Earlier in the summer Volunteers were again invited to join University of Southampton students in producing art work inspired by the annual excavations at Old Sarum. Here are some of the results…
(Click on any of the photos above to enlarge)
20 Tuesday Aug 2019
Posted ArchFest, Education, schools, children, Special Events
inEarlier in the summer Volunteers were again invited to join University of Southampton students in producing art work inspired by the annual excavations at Old Sarum. Here are some of the results…
(Click on any of the photos above to enlarge)
09 Tuesday Jul 2019
Posted Special Events
inSouthampton University students have been in the museum today. Having been excavating at Old Sarum they have a ‘cross curricula’ opportunity to create art using the history and landscape as their inspiration.
From today until Friday 19 July, Volunteers are invited to take part in these workshops. They happen every weekday and we are welcome at just one, or more, from 10am to 4pm. Bookings via Bridget.
Some of us joined in last year and it was relaxing and fun. No previous experience needed. Almost like being young again!
02 Tuesday Jul 2019
Posted Special Events
inTags
Claire Thomas’ second portrait painting session (see last week’s blog) took place on Sunday. She has led art workshops at the museum before and everyone clamored for yet another return after these enjoyable and successful portrait classes.
Two elegant Volunteers, and one handsome one, acted as models, and patiently sat as we peered at them and scribbled away.
A variety of media was used – pencil, charcoal, pastels and water colours – with Claire working with small groups of beginners, and supporting others as needed. Coming in to the museum for this kind of activity is an ideal way to get started with art, or to take an opportunity to paint quietly when it isn’t always practical to do so at home.
Watch out for more sessions from Claire!
25 Tuesday Jun 2019
Posted Augustus John, Fundraising, Special Events
inTags
Artist Claire Thomas took a group through the secrets of portraiture at a workshop session in the museum on Sunday. Three Volunteers acted as models and a keen, ‘mixed ability’ group produced some interesting, and genuinely artistic, results. One of the group was trying portraits for the first time, others were clearly more experienced, but a good time was had by all present.
25 Tuesday Jun 2019
Posted Fundraising, Special Events
inPress Release
Major new fundraising initiative from Friends of Erlestoke Prison and The Salisbury Museum
cARTes postales – art on postcards – is an exciting initiative by The Friends of Erlestoke Prison and The Salisbury Museum, working in partnership. The aim is to sell over 300 postcard-sized works of original art for only £40 each, in the style of a lucky dip. This will help raise funds to support rehabilitation projects at HMP Erlestoke, including an all-weather sports pitch, but also much needed money to support the museum and all its future plans.
This is the amazing opportunity to own a piece of art by leading contemporary artists including Antony Gormley, Richard Deacon, Paul Kidby and Sophie Ryder; talented and emerging local artists and some of the best artists at HMP Erlestoke.
Postcard vouchers will be available online from 19 June from the Salisbury Museum website. Postcards will be exhibited at The Salisbury Museum in October and members of the public can buy vouchers online with immediate effect. The allocation of postcards will be randomly generated and postcards dispatched to their lucky recipients by the end of October.
The second part of the fundraising will take place at a drinks reception and auction on the evening of 25 October at The Salisbury Museum. The auction will include works of art donated by well-known artists, who have kindly donated further works in addition to their postcard art.
Please see the Salisbury Museum website www.salisburymuseum.org.uk/whats-on/events/cartes-postales-art-postcards – for updates and further information.
This fundraising initiative has mental well-being at its heart. For the prisoners at HMP Erlestoke, there are currently no facilities for outdoor team sports. Exercise in the fresh air will improve the mental well-being and fitness of prisoners as part of their rehabilitation. It will also help to prevent reoffending. The Friends of Erlestoke Prison are aiming to raise £500,000 to build and install the all-weather sports pitch.
The Salisbury Museum is an independent charity, which uses its outstanding collections of art, archaeology, costume and social history to encourage learning, inspiration and enjoyment for all. The money raised will support the museum on its journey towards securing a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. This project will complete the much needed transformation of the Salisbury history galleries, restore the museum’s medieval home and launch a programme of learning and community activities to help build and grow audiences.
19 Tuesday Feb 2019
Posted Uncategorized
inClick here for tickets on-line. Talk takes place in the South Transept of the Cathedral.
25 Tuesday Sep 2018
Posted Creative Wiltshire, Exhibitions
inTags
Hello! I’m Emily Smith and I have recently started working at Salisbury Museum as the Creative Wiltshire Exhibition Assistant. I work one day a week and my job is to organise an exhibition which celebrates creativity in Wiltshire and which will run from January to May 2019.
This is not my first time at the museum as I previously worked as a gallery steward for the Cecil Beaton, J M W Turner and Terry Pratchett exhibitions. I have also been a collections and an admin volunteer.
I have grown up around Salisbury and have just moved to the city so this is a great opportunity for me to learn more about local artists. I am hoping this role will give me valuable experience of how to design and organise an exhibition which is what I would like to do after I finish my PhD.
