery and Plot café. 

‘Coast and Commons’ - An exhibition of work by Richard Erskine

Tuesday 1st - Sunday 6th October

The Setting Gallery and the Plot café, Three Storeys, Nailsworth, GL6 0JE

Open Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 4pm, Sunday 10am to 3pm.

Richard loves diversity in life and art, and that shines through in his work and mark-making, experimenting in different media and techniques. He seeks out stunning locations on our coasts and commons for inspiration, or in any place where the light is doing something interesting. 

Richard enjoys the creative interplay between simplicity and complexity, between precision and ambiguity, which distinguishes art from mere representation. 

On show will be delicate watercolours, large expressive acrylics, naturalistic oil paintings, pencil sketches, and for a bit of fun, some pen & washes.

Instagram: richard_w_erskine

‘Pick’ Hannah Linfoot

Tuesday 24th - Sunday 29th September

The Setting Gallery, Three Storeys, Nailsworth, GL6 0JE

Open Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 4pm, Sunday 10am to 3pm.

Artist Hannah Linfoot's solo show 'Pick' is an ode to the garden.  Flowers and vegetables picked from Hannah's garden are brought into the home and celebrated in contemporary bold oil paintings. 

Hannah_linfoot_art

'Where We Stand and What We See’ - Gemma Pitman

Tuesday 10th - Sunday 15th September

The Setting Gallery, Three Storeys, Nailsworth, GL6 0JE

Open weekdays 9am to 4pm, Saturday 10am to 4pm, Sunday 10am to 3pm.

Gemma is a self-taught artist having grown up in a creative household at the foot of the Ridgeway in Oxfordshire. Gemma’s first career however, developed from her love of biology and having graduated from Southampton University with a degree in Physiotherapy, she then worked in Bristol and throughout mid and West Cornwall within the NHS. It was after the birth of her two sons that Gemma decided to revisit art. Possibly due to spending so much time in nature again as a mother of young children; Gemma was drawn to express the natural world through paint.

‘Where We Stand and What We See’ is Gemma’s second solo exhibition since she first started showing her work publicly in 2018.  Following on from her successful solo show ‘Living in the Landscape’ in 2022, Gemma has been exhibiting and selling work in group shows within the local area.

With an unceasing pull to the land, Gemma has been exploring our much-loved local landscape; walking the cow lines and paths to find different viewpoints to the familiar landscapes that are woven into our lives. ‘Where We Stand and What We See’ looks at the unique landscape in which we live; and continues to call the viewer to not only celebrate these places, but also to recognise that as we live in them, these places also live within us.

Jemma Jones and Melody Sellors - ‘Flow-Scapes’

Tuesday 3rd - Sunday 8th September.

Open weekdays 9am - 4pm, Saturday 10am - 4pm, Sunday 10am - 3pm
The Setting gallery, Three Storeys, Old Bristol Rd, Nailsworth, GL6 0JE

‘Flow-Scapes’ - Explorations in paint, ink, shape and form. An exhibition of work by local artists Jemma Jones and Melody Sellors.

Melody's work is influenced by her love of small details everywhere.  Be it the curl of a fern or the organic landscape of the coast. 

The repetitive shapes and lines of nature become the inky explorations that lead to her abstract pieces.

Jemma immerses herself in the colours of nature. Storing memories of land and sky-scapes, which form her paintings, using acrylics and oils on canvas.

Not always conscious of where the work will take her,  this brings an organic flow to her art,  bringing vibrant colours and texture alive.

Both Jemma and Melody take much of their inspiration from nature. Be it hill-scape or coast-scape.

Coming together with their first joint exhibition ‘Flow-Scapes’ they can share their love of shape and form in their distinct styles of paint and ink. Both artists will have originals and prints for sale along with lamps, t-shirts and bags.

