Quaker Connections - eleven Quaker artists sharing their creativity
Our Meeting didn’t do Quaker Week in 2013; we did Quaker fortnight! Here is our full report about running a two week exhibition in our Meeting House
From September 22nd to October 6th, with the unwavering support of our Business Meeting, we extended our outreach by hosting an exhibition of our art. Our outreach committee was set the challenge of attracting more visitors into our Meeting House and through local research we discovered that few people in our immediate neighbourhood even knew we existed. An art exhibition, as part of Somerset Art Weeks, was an opportunity to open our doors as part of a county-wide initiative and say yes, Quakers are artists too. This enabled us to offer our hospitality in an informal setting, give our visitors an opportunity to explore the Meeting House, read Quaker Week publications and ask us any questions they wanted to.
Our art ranged from stitched textiles, watercolours, oils, mixed media, polychrome ceramics, lime-wood carving and photography. The experience of our artists ranged from one who has a collection in the V&A to absolute first timers. The only qualification to participate was our artists needed to either be members or attenders of Street Meeting. This led us down some lovely unexpected avenues; in one case finding a sparkling and vibrant older member, no longer attending, but producing wonderful mixed media paintings and keen to take part in Meeting for Worship on the radio… One of our artists created a map, centred on Pendle Hill, where George Fox had his original vision of ‘a great people to be gathered’. Brightly coloured post-it notes and pens were supplied to encourage visitors to add their own thoughts, prayers and visions to the map. It became a very popular attraction for Quakers and most interestingly for the general public too.
One of the best decisions our Meeting made was to hire professional display screens, complete with low voltage spot lights, and maintain a consistent design style on our information panels. A visiting Friend commented ‘To be honest I was half expecting to find a Quaker jumble sale, but this is stunning’.
For a relatively small worshipping community (our average attendance on a Sunday is around eighteen to twenty) the commitment was huge, but the response was magnificent. Our library magically, and apparently effortlessly, became the ‘tearoom’ complete with table cloths and an array of Quaker Week booklets. Friends took part in baking delicious cakes and biscuits, serving teas, washing-up, welcoming and stewarding. Rotas and timetables were created and friends filled in for others when they couldn’t make it.
It reminded us all of the importance of in-reach too. Our Meeting room, which attracted a lot of visitors, was left as a quiet space with a beautiful display from our children’s meeting. The value of the constant flow of refreshments cannot be underestimated and the gentle buzz emanating from our tearoom created an immediate atmosphere of welcome.
A vibrant banner, in scarlet and gold, was displayed on the grey wall of our Meeting House, our website was updated, and we all contributed to the cost of 5,000 fliers to share with other local venues. Invitations were extended to local Meetings throughout the region. Many of our visitors were very local and came in for the first time. They saw large panels, describing the history of Quakers in Street and explaining how many of us were inspired to begin our Quaker / creative journeys through discovering the writings of Robin Tanner. During the fortnight our Meeting welcomed 1040 visitors. The truth is that this was a huge effort on everyone’s part, it was demanding and tiring, but it was hugely rewarding. It bound us together and strengthened our community as we were completely dependent on one another to fulfill a multitude of tasks. Our Meeting wore its Quaker heart on its sleeve and it felt great.
The Friends who took part were:
Lance Clark - Vivid watercolours of Somerset and Ethopia
Tyna Redpath - Vibrant stitched textiles - 'Grandmothers behind me, Daughters in Front of Me'
Rob Sweetman - Beautiful oil paintings inspired by Dutch Masters
Kevin De Choisy - Polychrome white earthenware pots, teapots and dishes glazed in the most sumptuous colours
David Price - An extraordinary conceptual piece - 'The loss of fifteenth century Prayer Houses and what Quaker worship can bring to our complex world'
John Morland - Stunning watercolours of Somerset and the West Country
Helen Lunt - Heartfelt limewood carvings and rich mixed media paintings
Kevin Redpath - Eighteen photographic prints 'Shorelines can be magical places, borderlands between worlds'
Phyllis Tuxill - An evocative montage of mixed media paintings
Stephanie Morland - Exquisite stitched textiles inspired by Glastonbury Abbey
Judith Keenlyside - Delightful hand-crafted ceramic buttons in whites, blues and greens.
Our Meeting didn’t do Quaker Week in 2013; we did Quaker fortnight! Here is our full report about running a two week exhibition in our Meeting House
From September 22nd to October 6th, with the unwavering support of our Business Meeting, we extended our outreach by hosting an exhibition of our art. Our outreach committee was set the challenge of attracting more visitors into our Meeting House and through local research we discovered that few people in our immediate neighbourhood even knew we existed. An art exhibition, as part of Somerset Art Weeks, was an opportunity to open our doors as part of a county-wide initiative and say yes, Quakers are artists too. This enabled us to offer our hospitality in an informal setting, give our visitors an opportunity to explore the Meeting House, read Quaker Week publications and ask us any questions they wanted to.
Our art ranged from stitched textiles, watercolours, oils, mixed media, polychrome ceramics, lime-wood carving and photography. The experience of our artists ranged from one who has a collection in the V&A to absolute first timers. The only qualification to participate was our artists needed to either be members or attenders of Street Meeting. This led us down some lovely unexpected avenues; in one case finding a sparkling and vibrant older member, no longer attending, but producing wonderful mixed media paintings and keen to take part in Meeting for Worship on the radio… One of our artists created a map, centred on Pendle Hill, where George Fox had his original vision of ‘a great people to be gathered’. Brightly coloured post-it notes and pens were supplied to encourage visitors to add their own thoughts, prayers and visions to the map. It became a very popular attraction for Quakers and most interestingly for the general public too.
One of the best decisions our Meeting made was to hire professional display screens, complete with low voltage spot lights, and maintain a consistent design style on our information panels. A visiting Friend commented ‘To be honest I was half expecting to find a Quaker jumble sale, but this is stunning’.
For a relatively small worshipping community (our average attendance on a Sunday is around eighteen to twenty) the commitment was huge, but the response was magnificent. Our library magically, and apparently effortlessly, became the ‘tearoom’ complete with table cloths and an array of Quaker Week booklets. Friends took part in baking delicious cakes and biscuits, serving teas, washing-up, welcoming and stewarding. Rotas and timetables were created and friends filled in for others when they couldn’t make it.
It reminded us all of the importance of in-reach too. Our Meeting room, which attracted a lot of visitors, was left as a quiet space with a beautiful display from our children’s meeting. The value of the constant flow of refreshments cannot be underestimated and the gentle buzz emanating from our tearoom created an immediate atmosphere of welcome.
A vibrant banner, in scarlet and gold, was displayed on the grey wall of our Meeting House, our website was updated, and we all contributed to the cost of 5,000 fliers to share with other local venues. Invitations were extended to local Meetings throughout the region. Many of our visitors were very local and came in for the first time. They saw large panels, describing the history of Quakers in Street and explaining how many of us were inspired to begin our Quaker / creative journeys through discovering the writings of Robin Tanner. During the fortnight our Meeting welcomed 1040 visitors. The truth is that this was a huge effort on everyone’s part, it was demanding and tiring, but it was hugely rewarding. It bound us together and strengthened our community as we were completely dependent on one another to fulfill a multitude of tasks. Our Meeting wore its Quaker heart on its sleeve and it felt great.
The Friends who took part were:
Lance Clark - Vivid watercolours of Somerset and Ethopia
Tyna Redpath - Vibrant stitched textiles - 'Grandmothers behind me, Daughters in Front of Me'
Rob Sweetman - Beautiful oil paintings inspired by Dutch Masters
Kevin De Choisy - Polychrome white earthenware pots, teapots and dishes glazed in the most sumptuous colours
David Price - An extraordinary conceptual piece - 'The loss of fifteenth century Prayer Houses and what Quaker worship can bring to our complex world'
John Morland - Stunning watercolours of Somerset and the West Country
Helen Lunt - Heartfelt limewood carvings and rich mixed media paintings
Kevin Redpath - Eighteen photographic prints 'Shorelines can be magical places, borderlands between worlds'
Phyllis Tuxill - An evocative montage of mixed media paintings
Stephanie Morland - Exquisite stitched textiles inspired by Glastonbury Abbey
Judith Keenlyside - Delightful hand-crafted ceramic buttons in whites, blues and greens.