Some Comments this week from Cornwall
A wondrous day with my first school: Boyton, with 17 children and 3 adults. They wanted to stay the whole day. Some comments from the book.
- Very moving indeed and very inspiring and helpful. Thank you.
- An amazing collection of thought provoking paintings. The children really enjoyed their experience today – Thank you so much for your kindness.
- (This teacher wants to come back with her brother)
(The mini bus driver wants to come back with wife and children) - Very inpsiring – bringing the Bible and our faith to life. The children and ourselves have gained so much from being able to share with you today. Thank you for your help and for sharing your Christian faith through deed and action. CF
- Rushed through! then found out they were on display for longer, we will be back!
- Thank you! A revelation and extremely thought provoking……….
- Thank you for allowing the children to come to this outstanding art exhibition.
- Though it is an art exhibition, it is also a spiritual journey through the Bible: the story of creation, the fall, and the Creator’s solution through the death and resurrection of the Christ, and on to revelation. It is indeed a remarkable piece of ‘living’ art, speaking afresh each time we look and gaze.
The 17 children that came were extremely well behaved and good mannered. So was the mini-bus driver!
I was very impressed with the lesson preparation that the staff had done for this session and it worked well with how I envisioned it to be.
Having brought their own art materials the children set to work on their own interpretation of the paintings, choosing a favourite one, classifying and describing it then looking through a viewfinder, to do more detailed work.
The children really appreciated that the more they looked the more they found – and they found the shepherd in the picture of the Vine. very well done, and congratulations on a well behaved class.
New Generation Exhibition going to Cornwall soon
The exhibition will be going to Bude in Cornwall from the 1st October – 15th October inclusive.
This year when we took the paintings to Easter people in Torquay, we had several enquiries about whether it could travel to Cornwall in the near future. So here we are on our way there.
A few years ago I was involved with some lovely folk from Devon and Cornwall creating a schools pack on some of the parables of Jesus. There was a great response from many of the children and teachers who used the material. It would be exciting if some of the children could go and see more paintings. Children are so perceptive and in my experience can teach many of us adults how to look at paintings.
I look forward to perhaps recieving emails or calls from children who want answers to questions about the paintings.
My Apologies to Bognor Regis
Sadly the New Generation exhibition did not run for the advertised week as planned.
My thanks to Phillip and Pauline who worked so hard to make it all happen. Their prayers and practical help in setting up and standing with the pictures were such a blessing to us. However, there were several things that made it difficult for us to let the exhibition continue to be on display and I made the difficult decision to go to the venue and take it down early.
We are continually surprised how God uses the paintings to draw people to himself in new and exciting ways and it’s always such a privilege to see Him impact individuals. After all, the paintings are about Him, not me. Because of the sensitive nature of the pictures, we always require a team of prayers and folk who can come alongside people who may need someone to talk to.
My friend, Anne Drake, went for the first couple of days in my place (using up her valuable holiday time) and although I had the opportunity to talk to church leaders from the local area, asking for their support, sadly not enough people came forward.
The paintings were a gift to me, from the Lord, to share with as many people who are willing to see them and it grieves me when the gift is not honoured. I also now see myself as the curator of the paintings and they need to be kept in a place of safety at all times.
However, in the couple of days that the exhibition was there, some lovely people were incredibly blessed. For instance Anne was asked by a lady of 94 what it means to be born again and she had the opportunity to talk about Jesus to many people who didn’t know Him.
Bognor Regis….Here we come !
Next week we shall be going to Bogner Regis..to the Royal Norfolk Hotel. The hotel is situated on the sea front and easy to find.
The New Generation exhibitiion will be open to the public daily from
10am.-8pm from 21st July to 29th July inclusive.
As I am an outreach worker for Swaythling methodist church in Southampton I may not be able to be with the exhibition every day. However a friend of mine, Anne (also an artist) who has accompanied me on many occasions to a variety of venues, will hopefully be available to guide you round the exhibition and answer your questions.
I will try to be there as often as possible (work permitting) and am looking forward to renewing old friendships and making new ones.
The comments book that accompanies the exhibition is worth a read and gives you an idea how the paintings impact peoples lives.I look forward to reading your comments ,as it is a great encouragement both to me and others.
Posted by: AnneHouse on Wednesday, July 13, 2005 – 12:30 PM
New Generation Exhibition and news
We have been asked to take the New Generation Exhibition to Bogner Regis in July. I’m trying to confirm the details of dates and times and will post them in the events calendar as soon as possible.
