We are emerging!

The above is an invite to you to come support and look at the first exhibition from the Somerset Emerging Artists Network (and if that's too much of a mouthful call us SEAN) at the Auction House, Canal Road in my very own home town of Taunton! I am personally very excited about this one as I am involved in this group which first formed many moons ago through a meeting held at the SAW Hub back in....I think October/November last year. Since then we have grown in numbers and in our tenacity to really make a good network for new artists and graduates like myself to have a start point in which to 'emerge' from.

I'm not particularly a fan of the term 'emerging artist' it brings up images in my head of crawling and struggling out of some dark unpleasant place in order to progress, as it were, into the light and goodness of becoming a fully fledged artist. This isn't really the case, in fact, some of the greatest artists in the history of art could be said to have never emerged until their deaths (think Van Gogh). So don't let the emerging title fool you and expect the un-expected!

Things are just about underway nearly ready for hanging this exhibition next week of which I'll be helping. The venue of the Auction House (located on the old Farmer's market site) is really appropriate a venue for representing local artists and, if I may be personal once again, is a poignant site for me to relate to in my own practice as I have made prints of tools from my grandfather's farm who used to take his cattle to market there every Saturday up until it closed for the last sixty years. Similarly another artist, Lucy Pearn has prints of scenes of pheasant plucking on her farm. However, there are also innovative and fun sculptures from Mike West, abstract paintings of landscapes from Andrea Rowbotham, textile based Fine Art work from Lucy Lean and many, many more! There are well over 12 artists involved all of whom live locally and feature a variety of talents from printmaking, film, photography, textiles, painting and sculpture. I'm sure it will be a very interesting and contemporary show that is also an important development for Taunton in what we hope will help to encourage more artists to emerge in dis-used buildings throughout the county.

So remember 12th July - 6th August 10.00-4.30pm Auction House, Canal Street, Taunton

It would be great to see you there and hear your views please check it out! Or if you are planning something similar let me know?