making our mark, Sherborne Girls Art Exhibition 2016

making our mark Sherborne Girls’ Art & Design Exhibition 2016

Menier Gallery, 51 Southwark Street, London SE1 1RU

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making our mark

I am delighted to welcome you to the Sherborne Girls Art and Design Exhibition at the Menier Gallery, London. This ‘making our mark’ exhibition features the finest selection of painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, textiles and product design produced predominantly by our A Level students over the past five years. The broad range of artwork displayed reflects the talent, commitment and individuality of the girls who are led by Jenny Newman, Head of Art, and her enthusiastic team of artists. This is our third London based Art and Design Exhibition which is particularly pertinent, given that Jenny Newman will be retiring at the end of this academic year, after 22 years of loyalty and dedication to the Sherborne Girls Art Department.

Art and Design has always played a central role at Sherborne Girls and as we celebrate this success we also look towards a future of creativity with a new Arts Centre which will sit at the very heart of the School. Fundraising for the Arts Centre is already well underway and building will commence in 2017. Once completed, the impressive new Arts Centre will connect to the existing Art Department and provide a gallery space to display the girls’ artwork, alongside fantastic performance spaces.

The Menier Gallery lends itself perfectly to present the girls’ work and may I extend my thanks to Stephen Feather and his team for allowing our girls this valuable opportunity.

I am certain you will enjoy the ‘making our mark’ exhibition and encourage you to visit us at Sherborne Girls to see further the breadth of art produced by our current and former students.

Jenny Dwyer Headmistress 3

INTRODUCTION TO THE EXHIBITION and some thoughts on art in the curriculum It would seem like a very neat symmetry that back in late September, when I told Jenny Dwyer that I intended to retire at the end of this academic year and that I would be happy to ‘do’ another London exhibition, that it is in fact 5 years since the last one we had at Ackerman Gallery, and that that show was 5 years after our first at The Gallery in Cork Street. This ‘every five years’ is a coincidence but given that many of our girls start in Lower 5 (Yr 9) and finish in Upper 6 (Yr 13), it affords the opportunity for them to see their own work and the achievements of their generation of peers exhibited outside the familiarity of the school environment at least once in their school days. The art and design work that you will see has all been produced since the academic year 2011-12.

As I reflect on the past 5 years, there has been both continuity and change: continuity in terms of what the Art, Photography and Design Technology department produces and the standards achieved by the girls, their commitment and willingness to be pushed; but change in terms of the staff and in educational qualifications (A Level has now reverted back to being a two year course!).

I will write more about the changes and pay tribute to all the staff in the department.

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But first, I would like to draw attention to the girls. As they will all verify, one of the sayings we have is ‘Art trips are not for Wimps’. Well, art itself is not for wimps. It requires stamina, resilience and an ability to think for oneself. Art, in the school curriculum, amounts to a series of highly individual and intensely personal journeys which are taken both in a shared company and very close proximity. You have to take risks, be prepared to fail, and above all you are exposed. There is nowhere to hide, and everything that happens is public property. For this reason, art, whilst seeming delightfully vague and even non-academic to outsiders, gets to the critical point at which learning takes place very rapidly. Not only is there

the judgement of your peers but also the far more searing personal awareness of success and failure.

It is sometimes hard to recall that those girls who could only, and with considerable difficulty, be persuaded away from drawing endless plump ponies in Lower 4, have grown into the young women with a multi-layered, authentic and compelling means of visual expression in Upper 6. This journey is marked by some common challenges: defining drawing, understanding and interpreting visual culture, comprehending personal strengths and weaknesses. All are risky, fraught and more than a little threatening. The cheery departmental bon mot 'Art trips are not for Wimps’ applies as much to the rigours of facing a blank sheet of paper, or being solely responsible for the outcome of a set of visual decisions, as the ability to tramp around art galleries.

Art is so hard, and yet so easy. ‘It’s so much work’, wail the siren voices, failing to add that work contributed is always repaid, with very healthy interest, in either accomplishment or understanding. For many a girl, it is the very breadth of art that allows a specific intelligence to find a voice, or a divergent or latent strain of thought to become manifest. It takes the dexterous and the clumsy, and makes them equals. The art department is a place of minor miracles. Those with no words find forms of expression. Those with nothing but words find that they have other means at their disposal. Art is not so much a thing (although myriad things exist in its name) as a mental state, an openness to possibilities, an enquiring, tolerant and curious way of both seeing and understanding the wider world.

For this reason, those girls whose career choices do not involve art find it both engaging and helpful. It is the subject with no right answers, only right questions. It requires great skill and dexterity or none. It speaks of a world of imagination to which no price can be appended and no material value given. It is outside the world and

yet central to understanding reality in any meaningful way. Civilisation is only ever one generation thick, and whilst we are justifiably proud of those girls whose later lives and careers involve conspicuous achievement in art (and many have gone on to disciplines that involve fashion, illustration, graphic design, product design, stage and film design, animation, photography, curating and fine art), arguably the greater achievement is the unreported continuance of these values and beliefs.

THE DEPARTMENT staff changes and tributes The art department at Sherborne Girls shares the building with Design Technology (Product Design), Photography and History of Art. Textile Design (DT), whilst not in the same physical space, shares our ethos and is very much part of the ‘whole’ department. I do firmly believe that our ‘open plan’ situation and lively mix across the disciplines marks our department out from other schools and encourages visual curiosity and a stimulating environment in which to work and to learn.

The changes I mentioned above leave many gaps but of course create new opportunities.

Jacqui Baker retired in December 2013 after 35 years in the art department at Sherborne Girls. She was always professional and adaptable to what was required and to new trends, ever enthusiastic about all the girls’ ideas and what might be achieved by them and endlessly creative and resourceful in her suggestions and practical knowhow. Art Textiles was her specialism but Jacqui kept up with all the latest exhibitions and shows and brought the outside world into the classroom. Her judgement was always sound, her contribution enormous; indeed some of our students in recent years have gone on from foundation courses to study Textile Design, I am sure through Jacqui’s nurturing of their talents at school.

Several pieces in this exhibition were created under Jacqui’s careful guidance.

Mark Chapman was much loved by the girls for his quirky humour, quiet and understated input and advice and encyclopaedic knowledge of painters, sculptors and illustrators. Although he came to us from the further education sector, he adapted quickly to the very different demands of a girls’ boarding school, always encouraging his students to think about their work and why they made certain decisions and helping Sixth Form girls with their applications for architecture, art school and other related courses. He decided to retire from teaching in July 2014.

A love of drawing as well as a strong sense of humour has united all of us over the years, indeed drawing is a hallmark of the department and this has continued with both Fleur Bugg (art, textiles) and Matt Dibble (part time 3D), both of whom have had a significant impact on much of the artwork you see in the exhibition. Good teachers yield good work and I know that the various talents of all our recent members of staff will ensure that there is continuing enthusiasm for our subject areas.

