THE BIG DRAW 2009: 'HEADS, HOMES, & HEIGHTS'
The Big Draw is coming to Southwell again. On Saturday October 17th from 10am to 5pm, the eleven painters and photographers who make up the Southwell Artist group will be in the Minster to encourage people of every age and ability to take part in the day's national celebration of drawing.
The theme is 'Heads, Homes, & Heights', with FREE entrance and FREE art materials provided. Everyone will be invited to leave a quick thumbnail sketch of themselves as a record of their visit, and drawings of self-portraits and pictures of their homes by pupils from four local schools will be projected onto a huge screen.
David and Christine Measures will be there to inspire you to draw your architectural observations of this historic building, and you can join in building a 'Tower of Babel' with Peter Cartwright and David Willetts. A mural of collages will create a 'Noahs Ark', and you can help make a screen of 'Heads' with your drawings of 'real' heads, as well as those to be found in the stone carvings and stained glass windows. Get into the spirit of the day and dress up as Noah's animals to be photographed and drawn on the day!
Come and see work by Lowes Wong Junior and Infant Schools, Holy Trinity C of E School and Famsfield St Michael's School projected onto a screen.
This year the Campaign for Drawing celebrates its 10th birthday. Its key message is that drawing is a universal language bridging all generations and cultures, and that given the opportunity, everyone can draw. Come and join us on Saturday 17th October and prove it for yourself.
THE EVENT IS FREE AND EVERYONE IS WELCOME
(All children to be accompanied by an adult)

SOUTHWELL OPEN STUDIOS OCTOBER 2008
An opportunity to visit the studios of fourteen
Southwell Artists 18th-19th October 2008
10am to 5pm Weekend ticket £ 3.00

The aim of Southwell Open Studios is to make the visual arts more accessible to people, and to show the different approaches and techniques this varied group of painters and photographers use to create their very different work. Over two days you will be able to visit fourteen studios and venues, see work in progress, and chat with the artists who will also have work for sale.
The past three Open Studios events, in 2004, 2005 and 2006, were hugely successful in attracting hundreds of weekend visitors to the studios in Westgate and Westhorpe. Two years’ on, we have new members and more studios to visit, as well as the new ‘Southwell Artspace’ at 48 Westgate.
As in previous years, our £3.00 entrance fee to all fourteen studios goes to charity. This year we have chosen ‘Sight Savers
International’ which provides basic eye care and restores sight to thousands in the developing world.
All the participating artists in the group very much look forward to welcoming you to our ‘open studios’, and hope you will enjoy the weekend as much as we do.
Opening times 10am to 5pm both days.
Refreshments will be available at some venues.
Liability: Southwell Open Studios cannot accept liability for any loss, damage or injury sustained by any member of the public visiting the studios. The public does so entirely at its own risk.
Wheelchair access may be difficult in some studios
Children under 14 are exempt from the entrance fee but must be accompanied by an adult

Leaflets are available at various venues throughout the town from mid September or you can download a PRINTABLE PDF version now. If you would like us to post you a leaflet please EMAIL your address

BLUE A NEW EXHIBITION BY MAGGY MILNER
20th September to 11th November 2008
Pickford House
41 Friar Gate
Derby, DE1 1DA
Mon.11am-5pm, Tues-Sat 10am-5pm,
Sun + Bank Holidays 1am-4pm
An installation of backlit photos and video, sets up equivalents for loss, absence and tragedy. Relying on the spiritual qualities of light, emotive colour and iconic form, the viewer is invited to decode and unravel visual clues

Maggy will also be giving a talk
on the 9th October 2008 in the Gallery.
1-2pm Admission Free
More details

Guardian Exhibitions Listing

Metro 20.9.08
Milner reveals the casualness of war | Metro.co.uk

More Links

David Measures
The Society of Wildlife Artists more details
45th Annual Exhibition Sept 24th - Oct 5th 2008
The Mall Galleries
London SW1
more details

Over the August Bank Holiday weekend (22nd -25th August 2008) there will be an exhibition of botanical paintings by Marianne McPhie in the 13th century Chapter House in Southwell Minster, to coincide with the aptly-named ‘Celebration’, a four-day Flower Festival to celebrate the 900th anniversary of this glorious Minster. As well as the botanical painting exhibition, which continues for two weeks after the Festival, there will be flower arranging demonstrations in the Great Hall, an illustrated lecture by Dr Paul Taylor from the Courtauld Institute, an organ recital, and children’s activities. For more details visit www.southwellminster.org.uk

Peter Cartwright will be showing new large scale paintings and smaller scale drawings at x-church the BendInTheRiver gallery's new venue in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire.

HOUSE an exhibition of photographs by Maggy Milner is one of the supporting events for the V&A Touring Photography Exhibition, Nottingham Castle & Art Gallery. 3MAY- 29JUNE 2008

SOUTHWELL ARTISTS AT THE MINSTER
Southwell Artists is now showing an extensive display of photography, drawing, painting and video throughout Southwell Minster From 25th May to July 4th 2008. All welcome.
Why not download our mini poster in pdf format

Southwell Artists & Southwell Open Studios (SOS)
at Southwell Minster
Saturday, 27th October 2007, 10.30am - 4.30pm
'DRAWING TIME - Everyone in the Picture'
Our plans for this years event 'DRAWING TIME - Everyone in the Picture' were considered so exciting and ambitious that the group was awarded one of three heritage awards by The Guild of St George.
The Big Draw day on Saturday 27th October 2007 in Southwell Minster includes the opportunity to draw leaves, sculpture, stained glass, performing musicians, people dressed as Greenmen and the Bishop, the Dean and a judge. All the work throughout the day will create a series of murals, collages and patchworks. These will develop as the day progresses with everyone adding their contribution.
The final results will be on display for a week in the Minster and then in Southwell Artspace Gallery from 3rd-11th November. The event, 'DRAWING TIME - Everyone in the Picture' is FREE. All materials are provided and everyone is welcome, whatever their ability. Southwell Artists will be on hand to help and advise.
Southwell Artspace is also running a series of events in October. For more information please call 01636 814421 or email info@southwellartspace.com

Southwell Artists & Southwell Open Studios (SOS) at Southwell Minster win a prestigious Drawing Inspiration Award for a top 2006 Big Draw Event

Southwell Artists & Southwell Open Studios (SOS) at Southwell Minster have received a prestigious Drawing Inspiration Award in recognition of the successful event they created for the Big Draw. In October 2006 1312 events took place in 1100 venues across the UK. Out of all these Big Draw programs, Southwell Artists & Southwell Open Studios at Southwell Minster and artist/organisers David and Christine Measures and Jill Langford, won a Runner-up Award for Heads, Leaves and Green Men.

Over 500 people took inspiration from the Minster, discovering hidden details and learning that drawing could help them to see. The team of eleven Southwell Artists assisted or were actively drawing. The title Heads, Leaves and Green Men, based on the 13th Century Chapter House carvings, was augmented with living foliage and the program of events diversified the offering with a succession of living sitters - choirboys, Canon Jacqui Jones in a marvelous Jacobean cope, two baroque musicians, and even a dog-whipper-in, ending with organists practicing for Evensong and the rehearsal of a visiting choir. As well as all the myriad of individual drawings, two huge murals were also accomplished - one depicting part of the Chapter House, with help from VI formers of the Minster School and students from Nottingham Trent University; the other length of the Nave was begun by three of the Southwell Artists wit a huge contribution by all and sundry. The building came alive in response to the intensity of the drawing activity, the music and camaraderie which filled it all day. As soon as the day ended, the drawings were taken to a new local art gallery, Southwell Artspace, where they were exhibited for a time before being returned to the Minster for display there.

The award was presented on 4 April 2007, where we received £100.00 and a commemorative certificate drawn by top illustrator and Campaign patron Quentin Blake.

We would like to thank all those who took part and made the event the so successful. The 2007 Big Draw is now at the planning stage so please keep posted to this web site for further information.

Current Exhibition
MAGGY MILNER & COLIN WILSON
SILENT MONUMENTS
7 April - 27 May 2007

Foyle Gallery and Public Space Galleries
MAC
Cannon Hill Park
Birmingham
B12 9QH

Entrance free and further information at
www.macarts.co.uk

Exhibition
MAGGY MILNER & COLIN WILSON
SILENT MONUMENTS
Saturday 24 February - Sunday 1 April 2007
Open all day. Entrance free
Wallner Gallery
Lakeside Arts Centre
University Park
Nottingham
NG7 2RD

Silent Monuments is a joint show by individual photographers Maggy Milner and Colin Wilson, both of whom work within contemporary art practice. Employing similar strategies, they explore traditional notions of “Still life” creating “photographic tableau” by placing significant domestic objects within interior spaces. They are intrigued by the possibilities of story telling within the single photographic image.
Wilson’s monumental, silver geletin prints are hand printed using traditional processes. Milner’s digitally manipulated images have unexpectedly muted colour tones.
Their work creates a tension, a sense of a moment poised between past and future producing beautiful, enigmatic visual poetry.

Southwell Open Studios 4th and 5th Nov 2006
Thank you for attending this years event. Again it was a great success. More than 700 people passed through our studios and had a good time browsing, talking to the artists and buying work. We have already received very positive verbal feed back. Generally people feel that the event is a huge benefit to our local community.
We would appreciate more feedback or suggestions so that future events can be improved on. Please use our feedback form to air your views either about individual artists or about the event generally. We look forward to hearing from you.

Big Draw 2006
The Big Draw at Southwell Minster was a resounding success, and the work produced was outstanding. The drawings and murals were on exhibition at Southwell Artspace. They prove that there is a great deal of talent in Southwell with some wonderful work produced by some very young children. A selection of photos taken during the Big Draw and of the exhibition can be seen online.
Photos of The Big Draw
Photos of the exhibition at Southwell Artspace

The Big Draw - HEADS, LEAVES & GREEN MEN
Southwell Open Studios will be hosting our own version of The Big Draw in Southwell Minster on Saturday 21st October between 10am and 5pm. Everybody, of all ages, welcome. All drawing materials will be supplied although you can bring your own if preferred. Admission is FREE but donations to 'The Minster Fabric Fund' would be welcome. Should you have any queries please contact us via our feedback form. (posted 21.09.2006)

THE WORKSWORTH FESTIVAL
David Willetts, David Measures, Peter Cartwright, Stuart Blackwood and Maggy Milner are taking part in this years Worksworth Festival. They will be showing a selection of work on 9th and 10th September 2006.
(posted 25.08.2006)

'THE DUCHESS OF CURIOSITIES'
The Harley Gallery, Worksop, Nottinghamshire.
19 March 2006 until 2008

Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Portland (1715-1785) was one of the 18th century's greatest naturalists and collectors, whose life's work is brought into focus in this major two-year exhibition at The Harley Gallery in Nottinghamshire. Drawing inspiration from its botanical themes, tutor and botanical painter Marianne McPhie is running a series of botanical illustration weekend workshops at The Harley Gallery, suitable for beginners as well as those with some drawing and painting experience.

For more details please contact The Harley Gallery on 01909 501700