Hay Festival Exhibition at Old Chapel Gallery

Hay Festival Exhibition @ Old Chapel Gallery 2025 Featuring artists/makers Mary Griffin, Jemima Jameson, Karin Celestine, Ricky Lewis, Joey Richardson, Marian Watson, Adrift Pottery, Marian Watson in a variety of media including soft pastel, acrylics, needle felt, metal sculpture, turned and painted wood, silver jewellery, ceramics and more. Opens on Saturday May 17 and runs too the end of June. In the gallery and online. For more information visit www.oldchapelgallery.co.uk

Although Mary Griffin works in all media, because of their immediacy, she finds pastels are ideal. She combines pastels with acrylics, or watercolours to provide interesting surface contrasts and atmospheric effects. These are especially suited to figure and interior compositions which is a recurring theme to her work. Apart from the never-ending challenge of drawing people, Mary finds the whole aspect of body language fascinating. Many of her paintings are a glimpse of a moment in time. Her chief concern is to make a statement about life which most people will relate to from their own experience, but everyone's interpretation will be different. Narratives are left to be interpreted by the viewer.

Jemima Jameson works mainly in acrylics, preferring to paint onto wooden panels, bowls and furniture. Her desire to paint and draw has been part of her whole life and is quite simply a celebration of the natural world that she is compelled to describe. Her wooden boxes and cabinets often serve as treasure chests for cherished keepsakes.

Karen has worked with clay full time since 2009. Clay, especially red earthenware is her passion, making a modern version of traditional slipware. Each piece is individually made, usually hand built. Creamy slip (liquid clay) is brushed or poured on and the drawing is made directly on the slip revealing the red clay body- sgraffito. Using a limited palette of mainly raw iron, cobalt cobalt and copper oxide to add colour and depth to the work. Karen makes pieces to be used daily to eat and drink from.
Taking inspiration directly from nature and the stunning wild landscape and coast of Pembrokeshire where she has made her home for the past 20 years. 

Karin Celestine lives in a small house in Monmouth Wales. In her garden is a shed and in the shed is another world. The world of Celestine and the Hare. It is a place where kindness, mischief and beauty help people smile. "I am an artist and author, who creates needle felted animals of charm and character, including the stars of my own delightful stop-motion animations and my series of children and adult picture books published by Graffeg. My joy in the natural world is also reflected in the accessories I make for my sculptures. I gather materials from my walks in nature here in Wales and use them along with clay and copper to create baskets, hats, mugs and boats. Seasonal joyful pieces"