Anke: Royal Tunbridge Wells

Kent & Sussex Hospital Tiles: We Did It!

We Saved The Tiles! Yes you read that right, thanks to this blog and our Tunbridge Wells Project, the Noah's Ark tiles of the Kent & Sussex Hospital's children's ward have been saved.

After we highlighted their plight last year, all the tiles are to be carefully removed and restored. But, there is always a but, after some careful research it appears that only the large Noah’s Ark panel is unique to the hospital. Therefore the decision has been made to remove this panel and install it in the new Pembury Hospital and auction off all the other panels. It is hoped that the proceeds from this auction will cover the cost of removal and restoration of the tiles and work will begin next week.

If you are looking for a new set of tiles for your kitchen or bathroom then I highly recommend looking out for them, hopefully we can at least keep them in Tunbridge Wells.

David and I are incredibly chuffed at being such an influential part of saving these historic pieces of architecture. It's reasons like this as to why the Project was created and why we are trying to document every building in Tunbridge Wells.

It also goes without saying that we should also thank Graham Goddard and John Weeks from the NHS Trust and TWBC for getting their heads together and coming to an agreement to keep the tiles safe. Right, next stop, Save the Cinema...joking!

January Round Up

I thought I'd write a quick post on the happenings on the blog in January. So here it is, go click the links in each to see what you may have missed.

Gratuitous shot of the sun rising over Mount Ephraim.

The month started windy so being as we like to roughly base our posts on current events we wrote about the lost windmills of Tunbridge Wells and some of the historical clues that trace their locations.

Mrs Anke wrote about New Years Resolutions and how you can help Tunbridge Wells by picking one of her chosen few.

We then ran a quick post about our story on saving the Kent & Sussex Hospital tiles and how it had reached the local media.

Mrs Anke posed for the Royal Tunbridge Wells Art Society and they did a might fine job if I do say so myself.

A local cartoonist graced our pages with some humour and colour in the form of Miriam's Daily Adventures. Well worth a read with your morning coffee.

Mrs Anke attended a local book launch and was quite moved.

A quick post about a new exhibition at the Art Gallery was followed by my opinions on the new art installation concepts for Grosvenor and Hilbert Park. It appears I might be in the minority on this one.

To round off the month, Mrs Anke took a walk around Grosvenor and Hilbert Park with Dave Barnett to learn about its flora and fauna.

Well, that's it for January, onwards and upwards to February!

Art on the Grassy Knoll

I love art, I love it with a passion, especially street furniture art. So I was excited to the point of goosebumps when I heard that Tunbridge Wells Borough Council were going to start installing artworks around town. Bravo TWBC!

The site selected for the first of these new works is known as the "Grassy Knoll" and is a small, grassed mound on the north side of Grosvenor bridge before the entrance to Grosvenor and Hilbert Park.

Sculpture proposal for The Grassy Knoll. Copyright: Richard Perry 2011.

Richard Perry's concept (above) seems to be the most fitting. He has looked at the surrounding area and has been inspired by the "extraordinary iron oxide colour" of the spring water in the park. His concept showed a great amount of attention has been paid to the surroundings of the sculpture and to me is the most appealing. It sits well in the space. I personally feel, at 3.5m high, it could do with another couple of metres in height to make it really powerfully stand out.

8 out of 10.

Sculpture proposal for The Grassy Knoll. Copyright: Tony Stallard 2011.

Tony Stallard's proposal (above) is aiming at being a "direct reference to the water supply for which Tunbridge Wells is famous", alas his use of a Greek Rython to hold such water shows that he has missed the mark on getting the feel of Tunbridge Wells in an art piece. As for it glowing orange at night, a bold idea which I commend him for but it still doesn't make up for it being wildly out of place in Tunbridge Wells.

5 out of 10.

Sculpture proposal for The Grassy Knoll. Copyright: We Made That 2011.

We Made That's proposal (above) looks on first appearances like a building has been demolished leaving the empty staircase which has then been graffitied. How completely un-Tunbridge Wellian is that?! Sorry, We Made That, but your "Civic Stop" would not be a "robust and characterful local stone ‘stoop’ to create opportunities for public meeting and friendly conversation", it would be an eyesore.

0 out of 10.

Wow, that was very unlike me. You can tell how passionate I am about this subject can't you! The final selection will be made by March 2012 and the Grassy Knoll, which is the first stop on the walk from the town centre to Grosvenor and Hilbert Park, will be the first installation of many. Also, there will be many posts about this walk to Grosvenor and Hilbert Park in the coming months so stay tuned for those.

