A Barton art gallery has been described as a “beacon of artistic brilliance” at the celebrations which marked Ropewalk Contemporary Art & Craft’s first 10 years.
Labour’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Cleethorpes, Shona McIsaac, said she had followed with great interest the transformation of the quarter-mile long Grade II former ropewalk by the Waterside Artists’ Co-operative into what is now a regionally acclaimed centre for the arts.
“At that opening night 10 years ago I think everyone was impressed by the way this part of the building had been transformed so sympathetically,” she said. “And I think Barton residents are so lucky to have such heritage on their doorstep. In the past few years buildings which have been renovated include not only the Ropewalk but also the Wilderspin National School.”
North Lincolnshire Council’s Head of Cultural Services, Neil Jacques, praised the “stalwart members of the Co-operative” for their tenacity and foresight in converting the former Hall’s Barton Ropery ropewalk into what is now a regionally acclaimed centre for the arts.
He said the two-phased renovation of the building had been a true partnership between North Lincolnshire Council, the owners of the building the Proudfoot Group, and the Co-operative.
“It started as an idea with the Co-operative approaching Ian Proudfoot to convert the building and it is now a fabulous facility both for Barton and the whole of the region,” he continued.
And Tim Needham of the Waterside Artists’ Co-operative, recalled the early days when the initial idea to establish a gallery and artists’ studios received the support of North Lincolnshire Council and Ian Proudfoot, as well funding from the European Rural Development Fund, Single Regeneration Budget, Yorkshire Forward and The Proudfoot Group.
“Together we were able to give the project wings and in this remarkable building we were able to create this,” he said.
The annual Ropewalk Studio Artists Exhibition features work from
David Alcock
Sally Beaumont
Emily Connor
Deborah Grice
Gill Hobson
Richard Hatfield
Judith Land
Tim Needham
Michael Scrimshaw
Reginald Swinney
Shirley Trumble
Keith Woodcock
85 Fathoms
Michelle recalls a frightfully fascinating childhood memory of a former sideshow attraction in Whitby. Her recollection of witnessing a pickled dicephalic baby and the staked bones of Dracula began the blurring of the boundaries between reality and fantasy.
‘Fairground Fables’ was conjured to question the satirical and moral ambiguity of fringe entertainment presented behind the curtains of Vaudeville theatres and Victorian Side Shows. Michelle draws from idioms and fables that play with tales of tragedy and fortune as well as the traces of life that befall the discarded or well loved, by enlivening everyday objects with an air of uncertainty. She assembles things left behind on dusty shelves, creating magnetic forms that encourage the viewer to take an encounter with the apprehension of things. ‘Fairground Fables’ is bent with a nostalgic and melodramatic allure that bestows something provocative and enchanting.
On November 24 Michelle will be running a workshop teaching participants how to make their own Fairground Fable. Bookings can be made in the Craft Gallery.
Richard Hatfield & Tim Needhams’ interest in painting stretches back through careers that began just one year apart. Working independently, both find common ground in their references to landscape, yet it is their divergent approaches which spark the dialogue in this show.
I paint out of doors and in the studio. Landscape embodies form, colour and light. Painting can reflect these primal elements and leave us with an object akin to poetry. I play with the picture plane and use paint on various surfaces, abstracted to convey feelings and form with a sense of the drama of the place.
Tim Needham
The subjects are the amalgamation of the remembered, the fleetingly observed and the repeated, emblematic motifs left, like an afterimage imprinted on the retina. I look for a sense of the unfamiliar in the ordinary – a gentle disquiet. Some pieces recall a particular moment or episode, often dramatic and transient such as the effects of light or weather, frequently in the extreme. It is at these times that nature can reassert itself into our consciousness and provide us with a taste of something that is awesome in the true sense of the word. Other paintings are less dramatic and conjure up emotions and associations of particular memories and universal fears from early childhood.
Richard Hatfield
Max Marschner was born in London in 1929. His early life was interrupted by World War II and evacuation, but in 1943 he enrolled in the Junior Department of Camberwell School of Art. He stayed there until the early 1950s with breaks for National Service and matriculation. He excelled in the design department. These were the wood engraving years.
Throughout his life Max delighted in the unexpected; scenes and buildings which had a tale to tell, or that presented a mood or sharpness which suited his work.
By the beginning of the 1960s he was experimenting with linocuts, monoprints and basic etchings, often using ideas from old postcards and encyclopaedias, which he hoped would depict a sense of surprise and strangeness.
A move to Lincoln at the beginning of the 1970s brought changes. Screenprints was possible: The same ideas, but larger and more colourful prints.
In 1973 Max bought his first ‘real’ camera, a Pentax Spotmatic. This he used for the rest of his life. He enjoyed experimenting with the old ways of photography, developing and printing in his darkroom. Eventually he taught himself Photo Etching. This involved infrared film, large negatives and acids, though changing over the years to safer methods of working.
ALMANAC – the seasons they rolled in and they tumbled
Ron Wilson and Jan Stead hail from the West Riding of Yorkshire. They met whilst studying art and design and teacher training at Bretton Hall over 40 years ago, they have kept in touch – sharing a passion for Yorkshire, art and design and in particular, printmaking.
ALMANAC
An Almanac can be described in general terms as an annual calander which contains a wealth of information such as important days, times of the sun rising and setting and changes in the moon and tides. In the past the Almanac was particularly important to farmers but perhaps their relevance is somewhat diminished. Ron and Jan have each produced a visual Almanac based on the four seasons and the wheel of the year where they have attempted, in their printed pieces, to re-establish the natural connections of the rolling seasons.
Ron: My Almanac wraps localities and phenomena in folklore and myth, elements within the work are symbolic and at times esoteric. The images in the Almanac are lifted from Anglo Saxon and Medieval almanacs and bending them to a response that will resonate with contemporary audiences. I invite the viewer to create their own narrative.
Jan: My Almanac is in Astronomical Seasons where the equinox and solstices mark the beginning and end of each season. It does, therefore, span two calendar years. Spring, Summer, Autumn and the first month of Winter – December are set in 2018. The remainder of winter – January and February, are in 2019. I am concerned with the equinox, solstice and moon shapes on key dates in each month. The images are a mix of Pagan, Christian and general traditions.
Ron Wilson and Jan Stead October 2018
The Box Gallery is housing everything you need to go back to school, college, university and work. From textiles kits to lino kits, book binding kits, notebooks, handmade pens, bags and accessories, there is something to make you stand out from the crowd.