I remain very fortunate with my colleagues in the department. Nick Wright has just joined us this year, taking over from Rowan MacNeary who had established Photography as a full and flourishing A Level as well as being Head of Sixth Form. We are most grateful to Nick for taking all the images of art work for the catalogue 5

Jon Casely and Polly Ellis (History of Art), whilst not practically involved in this exhibition, are an integral part of the department and take a great interest in the work that goes on all around them, indeed sharing several of our Photography, Art and DT students. Polly teaches on our Visual Arts IB course (sadly we cannot show the work of our two Upper 6

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IB students as they have to submit photographs of their exhibition during the same week). Our joint tours to cities such as Paris, New York, Amsterdam and Berlin in recent years have enriched the experience of so many students and it is often these memories that surface when we meet up with these students several years later.

making our mark

and know that the photographers have a committed and experienced teacher and professional artist to lead them. Ian McCarthy is responsible for all the Design Technology (Product Design) classes and is always keen to extend the girls’ experience of what constitutes good design and encourage independence as well as a high degree of ‘finish’. He is ably assisted by John Symes, our wonderful DT technician and master craftsman, who has made us a scale model of each floor of the Menier Gallery so that I could play like a child with a dolls’ house, placing all of the work on the walls and 3D models on the floor. Tim Taylor (ex Head of DT) will be fondly remembered by many girls and staff over the years and is still involved in school with D of E. He came on many of our joint Art and History of Art trips abroad and was a wonderful presence, totally trustworthy and always good humoured. I felt the trips were safe when Tim was there; he had an eye for potential problems that large groups of largely unaware girls can attract! Elodie Smith teaches Textiles (Design Technology) with flair and dedication and gives her students a great understanding of the process of designing and making a garment. She took over from another long standing member of the department, Shelagh Wills, who worked closely with all the Design Technology team and contributed so much to school life.

The final person in the department is Katharine Fretwell. Not only does she do a heroic job as our art technician but she has carried the main workload for this exhibition. She has organised many photoshoots for the catalogue and married the texts we have written to their images with great panache. Whilst she has always had an interest in graphic design and layout, the technology was new to her and she has worked like a Trojan to master it.

She has helped with the framing and storage of work, produced endless lists and remained good humoured and calm when it was vital to do so! I rely on her more than she will ever know and trust her judgement implicitly.

Working with such wonderful colleagues has been a great privilege. My final words, therefore, must be to thank my whole department. They are a great team and without their talents, dedication and sheer hard work none of this could have happened. Putting on this exhibition has been a lasting experience for all involved. We do hope that everyone will enjoy their visit and that the girls themselves, both past and present, will feel justifiably proud of their school.

Jenny Newman Head of Art

Ellie Hollis A Level 2015

Night, Amsterdam, oil on canvas

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Ellie is now doing her foundation year at Falmouth University. She has applied to Wimbledon School of Art to study for a degree in Theatre and Set Design but also has a place at Falmouth for a degree in Drawing. We visited Amsterdam on the art / history of art study tour in March / April of 2015 and the following passage is taken from Ellie’s artist’s statement that she wrote for her A Level exhibition.

“I fell in love with Amsterdam and its enchanting canals and sleepy streets. This led me to my final topic of ‘Night’ and I began painting the romantic landscapes of sunset and dusk. Through writing my personal study on the Dutch master Rembrandt I was able to appreciate his work in much greater depth, both at his exhibition at the National Gallery and in the various galleries in Amsterdam. Painting Amsterdam was an endless high for me. I wanted each and every painting to be reminiscent of Amsterdam’s boundless, deep waters and the reflections that cascaded down the canals. I could have kept painting and re-living each moment, but there never seemed to be enough time.”

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Tatiana Guinness A Level 2014

Traces of the Past, oil on canvas

Tatiana had a strong drawing skill from a young age and this developed into a love for line, and in particular for the human figure and capturing the character of a person whether it be in ink, pen, pencil or charcoal. Her drawings became increasingly quick and expressive, looking to Daumier, Topolski and Toulouse Lautrec for her main inspiration. However, A Level demands finished outcomes so it was a very real challenge for Tatiana to work in paint on canvas, over a sustained period. She used her own grandmother as a model, evoking her memories of the past through the reflections in the door. Tatiana's family had recently unearthed childhood photographs of her grandmother, giving a glimpse into the person she was before, and this sense of the past haunts the painting.

Tatiana is unashamedly figurative in her approach to art and found the foundation year somewhat frustrating. She is now studying for a degree in History at Exeter, and has got into rowing in a big way!

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India Penny A Level 2015

The Presence in Absence, oil on canvas

India is currently doing a foundation course at Oxford Brookes. The two paintings we have exhibited depict her grandfather and his strong presence in the room in which he sat, even when he was not actually there. India made many studies of her grandfather, and looked at the painting of a chair by Lucien Freud, also Francis Bacon’s ‘Pope’ series and even Andy Warhol’s ‘Electric Chair’. She said, “Of the places I looked at, where there is a strong sense of presence of a particular person, this is my favourite. My Grandad’s chair is one of his main attributes. He nearly always sits in it and even when he isn’t, I can see him in it. I love the way he leaves an indent in the cushion, evidence of his presence. A perfect illustration of the idea of presence in absence.”

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Amelia Busk A Level 2013

Floodlight, oil and hessian strips on canvas

Amelia grew up on a farm and the main body of work done in her Upper 6 year explored the dominance of nature and how it controls farming. She wanted to convey the way that growth eventually ‘takes back’ broken-down machinery. She then went on to work on canvas in oils, using a palette knife to create an atmospheric landscape of folds and furrows, inspired by the late work of Miss Newman’s all time hero, Georges Braque.

Another big influence was Anselm Kiefer. “Researching and doing studies of his pieces also taught me that art can have an underlying meaning beyond what you initially see. I did a painting based on the Israel/Palestine conflict, cross referencing it to a biblical story where King Solomon is faced by two women each claiming the same baby. From doing this I found Kiefer’s pieces were more suggestive than literal. I carried this through to my Controlled Test theme of ‘Floodlight’, suggesting tracks lit up by car headlights. I incorporated different media into this oil piece such as hessian and strips of canvas.” Her sketchbook for this documents her process in a visually rich way.

Amelia is now in her second year of a textile degree at Edinburgh College of Art. She changed her mind to take up the short foundation course at Oxford Brookes, having originally applied for a degree in Geography. We were all delighted that Amelia continued with her art and will watch her career with great interest.

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Monette Wan A Level 2015

Hong Kong Streets at Night, etchings

Monette has always worked with a strong awareness of light. She started her Upper 6 year concentrating on figures in lit spaces, inspired by the American artist Edward Hopper, and the 17th century Dutch painter, Pieter de Hooch. She based some work on a recent incident of The Yellow Umbrella Revolution in Hong Kong then focused on the streets of Hong Kong at night. “I wanted to emulate the quiet atmosphere of Hong Kong at night, which is very different from the busy crowded city in the day. Following my research on Hopper, I tried out and enjoyed drypoint etching, a printmaking method of engraving a design onto a plate and transfering it through pressure onto paper. This has become a process I enjoy so much that I have used etching as a medium for my final pieces.�

After a great deal of deliberation, Monette is now studying for a degree in Illustration at Falmouth University, entering this year straight from school.

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Agatha Savage A Level 2013

Rolling Sea, oil on canvas. Paintings on slate

Aggie used the built environment as her starting point for most of her work in the Sixth Form so it was no surprise that she went on to study architecture at Newcastle. She is now in her second year. The textile piece (not illustrated) was part of her Personal Investigation but in her examination she was drawn to the subject matter of sailing. “I sail a lot and so was able to gather a lot of first hand material to work from. With the exam title ‘Rolling’ I wanted to convey the constant movement of the sea and the boats upon it. I liked the idea of the rigid structure of boats contrasting with the looseness of the sea. When choosing my exam composition I looked at several different viewpoints and eventually decided to have the boat decking coming out of the painting. This makes the viewpoint more interesting and the viewer feel closer and more involved in the scene.”