@melody_verity_art @art_by_jemsy 

‘A State of Flux’ - Curated by Rita Long

Tuesday 27th August to Sunday 1st September

The Setting Gallery, Three Storeys, Nailsworth, GL6 0JE

Open weekdays 10am to 4pm, Saturday 10am to 4pm, Sunday 10am to 3pm.

The Fluxus movement, known for its event scores – artist instructions for others – is coming to Nailsworth. 

Hundred Heroines has chosen six captivating scores from critically acclaimed photographer Elina Brotherus's ‘Playground’ collection as inspiration for new work.  Young, local photographers are invited to respond to the instructions and offer their own interpretations on themes such as ‘Bad Camouflage’ and ‘Disobedience’.  The most interesting images will feature in the exhibition.

Curated by Hundred Heroines Ambassador and award-winning photographer, Rita Long, ‘A State of Flux' promises to be an eclectic mix of imagination and invention.

 Details of how to get involved will be available on the Hundred Heroines website from 1st July.

An exhibition of work by Michael Williams

Tuesday 13th - Sunday 25th August

The Setting Gallery, Three Storeys, Nailsworth, GL6 0JE

Open Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 4pm, Sunday 10am to 3pm, closed Monday.

Michael has a long career as an artist which includes teaching at St Martin’s and Goldsmiths’ College in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, as well as producing his own work in a variety of media over the years.

Michael’s work shows his interest in space, light and the precarious human presence therein.

Choosing to work with coloured pencils for the last three years, rather than his usual acrylic or watercolours which had been his main media for years.

Michael insists on leaving the slightest gap between every pencil mark, increasing the lightness of the overall surface, thus taking it back to the characteristics of watercolour, and also strengthening the directional movement of the marks.

Works By; Echo Parker & Poppy Kakoz

Tuesday 30th July - Sunday 1st September

The Plot café, Three Storeys, Nailsworth, GL6 0JE

Open weekdays 8.30am to 4pm, Saturday 10am to 4pm, Sunday 10am to 3pm.

With a passion for the human form, you can expect to see individuals as the focal point of Echo’s work, spreading across many media, ranging from life drawing to installation pieces.

While originally this interest was focussed around the physical form it has now spread to encompass psychological and social aspects of humanity.  It is such a passion that has led her through the local Art Foundation course and onto University to study Fine Art, with the aim of expanding her knowledge and maturing her skill sets to nourish her creativity. 

With a focus on people and the effects of tourism, Poppy has spent the last two years following A-Levels, travelling widely around Europe, Asia and Africa, recording as she goes.

Her passion for photography has lead her to further education; in September she will start a degree at University Arts London, studying Photojournalism and Documentary Photography. 

Nailsworth Creatives - A joint exhibition

Tuesday 9th - Sunday 14th July

The Setting Gallery, Three Storeys, Nailsworth, GL6 0JE

Open weekdays 10am to 4pm, Saturday 10am to 4pm, Sunday 10am to 3pm.

More information to follow.

Susie Hetherington

Tuesday 2nd July - Sunday 29th July 2024

The Plot café, Three Storeys, Old Bristol Rd, Nailsworth, GL6 0JE

Susie Hetherington is a designer of Arts & Crafts inspired patterns and prints, capturing the intricate details of nature, for fabric and paper.

Working from her home in Amberley, Susie draws and carves lino inspired by the woods and common land around her, looking at the shapes of leaves and flowers as well as local scenery and period architecture.

Susie will be displaying lino prints and handmade textiles in the Plot café.

www.susiehetherington.co.uk

Summer Show - A Joint Exhibition

Tuesday 25th to Sunday 30th June 2024
Open Tuesday - Friday 10am - 3pm, Saturday 10am - 4pm, Sunday 10 - 3pm
The Setting gallery, Three Storeys, Old Bristol Rd, Nailsworth, GL6 0JE

A Summer Show of current work by Nick Young, Daisy Murdoch, Rebecca Simmons, Melanie de Gray Birch, Clair Wayman, Andy Bradley and Fiona Doran.

