Lorraine Heaysman
Dorset born Lorraine has an unquenchable thirst for being out in the landscape.
Now living in Worthing West Sussex, is blessed with some glorious beaches and the beautiful South Downs to explore and photograph. Lorraine’s first love is to be out at dawn chasing the mist, these are her favourite conditions to work in and her body of work reflects her passion.
She says her love to be out early is deep rooted from time spent out walking with her grandfather from as young as 2 years old. Lorraine first picked up a camera when she was 15 but had a career in hospitality until moving to Worthing in 1994. Lorraine is an active member of the arts community in Worthing.
Lorraine has work hanging in Worthing hospital and has won awards for her work, the most recent from the South Downs National Park Authority for her image Autumn Gold. Her work has also been published in various magazines.
lorraineheaysmanphotography.co.uk
Carole Lesley
Carol was a textile teacher for over thirty years in North London. On moving to Worthing she had the opportunity to develop new areas of textile art. Carol had always wanted to work with fleece for needle felting and to spread her love of dogs. It has expanded to incorporate sewn textile sculpture, artist's protective wear and now her latest passion, miniature and unique teddy bears and 3D gold-work.
Carol would call herself a 3D artist. Handmade needle felted animals are made in different positions. The models usually have a wire armature to allow you to pose in different positions, such as begging for a treat or tweaking the head to add cuteness. Needle felting is a modern twist on the ancient craft of felt making. It is the process of compressing and matting dry fibres together with a barbed needle to create a dense form and is one of the oldest known fibre crafts.
These are not a toy but a whimsical piece of textile art. These little creatures take many hours to make. They can be large or small and make an unusual present to a loved one or a gift to yourself.
Alix Mercer-Rees
Alix Mercer-Rees is a ceramic artist living and working in Worthing. Alix studied art at both Brighton University and Worthing Metro, along with other relevant short courses and workshops. Her main passion is handbuilt sculptural ceramics, with expressive, gestural mark making and textures, decorating with layers of oxides and slips to create weathered and worn surfaces.
Having been a passionate runner and walker over the South Downs national park for 30 years, she is heavily inspired by nature and the surrounding landscape and has spent many years working with natural fibres and plant dyes, with pattern and print playing a large part in her work. During this time Alix has taken part in various artists open houses, group exhibitions and opens her own venue once a year.
Shan Orr-Ewing
Shân went to art school in the late 60’s having considered a career in art and design, she was diverted by marriage to working in the hospitality industry. There then followed 20 years working in mental health. However her love of all arts and craft lead her to taking an evening class in stained glass in the late 90’s, she admits that precision was not a strong point and changed to working in copper foil, producing pieces for family and friends.
Realising that her love of colour and inability to conform to the restrictions of accuracy required when working with lead, she undertook courses in fused glass with Siobhan at the Forge Gallery.
6 years ago Shân moved house and was able to convert her garage to a studio and bought a kiln. She says she still feels the buzz from opening the kiln, not always knowing exactly what she will find! The magic of melting glass and then turning the piece into a bowl when slumped in a mold is still a scientific mystery! She continues to push her knowledge experimenting with reactive glass and is particularly interested in pieces that are tactile as well as colourful following a request from her late mother who had lost her sight to make something she could feel. She says she is always learning and experimenting and welcomes any questions about her processes and comments and advice from fellow fusers!
Gemma Mawbey
Gemma's work is all about bringing a little piece of natures magic into your everyday space.
She uses different types of clay and lino cutting techniques to create art inspired by her surroundings of the South Downs to the seaside.
Rachael Mahaki-Hashtari
Rachael has been making jewellery since taking a course in 2019 at Northbrook college.
She enjoyed it so much that she has continued learning and developing her skills and techniques ever since! Rachael lives locally on the South Coast and takes a lot of inspiration from the surroundings and nature. Her jewellery is made from a variety of materials as she loves to experiment and be creative with different things. She enjoys trying different textures and especially likes the hammered effect on metal as it gives a rustic, simple and classic style to her work.
Rachael is passionate about making beautiful things and hopes that you enjoy wearing her pieces as much as she has enjoyed making them.