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Emma Carrick Smith A Level 2012

Erosion, West Bay, acrylic on board

Emma became fascinated by surfaces after having seen the Gerhardt Richter exhibition on a school visit. She used the scraping and layering of paint she saw in his work on her clay heads, particularly the ones which had fractured in the kiln. “As my obsession with surface increased, I became very interested in how I could incorporate this into a painting.

I looked at the cliffs at West Bay, especially the surface of the rocks. I really enjoyed working with texture paste and using vibrant colours on a large scale.�

Emma went to Manchester to study Mathematics and Physics and is now doing a Masters in London.

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Annabel Edkins IB 2012

Void, oil, texture paste

Annabel studied visual arts as part of her IB course. She read a great deal and brought into her art her knowledge and experience of literature, philosophy and other aspects of the wide ranging IB course. Her focus on ‘void’ and the suggestion of what is not there or what has already been, has many sources, from Braque to Anish Kapoor and eastern philosophies, from drawing ruins to examining skulls. The Anish Kapoor exhibition was a highpoint for Annabel and she also looked at the painter Ian McKeever, Royal Academy of Arts (RA) “who succeeds beautifully in portraying void with his thin layers of built up paint, a technique that I have attempted to incorporate into my own works as I believe it manages to translate the mystery and potential of the void. Both artists have been influenced by the eastern vision, a path on which I, inevitably, found myself.”

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Jemima Folkes A Level 2013

The Sea, monoprints

Throughout her Sixth Form and even at GCSE, Jemima showed a fascination for the sea as well as a deep curiosity about artists and the ideas behind the making of art. Her response to the land/sea theme grew significantly in maturity and complexity as she gained experience and confidence with paint and other materials. She also spent much time investigating the working practice and meditative quality of the painter Mark Rothko: “Every time I visit the coast I am overwhelmed by the sea’s unrelenting power and presence. For me, it is a source of inspiration with an intangible spiritual element, just as Rothko intended his own works to be.”

Jemima went from an intensive short course at Oxford Brookes to Edinburgh University, where she is now in her second year of Interior Design.

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Polly Pentreath A Level 2015

Corfe Castle, inspired by de Stael, oil on canvas

We have chosen to show a small painting of Corfe Castle rather than Polly’s larger main piece but have filled one of the browsers with Polly’s drawings and colour studies. She said in her statement, “I was captivated by the powerful and evocative atmosphere to be found in abandoned buildings, the paradoxes and contrasts, the way that new organic life can emerge and even take over the existing but neglected structures. The history behind these places also fascinates me.” Polly was truly inspired by the Anselm Kiefer exhibition at the RA and decided to do her personal study on his work, making the paper for this herself. We have included her study here.

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Postal, Amsterdam, acrylic

“For the controlled test I chose the theme of ‘Postal’ and interpreted it to mean the movement of goods, and this led me to look at trade. We visited Amsterdam in the Easter holidays... Trade is central to so much of Amsterdam’s history and culture, so I explored this idea further while I was there. I found the structures and buildings that are strongly connected to trade and the history of trade in Amsterdam really interesting, as well as the ideas surrounding trade such as prosperity and the merging of cultures. This led me to do my final painting of a cantilever bridge with collage, words and numbers connecting to Amsterdam’s history of trade.”

Polly gained 3A*s and 1A for her A Levels, we are therefore very proud of the fact that she decided on an art school future. She is currently doing a foundation year at Falmouth and is hoping to go on to a degree in Fine Art.

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Freya Holmes A Level 2014

Wire Faces

Freya spent her Upper 6 year examining perception and distortion, using the familiarity of faces she knew well. She explored the effects of layering one on another and manipulating her images. “I find the notion of perfectly replicating the portrait limiting. I aimed to develop a series of images using a range of texture and media from pencil to rope, stitching and sculptural wire, taking inspiration from sculptor Gavin Worth.”

Freya flattened out and stretched her wire, using this to draw her faces in space, faces which she then suspended and overlaid. “By overlaying I am able to capture a sense of movement that is otherwise lost in a simple photograph - it’s as if you get a glimpse into what is otherwise missed when we alter our expressions. I was also experimenting with the idea that personalities aren’t fixed, though we are labelled with a characteristic, such as ‘the shy one’.”

Dash, stitch on acetate (not illustrated)

Our hotel on the Art and History of Art tour to New York (April 2014) was just by the Flatiron building, which sits on a triangular plot of land at the manic intersection of Fifth Avenue, Broadway and 23rd Street. One of the first buildings to use a steel frame, it heralded the era of the skyscrapers. “I chose this iconic site for my response to ‘Dash’, and revisited the technique of stitch to transform a flat drawing into a 3D tangible form. I aimed to emphasise the solidity of the Flatiron’s structure set against a more flowing and delicate technique to suggest the continual movement which surrounds it.

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Freya went on to do a foundation course at London College of Communication and has now gained a place at Central St Martins where she is in her first year of a Product Design degree.

Gunel Aliyeva A Level 2015

Fire, sculptural form, plaster, card, broken tiles

Gunel is from Azerbaijan and wanted her art to reflect the rich cultural heritage of her country and the spirit of its culture. The symbol of Fire is at its heart and Gunel produced representations of old fire temples as well as the shape of flames. Gunel was also inspired by a visit to Barcelona where she experienced Gaudi’s architecture. It is a tribute to Gunel’s hard-working approach that she managed to produce a piece that is roughly twice her height. “I have improved my technical skills by creating a flowing, organic sculpture bigger than my size, inspired by Antoni Gaudí and the energy of fire. Focusing on such three-dimensional work allows me to work in a more independent and abstract way, giving me more freedom to express my ideas.”

The sculpture is too large and fragile to travel but we illustrate it here.

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Dee Dee Cheung A Level 2014 St Paul’s Cathedral, screenprint Sherborne Abbey, oil on canvas

Dee Dee’s interest in architecture was apparent at GCSE and she spent most of her Sixth Form making detailed drawings of buildings in London and Hong Kong, “as I pivot between both cities,” and on Sixth Form art trips to Paris and Berlin. “The work I did for this year was inspired by the trip to Paris where I was fascinated by buildings in the Gothic style, such as Sainte Chapelle with its subtle interplay of colour, light and space and St Severin’s incredible palm tree vaulting. This experience further enhanced my interest in architecture.” The Scottish artist Anne Redpath was a clear influence on her painting of Sherborne Abbey, where Dee Dee spent many happy hours drawing in the glorious interior. She is now studying Architecture at University College, London.

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Georgina Clark A Level 2011

New York, screenprint on fabric

We visited New York in the Easter holidays of 2011 and Georgie used her photographic impressions of the city to create a montage effect in her screenprint on fabric. This was her final examination piece in response to the theme ‘Journey’.

Georgina went on to read History of Art at Leeds University and is now in London working in Film PR at Freud Communications.