Clair Wayman

Growing up in the market town of Ludlow, Shropshire in the 1970’s, Clair Wayman always had a love of art, thanks to her parents encouraging her to draw and paint from a young age. She would often be found with sketch book in hand, roaming the countryside with her beloved Springer Spaniel, Bella.

Clair moved with her family to Cheltenham and learnt how to screen print at sixth form college. She gained a BA Honours Degree in Visual Art and Art History at Aberystwyth University, specialising in screen printing and painting. Further education included a Post Graduate Diploma in Textile Design at Leeds University. After her studies she moved to Hackney, East London and was drawn to the world of interiors. She embarked on a career as an interior stylist for leading homes magazines, designing room sets, styling decorating shoots and writing features.

Clair then moved to Melbourne, Australia in 2003 where she worked as the Style Editor for Real Living magazine and co-founded Curio & Curio, a colourful screen-printed homewares brand. She set up a boutique homewares store in a seaside town near Melbourne selling her vibrant cushions and art prints, as well as taking on interior design commissions.

When she returned to Gloucestershire in 2014 she continued to design textiles for her brand, selling to customers worldwide, before accepting a 5 year post as Houses Editor for The English Homes magazine. Having left this role just over a year ago, she’s come full circle and is now rediscovering her passion for printing-making all over again.

In 2023 she became a member at the Gloucestershire Print Co-operative in Stroud and loves having the freedom to just play. In her new hand screen-printed work, she’s enjoying combining vivid colour with bold shapes and pared back still life compositions, taking inspiration from treasured vases and vessels that she’s collected over the years.

@clairoliviawayman clair@clairwayman.com

Daisy Murdoch

Daisy Murdoch is a local, Stroud based fine artist working from her studio above Pegasus Art in Brimscombe. Predominantly focussing on commissioned portraits, she also paints imagined characters, wry reflections on life, beautiful objects and creatures that resonate with her.

Daisy has always been creatively minded but was originally steered in a more academic direction by her family and studied philosophy at Bristol university. She then found herself navigating the fast-paced world of advertising in New York and London, before training as a chef. She built up various enterprises over the years and is still occasionally persuaded to cater for a wedding or party, but these days just loves to cook up a storm for family and friends.

Having been born in North London, and then raised on a farm, Daisy describes herself as ‘half urbanite and half bumpkin.’ She’s now settled in the beautiful Stroud Valleys with her husband, three kids and a menagerie of animals. With a healthy dose of humour, she says ‘I’ve survived DIY hell, whilst riding the highs and lows of veg patches, and chickens (a disastrous combination!)’

Since her 30’s, Daisy made the somewhat arduous full circle to seriously re-engage with painting and her own creative narrative. Working mainly in oils, Daisy’s paintings are sensitively observed in exquisite, delicate tones. A life well lived has given Daisy an insightful, observant way of working and her portraits capture the true essence of her subjects.

@daisy.murdoch www.daisymurdoch.co.uk

Fiona Doran

A local Stroud designer and “blow-in,” Fiona Doran has lived in this wondrous area for 25 years. Now specialising in textile art and design, she creates beautifully simple bags that are stylish, functional and timeless.

In a previous life Fiona was a graphic designer at a leading London agency for 10 years before re-discovering her love for textiles whilst raising a young family. Training as a Further Education art and life skills tutor also allowed her to further explore different areas of functional art and design.

Utter simplicity is always key to her bag designs whilst using the finest quality materials. A strongly held green ethos and anti-waste sensibility means Fiona only utilises found, surplus materials.

A highly skilled seamstress (thanks Mum!) she channels her artistic sensibility into designs that are practical, beautiful and original. Utilising the finest quality surplus leather hides from Connolly, and other prestigious manufacturers, her bags focus on function, style and simplicity over any superfluous detailing. Any flash or pop of colour comes from the highest quality marine rope. Holes are carefully punched and the whole design is expertly finished. Even the angler’s knots are chosen for their simple beauty and strength. All are far more than the sum of their parts. 

