ARTISTS showcased and sold their work at an east Reading church last weekend, hailing the two-day event as a great success.
The Lost & Found Art Exhibition was held at St Luke’s Hall on Erleigh Road, and included paintings, ceramics, books and prints for people to browse and buy if they wished.
Leslee Barron, an artist based in Newtown, was among those who took part and said the venue was a beautiful one for holding exhibitions.
“It is so special, particularly when the sun pours through the vast, ornate windows, providing the perfect light for an art exhibition,” she said.
“Many local, and not-so-local folk poured through the doors too, to see what was on offer. Out of the three exhibitions held there this year, the Lost and Found one was probably the busiest.”
This steady stream of visitors meant the stalls were busy, with some presents being bought for Christmas.
“Stunning photography, paintings, drawings, collages, and multimedia pieces graced the walls, including my ice photography. This is my thing now, taking photos of plants and flowers through crystal-clear ice, in what I call Nature’s Studio, my garden,” Leslee says.
“The stalls were busy selling books, cute photography booklets, framed artworks, canvasses, acrylics, handmade silver jewellery, calendars, cards, even fairy light lamps.
“I was flattered to be asked to sign some of my Reading at Night calendars bought by a customer as gifts.
“It’s so humbling when someone buys your art to put on the walls of their home, or when they buy something you’ve created to give as a gift to someone special in their life. I don’t think that feeling will ever leave me.”
This was the third such exhibition at the church this year, and Leslee says she was grateful to Jane Kenyon, who facilitated the exhibition.
It was also the fifth such collaboration between Leslee and fellow Newtown resident Mary Chambers, who created a storybook Alina Saves The Moon.
“We first made a connection about four years ago, united by our mutual love of that old chunk of rusting metal, Reading’s last gas tower, and we went on to create a website dedicated to it,” Leslee says.
“We soon learned there were many people in Reading, who had a fondness for the gas tower too, hence we went on to curate art exhibitions in unique spaces.”
The pair are now planning an exhibition in the Royal Berkshire Hospital’s Maternity Unit, featuring creations from four artists placed on noticeboards in the publicly accessible areas of the unit.
The exhibition will open on November 5, and run through to New Year’s Eve.
Leslee will also sell copies of her popular calendar at the Hope and Bear pub’s first Christmas fayre on Saturday, November 25. The event runs from 11am to 4pm.
And another exhibition is planned for St Luke’s in February.
For more information, email hall@redlandsparish.org.uk
