By Anne Akers
IF you haven’t visited the fabulous Sunny Bank Mills in Farsley, you must! writes Anne Akers.
When you walk up the stairs from the street entrance, push the door open and there you are, a massive space flooded with light and lovely things.
The gallery supports local artists with exhibitions changing every two months or so.
The latest is from two female artists who have been making art for more than a century between them.
Loretta came to the UK from Mumbai in 1965 and has worked as a ceramicist via a career in dance, graphic arts, textile design and sculpture. She now works from her ceramics studio in York.
Sheila studied at Leeds College of Art in the 1950s and worked as a teacher in England and later Iraq where her husband worked for the United Nations. She sketched everyday lives of people in Baghdad. She returned to Yorkshire with her family in 1970 and after her retirement continued to develop her drawings and paintings of street life, this time in Leeds city centre.
It’s not often I walk into a gallery and immediately say, ‘wow, I love those’. But when I saw Sheila’s colourful, animated paintings and sketches of ordinary people going about their business, I did.
So too did my husband. We agreed we’d be very happy to have them on our walls at home, they are so delightful. Loretta’s ceramics are abstract forms, my favourites were the Fruit and Bloom collection of vibrant coloured pineapple, jackfruit, cashew and peach. They make you smile!
So do head over to Farsley and check out this exhibition and have a cuppa in the café. It runs until October 13.
It’s open every day except Monday 10-4pm, 12-4pm on Sundays. Entry is free.