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Holly Macdonald GCSE 2012

Sense of Place, gouache and wax resist

Holly’s GCSE piece was in response to the theme ‘Sense of Place’ and inspired by visits to ruins at Tintern Abbey and

by John Piper’s work. Holly went on to take A Level Art (and History of Art and Classical Civilisation) and then to an Art Foundation at Bournemouth.

She is now in her second year of the Painting BA at Edinburgh College of Art.

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Cecily Loveys Jervoise A Level 2015

Tension, Amsterdam, oil on canvas

Cecily was drawn to the many bicycles on the bridges and narrow streets in Amsterdam and she linked this with one of the themes on the examination paper: Tension. Cecily is in South Africa on her gap year and has decided to apply to art school, although she had a place to read Philosophy at university. We have also included a piece that she did at GCSE, working in the very recognisable style of Chuck Close and depicting the human ear.

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Lucy Butler A Level 2012

Coastline, North Norfolk, oil on wooden door panel Horizon, North Norfolk, oil on canvas

“Ever since childhood, when I spent many summers in North Norfolk, I have been inspired by its landscape: the large skies, the mudflats and saltmarshes and the particular quality of light that you experience when walking along the coast. During my A Level year I wanted to explore the extraordinary horizon line as a main feature in my work. I’ve experimented with many materials and techniques to find the best way to capture this coastline.” Prior to her Upper 6 year, Lucy had always gravitated toward textiles and collage, but then she decided to tackle painting: “I wanted to discover the way paint works and how versatile it can be. I have used the year to experiment with composition and colour.

The Norfolk landscape is so vast and expansive I felt that applying paint across a panoramic composition would be the best match for this subject matter.”

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Lucy took Photography and History of Art at A Level then went on to do a foundation course in Art and Design at Bournemouth. She is now in her final year of a degree in Cinema and Photography at Leeds University.

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Harriet Howarth A Level 2011

Façade, Lyme, acrylic and inks

Harriet did both Art and Photography A Level and went on to a foundation course at Camberwell, from where she has just graduated with a degree in Fine Art. Whilst at school Harriet worked in a very fluid and experimental way, making many studies of buildings and views over towns such as St Ives and Lyme Regis. We show here a painting of the façade of one of the houses on the sea front in Lyme; this painting now hangs in her Granny’s house in Doncaster.

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Agnes Busby A Level 2012

Memories of Journeys in South Asia, acrylic on canvas

When Aggie started on her Upper 6 year she wanted to convey her impressions and experiences of journeys the family had made to India and Sri Lanka and also incorporate their temporary move to Pakistan. Her intention was to convey, “as accurately and as personally as possible, some of my experiences and emotions while there.” As teachers we guided her away from creating a montage of images; rather to recall the sights, smells and sounds in a more abstract way through colour, pattern and shape. Howard Hodgkin became a dominant influence on Aggie’s style and approach and she focused on his work for her Personal Study. She is now in her third year at St Andrew’s University, studying History of Art. 29

Nathalie Hollis A Level 2012

Façade, screenprint on fabric

Nathalie drew away from the figure for her Controlled Assignment (see Disguise page 48) and she chose to explore the theme ‘Façade’. That Easter we visited Paris and this gave her the opportunity to record the city streets, buildings and cafés as well as all the art she saw. Her sketchbook drawings were transferred to silkscreen by photographic process and she then printed onto an old fabric printing cover, adding areas of colour freely on top of what was already there.

Nathalie went to Camberwell for her foundation course and has remained there for her degree in Illustration.

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Lily Stevens L6 A Level 2015/16

Rhythm and Flow Still Life, acrylic on board

Lily joined us this year from Wells Cathedral School and quickly adapted to the expectations we have of our A Level artists. She painted this more abstract piece after making many studies and some sustained drawing from the large scale still life that we had in the studio (the latter is also exhibited, see page 36). Lily’s current plans are to do a foundation course after her Upper 6 A Level year, then take up a place to read History.

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Lucy Redman A Level 2015

Plant study, ink Kew Gardens triptych, oil on canvas

Lucy is another of our students currently on a foundation course at Falmouth. She has applied for a degree in Animation. For her main coursework in Upper 6 Lucy played to her strengths in drawing and filled her sketchbooks and portfolio with a large number of studies mainly of plant forms relating to their surroundings. “For my Personal Investigation I explored the relationship between structural and skeletal forms found in plants and the environment in which they are nurtured: greenhouses. It was during my visit to the Barbara Hepworth Museum in St Ives that I realised my fascination with organic shape. The sinuous geological curves of Hepworth’s sculptures seemed to be echoed in the surrounding garden... I set up a still life in the studio featuring plants and other natural forms which I then drew from various different angles, experimenting with the use of dramatic lighting and shadow. I developed these compositions further using different materials and techniques, such as a series of dot drawings and exploring the possibilities of negative space. My final and resolved piece for this unit was a large triptych based on my visit to Kew Gardens. Here I wanted to highlight the interlocking and intermingling of the vegetation with the rococo staircase.”

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Charlotte Summerhayes A Level 2015

Skeletal Leaf, wire with organza and threads Plant forms, photograph and pencil drawing Charlotte managed to combine her interests and skills for her final year of A Level, working in various media: textiles, printmaking and sculpture, with drawing always firmly in the background. Her title was ‘Growth and Decay’. She writes, “After visits to Castle Gardens in Sherborne and Kew Gardens, my attention was drawn to leaves and the veiny pattern on their surfaces. I then discovered a decayed leaf, with nothing left but its bare skeleton, which fascinated me with its intricate pattern. I experimented with collagraph and drypoint etching in the Double Elephant Print workshop at school and also did some stitching, batik and drawing.

Then I was led in the direction of sculpture, where I attempted to transform my skeletal drawings into wire forms, taking on the shape of a decayed leaf. I began by making a small maquette to experiment with the way wire worked and how I wanted the form to look. I looked

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at the way Cornelia Parker created a grid of wire, using a melted down bullet as the wire. I then made a larger skeletal leaf model with wire, taking on ideas from Parker, moulding the wire with my hands and suspending the sculpture, allowing it to move and look like a leaf floating in the air.

My final leaf sculpture, the largest of them all, was a piece that I felt encompassed all that I had learnt about the form and shapes of a leaf. I wrapped different coloured thread along some of the main branches and attached organza with stitching to add further intricate detail in particular sections.” We have used Charlotte’s wire sculpture as our ‘signature image’ for this current exhibition. Charlotte gained a place at Falmouth but chose to study for a degree in Art at Edinburgh College of Art, which she loves.

Hofje, Haarlem, screenprint on canvas

“For my Controlled Test I chose the title ‘Patio’. On the art trip to Amsterdam I found my inspiration for the topic in a beautiful ‘hofje’ we entered in Haarlem. These peaceful open courtyards with their brick patios lined with flowerpots full of spring flowers became the perfect composition for me to focus on. After a number of experimental studies, I decided to make three prints, gaining inspiration from a watercolour book by Jenny Wheatley. It was the fluidity, transparency and overlaying of colours which I have always enjoyed creating in studies with ink and watercolour that I wanted to convey in my three prints.”

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Lily Stevens L6 A Level 2015/16

Studio still life, pencil and graphite

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Louisa McGregor L6 A Level 2015/16

The A1 size pencil drawing works are from a very large scale still life environment that was created in the main studio for the theme Rhythm and Flow/Jazz/Shape, Pattern, Colour and Form. The girls spent several weeks making drawings, collages and colour studies, three dimensional, photographic and textile responses to the very colourful display of natural and man-made objects. This familiarity with a group of objects then enables the students to work more freely or expressively and to discover their own personal direction.

