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Art - Paddock Spring
Exhibition
Unannounced, I open the door into the Paddock Art Studios and
there is a flurry of activity. A naked couple are hurrying into
dressing gowns, whilst several onlookers look to see who is
intruding. There are large dented cushions on the floor, a silk
drape is pinned against the wall. I have stumbled upon the end
of a life drawing class. I am sent out again and walk around
the studio’s wonderful sloped gardens, shaded by a couple
of fir trees and a magnificent magnolia. Five minutes later
I am called back in. The models are fully dressed, and being
paid. A bearded man tells me about the studio. It used to be
the first floor above a stable. From the interesting square-shaped
flintwork on the walls, it was possibly connected with Shelleys
Hotel.
It was bought in the mid forties by Cecil Heathfield, who turned
it into a centre to give affordable art tuition to local artists.
After Cecil’s death his widow arranged for the studios
to become a Registered Perpetual Charity: they can never be
used for any purpose but for adult education. The Paddock is
now run by Lewes & District Visual Arts Association and
offers classes in different creative processes from drawing
and painting to clay modelling, printing, mosaic-making, and
picture framing. Members of LADVA exhibit their work every year
for a week. The exhibition should be well worth checking out;
the building certainly is. And I am assured the magnolia will
be in bloom. AL |
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Open arthouse: A detail from
Ben Whitehead’s Paddock Art Studios
courtesy of the Chalk Gallery |
