1. Alice Antliff, Destruction 1, Saloon
I am a third year student studying ceramics and glass at Plymouth college of Art. My work mainly focuses
on flowers and plantation but has recently been following the path of plants and animals that are affected
by human activity, including areas such as pollution and global warming and the impact of my work on the
environment. I have taken inspiration from the rococo style flowers in the Saloon of Poltimore House,
using a second hand vase and recycled glass from charity shops for the casting of the flowers. No new
materials were used to create the piece.
2. Beth Antliff, Untitled, Saloon
Bethany Antliff ‘s practice makes enquiry into the ongoing issues environmental issues resulting from everincreasing
human consumption. During her Bachelor of Arts Degree Bethany has developed a visual
language that has resulted from an extensive enquiry into materials and processes. Beth uses an
interdisciplinary approach combining glass and ceramics to make aesthetic enquiry of the interrelationship
between earth and water. More specifically the symbiotic relationships that make up lichen on land, and
coral in the ocean. Bethany uses her aesthetic enquiry to encourage a greater appreciation of the natural
world and invites the viewer to reconsider the way we coexist within our shared environment.
2. Beth Antliff, Untiltled, Saloon
2. Beth Antliff, Untitled, Saloon
2. Beth Antliff, Saloon
3. Mike Baldwin, Portraits, Library
I have always been passionate about drawing. I also like watercolour because of its ‘immediacy’. Because
of my career as an architect I love drawing buildings, however I am also interested in the human face.
Faces of all ages and types are fascinating, even beautiful, to draw. Portraiture is particularly demanding in
that it requires acute observation and concentration in order to achieve a ‘likeness’. One can cheat with
buildings; portraiture is unforgiving and cheating isn’t possible. The need for accuracy makes even more
difficult that elusive quality which gives ’life’ to a drawing. I am still trying…
3. Mike Baldwin, Elevation, Courtyard
4. Mim Brigham, Maram Grass, Entrance Hall.
‘Award winning’ Cornish Artist Mim Brigham specialises in a combination of hot and warm glass to create
stunning pieces that are both literal and abstract, using the glass as a medium. All her current designs are
inspired by an image Mim found in an old biology book of a cross-section of a blade of marram grass down
the microscope. This is the grass found on the sand dunes around the country. Each piece is handmade
and completely unique with colours derived from the seaside. Mim’s piece ‘Marram Grass’ is used as the
main image on publicity for the ‘Age & Beauty’ Exhibition.
4. Mim Brigham, Blown glass, Saloon
5. Rebecca Child, Courtyard
“My main career was as an architect, the training and practice influencing my current work, seeing,
remembering and imagining places. My work starts with the world around me – a place, a collection of
postcards with emotional significance, a jug of tulips. Drawing is the start and the investigation, whether
the intention is to make a print or the drawing is the final outcome. I work quickly in charcoal, to change
and re-change the drawing, to show the marks which become part of the story. I have been making
drawings in different rooms in Poltimore over a few weeks.”
6. Christine Cole, Courtyard.
Having graduated from Plymouth University in Fine Art, specialising in printmaking, I have since focused on
producing layered printed images on canvas and textured surfaces. I have also been experimenting with
3D work which incorporates prints. For this exhibition I have taken images of peeling paint and other
distressed surfaces, some of which are from Poltimore House, and have presented them in a way to
suggest seascapes and landscapes. Hopefully by doing so, the ‘beauty’ of the ‘ageing’ subject matter will
become even more evident.
7. Christopher Custons-Cole, Tracks
The shoulder of the Raddon rises to the ridge. At a bend in the lane the farm tractors move into the lower
slopes. Tyre marks cut the red earth, and curve up as they disappear over the first fold in the field.
Through a gap in the hedge, a pair straight up again, another delicate curve. Almost at the ridge two finer
straight lines disappear into the dazzle of the sun. We make and re-shape the land. Inks ran and blurred
on the paper. A repetitive activity allowed the accidental to happen. Evening car lights dashed under the
bright moonlight. Wind and rain lashed and thrashed their way through the days.
