BAFM MEMBERS NEWS - 3
FRIENDS OF THE RURAL LIFE CENTRE
TEAMWORK TRIUMPHS
‘Teamwork Triumphs’ was the headline on the front page of ‘Rustic’, the newsletter of the Friends of the Rural Life Centre (Farnham, Surrey), with a picture of teams of volunteers clearing enough of the white stuff to get the cars off the road and into the car park. Some of them thought it was great fun and as a result they cleared enough space to allow three cars to park. That was enough to get 2010 off to a flying start.
Following a very successful 2009 with visitor numbers up 20% compared to the previous year (thanks largely to Weyfest), much work had been planned on improvements over the winter months. Following the delay caused by the snow, work is pressing ahead. The biggest difference, which will be instantly noticed by all visitors, will be the complete redesign of the shop. This will allow a far better flow of people into both the museum and the café.
Amongst the displays much has been going on; the plumbing has been redesigned and interpreted along with the gardening display. The area which was the original Old Kiln Museum has seen progress on the buildings around the courtyard, and is now a place of importance which will shortly re-open, housing displays of cider making and brewing, a usable stable and domestic interiors representing the 1920s and 1930s.
Next door to the forge, work has been going on to create a working replica of a Wealden iron furnace and hammer. Funded by the Surrey Hills project, their efforts have now taken on a striking form. The water wheel and hammer are virtually complete and work is about to start on the furnace and bellows. This is really experimental archaeology as little remains of any of the original sites.
FRIENDS OF CECIL HIGGINS ART GALLERY & MUSEUM
EDWARD BAWDEN EXHIBITION
Edward Bawden (1903-1989) was one of the most influential graphic artists of his generation. His work could be seen all over the country in advertisements and illustrations, ranging from the London Underground and Shell Petrol, to the Festival of Britain, Ealing Films posters and book dust jackets. In the 1980s the Royal Academy trained artist donated an archive of his work to the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery in Bedford.
The Bedford Gallery Exhibition was opened by Chris Brown, who studied at the Royal College of Art, where he was met and eventually assisted Edward Bawden. Bawden encouraged him to explore linocut as a medium; and since then Chris has exhibited at the Royal Academy and the V&A. He said that it had been a privilege to work with Bawden, and was full of admiration for the exhibition that had been arranged by the Gallery.
A further direct link with Bawden was the presence at the exhibition opening of Stanley Jones, the printer from the Curwin Press, who had also worked with John Piper. Stanley has made a 30-minute film with the Gallery on the business of print making, which is being shown continuously.
To celebrate the Exhibition, BAFM members, Cecil Higgins Art Gallery and Bedford Museum commissioned the artist Mark Hearld to produce a limited edition lithograph. Printed at the Curwen Studio, where Stanley was involved, he forms a link with all three artists!
At a special evening meeting Peyton Skipwith, Executor of the Estate of Edward Bawden, came and talked about the man as he remembered him. Asked his opinion of the exhibition, he felt it was excellent and that Bawden would have been delighted.
This has been the most impressive exhibition staged in the newly refurbished Bedford Gallery so far, and has been well attended by the public with high sales of cards, books and other items, and helped by the AA Exhibition signs around Bedford sponsored by the Friends of the Gallery. Its success shows what the team that run the Art Gallery and Museum are capable of, and bodes well for the future.
For more information on the Bedford Gallery, visit:
www.cecilhigginsartgallery.org
Tel: 01234 353323 |