But, don't listen to me. Do you usually? Use the power of your mouse by heading to the Council's website and undertaking a survey. There you can choose your favourite from the shortlist and give feedback on them all. Please, I really want you to help by taking part in this process and showing how much we want public art around town. Go now and then come back and tell me what you think.

What would I put? Well, that I will share in another post.

So, what do you think? Which one did you choose?

In Camera: Snowdon

If you like photography, make a beeline for the Art Gallery from now until the 3rd of March.

The Art Gallery showcasing the work of Snowdon.

A Touring Exhibition from Pallant House Gallery has landed at the Tunbridge Wells Museum and Art Gallery and showcases one of Britains most well-known photographers, Lord Snowdon.

In 1965, his seminal book Private View was published, this exhibition displays some of those photographs which documented the contemporary British art scene showing how London now rivalled New York and Paris as an artistic capital of the world.

We stood and stared long and hard at some of the really gorgeous prints and actually thought that the dates were wrong on some of them. You'll see what I mean when you visit but it really looks like they were shot yesterday, and not 1963.

The exhibition also includes rare alternative shots not previously published in the book and follows Snowdon's work in the year's since Private View was published. There are also some new photographs to showcase the new generation of British artists including Damien Hirst and Grayson Perry.

Highly recommended. Please also consider picking up the book on sale, "In Camera Snowdon" for £12.95 or drop some coins into the Donation Box, it all helps.

Miriam's Daily Adventures

I think you all deserve a laugh today. Sometimes emails fall into my inbox that really give me a chuckle, and Miriam's did just that, for she is a rather talented local cartoonist and her site is called Miriam's Daily Adventures.

A Miriam Daily Adventure drawn just for me!

Miriam just wanted to exchange links but I felt that it would be better to share her work with you all with one of my interviews. So here it is. Enjoy!

You're cartoons are very funny. How do you draw your everyday situations? Do you draw the situation the minute it happens or do you try and recall your day when you relax in the evening?
I mostly try to recall my day in the evenings, as I tend to be doing other work during the day. Sometimes I manage to be organised enough to do some in advance if I know I'm gonna be really busy for a couple of days.

Where do you get your ideas? Does this cartoon you really represent the real you? Does this many funny things really happen in your real life or are they observations of others?
It's a bit of a mix really, the cartoon is based on the real me, and I try to be true to life, but sometimes situations need to be exaggerated to make the strip work. Also, I am prone to fabricating things, as sometimes I think of a situation I just can't resist. For example in my comics I'm dating Predator and we mostly don't get on, which is obviously not real life. Predator and I never argue.

A Miriam Daily Adventure. Click here for original size.

When did you start cartooning?
Has your cartoon self grown up with you, i.e. did you draw yourself in cartoons as a child when you were younger?
(I'll answer the above two questions together)  I only started cartooning in September. I came back to my parents in Tunbridge Wells after studying and working in London to look for work. I read a lot of webcomics and I'd always wanted to give it a go, so I started drawing my daily adventures to give me some purpose while I was jobless. I've always painted and have always drawn and painted myself in situations so I guess my drawn self has grown up with me, but my cartoon self is pretty new to the scene, and has a better sense of humour.

Apart from your cartoons, your website shows a really varied range of artistic styles, is cartooning your favourite?
I couldn't say it's my favourite, I think it's just such a different discipline to painting. My subject matter when painting is usually fairly serious, whereas with the comics I can be silly. Also, I think the comics are generally more accessible. When it comes to showing friends my paintings only a few will get into it, but everyone seems to like the comics!

Have you ever sold any of your work?
I've sold bits and bobs. Mostly I've taken commissions, as I'll admit I can be a bit precious about my paintings, as they're so personal to me it would be weird saying goodbye to them. 

A Miriam Daily Adventure. Click here for original size.

Who has influenced you along the way?
I could mention a bunch of artists and cartoonists who's styles I like and things, but to be honest I think the best influence I've had was a kick up the butt from my sister (the same one who, when we were kids, said I shouldn't be an artist cause they're all poor.) who told me that if I wanted to be an artist I had to paint every day. Which is completely true. There's no point saying you wanna be something then never doing it. Starting the comics was a way of making myself draw everyday, now sometimes I think I could drop down to posting them 5 days a week but I'm so caught up in the challenge of doing them everyday I'm worried that if I miss one day I'll lose momentum and stop doing them completely!