Lyme Regis ArtsFest 2011

What a treat there was in Lyme and its surrounding area over the past 10 days, a surfeit of arts, crafts, exhibitions and workshops. There are over 60 ArtsFest artists who showcase their work in collaboration with local businesses. These include an exhibition of children's art, painting, poetry, drumming and dance workshops, interactive drawing at the museum, busking by young musicians and a Big Draw event at the Aquarium on the Cobb.

The whole festival included two major group exhibitions at the Town Mill Galleries and the Baptist Church Hall, open studios where you could meet artists in their environments and view their work and an art trail around the town where artists' work was on show in shops, cafes, pubs and other businesses.

A tremendous amount of work went into the organisation of the whole event which has been an important date in the town diary for the last eight years. What was so great about it was that even if you didn't want to take part in the workshops or found visiting an artist's studio on your own a bit daunting, you could just walk up and down the main shopping streets and take in a wide variety of artistic and photographic work. The Art Trail enabled artists to place their featured work in local shop windows which gave them access to an audience which might not normally go to an exhibition. It was truly amazing, and it all happens again next year, wow!

http://lymeregisartsfest.com/

Bending Space - photography of Georges Rousse

I came upon this website by chance and was totally blown away. Firstly I thought it was my eye sight giving me trouble and that I might need new glasses but, when I looked and read about Georges and his projects, I realised how amazing his work was.  His vision is something I know that I lack but to see it in others is pure pleasure. I can take an idea and go further but to have the original idea is the thing that I struggle with.

His works are photographs of paintings done on buildings which are made to look like overlays of colour. From the single point perspective of rousse’s camera, his paintings are made to appear 2-dimensional, in reality you would see that the paintings are strategically done in 3 dimensions.

This illusion is what makes rousse’s work so intriguing. his ‘durham’ project was the subject of the documentary ‘Bending Space’, a fitting title to describe Rousse’s work.

http://www.georgesrousse.com/english/reception.html

End of the Summer

Well summer is virtually over, September 1st has arrived and I can't believe that the events I was part of with my local photographic society have been and gone. It hardly seems any time at all that our main summer period with a pub quiz and summer exhibition is over.

My society is always short of funds so, rather than lie down and die, I got together with some of the other members and organised a fund raiser to support the club's summer exhibition. Whilst the £150+ profit might not seem great to some clubs, it was a shot in the arm for my society. This enabled the members to put on an exhibition in the town centre, albeit off the main street, without worrying that it would drive the club into extinction.

All in all, visitor numbers weren't great, but the main object was to get publicity to increase membership and our press officer, Jane, did a magnificent job getting small items in the local press both before and, larger items with pictures, after.

Our new season starts on September 23rd with the AGM and showing of pictures taken on our summer outing and ramble, so it will be interesting to see if we get any new members along.

The link to our society website is:
http://lymebayphotographicclub.org/club-news/ - have a look and see what you think.