Located in a gorgeous Oxford garden, this year's exhibition centres around the combination of various media to create practical items and visual, textured art. I have used textiles and free hand embroidery, wood, slate and welsh sheep's wool to give a unique angle to my fused and stained glass work. Themes centre around the colours of the sea, silhouettes of meadows and skylines, and colours, light and textures.
Free drinks and homemade goodies can be enjoyed while you have a little 'time-out' in the garden setting (voluntary contributions to Helen House).
From flour, sugar and eggs to glass. Having dabbled with mud, pottery and enamels, Anita discovered at an early age that her most successful creative medium was cake. Whilst the creative process was hugely fulfilling, the end product was dissapointingly transient - though tasty. Many years on, she visited Winkworth Arboretum on a beautiful, autumn day, where there happened to be a small exhibition of fused glass. And she was hooked.
Anita approaches her art in a spirit of discovery and experimentation. Just as with her cakes, ideas come to her as a project develops, so each piece is unique and individual. The enjoyment is in the discovery and development of techniques, the fun of chemical reactions as different glasses and metals come into contact, and the excitement of not knowing exactly how the glass will behave.
The ultimate pleasure is in the knowledge that somewhere, someone will lose themselves in the utter beauty of the glass as the dynamic colours and shapes of their piece catch the sunlight.