There is a timeless quality to the Clevedon Craft Centre, where every studio corner feels like a well kept secret. This spring and summer, Studio 3 invites you to explore a curated selection of artists. These aren’t merely decorative works, but storied objects that capture the essence of their makers’ journeys.

From April through July, the gallery will transform into a living tapestry of the British landscape. You’ll see it in the way Rachael Cawley captures the ‘multiplicity of layers’ in the soil beneath our feet, and in how Sally Gardiner meticulously sculpts the ‘personality’ of the West Country hare into stoneware clay.

The season is a celebration of different ‘eyes.’ We have Simon Williams, who looks through the lenses of 100 year old cameras to find the honest beauty in imperfection, and Jo Whiteland, who brings the vibrant, wax resist traditions of Malaysian batik to the birds and flora of the English coast.

Whether it’s the spontaneous, playful collages of Anna Young, the atmospheric Mendip moods captured by Tina Dodds, the memory infused landscapes of Anna Warsop, or the sun drenched, engineered glass of Glenn Bowker, there is a common thread here: a deep, abiding love for the process of making.

RACHAEL CAWLEY M.A. ARTIST EXHIBITING FROM 4th APRIL to 2nd MAY

The Art Of Seeing.

For nearly forty years, the daily trek to the city consumed Rachael’s life. Beyond ferrying her son to a whirlwind of sports and social engagements, her days were a blur of lecture preparation and sleep. Local community? A distant concept.

A New Commute

Early retirement, the demands of caring for a relative with dementia, the joyful addition of a dog, and the isolating grip of COVID-19 reshaped Rachael’s world. Walking became her new commute, a journey into the heart of her surroundings. No longer a fleeting glimpse through a windscreen, but an immersive experience: the soaring buzzards, the darting rabbits, the elusive otters and foxes. She witnessed the shifting hues of the seasons, the meandering paths, the languid rivers, the dramatic skies, and the endless tapestry of fields. And, crucially, she had time to truly see and think.

Breaking the Academic Mould

After studying for an M.A. while still teaching, the academic focus instilled in Rachael the prevailing notion that women’s art was inherently domestic, decorative, illustrative, and narrative; a world of pattern and colour, relegated to the lower echelons of academic esteem.

Now, in her sixties, Rachael has shed the weight of those old expectations:

“To me, every picture tells a story. The landscape has a multiplicity of layers, from the people who worked it through history to the scored lines of transportation, the characters involved, and the flora and fauna supported by the richness of our soil and history. I am interested in how colour and form can be used to tell a story and evoke emotions. I combine observation, memory and imagination with a view to transform them into visual narratives.

I achieve this by recording the world around me and taking note of the contextual colours, textures, and patterns that make up my surroundings. By painting layers of pattern, sanding back and repainting, I seek to weave these observations into a tapestry of narratives. Sometimes, the stories are obvious; other times, they are more subtle. Each painting tells a unique story, but they all share a sense of curiosity and playfulness. Hopefully, these are stories that unite us all.”

Nature as the Ultimate Designer

Rachael is exhibiting work from her ‘Fall’ series during April at Studio 3 Gallery

“These paintings started when I emptied my handbag of collected leaves and berries, which I found on my usual dog walk. I dried off the berries and ironed the leaves flat (don’t do that at home) until I could draw them from ‘Life’. Combining painted realism with my love of Victorian wallpaper patterns and broken ancient floor tiles reinforces my belief that nature makes the best patterns, and we do our best to emulate her.”

If you’d like to learn more about Rachael’s art, you can visit her website here. She’s also on Facebook here and on Instagram here. You can contact her here.

ANNA YOUNG MIXED MEDIA ARTIST EXHIBITING FROM 11th APRIL to 9th MAY

The Joy of the Process

Anna Young is a mixed media artist whose work explores colour, texture, and composition through the vibrant world of gel printing and collage. Drawing on a lifelong love of making, she combines hand-printed papers with acrylic, watercolour, and various materials to create playful yet carefully balanced pieces, often juxtaposing botanical forms with geometric shapes.

