Sunday was the first Portrait Competition held at Castle Park Arts in Frodsham. Modelled on the tv series, but with what felt like far stricter rules - and no friendly host in the form of Stephen Mangan to help defuse nerves, of which there were plenty. Cathy Williams and I(Kate Marchuk) both took part, along with 10 others. We had two sitters - local celebrities Mick Flaherty and Tim Firth - and 4 hours in which to finish a painting. It was intense. It was though so good to

On Tuesday 25th of August, CAN member Allisdhair McNaull gave a well received presentation at The Grosvenor Museum and Art Gallery entitled Mindfulness and The Art of Photography. The AV elements of his presentation can be seen here

Some pictures from our Raku firing day

Members of CAN had a great time making pottery under the guidance of member Neil Glendinning. Next step is Raku firing the pieces at The Salt Works Museum on the 10th of April. Many thanks to Crosshatch, Winsford, for letting us use their facilities.

Our exhibition at Foxlowe Arts Centre is up an running. We had a lovely meet the artists day on Saturday. There is so much work to see some of the exhibits have spilled out to the landing!

Our next exhibition is up and running at Castle Park Arts, Frodsham.

Many thanks to all who visited our exhibition at the Silk Museum in Macclesfield. As you can see from the pictures of the comments it was well received. Our next exhibition in the Willow Gallery in Oswestry is up and running and there will be two meet the artists days, one on the 15th November and one on the 6th December, please join us if you can.

Today we set up The Fabric of Life exhibition at the Silk Museum in Macclesfield and it looks fantastic. It is open from the 4th of...

Silk Voyage “Silk Voyage” is the 4th sculpture with flax and branches or canes that I have made this summer about voyages and the sea....

These canvas and print collages began with the Macclesfield Stripe but evolved to represent the rolling landscape of the Macclesfield...

"A Trace of Paradise." Silk panel with print, stitch and acrylic (detail) Mostly my practice focuses on significant objects, loss and...

Macclesfield The Fabric of Life I went on a journey of discovery in Macclesfield through three photo shoots a visit to the Library,...

Design When visiting the Silk Museum, I was intrigued by the jacquard pattern cards which held the secrets of the designs of the fabrics....

Steve Lloyd Davies “Work” Acrylic on Canvas The painting is based on a museum display about child labour. The painting is...

The Silk Museum project led me to thinking about the ancient silk route, the range of products traded, the practical issue of containers...

Ghosts in the Machine 1 & 2. Visiting the Silk Museum and the Mill next door gave me so many abstract images, looking through the old...

'Forward / Looking Back' is a diptych responding to The Fabric of Life , exploring the fragility and persistence of identity over time....

'The Fabric of Life - DNA' I have always stitched as my Mother, Grandmother and my Great Grandmother did before me. It occurred to me...

Visiting Paradise Mill at the Silk Museum I was impressed by the fragility of the silk threads used to make the Jacquard fabrics. It was...