Our Changing Earth and Our Amazing Artist

WildCookham organised a free Wild Art Festival called Our Changing Earth, set in the beautiful Odney Club in Cookham. Artists submitted work in a variety of different media - paintings, glass, ceramics, wood , plastics, textiles, wood and even a collage made of torn-up pages of the Big Issue, all on the topic of Our Changing Earth. The event also included workshops, quizzes, talks and demos, and our friend Claire from Wild Eton Wick was also there with a couple of real-life bats. Sheila went to help on set-up day, making sure that all the Artist's pieces were registered and catalogued as they came in, and directing them to the correct display areas. When I got there, Amy was already in the process of hanging her two artworks, both depicting images from GoodGym sessions. I went back the next day to see the exhibition in all it's glory and was blown away by the creativity of the artists, all of whom also had a poignant narrative to tell. I was delighted to hear later that one of Amy's pieces had been voted by the visitors as Best in Show. Well done, Amy, well deserved!

Report by Sheila but Amy adds...

What a wonderful event! Community, conservation, nature and art - all my passions brought together. And the icing on the cake was having GoodGymers Sheila, Tessa, Juli and Rachel supporting the event.

Tessa and Rachel starred in my paintings, so they had the fun of spotting themselves amongst the leopards, penguins, foxes and other beautiful animals that many of the artists had chosen as their subjects.

Sheila didn't quite make the cut on my Thrift Wood painting - she was in the original photo but shockingly I cut her out! I will have to do a painting of Sheila soon to make up for it, no doubt wearing her GoodGym tee and working her socks off!

Special mention to Juli, who came having just run 4 laps of Endure24 (20 miles in total), plus having ticked off 4 parkruns in 3 countries in the preceding week. She also survived the thunder storm that broke just as she was arriving at the venue.

I attended the event 5 times over the weekend - to set up and take down paintings with my group, to attend the opening presentations, to bring my family along and a GoodGym volunteer. As a volunteer I was stationed on the 'safari', a treasure hunt aimed at children. Sadly I didn't get many customers, but I hope I made up for it by sending my children to do it later.

I was delighted to receive the Best in Show award for my Pennyroyal painting, especially as it was my first exhibition. I think GoodGym should take some credit as the painting aimed to show the joy, sense of community, and connection with nature that we gain through volunteering on a beautiful sunny evening - and what's not to like about that!? I expect some lovely GoodGymers voted too.