11 Tuesday Sep 2018
Tags
My name is Jack Doveton, I am 16 years old and I am starting Sixth Form at Bishop Wordsworth’s School this September. Having finished taking my GCSEs in the middle of last June, I found myself with a lot of time on my hands. And in order to put this time to the best use, voluntary work at the Salisbury Museum seemed like a brilliant thing to do. After all, I am studying history at Sixth Form and possibly at university so the museum seemed like a particularly fitting place.
I have lived in Salisbury for most of my life so far, and so I had already been to the museum a few times in the past: in Year 7 for example I visited with my art class from school one afternoon to sketch artefacts. Aside from spending a small period of time as a school librarian, this was to be my very first work experience, so naturally I was excited yet slightly apprehensive before starting.
My placement, albeit short, entailed voluntary work at two of the museum’s key summer events: the Festival of Archaeology and the Discovery Days. So, after a brief visit and a string of emails, I found myself in the midst of the hustle and bustle which was the festival. As I put a bright orange lanyard around my neck, I realised that for the first time, I had responsibility. When the visitors were in doubt about something, they might turn to me, and so I had to act accordingly. Though in spite of being new to voluntary work, both afternoons of the festival turned out to be fantastic. I was very fortunate to be placed helping out with the running of the Lecture Hall, working with a friendly team of volunteers and even being able to watch the fascinating lectures. They’ve given me an unexpected, but nonetheless welcome, understanding of archaeological processes in the context of projects – from the restoration of the Mary Rose to Phil Harding’s excavation at the museum which have illustrated to myself (along with many others) just how interesting a subject it is. However, it wasn’t long until I was walking home on Sunday from the festival, and it felt as though the event had flown by. Soon after I went off on holiday, but when I arrived home it was time to go back for the Discovery Days.
In all, I was only able to help on the last two of the Discovery Days, but these events were, again, a new and enriching experience for me. As a young child, I had participated in many activity days like this, but this was my first experience helping to run such an event. On my first week, the theme was vegetable printing in a style resembling the work of Henry Lamb – but when over 30 children turned up that afternoon, mess was inevitably going to be produced. Despite that, I was once again placed with a friendly group of fellow volunteers and the event was fun to help with. The output of artwork was vast: vegetables of all shapes and sizes (and sometimes hands and feet) were used to make prints in all manners of styles.
In the following week, we were making collage portraits. That week, the emphasis seemed to be more upon quality than quantity, and although the turnout was slightly smaller, the children who were present rose to the challenge and used the watercolours, graphite, paper, pens and pencils to produce masterpieces.
I produced some Henry Lamb-inspired portraits of my own, which I was rather proud of, despite myself being somewhat so terrible at art, particularly drawing faces!
Yet again, I immensely enjoyed helping at an event. This recent work experience has certainly broadened my horizons and I hope to continue to volunteer at the museum: an enriching local institution for everyone.
Thank you Jack…
28 Tuesday Aug 2018
Posted Wessex Partnership
inTags
Have you seen the delightful Moonraker plate, on loan from Wiltshire Museum as part of our Made in Wessex: Spotlight Loans feature? It was made by artist Mary White (1926 – 2013) in the 1970s and donated to Wiltshire Museum by Margaret Couzens who composed the legend.
Between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries the wool produced from the English County of Wiltshire was known and prized all over Europe because of its superb quality.
Dutch and Flemish merchants had permanent headquarters in the Wiltshire town of Swindon, attracted there by the high profit obtained from the wool trade.
But there was a problem!
The merchant’s favourite tipple was Hollands Gin, but that carried a heavy import duty.
The solution for the Wiltshiremen seemed obvious, they would have to smuggle in the barrels of spirit and so avoid the import duty.
By the mid-sixteenth century they had established a smuggling operation that would run for more than 200 years. The barrels of spirit were landed in quiet coves on the Hampshire coast and brought up to Swindon by night.
The barrels were hidden during the day in church crypts or in village ponds. The green weed in the ponds concealed the barrels beautifully.
Problem solved!!
But one night it all went wrong.
The story is, that in either Bishop Cannings, or All Cannings (two villages reputed to be heavily involved in smuggling), the villagers were raking their kegs out of the village pond when they were surprised by a patrol of Excisemen.
The Wiltshire smugglers, with a flash of inspiration, pretended to be idiots, gibbering and grimacing at the Excisemen.
They pointed to the moon’s reflection in the pond and told the officials that they were trying to rake out a piece of the moon that had fallen from the sky.
They were so persuasive and acted their parts as ‘mental defectives’ so well that the Excisemen just laughed at this example of rustic simplicity and rode on.
Success!!
But Wiltshiremen are called ‘Moonrakers’ to this day!
21 Tuesday Aug 2018
Tags
Discovery Tuesdays have been a hit again this year. We have had everything from music to lanterns, and today it has been printing – with vegetables! Many youngsters might well say that dipping cauliflower in paint to create clouds on the page is the best thing to do with it!
Thank you to those who bring the children, to the incredibly creative people who put on the activities, and to you, the Volunteers, without whom the events could not happen!
Volunteer Catherine O’Sullivan cleans paint off aprons!
Here is a contented grandmother who said Discovery Tuesday meant her grand-daughter had a rest from her for the day!
Alex Hoare, helping the youngsters in this photo, has organised and led this activity. She is a very talented artist (with and without vegetables) and specialises in glass. Thank you Alex for spending the day with us.