westsussexartsociety

WSAS Annual Exhibition 2011

2011-09-22T10:03:00.000+01:00

AGM meeting today

2011-09-10T12:25:00.000+01:00

Hi,
Don't forget we have our annual general meeting today at 2.30pm. This is your chance to vote for officers and committee members to run your society, or to nominate someone. Don't forget to bring your pennies as subs are due today and if you have filled in your form for entering work into the exhibition entry fees can be paid today also. If you fancy a bit of a flutter we will also have a raffle. Hope to see you there
Marina

west sussex art society exhibition 2011

2011-09-03T15:54:00.003+01:00

Can anyone offer to deliver my work to the exhibition as I am unable to do so that day. I can pay £5 towards petrol and offer to collect their work with mine at closure of exhibition. email me at: pat.knight@sky.com

Blog tutorial heaven help me

2011-05-04T21:26:00.000+01:00

We are gathered here today to learn how to use our blog, perhaps Tom can help us

Photos

2011-03-01T16:13:00.000Z

Here are some photos :)
Claire Phillips "The human face of Death Row-an artist's perspective" Oct 2010
Paulien Gluckman "An Introduction to stone carving" Nov 2010

A GREAT WEEK

2010-09-06T17:58:00.002+01:00

Thanks to all the members who helped to make a very special week for the society.I enjoyed the opening evening where I met up with friends old and new.I really enjoyed my evening and the people I spoke to were very interesting.
I visited the gallery on most days and I enjoyed other peoples work very much,theres so much tallent in our society and we should all be proud of ourselves.
See you at the A.G.M. and once again thanks,
STEVE CLARKE.

Exhibition 2010

2010-08-22T16:45:00.002+01:00

I'm really looking forward to our upcoming exhibition, I think it just might be our best yet! (Click on the Exhibition 2010 to find out more)

2010-06-22T12:23:00.000+01:00

Here's a sneak preview of the image Rose and Ted have created for publicising this years exhibition, using stripes of members paintings. I think it looks really colourful and eye catching.

the return of the blog

2010-05-11T13:19:00.000+01:00

I am doing another invitation for contributers on mass to get this blog buzzing, so watch this space :)
Don't forget if you are already a contributor this is your blog so feel free to advertise events or anything else.

WSAS meeting cancelled

2010-01-09T10:14:00.000Z

There will be no meeting today due to the dangerous travelling conditions.

art exhibition at the dome tower

2009-11-20T10:57:00.001Z

Some of the members are exhibiting their work in the Dome Tower in Worthing. It is open to the public and you get a lovely view from the top, so do come and have a look. There is also work on the first floor by new member Maggie Tredwell as well as lots to look at in the gallery downstairs.

2009-10-10T18:49:00.002+01:00

Audrey Lee said...

Hello everyone

So glad to be back in the land of the living. I did manage to get to see the exhibition and it was WONDERFUL. You are all WONDERFUL and I hope it rubs off on me a bit.

See you tomorrow for a bit of Pop Art and Minimalism.

Keep creating.

Audrey Lee (your new Chairperson)

09 October 2009 11:14

profiles

2009-10-10T12:13:00.000+01:00

Don't forget to edit your profiles with a picture of yourself and some info, lots of people are viewing them so give them something to look at :)

Stride Open Exhibition

2009-10-02T21:13:00.006+01:00

Congratulations to WSAS member Andrew Griffiths for his prize winning entry at this years Stride Open Exhibition at the Oxmarket Galleries Chichester. Its well worth a look, on until the 10th Oct

Framing

2009-09-30T17:37:00.002+01:00

Someone earlier was asking about reasonable framing, unfortunately I could not get the blog to work to replay at the time but herewith information on two framers I have used.
Concept Frames (Peter)the old dairy, off Tarring Road Give him a ring first as he sometimes goes to markets. Have used him for years very reasonable and reliable. 01903 241613 or new person have used recently in emergency SJL Framing services at Annington Industrial estate Steyning. 01903 810201 He also rents out his back office as a painting studio if anyone interested takes about 5 people for a painting session or if you are giving a demo to small group.