From the Classroom to the Studio

Although creative from an early age, Anna spent twenty-five years building a career in primary education in Bristol and North Somerset. Creativity remained central to her life during this time, both in the classroom and at home with her three daughters, where making and experimenting with materials were part of everyday life. In 2021, during the second lockdown, Anna discovered gel printing. She was immediately drawn to its spontaneity and immediacy, a discovery that led naturally to collage as a way to transform her growing collection of printed papers into finished artworks.

The Creative Nest

As a largely self-taught artist, Anna embraces experimentation and values the playfulness that comes with working intuitively. Alongside creating original artworks, she produces handmade cards and notebooks for local markets. She also shares her passion through ‘The Creative Nest,’ co-running gel printing workshops in Clevedon to make art accessible to everyone. Her commitment to the next generation continues through her children’s art club, ‘ArtSparks,’ where she encourages young people to explore creativity with the same spirit of curiosity that underpins her own practice.

Finding Calm in Colour

For Anna, making art is a way to slow down and find moments of calm in a busy world. Her work is a celebration of experimentation and the quiet joy of creating. It serves as a reminder that art doesn’t always need a formal academic path; sometimes, it just needs a spirit of play and a love for the medium.

If you’d like to learn more about Anna’s art, she’s on Instagram here. You can contact her here: annayoung606@gmail.com

SIMON WILLIAMS EXHIBITING FROM 1st MAY to 3rd JULY

The Soul in the Lens: The Art of Simon Williams

What began as a simple experiment, a curious question of whether a century old camera could still capture light, has evolved into a deep seated passion. For Simon Williams, photography isn’t about documenting a literal reality; it is about capturing the sense of a subject or a place.

By immersing himself in the techniques and aesthetics of early pioneers, Simon has sharpened his ‘eye.’ Each antique camera he restores, every unique film format he explores, and every historical printing method he masters acts as a new lens through which to view the world. He looks for the specific character that only a particular piece of history can exploit, finding a unique perspective in every antique tool.

The Beauty of Imperfection

Simon firmly believes that life, even at its best, isn’t perfect. To him, photographs manipulated to look flawless feel inherently dishonest. Instead, he embraces the ‘honest’ flaws of his medium. He intentionally preserves the soft aberrations of imperfect, aged glass lenses, the ethereal light leaks escaping through worn leather bellows, and the tactile marks left behind by the hand made chemical process. These elements are not mistakes; they are the soul of the image and the source of his greatest creative pleasure.

The Tools of the Craft

Simon’s toolkit is a living museum, where the images are captured on cameras at least a century old. His oldest piece of equipment dates back 146 years, serving as a direct bridge to the Victorian era.

His process is as much chemistry as it is art. Those striking sepia-toned prints begin as traditional Black & White images, captured using the classic silver process onto vintage paper. Through careful toning, the silver is transformed, yielding the rich, warm browns that give his work its timeless, atmospheric depth.

If you’d like to learn more about Simon’s art, you can visit his website here. He’s also on Facebook here and you can contact him here: oldparson@me.com

ANNA WARSOP ARTIST EXHIBITING FROM 2nd MAY to 30th MAY

Artistic Vision and Inspiration

Anna’s artistic practice is deeply rooted in her fascination with aerial landscapes and maps, which provide her with a unique lens through which to view the world. Her paintings aim to evoke a profound sense of wonder and awe, inviting viewers to experience the world from her distinctive perspective.

Process and Technique

Anna masterfully blends abstraction and realism in her captivating work. She meticulously combines the intricate details found in cartography with the fluid lines, organic patterns, and rich textures inherent in nature. Her creative journey typically begins with a rigorous study of maps, complemented by photographs captured during commercial flights and compelling satellite imagery.

Materials and Texture

Her diverse artistic toolkit includes a rich combination of acrylic paint, collaged handmade papers, photographs, and monoprints. Anna often employs a technique of sanding back the surface of her work and applying multiple layers of glazes, resulting in a depth of texture and a nuanced visual richness that draws the viewer in. This tactile approach adds another dimension to her interpretations of the landscape.

Academic Foundation

Anna’s artistic foundation is robust, having earned a first-class BA (hons) in Fine Art (painting) from UWE. Demonstrating her commitment to continuous artistic development, she returned to UWE in 2008 to complete an MA in multi-disciplinary printmaking.

Exhibitions and Recognition

Her talent has been recognised both nationally and internationally, with her work featured in prestigious exhibitions. These include the renowned Royal Academy Summer Exhibitions, the Mall Gallery Originals Contemporary Printmaking Exhibitions, the RWA Annual Exhibitions, and the Marzia Frozen gallery in Berlin.

Public Collections and Legacy

Anna’s significant contributions to the art world are further evidenced by the inclusion of her work in several esteemed public collections. These include the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, the International Graphic Art Foundation in New York, USA, the Cadeques Contemporary Print Collection in Spain, Bristol City Council, and the Cheltenham and Gloucester Contemporary Print Collection. These acquisitions underscore the lasting impact and value of her artistic vision.

   If you’d like to learn more about Anna’s art, you can visit her website here. Anna is on Facebook and Instagram.

SALLY GARDINER: CERAMICIST EXHIBITING FROM 2nd MAY to 27th JUNE

The Harmony of Farm and Studio

Sally’s creative process is inseparable from her surroundings. Living and working on a farm just outside of Bath, she doesn’t have to look far for inspiration; it is woven into the fabric of her daily life. From the windows of her hillside studio, she observes the shifting characteristics of wild, farm, and domestic animals. This constant proximity allows her to move beyond simple representation, capturing the unique spirit and “personality” of the creatures she encounters daily.

The Symbolism of the Hare

Among the many animals that populate her portfolio, the hare holds a place of particular significance. Once a ubiquitous sight across the downs and fields of the West Country, the hare serves as a powerful motif in Sally’s work. To her, they are more than just wildlife; they are ancient symbols of femininity and longevity. By focusing on these fleet-footed creatures, she honors a disappearing feature of the British countryside, bringing their folkloric essence into a tangible, modern form.

Earth as Medium and Muse

The connection to the land is both literal and metaphorical. Sally works exclusively with stoneware clay, a material chosen specifically to mirror the rugged, enduring nature of the English landscape. She hand-forms each piece, meticulously sculpting textures that evoke the region’s quintessential rolling hills. This hand built approach ensures that no two pieces are identical, reflecting the earth’s organic irregularities.

A Rigorous Path to Final Form

The journey from raw clay to finished art is one of patience and extreme precision. Drawing on the technical foundations of her BA (Hons) in Three Dimensional Design from Bath Spa University, Sally employs a complex finishing process. After the initial sculpting, the pieces are treated with a delicate application of slips, glazes, and oxides to create depth and colour. To reach their ‘eternalised’ state, the works are fired up to three times, culminating in a final peak temperature of 1260°C. This intense heat vitrifies the stoneware, ensuring the art is as resilient as the hills that inspired it.

Inviting the Outside In

While much of her work is born from solitary observation in the hills, Sally maintains a connection with the wider art community through her studio. She welcomes visitors to experience her workspace and view her latest collections by appointment. For those looking for a personal connection to her style, she also accepts commissions, allowing collectors to collaborate on bespoke stoneware pieces that capture a specific animal or landscape.

If you’d like to learn more about Sally’s art, you can visit her website here. She’s also on Facebook here and on Instagram here. You can contact her here.

JO WHITELAND: BATIK ARTIST EXHIBITING FROM 4th MAY to 6th JUNE

The Origins of a Batik Artist

The artistic journey of Jo Whiteland, a renowned batik artist now based in Bristol, traces back to a pivotal moment of discovery in 1991. While traveling through Kota Baharu, Malaysia, Jo was introduced to the ancient and vibrant tradition of batik. Immersed in the local artistic community, she found herself captivated by the intricate technical demands and the boundless expressive potential of the medium. This encounter sparked a lifelong passion, leading her to return to the UK and settle in Bristol, where she began the dedicated process of refining her unique voice within this traditional craft.

