You are cordially invited to the open viewing and a glass of wine, of the magic paintings of Angela Ferreira. This Thursday 23rd of June, 7 pm at the Gate Arts Centre in Roath.
10% of the sales will be kindly donated to the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Exhibition will then run from 23rd of June – 17th July
The Gate Art Centre web: http://www.thegate.org.uk/
Keppoch Street
Roath
Cardiff
Mandala & Symbolism
Collaborative Canvas Project at Teenage Cancer Trust, University Heath Hospital of Wales
The Teenage Cancer Trust Unit within the Cardiff University Hospital for Wales is a charity that focuses on the needs of teenagers and young adults with cancer. This collaborative canvas is the final product of a series of art workshops at the Unit, inspired by Mandalas and Symbology. All art made during the workshops was produced initially through drawing and painting and primarily through exercises that come in the form of drawing, painting to music and getting in touch with your own inner feelings as a form of expression.
The participants were encouraged to look within and work intuitively with symbols and motifs that are valued and devoted by the individuals. The canvas is a final piece exclusively created by the patients, families, staff and visitors alike and simply facilitated by the artist.
The Sanskrit meaning of mandala is circle. The circle is a symbol of perfection, eternity, unity and completeness, and this also represents very well the collaborative spirit in the creation of this canvas for this project.
It wasn’t until mid Renaissance times that anyone other than the church was wealthy enough to afford decorative commissioned paintings. People wanted to show their wealth by asking painters and sculptors to do this.
Roman Art was almost as wallpaper, it covered most of the interior walls, outdoors murals, shop walls and ceilings.
Art form then, was a service to others, a technical skill brought into your establishment with limited individual freedom. Nevertheless, many artists while working for the church and patrons would also benefit from food and bedding as guests while executing their assignments.
In contemporary times, artists are given an assignment and we often pre-negotiate payment, theme, color scheme, size, etc…
Has the artist possess limited freedom in their work? What are the personal benefits besides the payment that an artist accomplishes from a commission that moves away from the individual style?
The challenge is that an artist has to re-think their work outside their ‘safe-comfort zone’ and create pieces that satisfy the commissioner as much as themselves.
I personally found this a very enjoyable journey for a professional artist. These five paintings shown here are an allocated comission to Novotel Hotel in my local zone.
After given a brief, I have walked to my studio thinking, researched and re-invent some artform that would still fall in to the client’s expectation and of course carry on my style signature. A challenge that I have truly enjoyed with the added bonus of discovering a new facet to my developing art skills.
Is a traditional artist an ego seeker? What is an artist true goal when producing art, is it their own fulfillment, or is it the rewarding enjoyment of public/patrons approval?