2009-09-16T09:05:00.002+01:00

Hello All'
Well at last I may have managed to return a comment. Totally agree with Steven, I thought the exhibition looked great after all the hard work put in throughout the day. The private view was a great success and was abuzz with people enjoying what was on display. The feedback I recieved from the people I spoke to was extemely possitive. Many said they would return to look again properly as it was so busy. The private views have become more and more popular which is great for getting the word out on how good, and welcoming a society we are. A few there were thinking of becoming members which is great. Well done to everyone. I hope we all do well.
Andrew

west sussex art society at the Oxmarket

2009-09-15T08:29:00.002+01:00

Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make the private view such a success on Sunday evening.I enjoyed myself very much and how nice to see everyone admiring the beautiful work on display.
The hanging committee worked so hard to make it possible and everyone involved has contributed to a very proffessional display and I am proud to be part of such an organisation and you should be proud of yourselves for making a very effective exhibition.
Everyone seemed to have such a wide variety of opinions and tastes in art,and wine ! and it was good to see so many people there.I am very greatful to those of you who worked so hard throughout the day to make the event happen and I look forward to seeing some of you on Friday when I am stewarding along with Marina.
I really enjoyed Sunday evening as it is the very first time I have entered a proper exhibition and I hope to continue to exhibit in the future,all the best,Steve.

private view at the Oxmarket

2009-09-14T14:09:00.000+01:00

WSAS programme 2009/10

2009-09-09T15:27:00.000+01:00

WSAS Annual Exhibition 2009

2009-09-07T21:21:00.000+01:00

Happy Holidays

2009-08-20T18:25:00.016+01:00

Hi, I hope you are all enjoying the summer break. For me the school holidays are always the busiest of times and I am looking forward to the kids going back to school and giving me a holiday! Here are some pickies from one of the projects I was involved in recently with Skeleton Cru, repainting the car park for P.L.A.Y in Stoke Abbott Road. We are currently painting the outside (sea side) of Worthing Lido.

Recent Paintings

2009-08-01T04:24:00.003+01:00

Here are two examples of my work in two completely different styles,and yet I get the same pleasure out of both paintings.As you can see,one painting of the moat to Arundel Castle is an intricate assembly of uniform foliage and branches which has taken many hours to create and is still not finished.The other painting is painted in a far more `loose` style and is of some trees reflecting into the water and yet this painting has been equaly enjoyable to create,it just goes to show one does not have to spend hours of work on a canvas to create a painting worthy of being the complete article and I shall endevour to continue my collection of local Sussex Landscapes.We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful County.The bit that hasn`t been built on is anyway ! thanks,Steve.

Good Morning

2009-07-30T07:35:00.002+01:00

Hello,to follow on from yesterdays request to find a good Giclee printer,would any of you know of a picture framer who can supply good value frames for a small batch of pictures e.g. limited edition prints.I would be most interested to hear from anyone with the experience of selling their own work who can pass on some advice.I would greatly appreciate any advice,thanks - Steve.

Good Evening

2009-07-29T18:34:00.002+01:00

Good evening,I would be very greatful to anyone who can recommend a reliable local giclee printing service as I am keen to have one of my paintings published as a limited edition print.I am looking to burn a scanned disc and take copies from this.I have never had prints done of my work before and I would appreciate any form of advice,thanks very much,Steve.

Joe Francis Dowden

2009-07-12T20:42:00.005+01:00

A really good turn out for this months WSAS meeting which was an inspiring demonstration by Joe Francis Dowden in watercolours. It has certainly given me some ideas to try. If you would like to find out more check out his website http://www.joedowden.com/

pretty pics

2009-06-25T10:34:00.003+01:00

I found some beautiful wallpapers for your desktop at www.digitalblasphemy.com

GOOD MORNING TO YOU ALL

2009-06-21T03:46:00.002+01:00

Good morning,I would like to take this oppertunity to thank all of the members of the West Sussex Art Society for making me feel extremely welcome and for Marina Burgess who invited me to contribute to this site.I am really looking forward to exhibiting with the society and I hope I can become an active member of the society and improve my work by learning from other members who have vast amounts of experience and tallent.
When I have worked out how to post photographs on this site I shall do so,meanwhile I am off to catch the sun rising over the downs so I can add to my latest project of Sussex Landscapes,I like to get out and about at this time of day (04:00a.m.) at this time of year.The light is very intense by about nine o`clock.
All the best,Steve.

Adur Art Trail

2009-06-05T11:36:00.002+01:00

WSAS members Gill Harris and Gillian Hills will be exhibiting in the Adur Art Trail, venue number 31 at Star Gap, Five by the riverside. For more details http://www.adurfestival.com/events-adur-art-trail/riverside-five.htm

Gillian Hills

2009-06-05T11:07:00.003+01:00

WSAS member Gillian Hills is the featured artist at Chalk Gallery in Lewes 1st June -21st June 09 for more info http://www.chalkgallery.org.uk/gill.html

2009-03-25T14:11:00.001Z

Opportunity for artists. Owners of Findon Place have again offered to open their home to local artists to exhibit and sell their works as part of this year's Findon Flower Festival from June 12-14. The exhibition will be open to the public on Saturday, June 13, from 10am, and on Sunday 14, from 10.30am.Artists can submit up to three framed works (max 36in x 24in) for £2 per painting, plus 10% commission taken for works sold.Registration deadline, April 30. Contact Judy on (01903) 872406, stutchbury.r@btinternet.com

Professor Anthony Slinn

2009-03-22T09:22:00.003Z

What a great talk! Check out his website it's got loads of interesting stuff.

