Getting out and about in Sudbury has not been easy over the past few months, with very few events scheduled to take place, but here’s an exciting idea: eleven local artists have got together to open their studios on the weekend of 19th and 20th September, from 10.30am to 5pm.
It’s a great opportunity to find out what actually happens in an artist’s studio. How is the work produced? And what was the inspiration behind it? Here’s your chance to find out. There’s a very varied selection: abstract painting, landscapes and pastel drawings, ceramics, prints, sculpture and textiles.
And here’s the beauty of this particular Art Trail: each artist is within easy walking distance of the centre of Sudbury. There’ll be posters and maps of the Art Trail, but in the meantime, to whet your appetite, here is a short description of what you can expect to see from each artist:
If you’re coming into Sudbury from the Melford Road, you can visit the studio of Sylvia Dales at number 75. Sylvia makes functional pots influenced by classical forms, and uses glazes to give soft, lustrous finishes to reflect the colours of sky, earth and water. (Location: 75/77 Melford Road, Tel: 07773 182 138)
Then it’s a short walk down the Market Hill to Gainsborough Street, where the group C’Art is showing its work at the Christopher Centre. C’Art is an art and craft group open to all; leader Karoline Wells describes it as ‘a non-judgemental group where you don’t have to be brilliant at art; you just have to enjoy it’. (Location: The Christopher Centre,10 Gainsborough Street, Tel: 01787 313914)
Nip along Christopher Lane towards Straw Lane and you’ll find Cathy D’Arcy at her Corner House studio. Cathy is a ceramic artist who creates quirky figures and creatures in porcelain ‘that I hope bring a smile to your face’ while also making vessels on her potter’s wheel. (Location: Corner House, Straw Lane, Sudbury. Tel: 01787 379911)
Walk down to Friars Street where you’ll find three artists all within easy reach.
Well-known illustrator Judith Glover uses oils and soft pastels to allow her to experiment with her subject matter of plants, flowers and the human face, while retaining the importance of drawing in her work. Her delicate drawings are shown to full effect in her light-filled studio at 40 Friars Street. (Location:40 Friars Street. Tel: 07967662219)
Priory Gate is located at 57 Friars Street and there you will find the work of Kate Perkins, who experiments with collage on prints, enjoying the often-unexpected results. As she says ‘it brings a lot of fun to making images’. An oriental flavour to her work could be the product of fifteen years of living in the Far East. (Location: 57 Friars Street. Tel: 01787 373877)
Also, at 57 Friars Street, Anne Lowe’s paintings are inspired by the views of rooftops and fields that she can see from her studio which she shares with her cat, whom she describes as ‘my least appreciative art critic.’ (Location: 57 Friars Street. Tel: 07776268955)
You’ll also find Brazilian-British Lupe Cunha who works with oil, acrylic and watercolour to produce colourful abstracts. Often inspired by music, she combines texture and collage in her exciting unique pieces. (Location: 57 Friars Street. Tel: 07776268955)
Turn along towards Meadow Lane and you’ll find Ransoms, in Red House Lane, where two artists are showing their work. Jane Ford’s interests are in abstract art and the mixing of mediums, while Nuala Garnsey loves to play around with different styles and colours in her ceramics. She works with stoneware and porcelain clays and finds working with clay very therapeutic. (Location: Ransoms, Red House Lane, off Meadow Lane. Tel: 01787 3742600)
A short walk down to Cross Street brings you to Lorna Hoey’s garden studio at number 53. Her atmospheric pastel and acrylic paintings are inspired by the open landscapes and high wide East Anglian skies, ‘so different from the small fields and drystone walls of my native County Antrim’. (Location: Cross Street. Tel: 01787 379598)
Up the road at the Stour Valley Business Centre, you can visit Rachael Ped Ceramics. Rachael can be found at Unit 3, 14/16 Brundon Lane. (rachaelpedceramics@gmail.com) She specialises in large ceramic sculptures and likes to introduce aspects of different cultures in her colours and decoration.
And lastly a word about Sudbury’s own art gallery, the Mill Tye Gallery which specialises in screen and lino-prints and will be showing modern and contemporary art on the same weekend.
(Location: 3 Cornard Mills, Mill Tye, Great Cornard CO10 0GW. Find them in the old 'Baker’s Mill' building, Tel: 01787 376796).
So - don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to see inside eleven artists’ studios in and around Sudbury on 19th and 20th September and meet the artists. Each artist‘s studio will be Covid-secure, meeting social distancing and hygiene regulations. And remember, all the work on show is for sale. A great chance to get in early with those Christmas presents!
© Lorna Hoey 2020