With a timeless workwear vibe, all Fiona’s bags have an understated elegance of design and practicality. Choose from the classic “Fiona bag” which re-interprets the old-skool duffel bag with a contemporary twist, or the “Kitty bag” with its stripped-down elegance and practicality.

@thefionabag                fiona.doran@yahoo.co.uk

Melanie de Gray Birch

Melanie's journey started at Cheltenham College of Art studying fashion and textiles, after graduating with a BA Hons Degree in Fashion Design from Lancashire University, she moved to London working in the fashion industry for over 20 years as Head of Buying and Design. Travelling extensively as part of her career she found her passion was very much centred around print and colour, spending several weeks every year in India, where her love of Paisley, vivid colour & block printed fabric began.

Melanie now creates and hand makes bespoke gathered and pleated lampshades, using Indian block printed fabric, along with sourcing a myriad of one-of-a-kind vintage and retro textiles, crafting her unique handmade lampshades, she partners the shades with bases created from repurposed, upcycled antique glass carboys and retro ceramic vases, so each piece is truly unique.

Melanie de Gray Birch set up Buckingham & Birch in 2023, she works from a studio space in the SVA - Stroud Valleys Art Space and lives in the Slad Valley.

@buckinghamandbirch

Nick Young

As a child growing up in Cheltenham, Nick’s life revolved around sport, but he started becoming interested in street art, music and fashion in his late teens. Moving to London in the early 1990’s, he immersed myself in the world of acid jazz, hip hop and street culture. He remembers a seminal moment when he saw the work of American street artist, Jean-Michel Basquiat at an exhibition at the Serpentine gallery in London and realised how powerful art can be in conveying emotion. After leaving University, he worked as an account executive in London and joked that he felt like a creative person trapped in a salesman’s body.

It wasn’t until 2003 when he moved to Melbourne, Australia that he started to explore various mediums and his creative journey really began. He fell in love with print making and painting and hasn’t looked back. In 2009 he co-founded Curio & Curio, a design studio that also became an iconic destination homewares store in country Victoria and inner-city Melbourne, selling his eye-catching hand screen printed cushions, artwork and homewares.

Moving back to Gloucestershire in 2014, Nick continued his creative practise, painting and printmaking prolifically and has sold his artwork all over the world. He joined the Gloucestershire Print Co-operative in Stroud in 2023 and spends as much time there as he can. His work often features funny looking kids in superhero costumes with an element of social commentary.

Nick currently produces work under the name ‘Milk Bar Kid’ which is a subtle nod to his days printing in Australia. (Milk Bars are corner shops found in every suburb).

@milkbarkidart @mr_nicholas_young youngnicholas@mac.com www.milkbarkid.com

Rebecca Simmons

Rebecca Simmons is a local, Stroud based ceramist and painter who creates sculptural and domestic pieces using a mixture of slabs, coils and moulding clay to allow strange folkloric characters to emerge. Her work explores the affinities between clay and paint.

Rebecca went to art college in Newcastle before completing an MA in Fine Art at Chelsea College of Art and Design some years later.

Last year Rebecca received the DYCP funding, a yearlong Arts Council grant, to develop her creative practice, which has allowed her to extend her work and her methodology. During this time, she drew inspiration from folk art traditions. She works in an organic way, letting the clay shape suggest how it might be decorated, rather than plan it from the start. 

Rebecca has been a resident artist at Victoria Works studios in Chalford, near Stroud for the last ten years. She runs courses in art and pottery for adults and children at her studio, using techniques of play and processes to instigate imaginative projects.

