Art at Curwens Solicitors Gallery – Open Evening success on Thursday 9th of May 2024. The exhibition runs through to mid-June.
Cllr Lisa Jayne Adams attended the evening with her daughter, after the event wrote to Claire (volunteer curator and artist)…
“Tonight’s open evening art exhibition at Curwens Solicitors Royston Town was a spectacular array of art.
It was lovely to see and speak with local artists who had brought their work in to be displayed.
Alex’s true blue Madonna life drawing caught my eye in fabulous detail, so much local talent here in Royston.
All details are available online.
My kindest regards, Cllr Lisa Jayne Adams – Mayor of Royston”
A special thank you to Zen Thompson from Curwens Solicitors who facilitated the event.
The exhibition displays three very different styles of painting artists Terry Wood, Helen Carnaghan, and Alex Taylor (who is exhibiting her jewellery work) and Claire Fremann, the new volunteering curator for Curwens Solicitors Art Gallery, is exhibiting hand-painting glass and porcelain items.
Curwens Solicitors has a long history of supporting local artists with their non-profit art gallery on some of their premises.
The Art and Gifts can also be seen and purchased during the solicitor’s open hours of 9am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, in the reception area. Just ring the bell to go inside.
Claire Fremann at Libellule – It took me 40 years to follow in my mother’s footsteps, painting on porcelain and also on glass since last Summer. At the moment I use acrylic pens for porcelain and glass and fix the paint in my cooking oven so all items can go in the dishwasher up to 50 C. All the surfaces are painted on the outside, avoiding any abrasive cleaning material (even microfibre cloth) on them.
Claire was working as a scientist until she had my daughter at the age of 43. Then retrained in alternative medicine and currently concentrating on her new small business ‘Libellule’ – painting on smooth glass and porcelain surfaces is very therapeutic and enhances my mental Health.
At the moment Claire mainly paints stylised flowers, cats, and horses. But is looking to expand this to satisfy her eclectic nature and has already made a few gold leaf angels and gold leaf wooden decorations.
https://www.facebook.com/EAMLibellule
https://libellulebyclaire.etsy.com
Please message Claire if you would like to be selected for a future exhibition – fremann.claire@gmail.com
Helen Carnaghan: Helen Carnaghan is a medical doctor by training who found herself struck down by chronic health problems (ME/CFS and chronic daily migraines) and on long term sick leave as the first UK Coronavirus lockdown happened in March 2020. Inspired by completing colouring books with her then 3 year old daughter she developed a desire to create her own artwork to hang on her wall. Helen stumbled across an American artist, also in lockdown, running online POSCA paint parties. It was life changing for Helen as she discovered her talent for art and she hasn’t looked back since. Helen’s preferred medium is POSCA paint pens as they provide a hassle free energy saving means to paint, a key requirement for Helen’s ME/CFS. Painting became her outlet, the one thing she can do despite her condition.
She aims to ‘fill people’s hearts and walls with colour and joy’. Helen is selling originals and prints and is open for commissions.
More about Helen’s Artwork: Helen is an illustrative artist with a love of bright, bold colours. Helen likes to transfer the physical energy she wished she had but has been stolen by ME, onto the canvas or paper generating energy, movement and vibrancy into each piece. She works from a combination of photographic references and her vivid imagination.
You will notice the heart in her logo and within the signature of all her paintings this signifies Helen’s aim to; ‘fill people’s hearts and walls with colour and joy’.
When Helen started painting a key thing for her was to identify a medium that would fit around her ME/CFS, so she could create art without all the mess and tidying up afterward, allowing her to dip in and out of each piece hassle-free. Helen discovered acrylic paint pens and alcohol markers with their vivid colour selections were the perfect match for both her art and lifestyle.
Follow Helen on Instagram: @helencarnaghan
Email: helen@hc-art.co.uk
Phone: 07800 926560
Terry Wood: Terry was born in Tottenham, North London, and grew up in Potters Bar, and now lives in Stotfold, Herts, where he has lived for 30+ years.
Terry studied at St Albans School of Art and completed a BA-Hons degree in 2D Design. His background is in Commercial Art, but his passion is in traditional painting. working in acrylics, and exploring other mediums, such as watercolour, pastels, gouache, and pen and ink.
As for Terry’s subject matter, inspiration is taken from many sources. after extensive travel, and Terry’s sketchbook is usually a digital camera, which is found useful especially when time is in short supply.
Find out more about Art By Terry Wood – https://artbyterrywood.co.uk
Alex Taylor: A mum of two little girls and a forty-something husband! Working from home part time, general admin and bookkeeping for a maintenance company and a midday supervisory assistant, two days a week, as well as an active member of the school fundraising committee. Some mummies enjoy a glass of wine to wind down at the end of the day, but Alex likes to create something, whether it be out of clay or by painting a picture and recently making things out of resin and polymer clay and when her children started making requests to make things that they could wear: hair clips were created and Alex thought, ‘could I do this for a living?’ So here fast forward now creating various types of jewellery, hair accessories, keyrings and much more… and also to add to this having enjoyed painting since school has recently discovered the medium of watercolour.
The Hertfordshire Handmade Jewellery Company hertshandmadejewelleryco@gmail.com / www.etsy.com/shop/thhjc
Susan Sanders will have a solo painting exhibition from 14th of June to 1st of July.
Curwens Solicitors lets artistes use their reception area for exhibitions free of charge and with no commission as part of their charity work and to support local artists/crafters. 