A Legacy of Wildlife and Nature

Jo’s signature style is defined by a skilful and rhythmic repetition of motifs. This deliberate technique breathes a dynamic sense of life into her compositions, providing them with a profound sense of depth and movement. Her work serves as a window into her deep seated love for the natural world, a passion nurtured in her childhood. Influenced by her father, John, an avid birdwatcher and fisherman, Jo developed an early appreciation for the intricate complexity of British flora and fauna. Today, that legacy lives on through her detailed depictions of the wildlife that surrounds her.

The Artistry of Wax and Dye

The creation of each piece is a meticulous labour of love, beginning with a foundation of pure white cotton lawn fabric. To translate her visions onto textile, Jo utilises traditional wax pens and brushes to apply molten hot wax, which acts as a resist against the subsequent layers of vibrant dyes. A defining characteristic of her work is the distinctive ‘crackle’ effect, a classic hallmark of the batik process, which is achieved during the final immersion in the dye bath. This organic texture adds a layer of history and character to every finished work.

From the Countryside to the Coast

Jo’s creative inspiration is drawn directly from the British landscape. Whether she is walking through the countryside or exploring the coastline, she finds beauty in the everyday. Her portfolio is populated by meticulously rendered subjects, from the striking plumage of bullfinches, goldfinches, and starlings to the elusive and symbolic hare. These scenes of the natural world are captured with the precision of a naturalist and the soul of an artist, reflecting the quiet beauty of the English coast and its diverse wildlife.

The Evolution of a Multi-Dimensional Practice

Over the years, Jo has expanded her artistic practice far beyond the confines of the traditional framed canvas. While original batiks remain at the heart of her work, she has successfully transitioned her designs into the world of textiles and interior decor. By applying her batik patterns to handmade lampshades and cushions, she brings the warmth of her art into the domestic space. Furthermore, her reach extends to a wider audience through the production of high quality limited edition prints and greeting cards, ensuring that her intricate designs can be enjoyed in many different forms.

If you’d like to learn more about Jo’s art, you can visit her website here. She’s also on Instagram here. You can contact her here: jowhiteland@hotmail.com

GLENN BOWKER: GLASS ARTIST EXHIBITING FROM 26th JUNE to 22nd AUGUST

The Engineering of Art: The Origins of Glennbo Glass

The transition from a career in automotive engineering, quality, and training to the delicate world of glass artistry might seem glass weekend course. Loath to see a learning opportunity go to waste, Glenn stepped in to fill the empty seat. That single weekend was transformative; the glass bug bit instantly, sparking a creative passion that would define his retirement years.

From Horsepower to High Tide Inspiration

Glenn’s work is a vibrant reflection of his personal joys, heavily influenced by a lifelong love for the British coast, sun-drenched holidays, and the spirit of surfing. His early output, ranging from intricate panels to miniature glass surfboards, captured a playful, coastal aesthetic that resonated immediately with those who saw them. The name of his venture, ‘Glennbo Glass,’ serves as a dual tribute: a nod to his professional nickname, “Glennbo,” and a respectful homage to the iconic 1960s Newquay surfing brand, Bilbo.

Precision, Repair, and Bespoke Commissions

His first major undertaking was born of necessity when an attempted burglary left the 1930s stained-glass panel beside his own front door in pieces. Applying the precision and technical problem-solving skills from his engineering background, Glenn successfully restored the vintage glass to its former glory. This high stakes debut served as a proof of concept, leading to a steady stream of commissions. Today, he is frequently sought out to design and craft bespoke window panels tailored to specific architectural spaces and personal visions.

Expanding the Horizon: The Fusion of Technique

Never one to stand still, Glenn has consistently sought to broaden his technical repertoire. Following his initial foray into stained glass, he immersed himself in the art of glass fusing. The addition of professional kilns to his workshop marked a significant evolution in his practice, allowing him to manipulate glass in entirely new ways. This expansion has enabled a diverse product range that scales from the intimate to the functional, including personalised key rings, festive Christmas decorations, contemporary clocks, and elegant bowls and dishes.

A Coastal Perspective from Burnham-on-Sea

Based in the seaside town of Burnham-on-Sea, Glenn continues to push the boundaries of his medium. His engineering roots remain evident in his commitment to quality and his enthusiasm for a technical challenge. Always looking forward, he treats every new idea as a puzzle to be solved, ensuring that Glennbo Glass remains a dynamic and ever evolving presence in the local art community.

If you’d like to learn more about Glenn’s art, you can find him on Facebook here. You can contact him here: glennbowker@hotmail.co

TINA DODDS: LANDSCAPE ARTIST EXHIBITING FROM 17th JUNE to 15th JULY.

A Lifelong Connection to the Mendip Landscape

The artistic identity of Tina Dodds is deeply rooted in the soil of the Mendip Hills, a landscape that has served as her home and primary muse for nearly thirty years. Born and raised in Somerset, Tina has fostered a profound intimacy with the local terrain, enabling an artistic practice that is as much about emotional resonance as visual representation. Tina  describes herself as  ‘…..a direct painter who likes to respond to a subject in an immediate and expressive manner with the aim of revealing a certain passion or evoking a certain mood.’

The Play of Light: Monochromatic and Print Studies

The atmospheric, often ethereal quality of the Mendips naturally lends itself to monochromatic exploration. To capture the subtle nuances of these hills, Tina frequently turns to charcoal and graphite, mediums that allow for raw, tactile mark making and immediate response. In recent years, this exploration has expanded into printmaking, with a particular focus on monotypes. This medium has proven to be an ideal vehicle for Tina to achieve the ‘changing moods’ of the countryside, translating dramatic contrasts of light and dark into striking, singular impressions.

Vibrant Textures of the Moors and Hills

While her monochromatic work captures the ‘bones’ of the landscape, Tina finds a different kind of liberation in the use of vibrant pastels. This medium offers a directness that matches her spontaneous working style, providing a rich, textural language to describe both the Mendip landscape and the rugged, dramatic expanses of Dartmoor. The immediacy of pastels allows for a bold celebration of colour and atmosphere, bridging the gap between her internal passion for the wild beauty of the Southwest and the physical marks she makes on the page.

The Heart of the Educator

For Tina, teaching is not merely a profession but an intrinsic part of her character. Known among her students for her remarkable enthusiasm and encouragement, she finds immense fulfilment in others’ success. There is a specific joy found in imparting the knowledge she has gathered over decades and watching her students evolve week by week, gaining both technical ability and the confidence to express themselves. Whether through a long-term course or a single day intensive workshop, Tina’s goal remains to leave every participant feeling rejuvenated and inspired.

Codename Octopus: A Collaborative Creative Hub

In a more recent chapter of her career, Tina has become a vital part of Codename Octopus, a collective dedicated to fostering a supportive, collaborative environment for makers at all levels. This initiative provides a structured space where students can explore a diverse range of disciplines, from printmaking and drawing to jewellery and, soon, ceramics.

Beyond simple instruction, Codename Octopus is designed to empower the artist within. Tina and her colleagues encourage students to transition into independent practitioners by providing tangible professional opportunities, such as the chance to sell their work through curated pop-up shows. It is a community built on the belief that art is a journey best shared and enabled.

If you’d like to learn more about Tina’s art, you can visit her website here. She’s also on Instagram here. You can contact her here: tinadodd@gmurtaghadmin.

If you’d like to know more about Studio 3, you can check it out here: http://www.studiothree.art and these are the contact details: Studio 3, Clevedon Craft Centre, Clevedon, BS21 6TD Telephone:  07557331967 E mail: studiothree111@gmail.com They are also on Instagram @studiothree_galler

A quick reminder of the opening times, which it’s worth mentioning are not the same as the Craft Centre: open Monday to Saturday from 10.00. a.m. to 5.00 pm and Sunday from 11.00. a.m. to 4.00. pm