Merton Arts Festival Part Two: Artists To Look Out For

Merton Arts Festival 2017 is about to begin, as the borough’s visual artists throw open the doors to their studios and exhibition spaces to welcome visitors.

In total 69 amateur and professional artists are featured, in an art trail that leads all round the borough.

Lady Wimbledon interviewed five Wimbledon artists whose works are showcased in an eco-home near South Park Gardens in support of charity, The Neuro Foundation. Last week, we revealed two of these artists: Jo Holdsworth and Sandy Layton. This week we preview three more artists and their work.

Jill Sutcliffe

Jill Sutcliffe has always been passionate about working with clay. Her work is inspired by life, emotion and form. Each of her stunning pieces reflects positive energy and movement, taking the inanimate and bringing it to life.

“My ‘Spike’ and ‘Flight’ series are built on a base form which I use as a blank canvas,” says Jill. “The spikes are my brush strokes. Each one is individually pulled then attached to the body and manipulated to create a natural flow. All pieces are hand built and unique.

“Because of the complexity of my forms I use the pouring method to glaze which is unpredictable, adding further excitement to the final piece.”

Jill’s stoneware pieces are frost-resistant, which allows them to live inside or out. They are beautiful, individual, natural forms that would be the envy of any garden-owner. Jill will be exhibiting her most recent work, ‘Landscape & Ocean’ alongside her ‘Spike’ series during the Merton Arts Festival.

Visit: jillsutcliffe4.carbonmade.com

Chrissie Craig

Chrissie Craig is primarily a printmaker. Chrissie is one of the founders of the Merton Arts Festival, and her distinct vision for building stronger links in the artistic community helped establish this event as a regular highlight of the year. She feels strongly that Merton’s creatives should have a platform to share their work in a community setting.

Her own work is often inspired by her travels in the Far East, using areas of flat, vibrant colour to express ideas and form. Recent work focuses on how our lives are mediated by technology, and how tech is so fully integrated into contemporary life that the world seems to be experienced through it. Her screen prints are mesmerising, combining the modern with echoes of the traditional, a winning combination.

Visit: www.chrissiecraigart.co.uk

Valerie Busby

Valerie Busby is a textile artist, working with a variety of materials to make pieces that play with shape, texture, and colour, in order to explore the boundaries between two and three-dimensional objects. “I like working with recycled items and use a lot of donated fabrics, threads and found objects,” she says.

Valerie loves capturing the beauty of flowers, something that is close to her heart. As part of the exhibition Valerie is also exhibiting some of her garden design work, so do make sure you see this too when you are there.

Visit: valeriebusby.com

Dates: Saturday 16th-17th September and Saturday 23-24th September 2017
Opening Hours: 11am-5pm
Venue: 22 Dudley Road, SW19 8PN
Entry: Free

The Neuro Foundation
Every day a baby is born in the UK with Neurofibromatosis, a neuro-genetic condition which can have debilitating consequences. There are over 25,000 people in the UK with the condition and, as yet, there is no cure. The severity of the condition varies considerably from person to person. The Neuro Foundation, with its administrative office in Raynes Park, advises, supports and fundraises for those affected by NF. It raises awareness of the condition and supports research into the prevention and treatment of NF. The artists exhibiting at 22 Dudley Road are donating part of the proceeds from the Open House to The Neuro Foundation, hoping to raise awareness of the condition, and to help The Neuro Foundation with its invaluable work.