Isabelle Crabb A Level 2015

Abandoned Toys, biro. Abandoned Toys, pencil Hommage to my Grandfather, textiles (appliqué and stitch) Issy has always loved to draw and when confronted with having to choose her own personal direction for the Upper 6 year she started with observation drawing. She chose objects that had been loved once, but abandoned – Miss Newman’s old teddy bear, Boboff, lying in the stock cupboard, came into service.

Issy then went on to work from her grandparents’ farm.

She says, “Much of the farm had been abandoned since her grandfathers death about ten years ago. I wanted to explore the idea of his presence through the objects left behind. I was particularly interested in my grandfather’s workshop; this was where he spent most of his time and I would often help out as a child. I observed the tools left in their original places and their still, very organised arrangement. I worked with this arrangement to create different compositions. In my final piece I used different

fabrics and stitching to create three collages of tools.

These were inspired by the rusty tools left in one of the chest of drawers in the workshop. I wanted to use soft textiles to contrast with the cold, hard, metallic appearance and texture of the objects themselves, making them more seductive in texture, colour and composition. I also wanted to reflect the mood of the cold, abandoned workshop by using a cold palette of blues and purples. I chose to present the collages in frames that mimic the original drawers that I was first inspired by. I believe my personal investigation acts as a homage to my grandfather, who was passionate about his farm.”

Issy is currently taking a gap year and has a place on the joint Art / History of Art degree course at Leeds University.

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Clockwise from the top; etchings, oil on canvas, watercolour, oil on canvas

Ellie Hollis A Level 2015

Private Moments; My Father Pencil portrait of Olly Suter

Ellie entered her Upper 6 year determined to work from the figure, having done some studies on the New York art trip of characters in Zabar’s - a deli on Upper West Side - for her AS summer examination. She realised that she needed to draw/paint people she knows well, to be familiar with their characteristics and mannerisms in order to give the work life. Her father proved a very suitable subject for her theme of ‘private moments’ and we all had quite a shock when Mr Hollis walked into the main studio with the rest of the family for her show – his likeness to his daughter’s various watercolours and paintings was uncanny!

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Tessa Gough-Allen A Level 2015

Study of a boy, ink

Tessa is now on her gap year and has a place to read History of Art at Leeds. Her main theme was ‘Distortion’, using portraits as her starting point and Francis Bacon, Jenny Saville and Picasso as her main contextual references. To represent her body of work we have chosen an ink study of a boy, rather than her finished, more abstract outcome. As Tessa says, “Working on a larger scale has more impact and portrays a more convincing sense of the personality.”

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Victoria Mabey A Level 2011 Journey, acrylic on canvas

Victoria has now graduated from Edinburgh with a degree in History of Art and French.

Her A Level examination piece was in response to the theme ‘Journey’ and Victoria used her walking boots as a symbol of a journey on foot through areas of London.

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Sophie Wong A Level 2015

Life drawing, pastel Life drawing, black ink 42

Drawing the nude figure is of great value to all students of painting and sculpture and at Sherborne Girls we wait until the girls are in their Upper 6 year to have regular weekly life drawing sessions. These 2 hour classes are after the school day, usually in the Michaelmas term and some weeks in the Lent term alongside the lectures for the foreign trip. I find running these classes very rewarding as the girls start off feeling very exposed and worry about ‘getting it right’ but after a few sessions their confidence builds and they begin to produce very expressive, often very quick drawings as well as longer more carefully analysed pieces. They enjoy the intensity of the sessions and the variety of materials and approaches we use. Life drawing enables participants to learn how to make visual judgements about shapes and their relationship to each other and tonal transitions and is therefore a valuable skill to have for all disciplines in art and design.

Tatiana Guinness AS Level 2013 Plant, pencil drawing

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Sophie Wong A Level 2015

Drawings from natural objects/ sculpture of seed pod

Sophie worked from natural objects, such as bones, rocks and shells, teasing out the rhythms and using dynamic mark-making to describe the crevices and hollows of these organic forms. Inspired by Cristo’s wrapping and unwrapping of actual buildings and bridges in fabric, she also looked at folds. “….During the personal investigation I brought together these ideas to create a large-scale abstracted form of a seed pod, whose outer layer was pulled back to reveal glossy red seeds which hung from the top. The making of this sculpture was very complicated and required a lot of time and patience in order to maintain a stable structure. I faced multiple challenges through this process and learned many new techniques, the most challenging being the construction of the armature because I intended the sculpture to be hollow... I am thrilled with the outcome and feel that it displays the skills I have picked up well this year.” This sculpture is rather too large and fragile to travel but we illustrate it here.

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Tension, 3 D piece, card armature, plaster and wire

For her 15 hour examination last summer Sophie looked at the internal structure of a shell; she was excited by the outer form being broken to reveal the spiral column within. Confronting the sculptures of both Barbara Hepworth and Naum Gabo encouraged her to explore negative space and to use wire, thereby exploring the ‘tension’ between mass and space. She made a number of small maquettes before working on her final piece. Sophie is now on her gap year and has a place at Bath University to study Biology.

Holly Macdonald A Level 2014

Car Scrapyard, oil on board

Holly started her Upper 6 year inspired by the detail to be found in dragonflies but then changed to a very different visual stimulus - car scrapyards. “I chose to focus mainly on the latter as it provided a means by which I could push the boundaries of my art, producing gritty and gestural works. I began by testing materials and seeing how I could work them to mimic rust, and then by arranging compositions..., either using colour or just charcoal to achieve rich images.�

Our framer has had fun with Holly’s painting.

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Isabel Clancy A Level 2013

Memories of Summer, North Berwick, diptych, acrylic on board Gannet, 3D piece with steel armature, fabric and paper

“This year I have tried to capture the Scottish coastline of North Berwick in an exciting and atmospheric way, primarily through colourful and usually large scale paintings and ink works. I feel that I have created a successful strong body of work that has conveyed my connection with the area that I visit annually, focusing on seascapes as well as the infamous local seabird, the gannet, whose quirky personality had me captivated whilst up close to the colony on a boat trip this past summer.

Capturing their curiosity and clumsiness was a challenge, but when I completed the sculpture I felt I had uncovered this quality, and had the confidence to paint the character back into my previous work.

A celebrated local artist, John Bellany, proved a great source of inspiration as he incorporates the serenity of the seascapes and islands with the intimidating and often surreal aspects of the fishing culture, such as bringing the daily catch to life. Making a seascape more than a view was an aim and I wanted to add a narrative that is confusing and ‘weird’, by making the mood uncertain. I hope I have done so, and in my large diptych there seems to be a sense of unease and danger.”

Isabel is now in her second year on the Fine Art course at Camberwell, still painting gestural works. She remains in touch.

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Nathalie Hollis A Level 2012 Disguise, Triptych, oil on canvas

Nathalie has always been interested in fashion more specifically, how costume can reveal or conceal a person’s character. She explored the possibilities of transformation and disguise, starting with the archetype of harlequin. She not only made the costume for this herself but also screenprinted the fabric. This work culminated in three paintings. I quote here from Nathalie’s sketchbook which we hope also to display: “... I decided on dark curtains and stage setting with illuminated sign behind figures as contributes to theme of disguise... Figure on far right having transformation of disguise – clown make up.

