THE work of local artists will feature in an exhibition which will be held in Studio One at Crediton Arts Centre from Friday, May 23 to Tuesday, May 27.

Returning after the success of last year’s show, the exhibition will include paintings, ceramics, textiles, photography and masks.

Artworks will be for sale as well as cards and prints being available.

Studio Two will show the work of students who attend a variety of professionally led art classes run at the centre.

The exhibition will be open daily between 10am and 4pm and admission is free.

For those who have not visited the Arts Centre, it is located opposite the Church of the Holy Cross on Union Road.

To give you a flavour of the exhibition, here are some insights in the words of the artists of their artworks on show.

Esme Cooper is a textile designer working from her garden studio in Crediton. She designs surface patterns which she screen prints by hand onto natural fabrics, making these into furnishings, lampshades and household textiles.

Nigel Garside is an abstract artist working from his studio in Crediton. He layers sprayed acrylic and resins to create large colourful canvasses which juxtapose strict matrix patterns with an element of randomness.

Abstract art by Nigel Garside.
Abstract art by Nigel Garside. (Crediton Arts Centre)

John Lewis is a local landscape artist painting mainly locations on Dartmoor as well as Snowdonia and Cornwall. He uses acrylic paints on canvas. However, for a smaller budget A3 or larger prints are available, as well as a large selection of hand-made cards.

Roger Phillips will be showing his abstract paintings, part of a larger collection entitled ‘Inside the Dream’. These works visit the mystery and energy of dreams. The floating, lost emotions where logic and reality appear to be suspended.

Teresa Rodrigues has a background in drama and design and was taught by the Italian mask-makers, Stefano Perocco and Donato Sartori. For Teresa both her subject and medium are masks. Because they tend to be ephemeral objects, she makes them out of anything - paper, soil, fabric, crockery, plants, and they will always reflect or express the world they are made of.

Into the light by photographer Andy Wills.
Into the light by photographer Andy Wills. (Crediton Arts Centre)

Anne Smith paints landscapes and seascapes and creates contemporary ceramics. She is exhibiting wheel-thrown pieces glazed in bright blues and greens, recent raku vessels and hand-built vessels featuring iconic landscapes and botanical themes.

Phil Smith paints mainly colourful acrylic abstracts. The inspirations for his paintings come from his travels in Morocco and Oman, as well as city skylines and his long career as a marine biologist.

Catherine West is a maker, facilitator and producer, who explores the relationships between community and individual, especially for vulnerable groups. Following on from her involvement with the Crediton Station Tea Rooms ‘Art-coustics Tree’ and the Newton Abbot Community Tree Project, Catherine will be showing a collection focused on and inspired by trees.

Andy Wills is a landscape photographer based in Crediton. Photography has been his passion for 45 years. For Andy photography is an art and it is about finding the extra-ordinary in an ordinary place.