Also this week I hope to write about yet another surprise silk painting that is finished. I am trusting that this was the very last painting of the new series, called crossroads, which has taken me 8 years to complete! It seems amazing to me that it has taken so long.
The whole thing has has been an interesting but often difficult journey and in many ways a relief and blessing that the series is now complete. There are about half a dozen not yet photographed. As soon as they are, we will post the new ones on the web
A sunny day in Billericay
Life has been somewhat hectic since the exhibition was at Billericay but at long last I would like to write a few notes about it.
I travelled up for the day from Southampton with two friends, Simon who kindly drove us and Anne Drake, both of whom have been a tremendous help and prayer partners for many years.
We had such a warm and friendly reception with the opportunity to chat, pray and share stories of Gods kindness with many folk. I’d like to thank all the people from the church for all their hard work, committment and love during the week. Thanks also to Phil Tillotson who helped me for many hours getting the exhibion ready to send out and check it back in.
I love the way that the Lord brings people together in such a true sense of family. When people start making enquiries about hosting the exhibiton we feel almost strangers but very soon acquaintances and valuable frienships are formed.
It takes a committed selfless team to help it all run smoothly. What a blessing such friends are to me. Thank you all!
I was thrilled with the response from the many children who went to see the paintings and their remarks in the comments book. I hear that the team from the church at Billericay had some interesting conversations with them. Children have such wonderful perception because they’ve been brought up in a visual world. If you ever have problems trying to interpret a painting why not ask the nearsest child. Their insight might surprise and intrigue you!
Exhibition at Billericay
I’ll be going up to Billericay on Saturday and will be available from lunchtime to answer questions and talk about the paintings to folk.
I look forward to seeing you there!
New Generation exhibition at Billericay
The folk from Emmanuel church drove down to Southampton yesterday to collect the exhibition. We had a good time together chatting and praying in the studio for the week ahead.
There is a real excitement about what is going to happen during the next few days, as most people haven’t yet seen the original paintings. It’s usually quite a shock to see the pictures displayed together in one space as they are so large, filling the room with colour. It’s a bit different from the A4 prints most people have seen.
It always feels good let people take the exhibition and run with their own vision of how it will be displayed,with a great opportunity to be creative.
I’m not yet sure if I’ll be able to go and meet with people there, whilst the exhibition is running, due to other commitments but will make a note on the web, when and if.
Amazing time at Easter People
Arrived home late on Sunday very tired but excited about all the things that had happened during the week.
A huge thank you to all the organisers, not only for inviting us but for the caring way in which the whole team were received and cared for. The venue was perfect, the atmosphere peaceful, the people who attended the event were kind with a gentle spirit and serving heart.
We had many, many, people come to look round the exhibition where we had the opportunity to have good conversations with them. Quite a lot of folk came back day after day, which gave us a chance to really get to know some of them. It was a real privilege to be part of the whole event and see the Holy Spirit moving in so many ways.
What an amazing loving God we serve!
Easter People preparation
Just a few days to go before Easter people. There’s always a great deal of preparation before the exhibition goes out and the loading of it into cars starts today. So it’s all physically exhausting before we get to a venue…. BUT then the fun begins………..
Although the paintings remain the same, the exhibition takes on a completely different feel wherever it goes. The space and the lighting are always different which tends to make certain paintings stand out or recede more. So we never know which pictures are going to have more impact than others.
I have witnessed many times the extraordinary way that natural light affects the pictures. Suddenly a shaft of light will come through the windows as the sun moves round, and shine through the silk like a stained glass window, impacting the person standing in front of it, both in colour and content. A moment never to be repeated…. perhaps just for a few minutes.
Sadly the paintings about old people nearly always seem to end up in a corner or at least feel like that, perhaps just by the failing of a light bulb.
I wonder how it will look at Easter people and what impact the Lord will have on individuals. After all its not about the artist – it’s about Jesus.
I’m so excited to see what His plans are. Hope to see you there!
Preparing for Easter People
It’s a busy season getting ready for the Easter People event at Torquay.
I’ll be going for the whole week, with some faithful friends who have supported me at other venues over the last few years…
Peter, Anne, Liz, Phil, Steve and Paul are all taking time off work to bless folk who come to see the exhibition. We’ll be there to answer any questions and spend time with you. I’m also looking forward to doing some talks about the paintings and may bring some of my new work.
The main thing about the exhibition, is that it’s not about ‘art’ – it has always been about meeting people. So … if you’re not an ‘arty’ person I look forward to meeting you there!