Spotlight on studios

Potters and painter share Open Studios space at Hungerford

POTTER Diana Barraclough will be opening the doors of her popular Hungerford studio to the public as part of the Open Studios 2011 scheme in May.

She is sharing her studio with Belinda Gizzi, Rowan Whimster and Susie Whimster, in an inspiring display of ceramics, paintings and monoprints.

The group encourage visitors to actively participate and this year they will be invited to make pebble pots. Ceramic leaves, the fruits of last year's visitor project, will be displayedhanging from the trees of the delightful cottage garden.

Diana Barraclough's tiles, pots, bird baths, totem poles and decorative art forms an eclectic range of hand-built ceramics, reflecting her love of colour and different textures.

Her work is influenced by many elements, although the Cornish coast is a common theme shared by all four participating artists.

Although their individual work is very diverse, this link provides a harmonious thread and binds them together as a group. They all have links with the sea and often travel to Cornwall to draw inspiration from the landscape.

Belinda Gizzi is currently studying for her BA in ceramics at Cardiff university and her stunning contemporary ceramics explore texture to the full. Her recent work is based on form and inclusion, a theme she is concentrating on for her degree final show.

Rowan and Susie Whimster usually work in separate studios at their home in Ramsbury. His pots reflect his background in archaeology and anthropology, with references to the hand-building techniques and restrained decoration of neolithic and prehistoric wares.

He uses oxides and stains for colour, decorates using thumbprints, incises marks with different implements and sometimes applied pieces of clay. Occasionally he pierces the body of the vessel to make a more exciting surface.

Susie Whimster's paintings and monoprints draw on the landscape and are not intended as a literal representation although colour, textures and the quality of lines and marks are all important in the development of her abstract images. Her canvases and hardboard panels are often built up using a variety of media such as tile adhesive, collage, sand and sawdust.

The studio at 25 The Croft, Hungerford, opens its doors for the first day on May 7.

Further details of opening times can be found in the West Berkshire and North Hampshire artists directory or on the website www.open-studios.org.uk