Figure in middle in disguise playing sinister character ‘the judging clown,’ pointing to left figure who is almost the aftermath of disguise – smudgy make up, sombre, moody pose. Although slightly ambiguous there is a narrative present.”

Egon Schiele was Nathalie’s most important artist reference, but you will also see that Edward Hopper featured in her supporting work.

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Alice Dudgeon A Level 2014

Struggles of the human body through illness and human intervention

“Struggling with a hyperthyroid from a young age, I have tried to bring a sense of reality to my work, exposing the side effects of medication and both the vulnerability and spectacular beauty within the exterior and interior of the human body. In light of this, at the start of the year I began exploring, ‘The human body struggles with illness’. I manipulated fabrics and substances working mainly with visceral pastes and crude colours, trying to capture our bodies’ responses to human intervention. I visited the ‘Cradle to Grave’ exhibit at the British Museum, which incorporated a lifetime supply of prescribed drugs. Knitted into two lengths of fabric it illustrated the medical stories of one woman and one man. I struggled to believe the amount of drugs taken by an average person and tried to reflect this in my textile work. Gabriel Orozco’s ‘My hands are my heart’ reminded me of a small bone-like structure as seen at the Royal College of Surgeons’ Hunterian Museum. I became intrigued by the extensive collection of anatomical specimens usually hidden away. The mundane appearance of the large livers particularly interested me and I created a series of mono-prints, watercolours and pen and ink drawings inspired by them. Transforming the browns into patterns of varied colour, I researched three particular parts – gall bladder, vena cava and the area of indentation from the kidneys transforming the functional into the ornamental. I experimented with ceramics, welding and combinations of mud-roc, paper maché, wire and stitch, transitioning from a two dimensional, linear approach to sculptural, gem-like forms.”

Alice went straight from her foundation course into the second year at Edinburgh College of Art, where she is doing a degree in Sculpture. She remains in touch, although sadly she cannot be with us for this exhibition as she has her end of year show the same week.

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Octavia (Kitty) Hardman A Level 2013

Taped, Tied and Bound, mixed media on board

When Kitty joined us in Lower 6 it was clear that she had a fascination with the body, the physicality of Jenny Saville’s figures proving a big influence. She also loves exploring texture. “The feel of thick impasto paint or bubbling texture paint is enticing.” We are exhibiting Kitty’s response to the title ‘Taped, Tied and Bound’, one of the summer examination themes.

“I began my Upper 6 Personal Investigation by looking at how society can suppress individuals, and how one can feel restrained by society’s views. For the Controlled Test I again focused on the body – but not a human one. This time, after looking at the work of Francis Bacon and Chaim Soutine, I took a chicken carcass and a lamb’s heart as my inspiration.

In my work I want to evoke a sense of being and it is perhaps ironic, you may think, that I chose to use a dead carcass since it is bereft of being. Yet for me, it was perfect: the texture of the meat, the deep red-purple hues, the way the meat bulged beyond the constraining string – I found it inspiring. Within my work I want to capture a rawness: the unforgiving depiction of the female nude, the reality of the way women are perceived, the visceral quality of the meat and its connotations.” Kitty did go on to do a foundation course at Camberwell but decided for the time being not to continue with her art. She is now just finishing her Quest Professional, Executive PA Course in Grosvenor Place, London.

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Katharine Evelegh U6 A Level 2015/16

Ten days in the Picos Mountains, oil on board

“In this piece I concentrated on the idea of layers, and the overlapping of separate moments, scenes and periods of time in an effort to capture my incredible experience in the Picos De Europa, in a way that one image alone could not.”

Katharine is currently studying History and History of Art as well as Art A Level and, after a gap year, will take up a place to read History of Art.

Francesca Enever L6 A Level 2015/16

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Francesca’s methodical approach to creating art work allowed her to produce this series of plaster cast, born out of the studies she made from fishermen’s ropes in the harbour side. The feeling of tension and flow that she aimed to convey shows in her attention to detail, using textural effects in the clay.

Grace Berry A Level 2013

Clay Vessels

Grace studied the landscape around her home in Sussex and looked at many artists that embody ‘Spirit of Place’ for her Personal Study. Her main talent was in making and she had an instinctive understanding of materials so we asked Mrs Joan Biles, who used to teach at Sherborne Girls and lives locally, to work with Grace in ceramics. We are exhibiting three of the resulting clay vessels, all of which evoke landscape as well as being extremely well crafted.

Grace did a foundation year at Bournemouth then took up a place to study History of Art and English at Edinburgh University. She is doing a curating course this term and is seriously considering a career as an art curator. She has just accepted an offer for a year out at Haverford College, a liberal Arts College just outside Philadelphia, starting in August this year.

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Hollows and Cavities, acrylic on canvas

Hattie is now in her Upper 6 year and intends to go on to a medical career. Art has always absorbed Hattie and her work this year manages to combine her main interests and preoccupations whilst working towards a more fluid and abstract painting style. She spent last term making many detailed pencil and ink studies of the human skeleton, drawing from skulls and bones, working from X rays and looking at how disease affects areas of the brain. She visited medical institutions and was inspired by the displays whilst also looking closely at sculpture by Barbara Hepworth and the paintings of Ian McKeever and Mark Rothko. In her mock examination she worked on a square format and built up many layers of colour to achieve the depth she wanted.

“Long before deciding to study medicine, I admired the anatomy of the body. I am fascinated by the undulations, hollows and scoops of bone that form a sort of bodily landscape that can be admired. Through my work I hope to illuminate the beauty of anatomy that we are so used to seeing only in the light of disease or injury.�

Hattie Comer-Calder U6 A Level 2015/16

Sophia Hutchinson U6 A Level 2015/16

Forgotten Spaces, oil on canvas

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“I was given the title Forgotten Spaces as it linked on to the work that I had been doing previously. I had been focusing on the abandoned wartime village of Tyneham on the Dorset coast. I decided to change my subject to a forgotten space closer to home; the attic in the barn at the end of the garden. In five years I had only ever gone up there once or twice to see what it was like. It is empty apart from ivy growing over a few boxes left by people who were there before us. The beams gave a satisfying geometric structure, and although it was only a barn, the light shining through the one window made it seem mystical and spiritual. After trying out oil painting for the first time in October and loving the medium for the ability to change your image and move paint around the canvas I decided to do an oil painting. I found that the composition was more powerful if I put the focus of attention off centre. I split the painting into four canvases to break up the large image. The key aspect that I wanted to portray was the quality of light on the beams and across the floor.

Sophia intends to study Architecture, post A Level.

Lily Purbrick U6 A Level 2015/16

Heads, acrylic and mixed media

“My work involves four equal sized canvases, each depicting individual, faceless, profiled heads. These heads are physically attached to each other by glue and tissue paper, but perhaps metaphorically as well. Maybe the heads are the same person but from several angles, suggesting multiple selves within a singular person or possibly they are different people attached to each other, dependent on one another, endangered, vulnerable. I used strong lines to connect all four canvases together, these lines seemed ambiguous as they appear to be linking the canvases together, when in fact they are fragmented and broken up, perhaps suggesting our ephemeral and fragmented world. They also look aggressive and violent, as if they are almost decapitating the heads, piercing through like bullets. These different interpretations are unexpected discoveries; I feel as if unconsciously my visual mind has driven me to produce these four canvases, which in turn has evoked emotions and feelings that I never thought I would be able to portray subtly in a piece of art.� Lily is going on to do a foundation course at either Falmouth or Bournemouth.