@rebsimmons12 www.rebsimmons.com

Andy Bradley

Andy Bradley graduated from Chelsea School of Art in 1982 with an MA in Fine Art Painting and since then he has had a very successful, long career as a decorative artist. Specialising in decorative paint finishes which include murals, stencilling, wood graining and marbling, he’s spent many years developing his painting skills to transform the interiors of beautiful houses across the UK and Europe.

Although this kind of work has been creative and fulfilling, Andy has always been passionate about producing his own paintings. Over the last 5 years he’s returned to this path of self-discovery and loves to spend time in his light-filled home studio in Stroud, where he paints as often as he can.

These new canvas artworks convey an energetic, colourful and playful response to the subject matter, with starting points ranging from still life, gardens and local landscapes, as well as the development of the painting itself. Andy is interested in the duality between the reference and its abstracted form in the painting, striving for its essence. He uses mainly acrylic paint and often moves the painting between horizontal and vertical positions when painting. Andy has recently exhibited at Sixteen Gallery in Cheltenham and during the Stroud SITE Festival.

@andy_bradley_paintings                     www.andybradley.co.uk

Botanica - An exhibition of flowers, pottery, mixed media and textiles

Tuesday 18th to Sunday 23rd June 2024

Tuesday to Friday 9am - 4pm, Saturday 10am - 4pm, Sunday 10am - 3pm

The Setting Gallery, Three Storeys, Nailsworth, GL6 0JE

Lizzie Mabley – Printmaker and Fabric designer

Lizzie uses lino cut printmaking to design her fabrics. Inspired by nature and gardens – wild and curated, she often hand prints her fabrics. Others are scanned and printed digitally. Lizzies designs are fresh, vibrant and joyful!

Sophie Learmont – Starling Pots

From hand-decorated trinket dishes, inlaid side plates, single stem vases and decorated garland serving platters, Sophie designs and makes everything by hand, here in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire. Careful glaze choices add depth, surface interest and practicality to this functional stoneware tableware (It is food and dishwasher safe too!).

 Gemma Pitman – Mixed media artist

Gemma has a lifelong passion for nature and the countryside. She is a self-taught artist and grew up experimenting with paint and clay in her mother’s home studio. As a mixed media artist, she uses inks, acrylics and pastels as well as monoprinting repurposed papers (often maps) for her collage artworks. Gemma works from her studio on the edge of Minchinhampton Common.

Claire Taverner – Artist

After graduating from Falmouth College of Art, Claire worked within a variety of creative roles and industries from photographic studios to marketing and branding agencies.

Her true passion has always been for drawing (ideally with traditional pen and paper!) and this has allowed her to develop the distinctive style which she showcases throughout her portfolio.

Joanna Dawson – Ceramics

After and eclectic career, Jo has returned to her first passion in the creative space.Post pandemic Joanna made it her mission to teach herself to throw clay on a wheel and now works predominantly from her studio in Box, Minchinhampton exhibiting locally and in some regional galleries.

Jo mainly works in stoneware clays and likes to create individual pieces with unique glazing, texture and form.

Frances Gibbs – Ceramics

Frances came to pottery later in life, throwing for the last 6 years and, in her work, tends to favour brighter colours rather than traditional murky ones. She produces whatever shape comes to mind and is not a lover of mass production. Frances’ work is simple but useful, not overly decorated but, she believes, a pleasure to have and hold. 

Victoria Keble-Williams – Amberley Meadow Floral Art

Victoria works as a florist using her garden, cutting garden and meadow flowers to create naturally inspired floral arrangements for clients. Her love of nature, an acre gardenand her background in art, photography and styling have helped to influence her work. Victorias style is a relaxed one, using sustainable techniques, inspired by colour, texture and the seasons.

Kathy Clare – Ceramics

Working from her home in Amberley, Kathy slip-casts or hand builds in porcelain, with careful timings key to achieving a thin delicate layer of porcelain to gain the most translucency allowing light to illuminate the piece. The pieces are then hand finished in ceramic pigments and lustres.

