Tidal: new paintings by Anthony Garratt, wood carvings by David West and furniture by Petter Southall

Saturday 26 January to Sunday 10 March 2019

The new exhibition at Sladers Yard brings together three artists whose work responds to tidal water in very different but complementary ways, each one thrilling and utterly original.

Anthony Garratt is an experimental painter of landscape. His paintings of Dartmoor
and the Devon coast in this exhibition show his love of running and tidal water within
the landscape. Since he and his young family moved to Dartmoor, Anthony’s
engagement with this wild landscape and the visible traces of its long history speaks in
these dynamic paintings.

Often working outdoors, he is at the mercy of the elements which are liable to wash
away his paint and radically change his painting, however this is part of the story of the
work for him. As Mary Myers put it in Country Life, ‘Anthony Garratt has taken en plein
air painting to a new extreme. Happiest when the weather is wild, he regards the
unpredictable effects of the elements as central to his work.’ Increasingly he is
exploring the human, both political and emotional, within the landscapes he paints,
alongside the nature of the paint itself. In Dartmoor, as on Snowdon, there is much
evidence of abandoned human efforts and these draw Garratt’s fascination. He is
interested in landscapes that emphasise the vulnerability of man. ‘Perhaps I regard
adversity as a form of beauty. There is beauty in the knowledge that humans are not
all-powerful and in control of the planet. We are at the mercy of it. If my paintings are
able to communicate that beauty, perhaps that is what I am striving for.’

David West’s extraordinary talents both as a wood carver and as a painter seem to
have realised a visionary peacefulness and contemplative quality in his recent work.
Gilded carvings of the moon and of moonlight on the sea were the first signs of his
bringing the mystery and wonder he discovered on the Kumano Kodo pilgrim trail in
Japan in 2008 back to his own surroundings here in Dorset. A fascination with light on
the surface of water in all its many manifestations has followed. His most recent work
explores the shoreline, rock pools and tidal waters of the Dorset coast where the tide
comes in over flat layers of weathered rock. Some gilded, some painted, these almost
abstract rhythmic reliefs are unique and exceptional works of art.

Petter Southall has been making his distinctive furniture at his studio outside Bridport
since 1991. He makes his designs by hand using an innovative combination of boatbuilding
and fine cabinet-making techniques. He started working wood as a teenager
building traditional boats in his native Norway. That knowledge and love of
streamlined curved forms has stayed with him throughout his furniture-making career.
A highly original and confident designer in wood, Petter’s work is stunning to look at
and very pleasing to use. At Sladers Yard we keep a rotating exhibition of samples of
his work, some of which is for sale and some available to commission to your own
specifications.

Sladers Yard Contemporary Art, Furniture & Craft Gallery West Bay Bridport Dorset DT6 4EL
t: 01308 459511 e: gallery@sladersyard.co.uk Open: Mon to Sat 10am – 4.30 pm, Sundays 12 – 4.30 pm
All work can be viewed and bought on www.sladersyard.co.uk

Dorset Rural Music School

The Music of Europe.

A musical tour of the outer continent through the life and work of composers from Spain, Italy, the Balkans, Scandinavia, etc

Eight music appreciation classes led by Dr Richard Hall (DRMS Director)

@ St Swithun’s Church Vestry, North Allington, Bridport.

Wednesday Mornings 10-11.30am 6 February – 3 April (no meeting on 20 February)

Cost: £60 for the whole course (£55 for DRMS friends), £8 per meeting.

For further details or to book a place contact DRMS, The Close, Blandford DT11 7HA, 01258 452511 drmsblandford@gmail.com

St Mary’s Church Beaminster Thursday Lunchtime Concerts.

Time: 12-12.45pm

Date: Every Thursday from 7 February to 11 April

Free Admission, retiring collection.

Bring your sandwiches and enjoy informal concerts in this beautiful church. Tea & coffee available.

Mike Leigh is a giant of British Cinema. His cinematic debut came in 1971 with Bleak Moments and was described by the critic, Roger Ebert as, ‘a masterpiece, plain and simple’. He has never looked back.

In a career spanning nearly 50 years his story-telling on film has captured the detail of ordinary people’s lives.
He says, ‘My films are about humanity, so there’s always love, warmth and humour…. I never made a film that is exclusively bleak’.

A Mike Leigh Film Festival you would expect. A Mike Leigh Film Festival in Bridport, Dorset may seem a little less likely and yet, here it is.

We are thrilled and delighted that Mike has agreed to attend this, our very first festival of his films. He will be here in person for all four days and at the end of each day will take part in a Q & A accompanied by award-winning composer Andrew Dickson, who wrote the score for six of the seven films we have chosen.

‘Working with Andrew Dickson was for me always an endlessly exciting and refreshing experience. His beautiful scores for my films started from his deeply emotional response to the material. Eschewing conventional musical clichés, and through a gloriously idiosyncratic kind of alchemy, he would arrive at a unique and pure sound – rich, evocative, melancholy, witty, tuneful, and always quite unlike any other film music you’ve ever heard.

Savour his imaginative choice of instruments – his delectable harmonica (‘High Hopes’), his sweeping harp (’Naked’), his haunting evocation of children’s voices (‘Vera Drake’), or the wonderfully quirky combo of ’tack’ piano and saxophone he uses to enrich ‘Meantime’. This isn’t not just any old film music, it’s music for the soul’.

The final film of the festival is his latest, the much anticipated and critically acclaimed, Peterloo.

How often do you have the chance to watch seven outstanding films and then meet the writer and director as well as the composer?  This is a wonderful opportunity to do just that and to ask all the questions you’ve ever wanted to ask.  Not to be missed.

Sunday 24 February 2019

17:00 Peterloo (12A) (2018) 154 mins
An epic portrayal of the events surrounding the infamous 1819 Peterloo Massacre, where a peaceful pro-democracy rally at St Peter’s Field in Manchester turned into one of the bloodiest and most notorious episodes in British history. The massacre saw British government forces charge into a crowd of over 60,000 that had gathered to demand political reform and protest against rising levels of poverty. Many protestors were killed and hundreds more injured, sparking a nationwide outcry but also further government suppression. The Peterloo Massacre was a defining moment in British democracy which also played a significant role in the founding of The Guardian newspaper.

The music for this film was composed by Gary Yershon.

Ticket Price: Advance £11.00 / Door £12.00

Tickets available from Bridport Tourist Information Centre, Bridport Town Hall, South Street DT6 3LF. Tel: 01308 424901

www.electricpalace.org.uk

Is there such a Thing as a Perfect Tree?  A Talk by Ray Hawes Head of Forestry for the National Trust

Date: Monday 25 February

Time: 2.30pm

Location: United Church Main  Hall, East St, Bridport

Description: Is there such a Thing as a Perfect Tree?

Talk by Ray Hawes  Head of Forestry for the National Trust Presented by the Golden Cap Association (West Dorset).

 Ray has been working as Head of Forestry for the NT since 1989 and is responsible for about 8 million trees.

Trees and woods have been used for many different purposes for thousands of years and Ray will be talking about how trees have been used and valued through the ages. His talk will feature  illustrations of some of the finest and most interesting ones.

Non-members are most welcome.  Admission £3. Includes tea or coffee and biscuits.

The Golden Cap Association (West Dorset) is a local group of National Trust members and accredited volunteers who support the work of the Nation  Trust throughout West Dorset whilst also taking part in a full and varied programme of social events.

For more details, call 01308 863577.

Heritage Coast Canoe Club

Everest and the Unknown Adventure Talk

Raft – Kayak – Trek – Explore

Date: Tuesday 26 February

Time: 7pm

Venue: Salt House, West Bay, Bridport

Tickets: £4 on the door

Thursday 28th February 

7.00pm – 8.00pm (doors 6.30pm)

The Well Life Lab

A talk by Registered Nutritional Therapist Helen Ross from The Well Life Lab. Phytonutrients (plant nutrients) are responsible for the different colours found in fruit and vegetables. Evidence suggests these colourful compounds are attributed to lowering the risk of many diseases. This talk will look at the benefits of an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant-rich diet, as well as other therapeutic compounds found in foods.

Cost: £5.00 includes healthy nibbles

Tickets available from the LSi Alembic Canteen and Eventbrite or telephone Helen on 07704093016

www.thewelllifelab.com