I travelled down from Derbyshire to be part of the whole day celebrations at Winchester Cathedral for the 200th Anniversary of Jane Austen’s passing. It was an amazing day with diverse events including the launch of the new ten-pound note by The Bank of England. The Dean and Dr Gillian Dow made special tributes to Jane Austen, not only about her very special resting place at the Cathedral but also how she now has the ability to travel the world in our pockets and purses. The Dean, Catherine Ogle also praised their summer exhibition, ‘Inspired by the Word’, and how artists had been selected to create art. It is an honour to have my portrait of Jane Austen, made from labels and pins included in the exhibition, particularly with such a local and global dedicated audience (ends 30th Sept 2017).
Private View at Winchester Cathedral 21st June 2017
St Alphage Chapel
Inspired by the word exhibition official opening, Jane Austen 200 years.
Out and about this week
I had the pleasure of meeting Mark Dennison at BBC Radio Nottingham this week, promoting my opportunity for Duke of Edinburgh participants to be part of my next portrait. Also lovely to meet Diana Ali at the summer exhibition launch at The Institute of Mental Health, Nottingham. You may have seen Diana presenting the BBC Big Painting Challenge.
Winchester Cathedral exhibition 8th June-30th Sept 2017
Joy Pitts is assembling a contemporary portrait of Jane Austen. 71 words from the opening paragraph, Chapter 1 of Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice are woven onto 4000 cotton tapes and assembled in Austen’s face using only dressmaker pins. The background of the canvas is covered with 1000's of nametapes listing the 16 main characters.
Winchester Cathedral - Inspired by the word
Work in progress: 71 words.
A contemporary portrait of Jane Austen for Winchester Cathedral. 71 words from the opening paragraph, Chapter 1 of Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice are woven onto 4000 cotton tapes and assembled in Austen’s face using only dressmaker pins. The background of the canvas is covered with 1000's of nametapes listing the 16 main characters.
Exhibition at Winchester Cathedral from 8th June - 30th September 2017.