Three Storeys tenant taster exhibition

Open weekdays 8.30am - 4pm, Saturday 10am - 4pm, Sunday 10am - 3pm
The Plot café, Three Storeys, Old Bristol Rd, Nailsworth, GL6 0JE

An exhibition of work by current Three Storeys studio tenants.

More information to follow.

Threeby3 - Take 5

Open Tuesday - Sunday 10am - 4pm
The Setting gallery, Three Storeys, Old Bristol Rd, Nailsworth, GL6 0JE

A fifth exhibition featuring new and some previously shown work by  Sylvia Hammond, Janet Grist and Pauline Cullimore who collectively make up Threeby3.

A show of quilts and stitched wall hangings the inspiration for which comes from many sources to give a diverse collection of work which is mainly hand coloured or printed with dye and paint or the use of commercial fabrics. 

Much of the work is centred on recycling materials as the artists have been saving the planet their entire lives. 

There will also be a selection of handmade books, cards and hand dyed fabrics available to purchase. 

The artists will be on hand to chat about their work throughout the week.

Site Festival Open Studios 2024 : 8th-9th June and 15th-16th June 2024

76 artists open their doors in 32 locations across the Stroud Valley over two weekends.

We’re delighted to be opening our doors over the Site Festival weekends, with two exhibitions, open studios and guest artists.

Alex Knell - Studio 6 alexknell.com

Striking new paintings from our tenant and multimedia artist Knell that riff on notions of National identity.

Studio CHY - Studio 3 studiochy.co.uk

“Crafting Narratives” where innovative design meets meticulous craftsmanship, our Architecture is tailored to transform your vision into a tangible reality.

Rebecca Loweth - Guest artist rebeccaloweth.co.uk

Artist and educator making collage and sculpture reflecting on ideas of the expectation, reality and artificiality of the holiday experience.

Samantha Wilkins - Guest artist linktr.ee/abstractsion

Abstraction paints abstract and semi-abstract work based on their observations of nature.

Katie Duckworth - Guest artist @Katie.d_art_work

‘Paintings are inspired by nature and the collections of objects around me. Painted with expressive and bold marks using a palate knife.’

The Setting gallery will be home to two different exhibitions during the Site Festival weekends; Rich Edwards will bring ‘Nine Chapters of Stillness’ during the first weekend and then Three By 3 will be showing their textile work in ‘Take 5’. Please see the separate listings for more information.

You can also stop for a coffee and bite to eat in our café, to further fuel your journey round the festival. The Plot café will operate on special opening hours during the weekends; Saturdays 10am-4pm, Sundays 10am-4pm.

Download the full brochure here

Rich Edwards - Nine Chapters of Stillness

4th - 9th June 2024
Open Tuesday - Friday 10am - 3pm, Saturday 10am - 3pm, Sunday 10 - 3pm
The Setting gallery, Three Storeys, Old Bristol Rd, Nailsworth, GL6 0JE

For the last three years Rich has produced over 80 new paintings for his current project, Nine Chapters of Stillness, which will reach its conclusion this June with this solo exhibition at Three Storeys in Nailsworth.  

The work is a reflection of the scenes and atmospheres he’s drawn to that inhabit a certain stillness and calmness, qualities that in his own words ‘seem to escape me most of the time’. 

The show will feature works that explore fog, puddles, snow, light on water, pools, vivid landscapes, rain, hilltops and tree-scapes, all in the various moods in which he finds them, throughout the seasons, both home and abroad. 

When Rich isn’t painting he’s normally framing other people’s work at Surroundings, the framing and fine art printing business he and his wife have run for over twenty years which is located in Thornbury.    

www.richedwardsart.com @richedwardsart

Four Stories - A Joint Exhibition

Tuesday 21st – Sunday 26th May - The Setting Gallery and the Plot Café, Three Storeys, Nailsworth, GL6 0JE. Open weekdays 9am to 4pm, Saturday 10am to 4pm, Sunday 10am to 3pm.

