14 October - AGM and Jo Dixon, "Working with mixed media"

We aren't talking ...
... said the laptop to the projector ... And that was that!!

Today we had our AGM and once Guild business was out of the way members were going to be treated to an illustrated talk by Jo Dixon, a local mixed media artist. Sadly the aforementioned paraphernalia of the 21st Century worked but were not communicating with each other so, and I take my hat off to Jo, she proceeded to tell us a little about herself, her artistic journey and where she was going, without them or any other visual aids. Trained in Textiles she took her inspiration from travels to a variety of countries, of which India seemed to have been the biggest inspiration that was still influencing her today. The zinging pinks, oranges, yellows and other bright colours had left a lasting impression, and we later saw that they were still present in her current work based on studies of allotments. Not may people are able to see heat in an English spring or summer setting and then translate this into vibrant images. Morocco was another source for shapes and colour, as it had been for Paul Klee.

"Valley Path" courtesy of Jo Dixon

We later were able to admire some of her work on a rather small scale on the laptop though this obviously could not do justice to the size of the original, the hot and vibrant colours and the texture. She had already mentioned that she uses a variety of different papers, brown packing paper and tissue paper being her favourites. She layers different papers with smaller shapes and muslin, painting and inking them, and sometimes adding stitches.

"Peacock" courtesy of Jo Dixon

One of Jo's favourite quotes is by Braque: "The most important thing about art is the thing you can't explain!" I was surprised that tonight I had been moved by her words, her descriptions ... the most important thing about art is the imagination!

by Ulrike Hutchins
who has just stepped down as the newsletter editor but now finds herself writing for the blog ;o)

Note: Click on the pictures for a larger view.

*****

Our apologies to Jo and to the members for the technical difficulties last night, we hope that it did not spoil your enjoyment of the evening.

Jo will be running a mixed media day course at Sunningwell School of Arton Thursday, 3rd December. 10.00 - 4.00.
Booking Contact: 01865 730442