Inspired to create – new artworks exhibition
Our MA Creative Practice students are preparing to share some impressive new work with the public.
Paintings, sculptures, ceramics, printmaking, textiles and more will go on show when we welcome visitors to our North Yorkshire Open Studios (NYOS) exhibition in June.
Running over two weekends, the event will be a chance for people to view and purchase pieces by a diverse collection of artists. Our current MA Creative Practice students are a diverse group of learners who have enjoyed careers in everything from the armed forces to psychotherapy and teaching.
For some, such as landscape artist Andrew Stratford – who suffered a debilitating stroke in 2021, as he describes at stratfordart.co.uk – taking on the Master’s degree has been a form of rehabilitation.
‘Never too late to embrace creativity’
For others like art psychotherapist Anthea Hendry, who is in her late seventies, it has been a way to really explore her artistic side in later life.
She said: “I was uncertain when I finally made space in my life to apply to do a Creative Practice MA in 2022. Had I left it too late?
“Now, having completed the first few terms, I have no doubts that I made the right decision. It’s never too late to follow a path to a lifelong belief in the power of creativity, to explore what it means to be human.”
Fellow student Melanie Benn, meanwhile, is a ceramicist whose recent creations – inspired by the course – have included paper clay versions of Prototaxites: tree trunk-like, ancient fungi.
The NYOS exhibition’s first weekend takes place on Saturday June 3 and Sunday 4, while the second is on Saturday June 10 and Sunday June 11. Viewing will be available from 10am to 5pm on all days.
A chance to see some outstanding work
Programme manager in MA Creative Practice, Dr Annabel Smith, said: “Our MA students come from all walks of life and are often retiring or looking at switching direction and wanting to build on previous artist practice.
“This degree offers them a great way to change pathways and perhaps launch a new career, or just focus totally on their creative practice.
“The overriding motivation seems to be to grasp the chance of a new start by setting off in a really creative direction.
“The students consistently impress us by the quality of the art they produce, across so many mediums – and we can’t wait for the public to come and see some of their outstanding work at this exhibition.”