Artists’ Open House 2018 at Bell House

Pip Rice and Ben Rice are showing their work at Bell House this weekend as part of the Dulwich Festival’s Artists’ Open House and they will be available both days to talk about their inspirations and processes. Rod Wynne-Powell has taken some photos to give you a flavour of their work and how the setting of Bell House complements the exhibits.

Pip Rice’s woventales evolve from the twigs, leaves, bark and metal she finds in South London. Often her strategy is simply taking a walk on a windy day, peering in skips, or listening out for chain saws. For this exhibition she has foraged the Bell House garden for brambles, willow, beech, rose and birch but also rummaged the wider neighbourhood for urban flotsam and jetsam such as rope, netting, copper wire or scrap metal. Once back in her workshop, the textures and qualities of the materials guide her and together with her traditional and experimental weaving techniques she then produces exquisite forms. Each piece, whether functional or sculptural, is always unique.

Ben Rice is a photographic artist. At Bell House he is exhibiting large and dramatic prints illustrating nature’s reclamation of dry stone walls and they are creating quite a stir at Bell House as people debate whether they are photographs or real living wall. Ben himself wonders whether they are landscape, still life, portrait, or even abstract. He is also showing stunning views of a single urban wild cherry tree from Peckham Rye, isolated from its environment and deeply striking in its solitude. When viewed close up his prints offer a startling clarity of detail far beyond the normal gaze. He is also showing a more modestly-sized series inspired by the nuances of Japanese culture as seen through the prism of elegantly placed bicycles. The bicycles are his jumping off point for exploring Japanese architecture, design and even character.

The exhibition is open at Bell House from 11am to 6pm, Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 May. Rod Wynne-Powell’s account of its opening can be found here

Picasso 1932: Love, Fame, Tragedy - A Talk at Bell House

“For those who know how to read I have painted my autobiography”

Last week, Rosalind Whyte came to Bell House again to talk about the new Picasso exhibition at the Tate Modern, as part of the ongoing series of art lectures at Bell House. The lecture on Picasso 1932: Love, Fame, Tragedy was completely sold out, and for good reason.

1932 was a marvellous year for Picasso; it is unsurprising the Tate Modern have curated a whole exhibition focused on it. Wondering whether to go see Picasso at the Tate? Already braved the crowds? Read on for four surprising facts about the art  in this exhibition…

1)    The autobiographical nature of the paintings in this exhibition are fascinating. Rosalind Whyte told us that Picasso said, “The work one does is a kind of way of keeping a diary”. Indeed, Picasso 1932: Love, Fame, Tragedy includes works that span Picasso’s meteoric rise to fame in the art world, and carefully depicts his passionate love affair with Marie-Therese. It was an “intensely creative period” in Picasso’s career, and some of his works were completed astoundingly quickly.

2)    Tension between opposing forces is a common thread drawing this exhibition together. Some are more obvious, such as the opposition of Olga (Picasso’s wife) and Marie-Thérèse (Picasso’s mistress) in his work earlier in the year. Others are more subtle, and only apparent when explained by an expert such as Rosalind. For example, Picasso’s own struggles with his development as an artist bleed through– his dilemma over whether to pursue sculpture or painting (a tough choice also faced by Amedeo Modigliani)

3)    Picasso was influenced by an octopus. Yep, an octopus. Not long before 1932, Picasso’s friend Jean Painleve shot The Octopus. Whyte believes this may have had a profound effect on Picasso, as can be seen in his portrayals of Marie- Thérèse as an almost octopus-like form in Reclining Nude, 1932. Indeed, Painleve’s film is shown alongside these works in the exhibition.

4)    Playing with reflections and a seemingly double vision was common when painting Marie- Thérèse. Often painted as having a double face, Picasso was able to gently suggest the many dimensions of his lover. But what was the purpose of this? Was it to invoke ideas of the sun and moon? Chronicle how she aged? Or suggest that, with all these facets, Marie- Thérèse was everything Picasso was looking for in a woman?

1932 was charged with love, lust, loss and fame for Picasso. Rosalind Whyte took all of us at the Bell House talk on a fascinating journey; guiding us through these tumultuous months, and the wonderful art that came of it.

Our series of art lectures continue later in May, with a talk on the Royal Academy’s ‘Charles I: King and Collector’, given by Graham Greenfield. Buy tickets below.

Dulwich Society local history talks at Bell House

Ian McInnes gave two different and fascinating talks at Bell House recently. We even had somebody attend whose great-grandmother had been born in Bell House in 1836. The first talk was centred on Dulwich’s Georgian heritage: the buildings, and the families who lived in them. He revealed a tangle of family connections with people moving into different houses around the village and he showed us how small Dulwich was in Georgian times. He told us about Thomas Wright, who built Bell House as a country retreat for his family, away from the noise and smell of the City of London. It was Wright who charitably installed the bell to help summon local men to fight fires in the hamlet of Dulwich.

