AS ONE visitor to this stunning exhibition commented: "It is phenomenal.
Although there is one subject, no two exhibits are the same. The interpretations are as wide and as varied as the materials used."
With 43 artists, one poet and a writer, those materials include almost everything available to creative minds, ranging from shredded Sunday supplements to barbed wire, textiles and beads, and ivy on pear wood.
The latter is one of the two exhibits which probably cannot be sold as they are. The pear wood in Carolyn Corfield's Ivy Nest shows signs of natural deterioration, and the glass sculpture inset by David Pointon into an engraved glass dish is almost too delicate to move.
The same cannot be said for Michael Kusz's fun metal sculpture Nesta Rook and Family. At the preview, he was encouraging visitors to swing it around. "This is such an enjoyable exhibition and the atmosphere is great," he said.
It was Janet Rawlins who inspired artists to freely interpret the subject of a bird's nest in a besom.
At the preview, Angela le Grice explained how she had tried to sweep at Bainside Arts, Bainbridge, with the broom until John Warren pointed out it had a nest attached.
For some of the artists, like painters Winifred Hodge, Judith Bromley and Angela Keeble, focusing on this one subject challenged them to explore their art in new ways.
There are some exceptional photographs, etchings, ceramics, paintings, collages, hand-made jewellery, textile art and a stained glass panel, all enhanced by the banner created by Richard Crookes with the theme of the exhibition: To make out of the ordinary something out of the ordinary.
The result is an amazing and unique exhibition which should not be missed.
There are free children's workshops tomorrow morning and on September 27, plus a besom making demonstration on Saturday, September 20. The exhibition is open daily until October 1, from 10am to 4pm. For information contact 01969 666210.
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