Jan Hagen-Bossom's follow-on exhibition opened on Saturday in the Small Gallery at Colby Woodland Gardens. Those who witnessed her last solo exhibition back in the Spring will recall being treated to a dazzling array of colours on silk. Now she explores further the immense versatility of painting with dyes on mulberry and velvet.
Jan's work is constantly changing and developing as she further "breaks the rules" of traditional silk painting, extending the barriers and going further forward with her creativity. When she begins her very loose preliminary sketches, her initial inspiration is the colour which feels "right" to use on that particular day. Her next inspiration is choosing the species of flower which she believes would best interpret her chosen colours.
"I usually decide on flowers that are flowing beautifully in the sun on that day. Alas, enough time is not always available in one day, so an hour or two on preliminary drawings, sitting in the sun, and thanking the flower for the beautiful time it is giving me, often has to suffice. I may not produce the finished painting until a few days or weeks later. I resort to 'artist's license' rule, often quite deliberately," she says.
"Not all my flowers evolved at the end of my paintings come from the colours I used in the preliminary sketches. Dyes flow very quickly through the fibres of silk, with different colours travelling in different directions across and down the painting, finally meeting, over-lapping and mixing themselves together quite randomly, creating other colours for themselves."
"How exciting," she continues, "You see, I'm not completely in control of the finished picture. Sometimes it goes in the bin, and other times it is quite unique, beautiful and never to be repeated.
"This exciting way of using colour and painting freely without the restrictions of rigid ideas, gives artists and, equally importantly, the observers, (whether momentarily at an exhibition or forming a longer relationship within a person's home), a chance to develop and use their own imagination as to what the image means to them personally. Art requires the painter and the observer. Both are the artists!"
Jan and Peter Bossom enjoy sharing their old farmhouse and garden with other soul mates, who are also searching for a more spiritual pathway through the difficulties in their lives. They invite friends and acquaintances to come and spend a tranquil weekend at Vale Farm, using simple colour therapy and painting in a very relaxed way. Good food, congenial company, tranquil music and a comfy bed for the night (if required) are all included in the price.
While beds, comfy or otherwise, are not available at Colby, the gallery, gardens, tea room and NT shop are open from 10 am to 5 pm daily. Jan Hagan-Bossom's exhibition runs until October 17 and a special 'two for one' admission price is offered on production of this article. Further enquiries ring 01834 814200.