Author: chris

Ten local artists are opening their studios to the public this month, relieved to be able to display their work and welcome visitors back after being restricted to virtual exhibitions last year. Eddy Moore reports.

This year’s Open Studios run over four weekends during July. All ten of the Histon & Impington artists will be open this weekend, 10^th and 11^th July, and some of them during the following weekends too. Participants in the county-wide event will have yellow flags outside their premises, and full details of their work, and maps of how to find them, are on the Open Studios website or via the Open Studios app.

All the artists are very positive about the opportunities provided by the Open Studios event – which opened last weekend – particularly the chance to interact with the public.

Sarah Vigliotti finds the event is a great way of becoming better known as an artist locally: “It’s good to be able to talk to visitors about my work and the techniques involved”, she said.

As an amateur artist, Matthew Dando particularly appreciates the chance to gain invaluable feedback on his art. “The biggest joy from last weekend was having the opportunity to talk to so many different and kind people”, he said.

His views are echoed by Clive Dawson, who said “I love taking part in the Open Studios as it gives an opportunity to engage with people viewing my art, something that is normally denied the artist. Getting people’s opinions is important to me, I particularly enjoy the comments of the younger generation.”

Facing the lockdown challenges

In common with many of us, the lockdown was very challenging for the artists. Andrew Goyder found that “opportunities to market myself and meet potential customers were very limited and work was hard to come by. Things have picked up a lot in recent months and hopefully this year’s Open Studios will confirm that many are ready to spend to add something special to their home that they haven’t been able to during lockdown.”

Clare Crouchman found lockdown to be a productive time: “I have changed my work from ceramic wall panels to paintings over the last couple of years. I had a commission for the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre for six large paintings which I managed to complete in February this year and they have now been installed in the building.”

For some, their focus turned to the outdoors as an antidote to lockdown. Janet Hathiramani found the demands of the early months of lockdown consumed her usual enjoyment of studio work, so she took every opportunity that arose for sketching outside. Later, throughout the autumn and winter, working these sketches into paintings, she found her work to be far more focused on small details than previously. 

Angie Wocha found inspiration on her lockdown walks, “I spent a lot of time thinking ‘Ooh that vista would look good in glass and I have a lockdown walks series in mind’.”

The Histon & Impington artists exhibiting during Open Studios this year are:

Clare Crouchman in Shirley Road produces mixed media paintings and fine art prints inspired by the natural world, finding order in this natural chaos through abstracted, non-linear patterns and mathematical forms. www.clarecrouchman.com

Matthew Dando in Aingers Road works in wood and is showing fluid abstract pieces which echo natural forms and look at home in his garden setting. He says: The sculptures I am creating are made from planks of mainly reclaimed hard wood that have been shaped to reflect the natural movements related to fire, water and air.’ www.mattdando.com

Clive Dawson is in Narrow Close. His work is mainly acrylics, using a bold colourful palette with texture also playing a big part. You can expect to see animals, local scenes, florals and more in his exhibition.  https://clivedawsonart.wordpress.com

Andrew Goyder is a furniture maker based on The Green, Histon. He designs and makes furniture, mainly from English hardwoods and says, ‘I am particularly interested in chairs because they represent a challenge: the need to combine comfort and function with style.’ www.agfurniture.uk

Janet Hathiramani is displaying her work in nine windows at her home in St Audrey’s Close. There are delicate drawings and paintings from the natural world. Plant art drawings with painting, mixed media and collage. Inspired and influenced by our East Anglian woodlands, farmlands, and beaches. www.instagram.com/drawnbyjanet

Andrew Oliver based in The Crescent, Impington.  He is exhibiting large landscapes and says, ‘I seem to be drawn to the colours and bareness of dry landscapes and really like southern France and especially southern Spain.’ During the lockdown he has been working on a series of still lives reflecting the restricted lives we have all been living. www.andrewoliverart.co.uk

Sue Smith is based in Bell Hill. She is an artist and illustrator working in watercolour, ink and coloured pencil. She paints scenes of Cambridge and the surrounding villages. www.suesmithart.com

Daniela Stief of The Coppice, Impington is a ceramicist, she makes small sculptures, vases and experiments with different versions of the same or similar objects. She says, ‘It is great to welcome visitors and get inspired by their comments or questions. I often let children try to make something small themselves, which they enjoy, and which is interesting for me, too.’  www.dksceramics.co.uk

Sarah Vigliotti can be found on Shirley Road. She is a print maker and photographer whose work is inspired by the urban and rural landscape of East Anglia with a focus on pattern, texture, surface and detail. www.sarahvigliotti.co.uk

Angie Wocha of Mill Lane makes useful and decorative contemporary fused glass pieces inspired by vivid colours and the invigorating skies and landscapes of Norfolk and The Fens. www.instagram.com/angiewochafusedglass