I simply enjoy taking pictures. I am a little bit of a formalist but on the whole I like to photograph anything. Running my own boutique in Cambridge - "Baska" - does not live me much time but during a free time my camera is usually with me. I hope the small collection will make a few people smile.

Barbara Dunaj.

Whether artfully wrapped packages with bows, scuffed paper with generous helpings of sellotape or Secret Santa surprises, wrapping and unwrapping presents is a big part of the contemporary Christmas experience. Wrapping objects in the name of Art is not a new concept: Christo and Jeanne-Claude were wrapping monuments, walkways and even coastlines back in the 1960’s. It’s a brilliant way of making us look differently at the familiar. It draws our attention to the object’s shape whilst creating an intriguing mystery about what the wrapping might contain.

In the case of the Prickwillow phone box, we think we can solve that mystery. It is easy to project an image in our mind of what we think we know the wrapping contains: The old red phone box, which has become a recognisable and eye catching landmark.

But is this what lies inside the wrapping and could there be more? Ouse Life have created a truly unique Christmas present. The hand printed wrapping is adorned with seasonal motifs in celebration of the spirit of Christmas: A distinctive and charming way to decorate Main Street in Prickwillow. BBC NEWS Ely Standard

Charlotte has lived in Ely for the last 7 years with her family. She went to Long Road Sixth form College in Cambridge in 2011 and came out with a A* in painting and printmaking A level.

She also studied English Literature and Geography A level. She has been accepted at Norwich School of Art for a Fine Art Degree in September 2012.

"For the last year I have been to Hong Kong travelling and working where I learnt a new culture. I also have full time position at John Lewis in the Furnishing Fabrics and Linens department.

Technology has come a long way since the invention of the telephone in the 19th century. There is no longer any need for a telephone box… unless you want to hold an exhibition.  

Ouse Life has been inspired by the way communication has evolved over time and what better way to capture those ideas than as Apps on a mobile phone. Using a variety of media, but working to a regular size, the Ouse Life artists have presented a range of reflections on communication using the figure as a focus.  

Prickwillow phone box exhibits the exciting results of this collaborative project: A huge mobile phone with a highly original and APP’d display of Art.

www.ouselife.co.uk

Linda is a 3rd year Fine Art Degree student, at Anglia Ruskin University.

Her work is concerned with time and memory, traces and absence. She has used portraits in ceramics and other mediums to convey these ideas; all imprints evoke traces and residues of lost and forgotten things.

"The memories we hold are fated to become selective, fragmented and faded, so this work is in part a reflection of the need to capture and preserve the memory.

I have attempted to capture the ghostly trace of the memories. I am interested in the sense of absence and also the trace of a human presence that is left behind."

Alexander Page is an irreverent (Meaning he can't take things seriously) and self deprecating (Meaning he can't take himself seriously either) freelance writer.

He enjoys writing poetry, prose and about himself in the third person. He is based in Ely and has been writing for several years, including copy for the Ely Standard and some pamphlets for local government. More recently he can be found as a contributor on www.multimediamouth.com. A selection of his poems and (very) short stories is on display in the Phonebox Gallery. He’s called the display The Pretentious Sisyphean Collection pieces: 31, 46, 47, 48, 49, 51, 53 and 54. The collection includes a selection of 55 and 100 word short stories, a poem called Bi-Polar Bear about how your dad feels about bears and a broken computer monitor acting as a grim premonition of things to come…

To learn more about his work, or commission a poem about your favourite animal and/or mental disorder, please contact Alex by emailing or visit his blog.

Estelle Lankester is a unique and talented glass designer with a capacity to skilfully hand craft her art using creative inspiration garnered from every day living and the world around us. With an instinctive flair and intense passion that is truly transparent in the excellent work she produces, be it a specifically commissioned piece of glass art or one of her spontaneous designs, they all possess her inner vibrant energy. Estelle says:

“I love creating texture and utilising the light reflective properties of glass. I also enjoy the challenge of commissions, following a brief to create something truly unique”.

Estelle married into a well established glass working family, her husband who is a 3rd generation leaded light maker and restorer encouraged her to follow her own creative path in the glass world. As a result she fast became a recognised and talented artist who has exhibited her collections in numerous Art Galleries displaying an impressive array of work from intricate jewellery to bespoke plates, wall art, clocks and lighting.

Ann-Marie James was born in 1981 and lives and works in London. She completed her BA (Hons) in Fine Art at Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design in 2004 and a Postgraduate Diploma in Fine Art at Chelsea College of Art and Design in 2010, and is currently studying towards an MA in Fine Art at Wimbledon College of Art.

I am interested in making works that, in different ways, acknowledge and play with their positions as artworks. Through painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture and photography, I employ quotation as a tactic through which figurative elements can acknowledge and engage with the weight of the history of art.

James has exhibited in the UK, France, Germany, Japan, Portugal, Venezuela and the United States, including residencies at Lantana Projects in Memphis, Tennessee in 2006 and with Heaspace in Nara, Japan in 2011, supported by the Daiwa Foundation.

for more information please see www.annmariejames.co.uk

Marine was born in Marseille (France) in 1974. She says:

It feels I always had to deal with opposite - or as I prefer see it - complementary needs. I studied Maths and Physics at secondary school and Art and Design at university. I studied in France and the UK.

