The joys of shared reading

Bell House runs a monthly Shared Reading group which is open to all and free to attend.

But what happens at a meeting? A group of people, one of them a trained Reader Leader, reads a great novel, short story or poem aloud. The group then talk about what has been read. There is no need for group members to read aloud or speak – it’s fine to just listen. The idea is to create a space where people feel at ease. 

As members of a choir get enjoyment from singing together, so reading the literature aloud in real-time, means that everyone is involved in a shared, live experience. Group members are encouraged by the Reader Leader to respond personally, sharing feelings, thoughts and memories provoked by the reading BUT only if they want to. The sharing of the reading experience allows more connections to be made. The group share and develop the meaning together and develop their thinking as a result of listening to others during the reading experience.

Shared Reading is not a therapy but most find they get benefit beyond reading. People are bringing their life experiences and the literature into the focus of a prism. They’re looking through it and just see themselves at first and then they realise that there’s loads of other people and they’ve got all different reasons for going and enjoying it.

The meetings are held online and the next one is on Tuesday 25 October -18.00 - 19.00. Visit: http://www.bellhouse.co.uk/upcoming-events

Drawing in the Garden

In September, Bell House ran a series of drawing workshops for adults and children. Artist Liz Charsley encouraged participants to use our gardens as inspiration and was on hand to provide guidance and encouragement. Hear from Mary, who attended the Saturday sessions, below.

I was lucky enough to attend a ‘Drawing in the Garden’ course for three Saturday mornings at Bell House in September and October 2021 run by the excellent artist Liz Charsley.

Bell House has a truly beautiful garden with a wide array of amazing flowers and interesting nooks and crannies for exploration. It was great also to see and chat to the excellent volunteers in action who help to make the garden so beautiful. The first two Saturdays were gloriously sunny. A group of about a dozen students met Liz in the garden while she told us all about the various different media we could use; pencils, charcoal, ink, watercolour or even a mixture. She showed and demonstrated some of her own work to give us some ideas. She then encouraged us to explore the garden and decide where we would like to sit to do our work. It was really peaceful and tranquil sitting in the garden on these glorious sunny days giving time for reflection. Liz came round on a regular basis to give us tips to help us on our way. Midway through there was a welcome break for a coffee and a chat. At the end of the sessions Liz looked at our pictures with us and gave us supportive encouragement. It was so interesting to see the various different media used by everyone and all the different results. During the third Saturday, the weather took a turn for the worse. Liz quickly moved us all inside making sure that the door and windows were open and everyone wore masks. A couple of us did sit outside for a while. As the weather worsened, I put my chair on the steps which had a covering so I did not get wet. My watercolour did get slightly wet but I think that it only added to the art work. I definitely learnt some very useful tips and ideas from Liz and it was great to get to know the other students too. My artwork now sits just below the TV in the front room so that I can enjoy looking at it every day.

Bell House Sculpture Park with Dulwich Festival

We are excited to be writing here about our first public event since restrictions began! Join us from May 7th as we take part in Dulwich Festival’s Artist Open House with the Bell House Sculpture Park.

The Bell House gardens will be open during the festival exhibiting works of 11 artists. Some of the artist’s have made new works in response to the architecture and history of the house. ••The Collectors for example, a dance trio interested in archives and collating resources from unique spaces, are working on a piece titled “34 Pictures”. The images have been collected from the Bell House archives to grow a meandering durational dance piece. The group explain how they use dance to ‘create moving sculptures, dynamic pathways and at times bizarreness across the landscape of the Bell House grounds’.** Likewise Isobel Finlay, a Camberwell graduate interested in traditional processes and hand-craft, is working on a piece inspired by the hexagonal Georgian windows at the front of the house.

The Collectors: development and process for “34 Pictures”

Other exhibiting artists include sculpting duo Dominic McHenry and Jim Shepherd, or BASK, who work with geometric carved wood encased in forged metal. Augustus Stickland, trained carpenter and another Camberwell graduate, presents notched and pared monoliths. Just last year Augustus had a solo sculpture show in Ruskin Park titled “Stickland” with Denmark Hill gallery Blue Shop Cottage. Ikra Arshad experiments with playful perspex shapes to create ‘joyous spaces amongst nature and around public places’. Annie Antoine and Kim Parker work with clay creating ceramic pieces that are intimate and powerful (an exciting nod to the Bell House pottery plans that will hopefully be underway this year!) These sculptures will find a fresh context in the Bell House garden, chiming with or contrasting against the environment to create new atmospheres and unfolding narratives…

“Oak (1 2 3) ” 2019 by Augustus Stickland

…but can words do justice to the experience of standing next to these sculptures? Feeling their presence alongside your own? Seeing their shadows upon grass and tree trunk? Visit Bell House in May to become part of these installations!

Such sensory experiences will be heightened by a sound-piece developed by the Rye Poets & composer David Clark Allen. Rye Poets, comprising of Pia Goddard, Joan Byrne and Helen Adie, create spoken word works which are ‘[a] heady mix of wit, pathos and choral work’. For the Sculpture Park a poem has been woven into a bee-buzzing soundscape composed by David, ‘…a founding father of flamenco-fusion music in the 70s’. A heady mix indeed! Talking of bees, Jack Fawdry Tatham is working alongside Kennington apiary and social enterprise, Bee Urban, to build geometric solitary bee habitats so us humans won’t be the only ones enjoying the show!

We also have some special works on loan by Ron Hitchins, a Chinese-Lithuanian artist-cum-flamenco dancer, born in 1926 in Hackney. Hitchen’s made fibreglass abstract sculptures inspired by the likes of Barbara Hepworth and Max Ernst. He is little known but his works, alongside his unusual house and furniture which is decoratively clad in his fibreglass tiles, are growing in notoriety.

Intrigued? We look forward to welcoming you all to the Bell House Sculpture Park! Ikra Arshad sums up our aim for this Sculpture Park beautifully when she shared the following piece of writing with us:

‘Parks & outdoor spaces have been our saviour this past year… I was excited to be asked to take part in this show, mainly because right now, we need things that enhance our feelings of hope and joy more than ever.’

“Hospice in the Weald” 2019 by Ikra Arshad

**Unfortunately, The Collectors’ durational dance piece has been postponed in line with current government guidelines! We plan to show their work later in the summer!

Are you a Sculptor? Tell us in the comments below or share you work with us on socials:

insta + facebook @bellhousedulwich

twitter @bellhousenews

Works will be for sale!

Check out events page here for latest updates and how we will be operating in line with current Covid safety regulations.