Tiffany Crisp tells us about the grade II listed Temple building and the handmade gifts and artworks inside!
Jemma Day at Temple Group Open House, Photo: Syl Ojalla
This is your first time exhibiting with AOH, what are you most looking forward to?
We are a new group made up of established artists that have come together to exhibit in this revamped venue at Brighton Girls School. I am most looking forward to curating the exhibition and seeing how all the work by each of these talented artists complements each other within the space.
A selection of works at Temple Group. Photo: Syl Ojalla
Tell us a bit about your venue in the Temple Building and why you decided to exhibit there?
I joined Brighton Girls school in 2019 as an art and photography teacher and have been exhibiting my own work on and off for the past 10 years through the AOH at my own house on the West Hove Trail. Mainly, off than on, but during the pandemic I was able to spend a bit of time sorting out my own studio and focusing on my own work. The last year has seen me becoming much more active in the art community and with the support of my artist/maker friend Annabel Porter and other friends have been exhibiting and showing my work more. A recent house move meant we had to find a new venue and the schools newly refurbished Grade II listed Temple Building seemed perfect. The school is very active in the local community and has previously been on the May Open House Trail in years gone by so they were very keen to host the event for us.
Pink Moth by Tiffany Crisp
It would be great to hear about the six artists that are exhibiting and how you formed as a group.
Annabel Porter from @Heylylacrafts is a talented crochet and macrame artist/maker. She is the real instigator of this event as she was keen to build on the success of our May open house in my garden studio so suggested we use the school as our venue.
I wanted to make sure we filled it with lots of gorgeous art and crafts for the event so I reached out to other artists I know. Kirsten Taylor is a successful illustrator who runs her own business @mytinybeast making prints, posters and books aimed at children but also for contemporary deco in the home.
Artwork by Annabel Porter
Jo Moore otherwise known as @jomo_hove is also an illustrator using cardboard, collage and vintage papers to create retro inspired characters and has been involved in the Artist Open Houses since its early beginnings. Jo opened her own house on the West Hove Trail for the first time in May and it was a huge success.
Jemma Day has been exhibiting and selling her paintings for years and is well established in Brighton and beyond. Jemma has been an artist in residence and photography teacher at Brighton Girls. Jemma is showing her abstract paintings with us at this event but has recently expanded her work into photography and exhibited this at the AOH40 exhibition in May as a new and upcoming photography artist.
Artwork by Kirsten Taylor
Jo Perkins is a locally based Brighton artist who recently relocated here from Paris. Jo is also a parent at Brighton Girls School and very active in the community art projects there. Her work explores the energy and beauty of the sea and landscape of Brighton seafront and uses flowing inks to express the colours and movement she experiences there.
My work is mixed media collage, painting and drawing and explores our place on this earth and our relationship with nature with a surreal and pop art influence. I am really excited that this is a wonderful collaboration of artists with different but complementary styles of work that means there will be something for everyone who visits us.
A selection of works at Temple Group. Photo: Syl Ojalla
What kind of Christmas goodies can people expect from Temple Group?
We have crochet Christmas decorations, macrame homeware and knitwear as well as vintage inspired lampshades made by Annabel Porter of Hey Lyla Crafts, posters, prints and books for children and adults by Kirsten Taylor of My Tiny Beast. We also have mixed media collage and original paintings by myself all inspired by our connection with the environment and our place in it. There is also vintage inspired cardboard collage characters and animals by Jo Moore of JoMo, collage and mixed media originals, abstract paintings and prints by Jemma Day and joyful works by Jo Perkins inspired by the interplay of water and light of the Sussex coast. All of which make perfect gifts for Brighton beach lovers and colour enthusiasts alike.
Ditsy Dog by Jo Moore
Is there anything else you would like to tell us?
This is a great opportunity to see the refurbished grade II listed Temple building as well as browse some gorgeous arts and crafts by local artists. The colours and textures are what really stand out about our open house and whether you are buying or not we’d love to welcome you in to celebrate this new venue which we hope will flourish as a one stop shop for handmade beautiful gifts and art works.
Visit: Temple Group
At: Brighton Girls School GDST, Temple Building, Montpelier Road, Brighton, BN1 3AT
You can find out more about us via our social media links and websites below:
@tiffany_crisp
@heylylacrafts
@joperkinsartist
www.jemmaday.studio
@jemmadaystudio
@mytinybeast
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/MyTinyBeast
http://jomo.co.uk/
@jomo_hove