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Amelia Jeffcock A Level 2012

Mother Elephant and Calf, oil on canvas 58

Amelia visited a couple of zoos as well as using photographs of India as a reference for this painting of a mother elephant and her very young calf. “The size was important to draw the viewer in as well as to try and create an appreciation for the scale of the elephant’s form. I was inspired by Franz Marc’s technique of using unnatural colours to portray animals, especially after I saw his painting Yellow Cow in New York. I decided to paint the elephant using mostly a colour scheme of yellow and purple with a dark background. I feel to a certain extent that I was trying to project the beauty and grace of the elephant in a more expressive rather than literal way.” Amelia is attending George Mason University, which is just outside Washington D.C. She is majoring in Geography and double minoring in Intelligence Analysis and Photography (with a focus on film photography). “Another artist I was inspired by was a young artist called Odile Kidd who paints extremely detailed paintings with all of the focus being on the animal. What I like about her work is each animal she paints has it own character. I particularly like her painting of a red parrot which really became alive with its expressive brush strokes. Likewise I tried to use expressive brush stokes to capture the form and movement of the elephant and her calf.

In the background I merged the trees from the photograph of the elephants in their original setting, the zoo, with the trees from the photos of India so to put the elephant in a natural wild setting.” We have also included works that Amelia has done while in the USA.

Pandora Covell U5 GCSE 2015/16

Landscape, Sunset, acrylic on canvas

Pandora and Alice produced these pieces for their ‘mock’ examination last November. They were given the titles a few weeks prior to the examination sessions and were asked to prepare their ideas so that they had the research and information they needed in order to produce their outcome. Pandora decided on a triptych using her local landscape in Hampshire, and Alice, who lives in Hong Kong, chose a high vantage point to observe the street life below. Both girls used paint subtly and learned a great deal from having to paint within a time frame.

Alice Wong U5 GCSE 2015/16 People in Public Spaces, acrylic on board

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Francesca Enever L6 A Level 2015/16

Three small paintings, acrylic on board

Francesca looked at Alfred Wallis when she worked with ‘harbours’ at GCSE and has a natural inclination to simplify and use clearly defined forms and colours. Her three paintings from this year’s still life have taken several weeks to complete, but we feel the effort was worth it! Mary Feddon and Braque were artists to whom she referred.

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Lily Stevens A Level 2015

Sensitive selection of fabrics and threads helped to depict the starting point for this appliqué piece, which was a still life based around the theme ‘Jazz, Pattern, Rhythm and Flow’. Fabric and stitch is used in a very fluid and exciting way.

Francesca Enever L6 A Level 2015/16

This applique took inspiration from a large dried artichoke. Fran has selected muted, sensitive colours and textures of fabric for the background. This enables the artichoke that has been machine stitched in black to stand out.

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Appliqués by Middle 5

The felted and appliqué pieces took inspiration from a still life on the theme ‘Jazz, Pattern, Rhythm and Flow’.

Careful selection of threads, fabric and fibres and composition help to make these visually exciting pieces.

Anna Von Contzen GCSE 2015 Elizabeth Gunton L6 A Level 2015/16 62

Mary Butler L6 A Level 2015/16

Screenprint

Maya Whitman GCSE 2015

Marina Lawrence GCSE 2014 Linoprint

Rhythm and Flow, stitched felt pieces

These delightful textile pieces take their inspiration from thin slices of fruit. Maya has used felting, machine and hand embroidery to represent the details of the structure of the grapefruit segments.

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Mary Butler L6 A Level 2015/16

Rhythm and Flow, acrylic on canvas

Mary looked at the work of Matisse and used acrylics to simplify her forms into a coherent and harmonious composition. Her use of subtle colour and strong sense of linear rhythm has drawn many comments in the studio.

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Polly Pentreath A Level 2015

Fashion-Forward Party Dress, silk, lace and laser cut polyester

Polly produced this silk party dress embellished with laser-cut florals, which are individually hand sewn alongside the delicate beading. The dress was designed for a fashion focused client, so Polly used trend forecasting to influence her ideas.

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Imogen Folkes GCSE 2015

Midsummer Night’s Dream Final Piece, textiles, rigilene and 3D flowers

Imogen’s brief was to design a costume suitable for the role of Titania in Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. She used iridescent dupion silk to create the structured bodice and embellished the garment with flowers made from a mixture of organzas, satins and silks to create a whimsical appearance.

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Georgia Benney A Level 2012

Boutique Evening Wear, mixed textiles

Georgia created this dress for a local high-end boutique that wanted to introduce a new range of evening wear.

She worked closely with the owner and held regular consultations in order to produce appropriate designs. This experience proved invaluable as Georgia went on to study Fashion Communication and Promotion at Nottingham Trent and is now working as a photoshoot production assistant at The White Company.

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Rebecca Penfold A Level 2015

Flower Girl, textiles and sublimation printing

Rebecca used a computer aided design programme to create the floral repeat pattern on this delicate overskirt. She transferred the design using sublimation printing to create a more modern aesthetic to this traditional flower girl dress.

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Eloise Newman GCSE 2015

Natural Forms Final Piece, textiles and laser cut 3D flowers

Eloise wanted to create a natural forms gown to be used for a masquerade ball. She took her inspiration from waterlilies resting on deep and dark lakes, using the richness of velvet and iridescence of organza to create the dress. She made the 3D flowers by laser cutting the shapes and sewing them by hand.

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Grace Palmer GCSE 2015

Natural Forms Final Piece, textiles, beading and laser cutting

The brief for this project was to design and make a party dress suitable for an autumnal occasion. Grace based her work on shimmering water and the bright reds of tropical fish. She has used delicate beading to decorate and laser cut fabrics to represent scales around the waistline.

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Celia Tempest-Radford A Level 2014

Steampunk Waistcoat, textiles, laser cut leather and plywood

Celia was inspired by the aesthetic characteristics of steampunk, a sub-genre of science fiction that typically features steam powered machinery, especially those used in industrialised western civilization during the 19th century. Celia used a mixture of wool, leather, plywood and polyester to create contrasting textures and lustre within the waistcoat.

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Dorothée Württemberg U6 A Level 2015/16

Visual Geometry, 3D piece

Dorothée is a natural experimenter, this has resulted in a range of outcomes that mixes materials and making processes. It was intended to be displayed outside because the sunlight penetrates translucent wax making the pattern of the chicken wire visible, giving the appearance of honeycomb.

“I was influenced by the British sculptor Reg Butler, who used industrial materials to create tower-like multimedia forms consisting of lines and solid geometric shapes. I also loved Naum Gabo’s use of transparency in his sculptures. Dorothée has a place at Conde Nast College of Fashion and Design to study Business and Fashion.”

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Charlotte Rouse GCSE 2015

Charlotte’s work is always born out of her love of drawing.

