Monthly Archives: October 2015

Telling Tales and The Battle of Hastings.

Sussex after the Conquest

Sussex after the Conquest

Last weekend the Battle of Hastings, 1066, was re-enacted in the lovely small town of Battle.  At the same time the Battle Festival (click on the link ) is  on – with some wonderful events including classical music concerts, film,  poetry, food and of course lots of art.

My current solo exhibition is part of these events; here are the details:

Telling Tales : Abbey Hotel, Battle

01/10/2015 to 31/10/2015, 11.00am – 11.00pm

Each painting has its story … a story of time, place and the moment. Specially for the Battle Festival, Jill has provided a brief commentary on each painting to give an insight into how it came about.

Jill’s work is mainly abstract or semi-abstract.  She mostly uses water-based paints, inks, dyes and pure pigments to build up intense and glowing colours, often on her own handmade cotton paper which has a unique character.  She experiments a good deal, combining costly, high-quality materials with found or throwaway elements.


 

The Abbey seen  from the Abbey Hotel

The Abbey seen from the Abbey Hotel


Thirty paintings or so are on show in this new venue overlooking the Abbey.  The Abbey is in turn within an archer’s shot of the battlefield. Extra exciting for a medievalist like me!  English Heritage have done a splendid job with the displays and you can really picture the battle  as it unfolded nearly 950 years ago. Great for both  adults and children.

This coming weekend has a spotlight on culinary events, and if you should visit my show this weekend there are some treats in store (even I don’t know what they are yet!).


 

Coastal glimpses and Night Sky

Coastal glimpses and Night Sky

Origins series by jill

Origins series by jill

three paintings by Jill

three paintings by Jill


 

 

The spaces and lighting are a bit tricky, but the pieces have been expertly hung.

I’ve prepared a special explanation-cum-‘story’ for each piece to mark the fact that this is both a literary and art festival – and I’ve always viewed my work as being rooted in both genres.

Three more paintings by Jill

Three more paintings by Jill

Three more paintings by Jill

More on my Facebook page, www.facebook.com/JillTattersallartist

Fun art project no. 2: Brighton Tea-Gown and Brighton Gin

Brighton Gin prize: The World is upside down.

Brighton Gin prize:
The World is upside down.

One of these ‘calls for art’ that hit the spot!  Hizze Fletcher at Brush in Brighton, hair salon and art gallery,  had the idea of organising an exhibition involving the new and seductive Brighton Gin.  (Link: Brighton Gin Prize)  As well as being an interesting blend of ‘botanicals’, as they say, it also comes in a very pretty bottle with a pale green label.

I was just about to go away so plunged in, collected an (alas empty) bottle, and did my stuff.  My version involves a ‘Brighton Tea-Gown’, the sort of dress I’d like to be wearing as I sip Brighton Gin on a sun-soaked terrace.

Brighton Tea-Gown, full-sized original  version

Brighton Tea-Gown, full-sized original version

There’s also a nod to Brighton itself.   The pair of red-striped legs kicking in the air is both an expression of uninhibited joy, and a reference to  the iconic Legs adorning the Duke of York’s theatre, the oldest continuouslyused cinema in Britain.

Brighton Tea-Gown - reverse side

Brighton Tea-Gown – reverse side

Finally, a more serious side.  The news has been full of the miseries of the refugee/immigration crisis, to which there can be  no simple answer.  A sharp counterpoint to the frivolity of tea-gowns and gin.  The world does indeed seem upside down.

legs in the air

Civil War poster

I visited the lovely town of Battle recently to deliver paintings for my exhibition there.  Details of this to follow shortly.   Among the 1066 -related  exhibits on show at the Abbey – a fantastic place to visit –  I came across a Civil War poster depicting the then turbulent times.   ‘The World Turn’d Upside Down’ – with a pair of kicking legs in the air!  That was it.  The composition was clear.

Label, Brighton Tea-Gown

Label, Brighton Tea-Gown

Label, Brighton Tea-Gown

Ironing is Pants! An art project with a difference.

Ironing is Pants!

Ironing is Pants!

This has been a really bitty summer.  Lots of interesting things, lots of chores, a few disappointments, lots of obligations,  a few mishaps, some fascinating new scenes and places.  A cross-section of life, yes, but all mixed up together in rather a strong dose.

So I thought I’d do a few short individual posts to catch up on some of the little projects I’ve slipped in here and there.  A bit frivolous, a bit fun, a bit apart from the daily grind.

And, yes, my nearest and dearest know I dislike ironing.  Not so much dislike, really, it’s just there are always so many more urgent or important things to do.  This duster encapsulates my feelings about it.

There is a more serious side to it.  I made it as a contribution to Vanessa Marr’s Women and Domesticity project, where she induced people (yes, some men included) to stitch a duster with some of their thoughts about houshold chores.  The result was hilarious, serious, unexpectedly touching and thought-provoking.  Mine was a quick, rough-and-ready affair but some of the dusters were works of art and/or quite poignant.

Vaness with dusters

Vaness with dusters

Men at work

Men at work

'It's so much more fun with a feather duster!' (Judith Berrill)

‘It’s so much more fun with a feather duster!’ (Judith Berrill)

 

To see more: Women and Domesticity