The nature of my heART by Debra Knight: 11) MIWAS Annual Exhibition

Sunday 22 February 2009

11) MIWAS Annual Exhibition

Tenth Annual Exhibition a huge Success!
Marwell International Wildlife Art Society (MIWAS) celebrated its tenth anniversary in style with the world’s largest exhibition of wildlife. The exhibition itself included over 170 artists and sculptors putting on a dazzling display of more than 650 items of work for sale.
The award winning wildlife documentary maker and television star of BBC Big Cat Diary Simon King officially opened the exhibition on the opening Special Guest evening. The hugely popular celebrity regaled the large audience with his views about conservation and art, staying the entire evening. After opening the exhibition Simon then went on to present the tenth annual exhibition awards to the winning artists and sculptors. Finally to top off a massively successful evening, he not only purchased a painting by Mike Woodford but also agreed to become a Patron of MIWAS.
The following evening BBC South Today broadcast live from the exhibition venue, with popular BBC weather girl ‘Georgie’ introducing the exhibition and reading the weather from the Marwell Hall. The three private view evenings were packed to capacity and sales were brisk.
On the weekend of the show, two large marquees adjacent to the exhibition were filled with over forty artists and sculptors demonstrating their skills live, providing a wonderful visitor experience to the many guests who attended. Everyone has been in agreement at the massive success of this years show.
Pip McGarryChairman, MIWAS.

Marwell International Wildlife Art Society (MIWAS)