Walter Gardiner Photographic Exhibition

2009-02-24T10:32:00.002Z

Hi, I went yesterday to see the exhibition at Worthing library, it's well worth a visit. I really enjoyed the slideshow they had running downstairs.

Stained Glass Demonstration

2009-02-15T13:20:00.005Z

Sue is available for workshops (max 4 people at a time)
Also look out for her at this years Adur Festival 30th May till mid June

2009-02-05T09:00:00.001Z

the photos of the christmas party are great I'm sad to have missed the fun.
museum exhibition is well worth a visit I hope you lot out there get time to view .

Journeys of the imagination comments

2009-02-01T20:16:00.006Z

Newnum Art

2009-02-01T20:06:00.002Z

Newnum Art in Worthing have created an online shop with the added benefit that local customers who collect their orders can avoid postage and packing costs. Their website is www.easipaint.com ,they are also interested in feedback from local artists.

todays meeting

2009-01-10T19:06:00.002Z

Good to see so many people at todays meeting! If you would like to find out more about Jonathan Gilhooly who gave the talk on the St Ives group, his website is on the links at the side.

Wow!

2009-01-06T10:53:00.002Z

I have just been to see this exhibition and it is stunning! Look out for work by WSAS members Rosemary Mackew and Valerie Shepherd. Next time your in town pop in its well worth a visit.

Life Drawing Course

2008-12-18T13:37:00.002Z

WSAS Xmas Meeting

2008-12-14T21:04:00.007Z

I really enjoyed this years social, I am so glad that I joined and met all you lovely people x

Don't Forget

2008-12-08T09:51:00.003Z

Don't forget to collect your work from the museum this Wednesday between 10 and 1 pm. Also this Saturday is our annual xmas meeting in which we hope to include lots of entertainment and frivolities. Bring some money for the raffle its a Body Shop hamper with lots of goodies to pamper yourself.

yey welcome Una

2008-11-30T11:09:00.001Z

yey welcome Una

Today

2008-11-29T13:50:00.005Z

Come say Hi to us down the subway by blockbusters, its out of the rain and there is food music and hopefully a party atmosphere and of cause stunning artwork!

Christmas open houses

2008-11-29T13:38:00.004Z

Come and support Una, Denise, Clare, Wendy, Gillian and Val in this open house exhibition. I'm sure they'll have cake if Gillian has anything to do with it.

Demonstration Day

2008-11-23T10:09:00.012Z

I really enjoyed being part of the demonstration day at the museum yesterday. It wasn't half as scary as I thought and what a stroke of luck it coincided with Paul Cox's private view (lovely wine!). Hopefully some of the people we spoke to will join us at our meetings.

Yay!

2008-11-21T20:56:00.000Z

Welcome Audree!

Senegal by Audree Lee

2008-11-20T09:09:00.002Z

SENEGAL

Imagine me, a staid and respectable English grandmother, trudging through the sand of a desert island, batting away mosquitos and carrying my precious art materials in a brown-paper carrier bag. African women, cooking or washing in the courtyards of mud huts, wave a cheerful hello as our group passes. We stop in front of a two-roomed house made of concrete. Only the relatively wealthy live in concrete here.

"Nangadeff!"

"Assalam alicum"

"Malicum assalam"

With these traditional Wolof greetings I shake the hand of Papa Ndiaye, the Island Chief, whose portrait I am about to paint in pastels. Little black children have appeared from nowhere. Now they cluster round, dotting the sand with colour and chattering excitedly. Wives in splendid traditional costume stand by in numerical order, surveying the scene with a mixture of dignity and amusement. From the Chief's shady home is carried, of all things, a fifties armchair (the sort sold for ten pounds in the Walworth Road) and enthroned thereon he composes his inscrutable leathery features for my attention. All is wonder, suppressed giggles, and hushed expectancy. I pick up a crayon, move into a zone where only one thing exists, and begin.

This was the supreme experience of my latest adventure, a trip to St Louis in Senegal, West Africa. Last year I completed the three years of a degree in Related Arts at Chichester Institute (who said life begins at forty? It's even better twenty years further on) and when a graduate installation artist and colleague of mine, Lindsey Green, invited me to join a group of artists from this country taking part in an exchange scheme, I jumped at the chance. Life was handing me the opportunity to travel I had always wanted, like a gift on a plate. Lindsey, myself, and Marguerite Gimlinge (a landscape artist from Littlehampton) were joined in Paris by an extraordinary couple, Diane and Heiner Theissen.

Diane, spiritually a child of the sixties, into art dredged up from the unconscious and the deeper meanings of all things, is a delightful fiftyish bubble of fun and an entrepreneur. She initiated the scheme to get artists from this country to exchange ideas and opportunities with artists in Senegal; a mix of altruism and self-interest, since she believes there are more opportunities for artists to sell work in Senegal than over here. She has completed a residency at the St Louis Museum and has established strong links there. Lindsey had agreed to take over the scheme, and took out with her a list of English artists who are interested in the idea. Heiner, Diane's husband, is a retired university lecturer who is seeking funding for an innovative water conservation project and ideas for using solar-powered energy. Three young graduate civil engineers, employed to assist him, accompanied the group. We met the final member of our party, Robbie Brown, a young New Zealander, in St Louis. He was coming to the end of a three- month residency on the desert island during which his task had been to assess the needs of the natives, and to weave this into his university dissertation. He had earned much admiration for his mastery of the Wolof language, the African tongue spoken by the natives, who did not all speak the more universal French. He told me he had learned the language chiefly from a young girl on the island, into whose family he was welcomed for the course of his stay, and who (together with every other eligible female) had made no secret of her willingness to become his wife!

The island (more accurately an asthmus) of Bopp Thior at the mouth of the Senegal River is twenty minutes away from St Louis by the only means of transport, the native pirogue. On a calm day it is heaven to be wafted there by a canvas sail and a handsome Arab sailor. In more choppy seas the sudden cut-out of the engine, necessitating a petrol refill from a plastic container, can cause momentary alarm and a thorough soaking. There is no landing jetty and its few visitors (it is not a tourist venue) are obliged to wade ashore, shoes in hand. The rewards are immense: a three mile circumference of idyllic sandy beaches, shady palm trees, picturesque scenes of African village life and an ambience of peace that is palpable. In the Senegal winter temperatures settle comfortably around the mid-seventies, and there is nearly always a cool breeze off the Sahara. Nature appears to be entirely benign, and it is an effort to bear in mind that crocodiles wallow only twenty miles down river, that the enormous burrow I saw in a sandy hillock must have been made by something considerably larger than the average cat, or that the prickly pear you would love to eat would certainly impale you with many thorns.

Since the recent construction of a dam, the Senegal River has become increasingly saline. The natives have to pay for drinking water (and many other necessary commodities) which they transport by pirogue from St Louis. The water on the island is brackish and salt, hardly fit even to water the few miserable vegetables that are grown. Heiner and Diane are the only Europeans privileged to own a small plot of land there. They hope to build a dwelling, so their interest in water and energy is mutually advantageous to themselves and the natives. Heiner has to rely on native labour, and is engaged in establishing a relationship of co-operation and respect with Papa Ndiaye It was to help cement this that he asked me to do the portraits. I was only too happy! What an exotic and unforgettable experience!

When the portrait was finished I visited the market in St Louis in search of a frame. Guided by Iba, a St Louis artist and school-teacher, I wove through its kaleidoscope of sights, sounds and smells until we came across a biblical scene: a carpenter wrinkled with sun and age, using with tremendous skill tools that had hardly changed in a thousand years. A wiry child of about ten (probably a grandson) fetched and carried for him, a very old man (probably his father) feebly swept up sawdust in between bouts of Islamic prayer. The frame was made on the spot for four English pounds. During this procedure a command was rattled out in Wolof, and from nowhere two women appeared bearing an enormous portrait, painted in oils and in photographic style, by Iba. It was of the carpenter, who turned out to be Iba's uncle. After being duly admired, it was rushed back to its place in the carpenter's house, and I was left with the slightly uncomfortable feeling that my portrait had been upstaged! There was no upstaging, however, when we presented it to Papa Ndiaye on the island.

The presentation, without any planning, turned into an official occasion. Islanders turned up from everywhere, speeches were made, cameras handed round and photographs taken this way and that. Papa Ndiaye was transparent in his delight. I heard from Heiner later that the portrait was an object of wonder for miles around. The chief's many relatives in Mauritania had all made a special visit to see it and had wanted to take it back with them! It was suggested that I do more portraits, perhaps the whole island, but eventually I did only one more, that of Ndete, the first and most important wife of the Island chief. When I ordered the frame for this second portrait (from the same framer) it turned out to be, due to my imprecise instructions, six inches too big. What should I do? I had eschewed the suggestion of bringing the portraits back to England and sending out photocopies. I wanted to give the originals. I decided to make a copy freehand on a larger sheet of pastel paper, and frame that. This has left me with the uneasy feeling that I somehow cheated Ndete. The real Ndete was brought back to England, only her copy hangs on her wall. The reception of this portrait, however, was even more gratifying than the first. We arrived on the island and placed it in the hands of Papa Ndiaye. I heard him breathe "Ndete!" He held it at arm's length and stared raptly for several minutes. I felt apprehensive. I could deduce nothing from his inscrutable features. Then Heiner nudged me. "Look!" he whispered. "There are tears in his eyes". Sure enough, two unmistakable tears were coursing down those leathery cheeks.

People have sometimes criticized me for giving my work away, but I would rather have given those portraits as a gift than have them hanging in any art gallery in the world. Those tears were my reward, a moment of true felicity.

Artists who have to earn their living at their work cannot afford this kind of indulgence, of course. There are no job enterprise schemes or free handouts for anyone, let alone artists, in Senegal. People struggle to make a living from a land that is little more than desert, where there are perpetual cuts in the water and electricity supplies. Everywhere there are people selling whatever they can, a few straggly vegetables, a basket of fish, a roll of batik-dyed cloth, but many have to resort to begging. I was privileged to be able to help a little, but I have come home, like so many others, haunted by the memory of those to whom I did not give; the man without legs in a wheelchair, the old woman jabbering away at us at the top of her voice. Artists utilise anything they can find for their work, any bit of scruffy paper or cardboard, anything that will create colour or line. Time after time we were shown drawings of infinite imagination and, often, great skill, executed on materials that would have been thrown away in this country. It made me question my own values. In my diary, I wrote

My art is like a golden temple

In a land of hunger

It is made of the best paper

And the most expensive paint

Is it a precious offering

Or a blasphemy?

During this time, as well, I began to feel that there was an affinity between what we might call a 'good deed' and a work of art. We had met Cheikh Beye, an aspiring artist who lived in the fishing village, the most impoverished part of St Louis. He had such a sensitive, sad, face that I asked if I could do his portrait. In broken French he explained that the sadness of his expression was because his five year-old son was in St Louis hospital. He placed his fist on his heart and muttered "tristesse". A few days later we heard that the child, who had apparently had some sort of stroke, had been sent home on a drip. The doctors said he should be sent to Dakar hospital, and that they could do no more for him. We really wanted to help this little family. Should we club together and send parent and child off to Dakar Hospital? A long discussion between all of us and Cheikh Beye produced the decision that the child was better off at home, surrounded by a loving family, rather than alone, facing uncertain treatment in the frightening strangeness of Dakar. He had, indeed, begun to improve since leaving St Louis hospital. We were delighted to be able to give Cheikh Beye some money for medicine to help his son, and some art materials. The act of giving these was a moment I shall treasure. His face shone with gratitude, and he kissed us tenderly all round, us European ladies so different from himself. I felt the moment reverberated with the kind of truth that artists try to convey through conceptual art. Again, I wrote in my diary

A whole week's pension thrust into a tramp's tin

Conjures shape and form and colour

Casts a Rembrandt glow upon the pavement

Vibrates his cardboard box with revolution

Of a split cow in formaldehyde,

And hones the spirit, as does my artist effort,

On the hurting edge of beauty

Our trip was a living illustration of how much more blessed it is to give than to receive. Marguerite, a grandmother like myself, had already explored the Gambia and knew how useful it was to travel with a collection of things to give away, pens and notebooks for the children, clothing and toiletries for the women; a plastic handbag from Oxfam, given to Ndete, produced a volley of requests for more! Suddenly all our belongings assumed a new value. The ragged children begging in the streets were overjoyed at our cast-off T-shirts. It was a pleasure, too, to help Marguerite collect all our edible rubbish and feed the half-starved goats that roam the sandy streets.

Lindsey's heart was captivated by the children. She has a gift for communicating with them without words. In particular, she would like to go back and do something for the tale-boys, and is hoping to find a way of raising funds to do this.

