Three evenings and one afternoon of total guitar enjoyment are being played out in Barton upon Humber at the beginning of June at The Ropewalk’s first ever Guitar Festival.
Taking place from Thursday June 2 until Saturday June 4 the three day guitar fest has been put together by the Festival’s musical director Mark Keable of mtm promotions aided by Ropery Hall’s Liz Bennet.
The Festival could not get off to a better start on Thursday, June 2, with the appearance of Martin Taylor whose inimitable style has seen him recognised as the world’s foremost exponent of solo jazz guitar playing.
“As well as being a true guitar innovator, he is also a master concert performer, dazzling audiences with his solo shows, which combine virtuosity, emotion, humour, with a strong stage presence and I think that all those who come along to Ropery Hall will not be disappointed,” said Mark.
While Martin Taylor is the undoubted headline act of the three day festival those going along to Ropery Hall on the final two days of the Festival will not be disappointed.
“On Friday we have Chris Sherburn and Denny Bartley along with Dave Swarbrick, formerly of Fairport Convention, returning to the Ropery Hall stage but I am also sure there will be a very warm welcome to Steve Tilston, one of this country’s greatest song-writers with many of his songs considered modern folk-song classics and covered by the likes of Fairport Convention, Dolores Keane, John Wright and others,” Mark went on.
On Saturday another newcomer to Ropery Hall is the Steve Skaith Band. Steve was the singer and co-writer of Latin Quarter which had a 80s hit single, Radio Africa but after a stay in Mexico he has now returned to the UK with his own band.
The band will be playing in the Saturday afternoon session along with an old favourite, Paul Liddell, and the Marcus Bonfanti Trio who are at the moment basking in the knowledge that Marcus has been nominated in two categories – Best Male Vocals and Best Guitar – in the British Blues Awards 2011 which will be announced at the Newark Blues Festival in September.
Saturday evening brings the Festival to a close with the appearance of old favourites Walter Strauss and Ezio along with Chantel McGregor who is making a rare appearance as a solo artist.
“What better way to bring the Festival to a close than with such a line up,” said Mark.
Walter will be making his penultimate appearance in this country during his current UK tour and he is unlikely to disappoint his many friends in Barton.
“It’s rare and exciting to witness such artistry and technique on the guitar. Walter layers on highly articulated melodies and harmonies, rhythms and counter-rhythms giving the impression he is magically playing several instruments at once while EZIO with its two lead guitarists, Ezio Lunedei and Mark Fowell, form a perfect unit” Mark revealed.
Chantel normally appears with her rock blues trio, the Chantel McGregor Band, but during the final session there is a rare opportunity to hear this outstanding performer as a solo artist.
Tickets to see Martin Taylor cost £15 or £17 in advance and for the remaining two days there are several ticket options including packages for both Friday and Saturday performances, the two sessions on Saturday as well as the individual sessions.
To view all the details including ticket prices and timings please go to www.roperyhall.co.uk
The annual exhibition by The Ropewalk Studio artists. Featuring work by:
David Alcock
Sally Beaumont
Emily Connor
Debbie Grice
Richard Hatfield
Gill Hobson
Judith Land
Darren Langton
Tim Needham
Julie Oxenforth
Michael Scrimshaw
Shirley Trumble
Keith Woodcock
The Ropewalk’s popular Christmas Art Market will showcase the work of more than 40 makers and artists.
Taking place over the weekend of Saturday December 7 and Sunday December 8 those makers and artists selected to take part will be selling original handmade gifts, cards and artwork (more…)
Helen Martino would describe her work as being ‘sometimes serious and sometimes playful’. For many years Helen worked as a functional potter, making batches of domestic pots on a wheel. Now she sees herself as more of a maker in clay, hand building each piece individually by using soft and flexible sheets of clay. These sheets of clay are freely cut, curved and sometimes twisted, this is how Helen is able to create different perspectives and distortion within her work. The surface is painted with slip, underglaze pigment and resists. Depending on the piece silver and gold lustre may also be incorporated.
Helen is fascinated by body language and how this can be communicated. She observes Mogul and Persian miniatures and admires how they are able to tell a story within one image. These artworks often show a significant event within the life span of a person or family. Helen’s sculptures are also intimate like the miniature and show a single event that can be applied to the past, future and present, allowing the viewer to determine the story of each artwork.
Working in Cambridge, Helen exhibits widely across the UK and is the founder member of Cambridge Open Studios. She will be exhibiting in the Box Gallery in November.
Yorkshire born and bred, Eleanor Tomlinson is a traditional artist and illustrator based in East Yorkshire. Inspired by the beautiful Yorkshire countryside she has grown up amongst, Eleanor predominantly works in ink and watercolour to specialise in capturing and celebrating UK wildlife and the local countryside. Eleanor’s distinctive style using ink and watercolour, combines traditional, well-loved subjects with a contemporary, illustrative twist. Her use and composition of contrasting white space brings a narrative and sense of movement and energy to her pieces. Eleanor’s artworks have also been developed into a wide range of cards, stationery, limited edition prints and homeware collections alongside her original pieces which are being sold in an array of independent shops and galleries across the UK.
LAND, SEA AND SKY
The theme for this exhibition ‘Land, Sea, and Sky’ was chosen because its wide-ranging associations might be interpreted in many different ways, and in part because the theme was seen to have some relevance to the location of The Ropewalk Gallery. No size limit was imposed and artists were invited to respond to the theme in as wide a way as possible, to be as traditional or as innovative as they wished both in process and format. The final selection includes three dimensional and large format pieces as well as more conventional prints.
Printmakers Council was founded in 1965 by a group of prominent printmakers to raise the profile of printmaking as an art form and to provide an exhibition society for members. For over fifty years PmC has continued to pursue these aims through a rolling programme of exhibitions, lectures and practical workshops.
Two new exhibitions with links to northern Lincolnshire are opening this Saturday (Sept 14) at The Ropewalk arts centre in Barton upon Humber.
In the Artspace is Re-Tellings, a solo exhibition by Grimsby based artist Sue Stone whose work is inspired by people, place and time. (more…)