Christopher Custons-Cole in the Entrance Hall
8. Helen Creedy, Saloon
Helen graduated from Plymouth College of Art in 2016 having decided to pursue her passion for glass as a
mature student. She primarily works in warm and cast glass and has a particular interest in printing with
enamels. She says of her work: “Glass as a material seems to have magical qualities and I often lose track
of time as I work with it. The pieces I create can be driven by an emotional response to a snippet of music,
a glimpse of a beautiful work of art or often an issue that moves me and I specialise in one-off or limited
edition contemporary pieces designed to inspire and provoke.”
Helen Creedy, Fishy in the Saloon
8. Helen Creedy, Recruitment 2015, Entrance Hall
All proceeds to Combat Stress. Original Images © Imperial War
Museum
9. Emily Hakin, Courtyard
With a passion for drawing and writing, Emily often creates portraits and illustrations that visually
represent a current time or place through a figurative and traditional style. The themes of her works
revolve around, but are not confined to, memory, nostalgia and storytelling. As an artist Emily is
interested in history and conservation, archiving, memory, story telling and challenging disappearance
through drawing. Although her practice is mainly graphite based, she is excited to work with mixed media
in response to her time spent at Poltimore House and is looking forward to expanding her use of materials
and experimenting with display.
9. Emily Hakin, Drawing of Dining Room Fireplace, Courtyard
10 Kate Howes, Gramophone, Saloon
Katherine is a student at Plymouth College of Art. The work she has chosen to exhibit is a representation
of forgotten loves; taking the gramophone, an iconic subject of music culture and depicting it in glass and
copper foil, a process that was first started in the 19th century. ‘Gramophone’ is an acknowledgment to a
non-digital time, a simpler life, a beautiful technique and a piece of equipment that changed music forever.
Kirstie Montague in the Library
Kirstie graduated from Plymouth University of Art in 2010 to pursue a career as a Graphic Designer. In her spare time, she has created illustrations for the R.N.L.I., R.S.P.B. and local companies. Kirstie creates beautiful illustration using ink and watercolours playfully capturing the energy of the animal subject. She has a real passion for nature and her impact on it and loves all animals, completing illustrations of a number of people’s pets on commission. She also illustrates using her beloved sewing machine using free hand appliqué. She loves all things creative and her art is designed to inspire a positive emotion and make
people smile.
Exhibiting: ‘Elephant’; ‘Rhino’; ‘Buffalo’. Medium: Watercolour on paper.
12. Ratna Saksena, Poison Chalice, Operating Theatre
Ratna Saksena is a multimedia artist who works with everyday objects and materials to explore the
meaning of things. In an ongoing printmaking project she has used pharmaceutical packaging. One strand
uses the physical presence of the tablet cartons and blisters to reveal overlooked marks, wear and tear,
hidden language and Braille. The other strand is the box itself acting as a ground on which to rest the
imagery. She is showing work for the exhibition inspired by Poltimore House, its history and objects she
discovered during her recent visits.
Ratna in the Operating Theatre
Ratna Saksena, The Great PFI Swindle
Ratna Saksena, Blood Sweat and Tears.
12. Ratna Saksena, Homage
13. Karen Waterlow, Faded Beauty.
I am an artist printmaker and am inspired by nature and both natural and manmade landscapes to produce
original prints. I primarily use collagraph and drypoint techniques to produce highly textural images. I am a
member of the Double Elephant printmaking group who are based in Exeter and have also trained at the
London Print Studio. My work can be found on Facebook & Instagram under karenwaterlowprintmaker.
14. Helena Whitten, Library
Helena has recently completed a BA in Fine Art the University Somerset, and an FDA at Exeter School of
Art. Her long exposure photography challenges the concept of the frozen instant conventionally depicted
by the photograph. Paradoxically, people move within her still images, and their actions hint at longer
narratives and timeframes. As these ghostly figures blur and fade they seem to succumb to the act of
forgetting. She says, “I find myself drawn to buildings such as Poltimore. There is unexpected beauty in
these secret ruined places, as crumbling buildings struggle valiantly against their final obliteration.”