1823 map showing an undeveloped Dulwich

Ian’s second talk focused on Victorian Dulwich and again showed us that, just as now, Dulwich was a convivial and connected place. People knew each other, they worked and socialised together, and they brought their friends and family from other parts of the country to live in Dulwich. George Widdowson, for example, a jeweller who made swords, medals, and other regalia, lived at both Bell House and the White House (now replaced by St Austin’s, where James Allen’s Prep. School is based). He brought his sister and also a brother-in-law to live in Dulwich.

Bell House in Victorian times

The pace of change in Victorian Dulwich was slower than in most of London and even into the twentieth century a small number of farms still supplied milk to local houses. But when the trains came the Victorian building boom made its mark here, especially in East Dulwich. Dulwich Village retained much of its open land, and still does, because the fields were converted into playing fields.

These two talks were the first of a series we are planning at Bell House, highlighting the local history of Dulwich. They will take place on Sunday afternoons. If you have any particular areas of local history you would like to see covered please let us know: [email protected] or visit the Dulwich Society website to learn more: https://www.dulwichsociety.com/

A Stitch in Time: the quilters turn map-makers

The Quilt Academy has settled nicely into Bell House. The free Thursday drop-in sessions are a hive of activity where experienced and welcoming tutors share their skills in hand and machine sewing with less experienced sewers, or even complete beginners.

The Quilters have now joined forces with Sharon O’Connor, our house historian, and are hatching a plan to reproduce two images from Bell House’s history in textile form. A 1746 map of Dulwich and an 1811 lease plan of Bell House will be reproduced using a combination of quilting, patchwork and embroidery. This will produce two beautiful works of art and also add to our understanding of the geographical and historical context of Bell House. For example: fields which used to belong to Bell House are now part of Dulwich Park. The quilters are about to put their creative heads together to decide the best way of tackling this technically challenging project.

We will keep you updated with the project as it unfolds (but not unravels!). In the meantime, if you would like to join the Quilt Academy, either to acquire a practical skill, socialise with others or to make something beautiful to cherish, please pop in on a Thursday for a cup of tea and a chat, or contact us: [email protected]. Carers, translators, therapists or family support are also most welcome attend the sessions.

 ‘Over the years, we have derived much joy - and inner peace - through making quilts, bags, clothes, pillows, table linens and more. We know others can do likewise with the right mentoring within a safe and welcoming space that Bell House is keen to provide.’ The Quilt Academy

SEN Jigsaw Conference - 21st April 2018

Following hot on the heels of the BDA conference, the SEN jigsaw conference, now in its third year, had an interesting line up of speakers.  The day started with psychologist Sally Goddard-Blythe explaining the “Draw a Man” test, which enables non-verbal assessment.  Children often leave out the bits that they don’t feel so good at, such as no hands if their motor skills are weak.

Sally investigates how movement and physical activity have impact on learning.  Many young children starting school have immature neuromotor skills, and Sally explained that this can have a significant effect on their learning outcomes and behaviour.  She would like to see schools implement a daily exercise programme and physical developmental testing of children at school entry and key stages.

Later in the morning, Libby Hill spoke about the links between bad behaviour, language and communication.  She is a speech and language therapist, and works with many bright children who do not understand how to behave in social conditions.  The impact of speech, language or communication difficulties on children can have a huge negative impact on many aspects of their lives.  She demonstrated how behaviour is a not just language, but a method of communication.  We were introduced to the ABC of behaviour:

-     A for Antecedent, you need to know what was happening before

-     B for Behaviour

-     C for Consequences. 

Children who need the most help often ask for it in the least helpful way!

In the afternoon we learnt about visual stress and dyscalculia.

Bob Hext, from Crossbow Education, explained how visual stress is often associated with special learning difficulties.  It can manifest in many ways: movement of letters, blurring and fading, rainbow blobs, letters changing size or space, glare, colour and skipping lines.  But luckily there is help to hand.  Simple measures can make a huge difference, such as using rounded fonts - they create a more fluid experience, and then using colour overlays can have a magical effect by relieving the symptoms of visual stress.

Judy Hornigold finished the day by decoding dyscalculia, which is a specific learning difficulty for mathematics. While many people and children struggle with maths, they are not necessarily dyscalculic.  If you have dyscalculia you cannot understand whether 9 is larger or smaller than 6, you cannot assess if there are four apples on the plate without counting them one by one (subitising), you cannot spot patterns, you may have left/right confusion, and an inability to understand the passage of time.

There are strategies that can help; creating patterns with Cuisenaire rods can allow a child to explore and develop understanding. Diagrams can also be invaluable, as they encourage visualisation and a way to ‘model’ the maths.

Several of the speakers from the SEN Jigsaw conference will be coming to Bell House over the next few months, bringing their insights to Dulwich. We can’t wait to welcome many of them to our inaugural Dyslexia Fair on 22nd September – stay tuned for more info!

If you’d like to see what dyslexia support Bell House has been offering in the last few months, be sure to check out our YouTube channel, where we post the highlights of our most useful talks: