This exhibition will now finish on May 12th (was 28th April)
Royal Copenhagen Porcelain was established in Copenhagen in 1775 by the Danish monarchy and is still in production today. The porcelain is known worldwide for its high standards of craftsmanship, immaculate design and being made and painted entirely by hand.
The company makes a wide variety of items such as tableware, figurines, animals, birds, fish, vases, dishes and plates. This exhibition will show a varied sample of animals and birds dating from 1890’s – 1990’s.
Royal Copenhagen’s first ever pattern in 1775 was the Blue Fluted Plain, a blue and white floral design. In the 19th century, Blue Fluted Plain was so highly coveted, the pattern could be found on everything from teapots to chamber pots.
Since 1775, every piece of porcelain that has left Royal Copenhagen carries its factory marks; the three waves, the royal crown and the painter’s mark. These are symbols of authenticity, the royal connection and the mark of hand-craftsmanship.
The figurines from Royal Copenhagen have long been out of production and the only ones still being produced are the annual figurine series. Nature in Art has three pieces of Royal Copenhagen porcelain in its permanent collection, all of which will be on display alongside key works from two local private collections.
The exhibition will celebrate the huge variety and detail of around 50 decorative items, ranging from an early and rare marmot created in the c.1890’s to a Lady Amherst pheasant, one of the most colourful figurines made by one of the few female modellers, Andrea Nielsen. The selection will include miniatures to compliment larger items, with some animals and birds being life size. This will be a rare and exciting opportunity to see so many Royal Copenhagen items together at once.
Entry into this exhibition is included in the admission price to the museum.
A fascinating series of relief editioned original prints, primarily created using wood, lino and stencils, by renowned print maker Julia Manning RE, SWLA. Bringing to life what she calls the ‘incredible – implausible sometimes! – life of Eels.’
Guided by international eel expert, Andy Don, and focusing on areas of Somerset, Manning has learnt about these fascinating creatures and the challenges that they face. Though the medium of print, she has visualised an incredible visual story of eel migration and metamorphis.
The European eel is classified as ‘Critically Endangered’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and appears on their ‘Red List’ of threatened species. Since 1970, the numbers of juvenile eels entering European rivers has declined by more than 95%. These Anguillid eels have been around for about 80 million years.
These eels stay in England’s fresh waters for many years, up to 25, before feeling the pull of the sea and heading out on their final migration. These upstream migrations are often less than straightforward because of man-made obstructions such as weirs that are used to regulate and control river flows. Special ‘eel passes’ have been designed and can be installed to overcome these obstacles. Other pressures have been man’s greed by illegal exploitation (smuggling millions of glass eels to Asia), climate change (the shifting of the currents on which the Leptocephali (eel larva) drift and rely) and invasive parasites introduced from abroad.
The story of the Somerset eels seems to resonate across all species. Our local wildlife is truly showing its connection to the global world.
See more on Julia’s website or Instagram Page.
Entry to this exhibition is included in the admission price to the museum. Julia will be giving a talk in conjunction with the exhibition on Tuesday 23rd April. Find out more here.
Unfortunately this course has now been cancelled.
Course Description: Beginners- Advanced
Maximum Capacity: 12
Course Description:
In this course we will be drawing on the iPad a repeating pattern of seashells in isolated layers for transferring to seperate colour silkscreens. (p.s. we will not be doing the actual physical silkscreen). You will end with a piece of illustration to apply to any patterned product in different colour styles.
Using photographic references or real shells we will start with either a real pencil or a digital sketch of your silkscreen design exploring composition, colour transparency and tonal valules.
Ian will guide you through various ways of editing your ideas using the tools in Procreate, an industry and consumer favourite app for approximately £10 from the Apple app store (iPad 3 and upwards).
Materials List:
Please bring: iPad version 3 or above with Procreate installed. Apple Pencil stylus optional but highly recommended for the course. If you decide to purchase the Apple Pencil, check which version (V1 or V2) is compatible with your iPad. Your Apple ID, your charging cable and plug.
Artists Profile
Ian has been using digital painting techniques with his traditional media skills in illustration and fine art over the last 20 years, mostly depicting animal art with a passion for marine-life painting. He has been creating large oil paintings for hotels, palaces and government buildings often using the digital composition tools as part of the process. As an illustrator Ian uses the iPad to create complete digital images for print and screen. Here on this day course Ian will share his methods and tips he’s discovered in his professional career.
Course Cost:
A £25 non-refundable deposit is required on booking. Full course price is:
Members of Nature in Art: £55
Non-members of Nature in Art: £69
To book a place on this course, please click here.