MIWAS http://www.miwas.co.uk/

An amateurs perspective of our Marwellous art society:-
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As an amateur artist I feel so humble & so privileged to have been part of this haven of creative friends since our society was formed some ten years ago. Thanks to our art society I have been blessed with so many wonderful friends & happy memories. I am always thrilled & amazed at the talent of the people who are members of our society. You never know what wonderful work you are going to see next.
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I enjoyed art at school but it was not until later in my life that I really got involved with art. A small advert in a local newspaper for a "Brush with the wild" painting course run by Pip McGarry at Marwell zoo in 1997, was to transform my life. My initial memories are of the location, the friendly people & amazing animals, all of which formed the perfect ingredients to ignite my passion for art & wildlife. Pips huge talent & enthusiasm was very evident to everyone who went on these courses & a few months later Pip decided to create Marwell Wildlife Art Society, which without his inspiration & vision would simply not exist.
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The society has a great mix of amateur & professional artists who all learn from each other. We were all like minded in many ways yet also all unique. Everyone is made to feel important & welcome. Even the shyest of people like me were able to find wonderful new friends. There was always a special camaraderie; a willingness to help each other in anyway we could. This is reflected in the number of members we have who once they join always come back again & again. So often we become life long friends.
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We have held regular workshops over the years with professional artists kindly tutoring us, which are always fully booked. They are always a hot bed of creativity, full of fun & laughter. The kind advice we are offered is always very constructive & helped to give you belief in your work. The tricky part is being able to remember all the good advice & decide which techniques are best for you. Thanks to the excellent tuition on offer talented artists were able to grow to their true potential.
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We really do get inspired by everyone involved. Many of those artists who have regularly attended these workshops have now blossomed into very talented artists, to an extent that it is often very difficult to distinguish between the quality of work between an amateur & a professional. To see artists evolve from using small inadequate reference & brushes to sharing trips of a lifetime in Botswana & winning awards, is all part of the magic of MIWAZ. The generosity of the professional artists who kindly share their talents with us amateurs without ever holding anything back is testament to the wonderful spirit of our art society. In our own humble way as amateurs we can also sometimes inspire the professional artists to keep improving their wonderful work.
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We have had some very exciting excursions, some close to home some afar but all providing great memories. Seeing the incredible big cats at Santago Rare Leopard project who had been rescued & cared for in an ordinary unobtrusive back garden near Welwyn near Watford by an incredible gentleman Peter James who is sadly now departed were one of many highlights.
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We have over the years tried to promote the conservation of wildlife by funding a number of projects or providing hands on support. From enrichment projects, such as funding climbing platforms for amur Tigers, to painting enclosure backgrounds such as those for the crocodile newts & the reptile & black rat collection in the Animal Encounter Barn. We have also produced decorative wall art to promote the art & culture represented in the Australian Biome which forms part of encounter village. The inappropriate icy cold inclement weather did not deter our kind band of hardy painters. The walls of the “Bush Tucker Bites” eatery are adorned with our Art work. We have raised funds for EAZA the European Association of Zoo’s & Aquaria, WWF & Marwell Wildlife. We have had sculpture exhibitions & demonstrations in the park. On one such event for EAZA we even ended up with a marching band (see photo).During an outbreak of foot & mouth in 2001 during which the zoo had to close to the public we organised fund raising arts sales in the Marwell hotel.
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There have been strong links with Marwell Wildlife over the years & we were all made to feel part of a team something very magical providing a link between mankind & the animals who inhabit our planet. The group is very diverse but all share a common passion for wildlife & art.
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The exhibition has grown from using one room in the hall to being the biggest wildlife art exhibition in the world. The speed of this growth first became apparent when one year we had allowed guests to the exhibition to park in the zoo resulting in chaos as cars lined the verges to most of the roads leading to the hall where we exhibit. As we grew we began to take on members from all over the world & so our name also evolved. From little acorns, we were now International.
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It was only when I was fortunate enough to become a committee member that I was able to begin to fully appreciate all the work that is involved. The logistics present an ongoing challenge but to have such a wonderful location is well worth all the effort. There are so many health & safety rules regulations & etiquettes, involved in running an art exhibition inside a zoological park. Trying to please everyone is not always easy. Fitting all the lovely work in & providing the best lighting possible within the constraints of a magnificent but very old Tudor building present all kinds of challenges. There is a dedicated core of hard working friends who year after year devote their time freely to help make the exhibition what it is has become today.
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Marwell Wildlife’s evolving constituition/policy have in recent years caused changes to our relationship with the park & have presented new challenges & created additional responsibilities. The annual exhibition is always very professionally run & can sometimes be very stressful for those involved in its organisation. As an enthusiastic amateur I will always be grateful to the dedicated selfless work of all those involved.
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.As an amateur it is such a privilege to be able to display your work alongside some of the most talented wildlife artists in the world. That our humble work may some how be touched by the brilliance of their work & some of their brush magic may sprinkle itself in our direction is a tremendous feeling which again is perhaps something unique & so special about MIWAZ. Without out their participation & brilliance we would certainly not exist in our current form & have the kudos & respect we have established. The chance for an amateur artist to share the stage with professional wildlife artists could appear daunting but it has never been that way at Marwell. It has always inspired me. There is no elitism & there has never been a feeling of being an underling. As an amateur it should not be all about sales, it really should be about taking part. Sales are important though & be it an amateurs first ever exhibition, first ever sale or a really expensive sale by a gifted professional they are all of equal importance & celebrated.
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We support each other through the good & the difficult times. I had been unable to paint for almost three years until recently but again the kindness & creative energy of our friendly members kept me going. I will never forget that. The compassionate nature of so many of our members is again another magical, abiding memory of our society. So often when one of our members is poorly or suffering painters block our creative community offer great support. For me my creativity & my emotions are integral to my painting. I care so much about our art society & all of our friends. Like my life & certainly my art work we are all a work in progress & always strive to improve each year.
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It is so important to cherish your health, your family, your creativity, our Marwellous art society & our friends. Sometimes we can take things a little too much for granted. Its only when they are gone you truly appreciate how much you miss them.
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Last years exhibition was in many ways our best yet. The memory of so many special creative friends bought together because of a shared passion, many of whom receiving awards from Simon King & even more good friends just enjoying being part of something special, a truly talented Marwellous group of friends, will live long in my heart. Never ever give up on your dreams!
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I believe whole heartedly in the quote I once read that said "we could all learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors....but they all exist very nicely in the same box", that box to me represents our Marwellous Art Society.
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Thank you so much Pip McGarry & all our Marwellous friends, for so many happy memories.
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Happy painting
Best wishes
Debbie Knight

The nature of my heART by Debra Knight

Sunday 22 February 2009

11) MIWAS Annual Exhibition

Introduction

Debbie Knight Wild about Art

Keep on climbing

Marwell International Wildlife Art Society (MIWAS)

Connecting with my creativity

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