The Guildhall, Gloucester - Stamping Ground - Rachel Markwick's Stamp Collage Exhibition NOW ON

The exhibition, Stamping Ground,  is NOW ON at The Guildhall, 23 Eastgate Street, Gloucester until 29th March .

The Guildhall is right in the centre of Gloucester and is really easy to find, but I met quite a few people yesterday who previously never been there or even knew anything about it!  I think there may be some confusion with Shire Hall, at the other end of the city, which is a very imposing looking building with pillars and steps leading up to it, whereas the Guildhall frontage is quite narrow and  is sandwiched between the  Cheltenham and Gloucester Building Society and Dorothy Perkins in Eastgate Street, and right opposite the Eastgate Shopping Centre and Marks and Spencer. You can easily miss it if you're not actually searching for it or looking up to see the banner! And it's a pity to just pass it by as you never know just what may be going on inside!   And it's like a tardis - so much bigger inside than it looks from the street.
I had to wait more than 2 years to get the gallery space for my exhibition, which just shows how popular it is for artists wanting to exhibit their work  here, but unfortunately, unless you advertise it widely yourself, it could go unnoticed as there is no street advertising of the art exhibitions, which is a real shame. The Guildhall do have a brochure and some of the art exhibitions are listed in this bi-monthly guide, but I was rather unlucky as for some reason mine got missed out of the February/March edition !! So I'm hoping that my own posters, showing my stamp collage of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, will get noticed elsewhere around the city and inside the Guildhall building itself, although not outside!

Just one of my pictures on show in The Gallery 2nd Floor of The Guildhall

  And hoping for some press coverage too, as well as the lovely article in March's Cotswold Life (p18).

 Inside the Guildhall is a cinema which shows all the latest films as well as some lesser known and older films. There is a lovely cafe/bar which also offers vegetarian and vegan food. It's a great venue for theatre, comedy, music events, workshops and hosts meetings for many associations, including U3A.  They have a wide range of activities going on, and an elderly gentleman I was talking to recently about it, said he remembered going there to Saturday night dances.  He was surprised to learn that you can still go dancing there too! Passers-by just need to know about it!  

Cotswold Life March : 5-Minute Interview : Rachel MarKwick

The March edition of Cotswold Life out today has my story on P.18  Please note that my website is www.rachelmarkwick.co.uk  - Markwick has a K in the middle and it's often left out as has happened here .. otherwise everything else is great!  

Happy New Year .. new work in progress: the Brandenburg Gate stamp collage

After a short break over the Christmas period, I have now spent three days, so far, on my latest stamp collage, the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. One of my FAQs (frequently asked questions) is "How long does it take you to do a picture?" and the answer is never the same! This is my fourth landmark subject and the first one, the Colosseum took about a month  although I wasn't working on it 24/7!
I've never visited Berlin, but recently have felt a great interest in doing so as I've received correspondence and German stamps from a couple of Berliners via Postcrossing, of which more in another post! Postcards showing the Brandenburg gate gave me added inspiration!
 Making one of these landmarks is quite complicated, from choosing the image to  finding all the suitable stamps to use and my filing system doesn't always work!  I'm using  German stamps for the main structure of the gate - pre and post unification as I felt that was the right thing to do. The wall was once a symbol of division between the two states but now it has become a symbol of peace.I'm still trying to work out how to do the Quadriga (bronze statue on the top). I've found a few possible horse candidates but others may be more suitable if I can find them .. this is the time consuming bit!
Like other well known tourist sites, there is always a huge crowd around  and many famous people including President Kennedy visited the Brandenburg Gate. Size also matters in this case too, as within reason the figures need to be in some sort of acceptable proportion! (artist's licence does come into play here up to a point though).    So, on with the job! Scissors and glue at the ready to deal with crowd control!

This is as tidy as it gets! Open Studios in Stroud this week-end and next. See Brochure.

Tomorrow is the first day of the first Open Studios week-end in Stroud and my studio will be open to the public.  The organisers of the event always say that people like to see us as we are and not to tidy up too much, but I don't think they realise just how untidy I can be, and it would be a job to get through the door some days.  So here it is ... pictures on the walls, cards on display and prints to browse through and the kettle and coffee at the ready! Since last year, I've made quite a lot of new work including more flags, famous buildings, ships and boats and gardens, all made from stamps. I've also made a quiz for children to do. As always, looking forward to meeting new visitors as well as old friends and answering questions about my love of making stamp collages!  Hope to see you if you're in Stroud either this week-end of next, and if not, and you'd like to come over, just get in touch! Details on my contacts link page.