Julia has a love of estuaries and salt marshes, particularly those not far from her Somerset studio. Working with Andy Don, an international eel expert, she has discovered the incredible – implausible sometimes! – life of eels, which has resulted in a whole new series of adventures and artwork. This project became the catalyst for her to learn about and enjoy our fabulous coastline in general, and the important role we all have in managing our rivers, coastline and seas, especially in the light of her new-found understanding of eels, a critically endangered animal. Come and hear about the dramatic life of eels and the challenges they face, how Julia felt compelled to capture some of these themes in her relief editioned prints and how our wildlife is truly showing its connection to the global world. Julia will also briefly talk about her latest series of prints focussing on the Shad, a critically endangered fish. (The image below shows the Shad at Upper Load Weir near Tewkesbury.)
Starts 7pm, followed by a finger food buffet and the talk. Finishes around 9:15pm.
£12 per person.
Book a ticket HERE.
FULLY BOOKED
Course Suitability: Absolute Beginners – Improvers
Maximum Capacity: 10
Course Description:
Painting can be very therapeutic, but the enjoyment can quickly disappear if you find yourself frustrated with what you produce. This course is about reintroducing you to the fun of painting, loosening your painting style and teaching you how to take the pressure off the end result. It will teach you how to be inspired to create relaxing abstract paintings but also how to feel relaxed when creating them. Through guided exercises you will learn different painting techniques, as well as practical tips to free up your painting style. We will explore different materials, surfaces and subjects, painting to music and other ways to help you unwind and take pleasure in painting. There will be laughing as well as moments of calm and reflecting. A fun filled day learning something new and giving you the chance to relax. Suitable for all abilities, even those who have not picked up a paintbrush before.
Materials List
The tutor will provide the required materials for course participants. The cost per person will be £10 on the day of the course. Please wear old clothes / apron.
Artist Profile
Christina is an abstract artist based in Gloucester. Inspired by the natural world she works with inks and paints to create layers of translucent colours resulting in soothing and relaxing art.
Christina has had lots of experience in the arts and running workshops and at one stage was even the Education Officer here at Nature in Art.
She has exhibited work on the London underground, Saatchi Art and is represented by Wychwold Art Gallery. She had a pop up shop in John Lewis and produced artwork for Gloucestershire Hospital to improve their mental health in Crisis room. Her website: https://www.makerwhodoesntmake.com
Course Cost:
A £25 non-refundable deposit is required on booking. Full course price is:
Members of Nature in Art: £55
Non-members of Nature in Art: £69
An inspiring display of sculpture by Anita Mandl and photography by Steve Russell, in collaboration with Gallery Pangolin, Stroud.
Where would we be in a world without animals and birds? Their beauty astounds, their diversity is myriad. Both Anita Mandl and Steve Russell celebrate these
in their very different ways. The animal world Mandl carves and casts is tightly hewn in form bringing to life the essential character of her avian and mammalian subjects.
Russell explores wildlife large and small with the knowledge of their place into an ecological jigsaw puzzle of immense complexity.
Anita Mandl is already represented in the Nature in Art Collection, with this exhibition being a perfect opportunity to see a larger collection of her work. Nature in Art acquired ‘Prostrate Buffalo’ in 2005, a cast resin marble sculpture of a buffalo lying down. (below). Steve Russell also had a solo exhibition here in 2013.
There will be a preview evening for this exhibition on Thursday 9th May. Please click here to find out more.
Anita Mandl:
Born in Prague, Mandl (1926-2022) trained as a zoologist and studied sculpture at the Birmingham College of Art. She was a Member of the Royal West of England Academy and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Sculptors. Her carvings, mostly in stone, are cast into editions in bronze and
silver. Her deep knowledge of animal anatomy and behaviour informed her sculptures which are skilfully pared down to convey the very nature of a species. Their economy of language, their smooth and lustrous surfaces, together express the essential characteristics of an animal.
Steve Russell:
Born in the UK, Russell (b. 1969) has shot photographs since he was a child, his passion for the camera eventually prompting his father into building him a darkroom. That proved an enlightened investment, ultimately helping Russell transform a schoolboy hobby into an award-winning career. Frequent journeys to East Africa over the last twelve years have provided Steve with huge inspiration and the opportunity to photograph an impressive variety of animals and bird species as well as staggering scenery, from the Rwenzori Mountains of Western Uganda to the Tanzanian coastline. https://www.steverussellstudios.com/
https://www.gallery-pangolin.com/
This course has unfortunately had to be cancelled due to illness.
Course Suitability: Absolute Beginners – Advanced
Maximum Capacity: 12
Course Description:
Beetles are one of the earth’s greatest evolutionary success stories. Of all insect species that walk our planet, beetles make up a whopping 40%. There are 350,000 different species described in science & some think that may be as many as 2.1 million. If all flora and fauna was stretched out in a long line, leaf-to-leaf, claw-to-claw, twig-to-twig, tentacle-to-tentacle, etc every 5th thing would be a beetle.
Beetles are predators, pollinators, prey and pest controllers. They are also big, beefy & beautiful. In fact they are crying out to be studied and painted. Come along to this unique watercolour workshop and find out how to use art to pay homage to these fabulous animals.
Materials List:
Please bring the following:
- Watercolours: Neutral Tint (W&N), Titanium White, Cobalt Violet Deep Hue (Sennelier), Helio Cerulean (Schmincke) , Indigo, Ultra Marine, Orange, Madder Lake (Schmincke), Brilliant Blue Violet (Sch) ,
- Pens: – UniPin Fine Line Waterproof and Fade Proof pen. Mitsubishi. 0.05. Black
- 0.3mm Propelling Precision Pentel Pencil (HB)
- Brushes: Rosemary No. 2 SER 301 Pointed Round, Rosemary 0 SER 307, W&N Sceptre Gold 000 101 Series (Sable/Synthetic range) , W&N Foundation brush No.5, Rosemary Micro detail 15/0.
- Masking Fluid (Pebeo Drawing Gum is good)
- MaskingTape
Artist’s Profile
Cath Hodsman AMRSB, is one of the U.K’s foremost entomological artists, illustrators and teachers. Based in the Cotswolds, she has exhibited; showcased her art; or taught at many relevant esteemed venues throughout her career, including the Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, R.H.S Wisley and the Natural History Museum, London. Cath believes that the best way to celebrate the importance and relevance of insects in a happy, healthy ecology, is to capture their micro beauty and anatomical intricacy. She uses microscopes in her work in order to capture beauty that is invisible to us.
FULLY BOOKED
Course Suitability: Beginners – Improvers
Maximum Capacity: 12
Course Description:
On this one-day course, you will make plant climbers, plant supports, trellises and decorative Garden Hurdles, all out of willow and hazel grown in Somerset and Gloucestershire.
Helen will guide you through each stage of the process, whilst introducing you to the different varieties of willow/hazel which you can use to make your creations unique.
By the end of the day you should have been able to make 3-4 items to take home to put in the garden.
Materials List
The tutor will provide the required materials for course participants. The cost per person will be £12, to be paid to the tutor on the day of the course. (Please try and bring the exact change)
Artist’s Profile
Helen Lomberg has been making Baskets and using Willow and other Hedgerow materials for many years now. Twelve years ago she set up The Gloucestershire Arts and Crafts Centre in Westgate Street, Gloucester.
Course Cost:
A £25 non-refundable deposit is required on booking. Full course price is:
Members of Nature in Art: £55
Non-members of Nature in Art: £69
Join staff from Gallery Pangolin and photographer Steve Russell to view ANIMALIA, a stunning display of sculpture by Anita Mandl, and photographs by Steve Russell.
FREE, but donation appreciated.
BOOK HERE
If you have any trouble booking using the above link, please call 01452 731422 to book your place.
Course Suitability: Beginners – Advanced
Maximum Capacity: 12
Course Description:
Create a bird’s eye view of the natural world using cruelty free non-toxic resin and materials from the natural world to make masterpieces free pouring onto mdf. You will have the opportunity to experiment using texture on a board to create dimensions of natural scenes from photographs or your creative minds! Perhaps an ocean atoll, wetland, riverbank environment, botanical garden, forest or a beach, the choice is yours.
We will explore creating dimension with both UV resin and epoxy to create a depth to the pieces. Adding botanicals and foraged natural elements. Over this two-day workshop you will get to experience making at least two pieces of art to take home.
Materials List:
The tutor will provide all materials at a cost of £25 (cash) per person, to be paid to Emma on the day of the course. Participants may bring home grown or locally foraged dried materials to put in their creations (i.e. sticks, shells bark, sand, dried flowers/leaves). These must be dried to put into resin to avoid mould occurring and humidity within the pieces.
Artist’s Profile:
Emma is a self taught mixed media artist who discovered resin during being furloughed in 2020 when she set up Nature’s Inspiration. She has experimented with many techniques and resins so can answer your queries on which is best to use. Having spent a huge amount of time of time growing, nurturing and drying botanicals she uses many in her resin work alongside those she forages locally within the countryside code.
Emma is part of a collective at Gloucestershire Arts & Crafts and The Beckford Collective and teaches workshops around the county in The Cotswolds, Worcestershire & Oxfordshire.
Emma was also awarded the LuxLife winner of Best Nature-Inspired Vegan Resin Art & Gifts 2023 – South West England under the The Perfect Gift Awards 2023 category.
Course Cost:
A £25 non-refundable deposit is required on booking. Full course price is:
Members of Nature in Art: £110
Non-members of Nature in Art: £138
To book a place on this course, please click here.