This is a rare chance to see the wonderfully emotive artworks of Jo Casling, Clare Cockman,  Ewen Hyde and Jonathan Oakes.

Ewen Hyde is a talented Stroud based sculptor and artist who excels in his craft. He utilises mainly recycled materials to create wonderfully made, thought provoking and poignant sculptures. These artworks are often concerned with social or environmental issues.

The paintings of Stroud based Jo Casling are filled with memory and layers of thought. It is the discovering of the artwork through the process that is the subject matter of her work. The credibility of her art is obvious as it supplies a richness and depth when viewed.

The multi layered intricate collaged artworks and paintings of Bristol based Clare Cockman are truly individual and thrive on personality, with sometimes cheeky mixtures of imagery and texture. Each work has a personality and is an honest root of expression.

Jonathan Oakes is based in Tewkesbury; his artwork is abstract by definition. He produces artworks that comment on environmental issues and human behaviours. It has been said that he has a truly individual style which is filled with potency, imagination and resonance.

This is a rare chance to see original, thought provoking and imaginative artworks in such a wonderful setting. Come along and have a chat with the artists.

@art4oka  @clarecockman  @ewen_hyde  @jocasling

‘Child’s Play’ - Danielle Tipton

Tuesday 14th May to Sunday 19th May, Tuesday - Friday 9am-4pm, Saturday 10am-4pm, Sunday 10am-3pm

The Setting gallery, Three Storeys, Nailsworth, GL6 0JE

“Child’s Play” - Danielle Tipton

 A showcase of Danielle Tipton’s photographic work.

This is a pop-up exhibition, hosted by Hundred Heroines, to showcase the work of the first artist on their new mentor programme, which involves pairing a local emerging talent with one of the elected highly acclaimed photographers – the Heroines.

This programme is about identifying outstanding local talent and giving people the opportunity to work with internationally renowned artists.  This exhibition marks the start of the pilot.

Danielle Tipton is an artist based in Gloucester using Phototherapy to create autobiographical work around her difficult childhood. As an adult, the harsh shadows of depression and anxiety as a result of this remain, but she allows these overwhelming emotions to enable her creatively.

Her work is realised with photography, poetry and performance.

Over the next six months, Danielle will be working with Lisl Ponger, a Vienna-based visual artist whose work concerns stereotypes, racism, and the construction of the gaze. Through her photography, film, and installations, Lisl works across a variety of disciplines including visual art, art history, and ethnography. 

Lisl and Danielle will be working closely together to develop Danielle’s professional practice through a photographic project. 

Click here for more information.

Unfolding Stories 6 - CQ West

Tuesday 30th April - Sunday 12th May

The Setting Gallery and the Plot Café, Three Storeys, Nailsworth, GL6 0JE.

Open Monday 10am to 3pm, Tuesday to Friday 9am to 4pm, Saturday 10am to 4pm, Sunday 10am to 3pm.

This latest exhibition by the established textile art group will be a showcase for new artwork from its members.

The sixteen artists taking part produce work across several textile disciplines. Each member of the group develops their own creative practice and follows their individual artistic story.  On show will be exhibits of quilt making, printmaking, beautiful handmade felt images, experimental natural dyeing and hand stitched and embroidered pieces.

Between exhibitions CQ West members, who are spread across the southwest and further afield, meet together regularly. Much of the meeting time is spent in supportive ‘Show and Tell’ discussions, enabling artists who normally work alone to hear others’ thoughts and gain insights into their creative progress.

The CQ West exhibition, ‘Unfolding Stories 6’ starts on April 30th at Three Storeys, Nailsworth. The exhibition will be shown again later in the year at the Sou’-Sou’-West Gallery in Symondsbury Dorset DT6 6HG.  September 28th until October 13th 2024.

For further information email cqwestuk@gmail.com