There are no orphanages in Senegal, and when parents die or can't afford to feed their children, they are sometimes sold to a Malibou. A Malibou is a religious man who will treat his group of boys as kindly as he sees fit. They are often beaten if they don't bring back the required amount of money at the end of the day's begging. A tale-boy will be 'adopted' by an African family, who will try to help him with gifts of food or clothing. We opened the door of our rented house in St Louis one day to find a tale-boy in a dead sleep on our doorstep. He was called Samba, and he told us he had been sold. God knows what that does to a child. I only saw him cry once, when we gave him a white, soft, new night-shirt. But the children of the families we were privileged to visit in St Louis, even those of the poorest fishermen, were invariably well-fed, secure and well behaved, helping responsibly with the domestic duties of the women. It was rare to hear a child cry, or an adult raise their voice.

We were in St Louis during Korite, the festival marking the end of Ramadan, and this also coincided with the finish of the Paris-Dakar motor rally. There was an influx of visitors, strangers from Dakar, and Diane remarked that there was an uncharacteristic frisson of something like danger in the air. There was much noise at night from motorbikes, revellers, and the local Casino. All this in competition with the voice that echoed from the street all night chanting the Koran, and the wailing from the Mosque. Tim, one of our young men, slipped out at eleven o'clock at night for a smoke, and was robbed at knife-point by six men. They threw back to him his passport and his house-keys. We watched Tim for signs of post-traumatic stress syndrome in vain; he remained apparently unfazed by the event, which he said happened too quickly to frighten him. At the local police station, where a prisoner could be seen languishing behind bars like a villain in a gaol in a wild-west movie, all was apology and concern. We were given our own private plain-clothes guard, and after a few nights of checking the locks we began to feel quite safe again. Everyone who heard about this incident, black and white alike, avowed that it could not have been carried out by people from St Louis, where such crimes were unheard of. Dakar is a different kettle of fish!

Islam has become the majority religion (often grafted on to old Wolof beliefs and superstitions) and religious practice is woven into the fabric of daily life. When we visited the home of Babaca, an artist and head of a distinguished and well-to-do family, we discovered that his symbolic paintings all held deeply spiritual meanings, all reverent towards the Koran and Islam. Twice during our visit he stopped to ritually wash and pray. Sitting on hearthrugs on the floor of his concrete studio, we were invited to share a communal dish of Tiboudienne (the delicious national meal of highly spiced fish and vegetables) while his children and grandchildren played happily in the sandy courtyard outside. The wife, or wives, who served this meal smiled shyly but were not expected to eat it with us. A family friend turned up, and a son who was a civil engineer working in Dakar, with his exotic and beautiful wife and baby. Once again the litany of traditional and gracious Wolof greetings were exchanged. Conversation would have been impossible without Diane's superior command of French, although we all gamely did our best. We were served bissa, one of the many Senegalese fruit juices, and cups of overpoweringly strong and sweet herbal tea. Coffee was served in sophisticated style, turkish, strong and in tiny cups. These people were rich in comparison with most St Louis families; the daughter-in-law in splendid traditional dress glittered with gold, and her breast-fed little boy sported incongruous European trainers with flashing lights in the heels!

An artist in less happy circumstances was Keita Leblanc, a gifted sculptor. He had a monumental work on permanent view outside St Louis Museum. This well-known Senegalese artist, in comparison to us, lives in dire poverty. One of his major works has been sold by the Senegalese government to the French, and not a penny of that money has been given to him. He is carrying out a one-man campaign for justice.

What can this exchange scheme do for artists so far away in a culture so different from our own? Hopefully there will be a mutual sharing of ideas, perhaps of resources, and friendship. Some of us might even overcome the difficulties of holding shared exhibitions. Time alone will reveal the shape of the future.

The airfare to Senegal varies between about £400 and £800. But once there living is very cheap. Bed and breakfast can be had in a hotel for £6 a night, a delicious and nourishing meal in a local café costs no more than £2.50, and the ubiquitous yellow taxis will take you anywhere in St Louis for 25p! Even the taxi from Dakar to St Louis, a fantastic five -hour trip that nobody should miss, cost only £25 between us.

I have abandoned my anti-malarial medication because of side effects. Now I have a very English streaming cold after three weeks of a congested chest and cough, and I'm off to hospital for a malaria test (Byron died of Malaria, but he could write poetry). I am grateful to be able to walk around without hugging all my wealth to my body, to be free from the threat of mosquitos and unboiled water. I am glad not to have to face Dakar airport again, with its confusion of chattering voices and its blocked toilets. But I shall miss the smiling African officials there, who joked about us looking for husbands, the generous and creative spirit of friendship we found in every African we met, and the reliable, relaxing, African sun. In a continent where so many are starving, I would not reiterate that sop to the tourist conscience, the clichéd idea that happiness is entirely independent of material possessions. Enough to eat is vital, but I have seen for myself that the human spirit can exist in what we would call poverty in a state of amazing grace. Thank you, Senegal.

Demonstration Day

2008-11-19T15:10:00.002Z

Don't forget our demonstration day is this Saturday at the museum.

Exhibition sales

2008-11-02T13:18:00.001Z

Good to see some red dots at our exhibition!

Piers Ottey

2008-10-13T11:41:00.001+01:00

I really enjoyed the talk that Piers gave us and the opportunity to hear him talk about his work. I have put a link for you to his website which has archives of his past work as well as his new exhibition.

WSAS 2008 exhibition - Journeys of the imagination

2008-09-25T16:37:00.006+01:00

The pieces of work that have been selected for this exhibition are:

Baker Pamela-------Black Hole (Sculptures)
Camouflage
Guardian 2

Beeching Ruth------Walkabout

Ball Julia------------Odyssey
Pilgrimage to Cezanne

Barker Cynthia-----Flaming Forest
Rocky Business

Burgess Marina-----Untitled 1
Untitled 2

Carroll Steve-------Emmaus

Cairns Margaret----Sometime

Chandler-Honnor
Christine-------Watersplash on the edge of adventure

Cooper Sally--------Beach Huts
Construction
Abstract

Collins Denise-------Coral

Dengizer Aylin------Distance
The Italian Bit
Beauty Within

Dowers Jo----------Paxos no.1
Paxos no.2

Elliot Ley-----------Bird of Prey 1
Bird of Prey 2

Ericson Adrian------Aura of Glyndebourne

Green Wendy-------Funky Flora
Malta Sunset

Griffiths Andrew----Queue
Vapour Trail

Ford Clare----------Lively Wires
Canoodling Couple

Hanley Jane--------Through the Porthole
Marshlands

Harris Gillian-------Girl in the Stone
Sweet Medusa
Three Faces of Man

Valerie Hedger-----Indian Blue Peacock

Hills Gillian---------The Owl and the Pussycat
Somewhere in Scotland
One Thousand and One Nights

Hunter Roger------Charted Waters

Kennedy Keith-----Tali

Kent Sandra--------Riding the Seahorses
Burning of Africa

Knight Pat----------Evoking Littlecote
Littlecote 2

Lee Audrey---------Dinner Ladies
Remembered

Long Monica--------Beyond the Fairway
The Lanterned Wood
The Coming

Long Jacqueline-----Whetting the Appetite

Mackew Rose-------Indian Dreams
Butterfly Dreams

Mayo Jill------------Reef

Message Annette----Flower Fantasy 2
Submerged

Parker Lucy---------Tunnel at the End of the Light
The Gardens Venice

Pearce Bill-----------A Pipe Dream
En rout

Pople David----------Study in Green

Sharp Jeff-----------Florence Street Scene

Shepherd Valerie----Mists of Time
Journeys End
The Owl and the Pussycat
Journey to the Bottom of the Sea
Amazing Sphere

Smith Pauline--------Desiree
Tali

Quantrill Wendy-----Imagination Unfolding

Williment Rosie------The Morning After- Dream On

Verrall Sally---------Jungle Queens

Young Ted-----------Tangled Imagination

Volunteers needed

2008-09-22T21:45:00.002+01:00

Hi
If any of you fancy getting your hands dirty, the skeleton cru are repainting the subway by Blockbusters in Worthing. The designs have already been finalised but there is loads of hard graft to be done getting them all painted in the next two weeks.Come down and egg us on or come ready to roll your sleeves up.Lionel is there every day 9 till 6.The Skeleton Cru has loads of other plans for worthing in the future.Check out there Website www.skeletoncru.co.uk

For Sale

2008-09-22T16:33:00.002+01:00

For sale. 24 issues of Modern Painters magazines 2006-2008. Normally £5.99 each £30 ono the lot. Pat Knight 01903 (Lancing)754167

Elephant sculptures

2008-09-21T18:36:00.004+01:00

Went over to the Brighton Art Fair Saturday with a supposedly `free`ticket from the organisers only to find it was a 2 for l and I needed someone else to effectively share the cost - I was a bit miffed to have gone all the way over there only to be refused entry - I didn`t fancy having to accost someone on their way in so gave up. I was only going in to support some of my ex college friends. I know it was only £5 it was just the fact it was not as free as I thought, added to which the bus costs £6.50. All was not lost though, I went into the Royal Pavilion grounds on the way to the Museum and saw a herd of life size `green` family elephants displayed on the lawns, if you get the chance to go over there see them soon, there is a collection box attached to some of the elephants to support real ones in the wild. Very worth seeing. Also Chinese Whispers is on at the Museum.
Pat Knight

Pier Day at the Lido

2008-09-19T13:13:00.005+01:00

Gutted

2008-05-14T10:15:00.002+01:00

All three of my entries for the Worthing Open were rejected.
Gutted!
But well done to those accepted x
I will still go and drink their wine on Friday.

Live Music Tonight

2008-05-10T12:35:00.002+01:00

Come and see the madness that is The Golgi Apparatus Live tonight at the Brunswick in Worthing. (I think it is free!)

Life Model

2008-05-10T12:29:00.002+01:00

Looking forward to todays meeting, a smidgen nervous though it seems a long time since I last did life drawing. I think I will take paints and try to link it to journeys of the imagination.I hope they have nice biscuits.

2008-04-29T10:45:00.001+01:00

How to add a post

2008-04-27T11:46:00.001+01:00

If you would like to be able to contribute to this blog just email me and I will invite you to become an author marinaburgess@hotmail.co.uk

Reminder

2008-04-27T11:29:00.003+01:00

Just a reminder that the deadline for entries to this years open at worthing museum is this Friday 2nd May.

A sense of Mongolia

2008-04-18T23:16:00.002+01:00

A sense of Mongolia Sat 19th April.
Prospekt, Zanabazar’s Ger and Panoramic Journeys present an experiential evening devoted to the 5 senses in Mongolian life- feel the cashmere, hear Hoomi throat singing and the Horsehead fiddle, see the paintings, taste the food, smell the Juniper.
Saturday 19th April at Prospekt Gallery 57 a Tarrant St Arundel. £10.00 ( includes food and wine) Doors open 6.30 music and presentations from 7.30
for tickets call 01903 882047

Welcome

2008-04-15T16:33:00.002+01:00

A very warm welcome to our newest contributor Andrew! We eagerly await your profile page and posts.

Becoming a blog author

2008-04-14T10:15:00.002+01:00

Just a reminder, to become an author on this site, so you can write your own posts, advertise upcoming arty things or whatever, email me so I have your email address and I will send you an invitation to join. marinaburgess@hotmail.co.uk

Local Events

2008-04-13T12:45:00.001+01:00

2008-03-27T18:44:00.001Z

Come to this months floating fish for a whale of a time! ha ha . Hope to see you there x

West Sussex Saturday

2008-03-09T14:44:00.003Z

Val Shepherd's presentation yesterday was superb! Would be a nice idea for other members to do similar from time to time, we see so little of each others work. Val made it all very interesting and quite inspirational.

Ley

2008-02-24T22:59:00.005Z

For the lady who was talking to me about photographing dancers and her work, here's a site you might be interested in www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7969402429

2008-02-23T23:04:00.003Z

Just to remind you lovely people that Neferteri arabic dance troupe will be performing this Friday 29th of Feb, at the Floating Fish Caberet for your pleasure. So if you want to laugh at me and others shaking our bits do come along.

2008-02-20T22:11:00.003Z

I am hoping this blog will become a lively and well used site so that members can keep in touch between meetings and advertise their exhibitions, chat or whatever.

To become an author, just email me and I will email you back an invitation. Then you can have your own profile page. You can create your own posts, add videos, pictures, audio clips, reviews or questions. Other people can then comment on your post.

It will be great to get to know other members better and maybe even share arty tips.

2008-02-18T22:35:00.002Z

Is there anybody out there? Do you ever get the feeling your talking to yourself?
I am having a very busy few weeks. I have unexpectedly gained a child (no I'm not pregnant)started a new job and I am moving house in two weeks. I think this is what people mean when they say it never rains but it pours. Oh well I shall have to use my motto "it's not a problem it's a challenge".

Big Draw Exhibition

2008-02-16T08:55:00.003Z

Good morning bloggers. I went with my son to the opening of the Big Draw exhibition last night. It has paintings, drawings and sculpture from the students at St Andrews. It is in the stairway and upstairs foyer at Worthing museum.It is certainly worth checking out if you're passing, the sculptures are particularly interesting.You could also pick up an entry form for the centenary Open exhibition closing date 2nd of May.

Copyright-Free Photo Archive

2008-02-11T11:33:00.000Z

I've just been looking at this website which is good for sourcing images. http://www.gimp-savvy.com/PHOTO-ARCHIVE/index.html

Spray paint art for Beginners Promo

2008-02-09T01:11:00.001Z

How cool is this!

Welcome to the West Sussex Art Society blog

2008-02-08T00:54:00.000Z

Hello and welcome to our new blog. Designed primarily for discussions and networking between our members. We would also be delighted to hear from anyone else (with a polite disposition).