Amazing Artistic Talent at Henley Arts Trail

Amazing artistic local talent was on show over the Bank Holiday weekend at the Henley Arts Trail.

25 venues in Henley and the local area showcased fantastic art from sculpture to paintings, jewellery to ceramics and much much more.  Organised by the Henley Arts and Craft Guild, this was the 11th year of this great art event.  At Venue 1, the Old Fire Station Gallery, there was an exhibition of the Arts and Craft Guild members work including Judith Fletcher’s ‘Once Upon a Time’ which won this year’s Mollie Staley Award for the best piece in the exhibition.  The picture was created with mixed media – acrylic paint, pencil, ink, tissue paper and PVA glue.  Judith’s inspiration behind the picture (see photo above) and it’s title was it looked liked a scene from a fairy tale.

Sponsors of the Art Trail, Lady Sew and Sew, had over 100 quilts again on this display including a number from award winning Henley resident, Annelize Littlefair.  Also for the first time was some quilts made by men and women in prison through the Fine Cell Work charity www.finecellwork.co.uk.  The charity trains prisoners to do high quality, paid needlework which enables them to acquire new skills to earn and save some money and to acquire the self-belief to stop offending.  On show was their thought-provoking, attention to detail, ‘The Cell’ quilt which is the same size as an actual cell.  The Cell was created after the idea from Marianne Ford a volunteer at HMP Bullingdon who then worked with the men prisoners to create it.

John Loader and Claire Howlett exhibited their paintings and work in John’s house in Deanfield Road for the second time this year.  Many of John’s paintings capture the beautiful countryside around Henley and Claire’s work which featured paintings, cards and ceramic decorations of birds, butterflies and animals.