Home is where the art is for prize-winning Stansted painter Aine Corr

Stansted artist Aine Corr is turning her home into a gallery to take part in the Herts Visual Arts open studio event.

This month, the former art teacher at St Mary’s Catholic School in Bishop’s Stortford, won a prize at the prestigious Black Shuck Festival in Bungay, where two of her pieces were exhibited.

The festival’s art director was the celebrated portrait artist Stuart Pearson Wright, while Ben Edge, a leading name in the folklore art revival, was among the judges.

The month before, Aine won the sponsor’s prize at Herts Big Art Fair, and she has exhibited at galleries across the East of England including The Gibberd Gallery in Harlow, The Minories in Colchester and Babylon Arts in Ely. She also took part in the recent There Be Giants group show at Saffron Walden’s Old Sun Inn.

She has a fine art painting degree from Brighton University. Following graduation, she completed a PGCE to teach art and design and after leaving St Mary’s, she trained in traditional upholstery techniques.

She said: “That has allowed me to apply fine art concepts to textiles, chairs and domestic settings.”

Her work is inspired by local history and folklore and she has an experimental approach, using collage, ink, watercolour, spray paint, acrylic and textiles in her pieces.

She said: “Some of my work is autobiographical, exploring family heritage, identity and a sense of place.”

She admits to being heavily influenced by both her Irish heritage and her home county, declaring herself “a proud Essex girl”.

A selection of her work will be on show at 12 Highmead, Stansted, on Saturday and Sunday, September 21 and 22. Visitors are welcome between 10am and 4pm.

Over the weekend, 162 artists are taking part in Herts Open Studios at 77 venues.

The annual event gives them a chance to talk about and demonstrate their work and engage with an audience of enthusiasts.

Other artists taking part in and around Bishop’s Stortford include ceramicist Marilyn Andreetti, who will be exhibiting the thrown and hand-built pottery she creates at 87 Warwick Road, Bishop’s Stortford.

She said: “I use the traditional technique of sgraffito to decorate red earthenware clay through a layer of white slip. My designs are inspired by the natural world, featuring landscapes, horizons, animals, plants and flowers and abstract designs.”

Painter Sophie Christophy will be ready to share her skills at Garden Studio, 1 Lake Villas, Barleycroft End, Furneux Pelham.

Her biography says she is a “psychic automatic artist” who produces spiritually informed work in watercolour, pen and homemade natural inks and charcoal.

She photographs and documents her work when wet “to capture it in its most vital and living state”.

Artists Amar Devsi, Gabrielle Vickery Art and Yvonne Estop will exhibit together at South Mill Arts in South Road.

Amar is a former chartered architect and interior designer turned abstract artist. According to his biography, he “finds inspiration in the interplay of form, space, and colour”.

Gabrielle opened her studio in 2018 and teaches beginners how to draw and paint.

She said: “Along with teaching art, I love to paint florals in oils and acrylics. My intention is to paint loosely to capture movement and life on the canvas.

“I am also mesmerised by painting portraits; there’s something magical about capturing a face’s expression with only brushes and paint.”

Multi-disciplinary artist Yvonne is a Bishop’s Stortford town and East Herts district councillor.

She will curate a public art installation exploring ‘the studio’ as a collaborative venture to transform an in-between place.

Her main interest is three-dimensional design and she is also a photographer who draws in pencil, pen and pastels.

For full details, see https://www.hvaf.org.uk/our-events/herts-open-studios.