Art in Action

The UKCPS at Art in Action 16-19th July 2015:  10am - 5.30pm

Art in Action is a prestigious visual arts festival held each year at Waterperry Gardens, Oxford OX33 1JZ with 400 artists, craftsmen, performers and musicians.  There are also practical classes, art materials, a market and plenty of food stalls.

For the first time the UKCPS will have a stand in the Materials Marquee next to Jakar.  Please come and support us, we like to meet our members so do introduce yourself and get to know your volunteers.  We will be demonstrating with Caran d'Ache pencils and you will have the opportunity to try some yourself on our have a go table, friends and family welcome.

Demonstrators on our stand:

Suzy Herbert, Robert Strange, Morryce Maddams every day.
Malcolm Cudmore - Thursday and Friday
Judith Selcuk - Saturday and Sunday
and our President Pat Heffer - Friday and Sunday.

Other members and helpers will be stewarding too.  We thank everyone who has volunteered.

If you've never been you will be amazed at the size of the event, one day is hardly sufficient time to see everything it's well worth a visit we look forward to meeting you.

UKCPS Annual Open Exhibition 2015 - Menier Gallery, London

UKCPS Annual Open Exhbition 2015 - Menier Gallery, London
The artists have now been selected, congratulations to you all and commiserations to those who did not get selected. You can see a list of the successful artists at our website.

We hope you will be visiting the exhibition which is open from Wednesday, 6th May to Saturday, 16th May (closed Sundays). Full opening times are on the website.

There will be at least one artist in the gallery every day demonstrating coloured pencil and ready to chat about our favourite medium. Full timetable as listed below:

Wednesday 6th May - Judith Heilbronn-Crown
Thursday 7th May - Morryce Maddams
Friday 8th May - Sue Clinker and Karen Coulson
Saturday 9th May - Debi Hide
Monday 11th May - Malcolm Cudmore
Tuesday 12th May - Malcolm Cudmore
Wednesday 13th May - Morryce Maddams
Thursday 14th May - Suzy Herbert
Friday 15th May - Suzy Herbert
Saturday 16th May - Victoria Parsons

The Private View is on Wednesday 6th May at 6.30pm, if you would like an invitation please email london2015@ukcps.co.uk with your name and address. Please note, all those who entered the competition will automatically be sent an invitation.

Are you able to help??
We are still looking for helpers - can you assist with any of the following:

Stewards - we still have some gaps in our rota, if you can spare a few hours when you come to visit please contact Pat Heffer at president@ukcps.co.uk

Do you have a van (or know of a driver with a van) - we need someone who can transport our card holders and racks from a storage unit near Birmingham to London on Tuesday 5th May. Petrol costs will be reimbursed. Please contact Barbara Murray at chairman@ukcps.co.uk

Do you have any prints or pictures for our Silent Auction? This is a great way of raising funds for the society and we would appreciate any works you can offer. Please contact Pat Heffer at president@ukpcs.co.uk.

Picture Delivery for the UKCPS 13th Exhibition

For your information -

Delivery of pictures to the RBSA gallery must be between 10.30 and 12 noon on Sunday 27th April.  Pictures CANNOT be posted to the gallery.

However, for those people who can not make the journey themselves there is an option to send your work via one of several willing volunteers. Pictures in theory can be posted to the volunteers, so you don't necessarily have to live in the same town.  Please make sure the transport volunteer is ok with accepting posted entries.

If you are sending your work with someone, it is usually expected that your picture is wrapped appropriately. The best protection is 'jiffy bags'. It is also usual to agree some kind of transport charge with the person taking your work to cover petrol costs, etc.

There is a list of the volunteers on the yahoo forum. Please contact one of them if you would like their help in delivering your work.

Please attach a label to your pictures, with your name, the picture name and the selling price.

Collection at the end of the exhibition is very tight. They must be collected between 5.15pm and 6pm on Saturday 10th may.
If you cannot be there during that time, please contact one of the volunteers who can collect for you.
The gallery will make a charge for any work left after the specified time.

Please do not contact the gallery direct.

Please do not rely on the volunteers to contact you regarding transport. It is up to you the artists to organise how your picture gets there....

New Editor over at Talking Point!

Hello all,

I would like to quickly introduce myself as the new Editor :)

I am putting together the next issue of TP. If any of you have anything you would like me to put into TP however small pleases can you let me have it ASAP. Even if it does not go in this issue it will go in further issues as I am stockpiling just incase!

*****MEMBERS GALLERY*******

Please send me your pictures in JPEG format. There is no theme this issue apart from introducing yourself and your art. So send in the image that best represents you and what you like to do. No nudity I am afraid though, even if life drawing. I don't wish to get into trouble by the magazine going on a top shelf ;)

*****CRITIQUE*****

Would anyone like their work critiqued by an established artist? Send in a picture of your work and it's description including what you have used and on what you drew it on. Also what you fought with or was successful on. And importantly about you.

******LETTERS TO BARB*****

Send in your letters to the chair please

****** WHATS ON*******

Please let me know what is going on in your area, maybe it's is an exhibition, craft fair, lessons or a group. Reference gathering opportunities are always useful as are competitions etc

If you can think of anything else please do let me know and forgive my spelling and grammatical errors I am typing this on my iPad in bed before I get up for my first art group/lesson this morning and If I don't turn the heating on early they shall all freeze!

Have a good day

Judith

Editor of TP

UKCPS Open Exhibition - Post 2

Pauline Longley, who is organising the volunteers for the exhibition, has asked me to post an urgent request for volunteer demonstrators (2 or 3 required) for  2nd & 3rd November, plus we need help  for the 'Have -a - Go' table on  the exhibition opening day (6th October) and other days.  You don't need a lot of experience for the 'Have-a-Go' -- just a freindly attitude and ready smile to encourage visitors to possibly join the society.  Even a couple of hours as a volunteer will allow others to take a break!

Also - a reminder that the society's AGM takes place at the gallery from 11.30 am on 6th October, and is followed by a buffet lunch to which members are invited.  Please attend the AGM if you can as, amongst other important issues, we need to re-organise the current Executive Committee, and the input of members is important!

Please contact Pauline at: pauline@paulinelongley.co.uk

PS SEE THE PREVIOUS POST (1) FOR THE LIST OF SUCCESSFUL ARTISTS EXHIBITING!!

UKCPS Annual Exhibition 2010 - Thanks to......

Today is the last day of the 9th Annual Exhibition at Stamford and it's customary at this stage to thank everybody who participated.  The photos included in this post are of people who helped with the exhibition.

I can't do better than start in exactly the same way as last year.

Thanks to the artists!

First and foremost, thanks are due of course to everyone who entered a picture for the Exhibition - both UKCPS members and non-members. It goes without saying that there is no annual exhibition without all of you!

Thanks to the UKCPS Exhibition Team

As always Pat Heffer UKCPS Exhibition Director is very committed to making the Annual Exhibition a success and is responsible for the Exhibition as a whole from notifications to members to making sure that all the pictures get back to the right people.   It's a huge job and one which is ably supported by a very large group of members (and some of their "significant others") at various stages!

Pat Heffer, Exhibition Director

A key person this year was Judith Waugh who was the local contact for this exhibition in Stamford.

This year Pat organised the Exhibition and the 'hang' despite the very significant handicap of having recently had an accident which left her with a broken wrist and ribs.  This meant routine communication via keyboard and lifting and holding pictures were not adviseable this year.  However a way round was found!

The happy team of helpers at the exhibition were invaluable in making sure that all the pictures were unwrapped, equipped with mirror plates and hung before the Private View in the evening.

The great unwrapping:  This is what the unwrapping looks like for those who have not seen it before - it makes for quite a pile!  All this will be brought back to Stamford today and matched up with any pictures which remain unsold so that they  can all be returned to their artists.

After the pictures have been unpacked!

Equipped to hang:  After the unpacking comes the check to make sure a mirror plate had been fixed.  As this was a new requirement this year Derek Waugh (Judith's husband), Malcolm Cudmore and Pauline's partner Paul were kept very busy fitting and refitting mirror plates for those that arrived without using a lot of muscle and, in some cases, ingenuity to get every picture ready to hang.

Pauline Longley watching the fixing of the mirror plates

Designing the Exhibition:  Pat used the tried and tested method of grouping the exhibits in loose categories and laying out exhibits on the floor to get a pleasing balance and mix of styles. This year  Pauline Longley and Beverley Courtney kindly moved the pictures around until Pat, severely hampered by her broken wrist and ribs, was satisfied.

Hanging on the floor - BEFORE

The "Hang":  Next comes getting the pictures off the wall and onto the wall.  Two "three man" teams of hangers went to work (apologies as I don't have your names) to get the approved format of pics onto the wall.  As a bit of competition crept in, they made short work of the hanging.  The result was an exhibition hung in good time and a very pleasing display with each picture having the chance to speak for itself alongside other entries.

Hanging on the very same wall AFTER

Part of the UKCPS Annual Exhibition 2010

Once the exhibition is up the online team take over the hang on the website and blog! UKCPS webmaster Liz Ridley worked really fast to produce the online exhibition on the UKCPS website and to get all the pictures up on the website in the correct place against each award.

The picture juggling issue is always a major logistical effort since we never know who's won what until the Private View and it's impossible to create web pages or draft blog posts in advance.  Speaking personally, I'm extremely grateful to Liz for the extra work she did this year getting all the images formatted and sized right for loading onto the Internet on both the website and blog.

It should be noted this is one area where UKCPS is still in advance of most national art societies in terms of letting people see the work exhibited in the show online at the same time as the exhibition is on display.

The Private View in the evening was well organised and well attended - see UKPCS Annual Exhibition 2010: Private View

Thanks to the Demonstrators

After the Hang and the Private View comes the demonstrations by members of UKCPS.  See Demonstrators at the UKCPS Annual Exhibition for names.  Demonstrations were run virtually throughout the exhibition which is a major achievement.  They showed interested members of the public some of the techniques that resulted in such an amazing and diverse range of works had been created.

Day 1: Jo Goudie and Suzie Herbert demonstating, Malcolm Cudmore is behind his easel!

If you fancy demonstrating in November, the UKCPS will be Art Materials Live at the NEC and volunteers are welcome - see TP for details.

The Society extends its grateful thanks to all those member volunteers that helped so cheerfully.

Thanks also to....

The people without whom UKCPS could not have an Annual Exhibition at the Stamford Arts Centre or given awards to the top artwork this year.

• The UKCPS 2010 Sponsors - Caran d'Ache - makers of Pablo, Luminance 6901, Museum and Supracolor pencils - who help UKCPS to exhibit at the Stanford Arts Centre.
• the three jurors who independently reviewed and rated all the entries to the competition. 
• all those sponsoring and providing awards - Caran d'Ache (see Winner of Best in Show 2010 is... ), Derwent, Faber-Castell, Lyra, Staedtler, Ann James Massey SWA, KA, CPSA, UKCPS (Presidents Award), ex Chairman Peter Weatherill UKCPS (Best Landscape) and Harper Collins (Ann Swan Botanical Award) - see 9th Annual Open International Exhibition: Other Prizewinners

Reminder:  Don't forget the UKCPS AGM starts today at 5pm at the Stamford Arts Centre

Stamford Arts Centre

UKCPS Annual Exhibition 2009 - Thanks to......

First and foremost, thanks are due of course to everyone who entered a picture for the competition - both UKCPS members and non-members. It goes without saying that there is no exhibition without all of you!

After the members the next most important person to thank in terms of making the Exhibition happen is Pat Heffer UKCPS, the Exhibition Scretary, who kindly provided me with the notes for the content of this blog post - but not the next few sentences!

Every art society knows that putting on an Annual Exhibition each year is a massive exercise. Planning for each Annual Exhibition starts before the previous one has been taken down. For Pat it starts with first meetings with a gallery, continues through the creation and dissemination of the call for entries, maintenance of lots of administrative records and provision of support to members and non-members who are trying to get their entries right and in on time. Then images and support need to be provided to the three jurors (plus the webmaster and blogmaster!). Plus a team of people need to be recruited and organised who also make very important contributions to making it all happen - as indicated below. Pat is very committed to the exhibition doing well and spends a lot of time each year endeavouring to make sure it is a success.

Of course, as with most official UKCPS activities, nothing happens or moves without the involvement and support of people who volunteer their help in an official capacity, as a member - and even as a spouse or partner of a member!

This year Pat has been ably supported by a number of members and members' partners and below she provides a summary about those who helped. Plus some photos of what's actually involved with getting an exhibition hung and opened which we thought you might like to see.

(left) Ann Massey and Paul Hipkiss organise the hanging of the 8th Annual Exhibition
(right) Ann Massey opens 8th Annual Exhibition

Paul Hipkiss RBSA the Honorary Curator of the RBSA Gallery, opened the gallery up for us a 8.30am and had cups of coffee ready for all the helpers! He provided advice and helped with the hanging in the morning

UKCPS President Ann Massey SWA, KA, CPSA, UKCPS came all the way from Paris and organised the hanging brilliantly with Paul Hipkiss. Ann also opened the exhibition and gave advice to up and coming artists in the afternoon.

Membership Secretary Will Johnson was superb at putting fixings in frames, putting up the alarm system, unwrapping pictures...I could go on forever!

(left) Will Johnson fixing frames for hanging
(right) Dave Richards hanging a picture

Dave Richards as always provided invaluable support for all the exhibition preparation prior to the hang and designed all the labels and the Private view invitations. On Sunday, Dave and his wife Sylvia Richards set off from mid Wales at 6am. Dave is brilliant at hanging exhibitons as we all know from Keswick, and was a fantastic help hanging this exhibition and also helped out all day. Sylvia checked all Dave's labels, sorted all the wrappping, helped with the hanging, put up labels and sold raffle tickets (£136.00 already taken!) - and took a lot of photographs. We could not have managed without these two.

Janie Pirie SBA is a fantastic botanical artist who is exhibiting with UKCPS for the first time. She was brilliant at putting fixings into the backs of frames. Both Janie and her husband John also provided excellent support serving behind the bar.

Rachel Stirling, Malcolm Cudmore and Janie Pirie fix frames for hanging.

Rachel Stirling helped with the exhibition advertising, organisation of the demonstrators, delivery of pictures, the hanging of the exhibition served behind the bar and generally brought a calming influence to the day which was absolutely invaluable! Her son, Daniel Stirling aged 10, also helped all day and was brilliant at packing up vans!

Suzy Herbert UKCPS drove up from Cambridge with her husband Michael. Suzy is a very experienced UKCPS 'exhibition hanger' and worked tirelessly in support of the hanging. She's an amazing lady who is always there when needed and is always able to provide excellent advice.

Lesley Galton left home at 5.30am to get to the gallery by 8.30! She worked hard all day, helped clear up the gallery at the end of the day and was one of the last to leave before driving herself back home. What a star!

Malcolm Cudmore was another first time helper and had never met any of us before but helped all day with the hanging, serving behind the bar and anything else which needed doing.


(Left) Pat and John Heffer - at the Hanging (with John and Janie Pirie)

Last but not least - my husband John Heffer got up at 4am to load up a hired van with 50 pictures, crates of wine and glasses and loads of other bits and bobs needed for the exhibition. He then worked all morning helping to hang the exhibition and was on hand all afternoon to help wherever it was needed. We eventually arrived back home at about 9.00pm having rattled our way home in a very cranky van which then had to be unpacked and returned to its depot.

We did all retire to the restaurant across the road from the gallery for lunch...just to make sure it was OK for the society lunch!

The Private View of the 8th Annual Exhibition

Thanks also to....

• the three jurors who independently reviewed and rated all the entries to the competition.
• Vera Curnow and Bernard Poulin who have donated works to be raffled
  
• the Cumberland Pencil Company (Derwent) the 2009 exhibition sponsors who help UKCPS to exhibit at the RBSA Gallery.
• all those sponsoring the providing awards - Derwent, Faber-Castell, Lyra, Caran d'Ache, Staedtler, Great Art, Legion paper (Stonehenge), Fisher 400; Ann James Massey (Presidents Award) and ex Chairman Peter Weatherill UKCPS (Best Landscape)
• and finally, not forgetting that there would be no exhibition but for the fact that Peter Weatherill UKCPS works miracles getting fantastic sponsorship for the UKCPS exhibition. We would not have been able to use the RBSA without Derwent's sponsorship and the list of awards just get longer every year as Peter persuades yet another manufacturer to come on board!