She understands the importance of visualising a form and its structure. This is one of her first highly refined GCSE pieces where she has combined a card armature, plaster skin and a ceramic centre piece, to create a sculpture that combines texture and form through its relationship with surface and centre. Charlotte is now taking the IB course, with Visual Arts as one of her six main study areas.

Avery Owen U5 GCSE 2015/16

Avery’s focus for this mock examination piece was Mother and Child and the theme of protection. Henry Moore and Richard Deacon were two of the many artists that inspired her. A combination of materials and sense of scale in her work is definitely one of her strengths.

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Georgina Mackenzie A Level 2015

‘The Ark’, designed to be used and enjoyed at Sherborne Girls for students to socialise and admire. This product combines a careful balance between aesthetics and ergonomics to create stunning seating to be enjoyed by the girls.

Georgina has a place at Loughborough studying Industrial Design & Technology, which she will start in October 2016 following her gap year.

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Grace Storrie U5 GCSE 2015/16 Alice Wong U5 GCSE 2015/16

Discovering the sculptural capabilities of materials is always something that is of great importance in Grace’s work. “For this piece I was heavily influenced by Anthony Caro and David Smith, two artists that work very differently with metal to create planes and lines, have movement and form. I particularly liked David Smith’s use of metal to create line and then to create shape. My aim was to create a metal form using metal that had with more than one immediate shape. I hoped that together these individual yet connected planes once joined would encourage the viewer to explore the sculpture from every angle.”

Alice did her artist study on Balinese Art, which enabled her to produce a series of works based on the artwork and culture of Bali. She adapted her table which all students were given to produce this 3-dimensional sculpture that uses the culturally iconic dragon as its centre piece.

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Zeta Leung A Level 2012

A birch plywood product designed to be used as a desk chair in a small room. The chair has simple clean lines that allow light to pass through. The design allows the user to sit comfortably while working and is finished using a red lacquer.

Zeta has recently graduated in Product Design and is currently working at Eva Menz Design Studio, a company specialising in sculptural chandelier installations.

Eliza Masterton GCSE 2011

Mahogany and sycamore mirror designed for a teenage girl’s bedroom and adaptable to different styles of decor, allowing use by the client in different locations.

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Philippa Smith A Level 2013 & GCSE 2011

Designed for her client’s newly renovated hallway, the ash hallway table is a functional piece and an aesthetic design with subtle features. The design also complements her mirror, which was produced previously, using contrasting ash and American black walnut inlay, both pieces have been finished to an excellent standard.

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Claudia Ngapo A Level 2015

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This piece was designed and manufactured to address Claudia’s client’s requirements of letting her baby sleep safely alongside the same bed as the parent, while giving the feeling of sleeping in the same bed. The teak and laminated birch plywood cot includes storage and will later be used as child's seating. Claudia is hoping to pursue a career in child care.

Imogen Andrews GCSE 2014

Designed for her client to be used by pilates students while waiting for appointments. The storage areas underneath are compartments to fit one pair of shoes per compartment. The product is well finished using ash with frosted acrylic panels.

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Rebecca Orton GCSE 2014

This chair was initially designed for a teenager’s room, to be used as a desk chair, but is far too comfortable to work in.

Manufactured from cold bent mild steel, ensuring the frame is stressed and therefore does not require additional support. The leather straps are tied, so can be adjusted to suit the user.

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Charlotte Summerhayes GCSE 2013 Charlotte combined smooth and tactile curves with simplistic style to produce this elegant side table designed for everyday use. The birch plywood legs were laminated in a former and together with an ash top are finished to a very high standard.

Charlotte is currently studying Art at Edinburgh.

Eloise Carrow GCSE 2011

A simple and aesthetic design, this functional oak hallway table was designed to the client’s requirements and finished to a high standard.

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Antonia Matthews GCSE 2013

A stunning console table made in oak, designed for the client’s hallway. A solid and functional piece, with sliding drawer storage integrated into the aesthetically beautiful table.

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Katharine Evelegh GCSE 2014

Birch Plywood side table to be used in client’s living room. The design uses laminated birch plywood to create the central spiral and stained wooden columns. Katharine is currently an A Level student at Sherborne Girls.

Tatiana Bridge GCSE 2014

An aesthetically striking design which is certainly a talking piece for any visitors to the Design and Technology department at Sherborne Girls. Inspired by an overseas trip and initial design concept sketched on hotel notepaper, this challenging piece evolved as a functional and beautiful table, combining ash, oak and teak. Tatiana has gone on to study A Level Product Design.

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English oak storage box

Edwina Savage GCSE 2012

American black walnut jewellery box

Alexa Palmer GCSE 2014

Wooden bangles

Birch veneer potted herb shelf

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Philippa Williams GCSE 2011

Lower 4 students collection

Flora Wordie GCSE 2015

Individually embossed copper leaves mounted on a brazed steel branch frame and an oak centre, giving a natural and organic finish to this clock designed for a client’s kitchen. Flora is currently studying IB at Sherborne Girls, completing her first year and has included Design & Technology as one of her chosen subjects at higher Level.

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Emma Wurfbain A Level 2011

This mahogany table with a sycamore star inlaid top combines a wide range of skills and techniques to produce a simple, yet stylish and eye-catching piece.

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Lucy Hatherell GCSE 2014

Amber Lacey A Level 2015

A revolving piece for table top storage of regularly referred to books in an attractive and space saving design. The teak and sycamore were chosen to complement the existing furniture in the client’s home. Lucy is currently studying for A Levels at Sherborne Girls, including Product Design and is making a table for her major coursework.

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Alice Shelton-Agar U6 A Level 2015/16 The Sherborne Girls exhibition showcases a retrospective selection of photographs by Sixth Form Photography students. It features an eclectic mix of 24 works extrapolated from themed portfolios by a range of different students over 5 years. Images include the genres of street life, portraiture, still life, fashion and architectural photography; fusing together subjects such as shop windows, passers-by, cars, signs and New York. All 24 works are digital creations or have been developed through a creative process, often having undergone digital enhancement or manipulation using industry standard Photoshop software. The lack of clear detail, the blurring of movement and the reduction in depth of field, as well as the use of composite techniques combine to create a traditional photographic language of colour and abstraction, while exploring issues of contemporary significance.

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Minnie Lupin-Isles U6 A Level 2015/16

Eliza Carr U6 A Level 2015/16 89

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Rebecca Orton U6 A Level 2015/16 91

Acknowledgements We would like to give sincere thanks to the following people for their practical help and advice in the mounting of this exhibition and production of catalogue;

John Symes technical help and building of plinths and scale model Kath Fretwell co-ordinator of catalogue

Glenn Coombs Shelleys The Printers, design and printing of catalogue Nicolas Wright photographs of artwork for catalogue Miss Daphne Middleton proof reading catalogue

Edwin Astbury, framing of artwork

Alastair MacAndrew framing of artwork and selection panel

Mrs Jacqueline Baker, Dr Gill Oliver, Mark Chapman, Fernando Velasquez, selection panel for artwork Stephen Feather and team, Menier Gallery ART Removals, Sherborne

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Rebecca Clapp 2013 Please note that we will not be able to exhibit all of the work that is illustrated in this catalogue and there may be some work in the gallery which we were unable to include here.

making our mark

Sherborne Girls Bradford Road Sherborne Dorset DT9 3QN T. 01935 818224 E. enquiry@sherborne.com www.sherborne.com