I worked as a freelance graphic artist at the same time as a software designer. Now, I paint but still work in a software company.

People say my painting reflect my personality and this duality. Very bright and almost violent pieces, showing what is inside from the outside through little breaks (or vice-versa), abstract landscapes, and fire-hot explosions...

I have exhibited my painting in London, Geneva, Menton, Cambridge and Norwich.

for more info please see www.miss-embe.com

Cambridge Open Studios is one of the oldest open studios events in Britain. Each July the artists and craftspeople of Cambridge and the surrounding area open their workspaces and homes to the public.

Visitors are able to learn about the techniques and materials involved and talk directly to the artists about their work.

The 2011 events take place over the first four weekends in July, with 240 artists taking part in 178 venues in Cambridge and the surrounding towns and villages.

For more info please see www.camopenstudios.co.uk

David has been painting for 30 years using oils, acrylics and ink. The work is mostly expressionist and abstract.

He recently retired from teaching and is now enjoying exhibiting his paintings. The paintings in the phonebox gallery were painted specifically for the phonebox; acrylic on three 6ft by 2ft canvas panels.

I want the paintings to convey an energy that emotionally engages the person looking at them. Through this subjective interaction the paintings become unique to the person viewing them.

This work is by the potter Sonia Lewis and consists of two elegant jugs “having a chat”. The jugs are stoneware, thrown on a wheel and glazed inside with a cherry ash glaze which spills over the top edges as if the jugs were full.

Sonia has lived and worked in Prickwillow for the last thirteen years. She trained and worked alongside eminent potters including David Leach, Joanna Constantinidis and Geoffrey Eastop.

Her work has been exhibited widely both nationally and internationally. Concurrently to this exhibition Sonia has an exhibition at the Old Fire Engine House Ely with artist Peter Cavaciuti.

A space rocket, hot air balloon, bus and ferry are the latest objects to be squeezed into Cambridgeshire’s tiny yet famous phone box gallery in Prickwillow.

The display is the work of two to four-year-old children from Kings Acremont nursery in Ely, who have been following a theme on transport at school.

The artwork is decorated with photos of the youngsters and quotations which capture their excitement about the project.

The charming and colourful show, which will run until mid-April, provides a fascinating insight into the education of some of the county’s youngest children.

The exhibition illustrates the childrens’ journey through the realm of transport.

| press release

Margot and Derek Andrews both taught art from 1954 until 1975 when they set up Prickwillow Pottery - probably the most exciting change of life and adventure for both of them. For twenty years they made a huge variety of ceramics and sold directly from the workshop and by commission.

On retiring from pottery making in 1995 they found themselves teaching again - an adult class held in the common room of Cottenham Village College. Watercolour is the medium of choice.

The telephone box show reflects current interests. Margot always enjoys looking at landscape, and still life, distilling what she sees to the essentials of light, colour and composition. She is also enjoying revisiting her classical training and taking a new look at old masters such as Poussin, Watteau and Rubens.

Derek likes just making something from real life scenes such as Ely market and catching the moment in the breaking of waves on the shore.

A giant, naked man struggling to get out of the phone box forms part of the January exhibition.

The show features more than 60 portrait images created by Cambridge photographer Dominick Reed.

His bizarre facial expressions, odd costumes and humorous parodies of popular culture have attracted a cult following online.

His pictures detail the escapades of his curious alter-ego “Mr Flibble”, an asylum inmate who exists under the ever watchful eye of “Matron”.

He is hopeful that “people will see my exhibition for what it is, something to make them smile; to wonder if I have lost a few marbles down the back of the sofa and to show that humour can be found in the most unlikely of places”.

| press release
| flickr.com/photos/flibble | bbc radio cambs interview (go to 1:53.50)
| cambridge-news.co.uk | heart.co.uk

Drivers passing through a Cambridgeshire village are in for a treat this Christmas after local artists decorated a restored red phone box with a giant pair of wings and a host of angels.

In a dazzling celebration of midwinter, portraits made in paint, ceramic, print and pencil are to be displayed in the phone box throughout December as part of an ongoing art project.

The show is the work of the Ouse Life Drawing Group whose work can also be found at Ely's Babylon Gallery in their show, Body Moved.

Cary Outis of the group said:






| press release
| ouselife.co.uk

A chair made from trees grown in local craftsman John Lewis's garden was the second installation in Cambridgeshire's now famous phone box gallery.

John planted a wood of mixed broad leaved trees in his garden 10 years ago. He now uses these trees to make greenwood chairs.

"Most of the chairs are made from ash which needs to grow fast, tall and straight," he said, "It is immensely satisfying to find that not only do I make chairs to order, but that they come from the saplings that I planted. "

The chairs he makes are mostly ladder or "spindle back" chairs made directly from the greenwood using a pole lathe. No machinery is involved. The seats are either made from rush, wych elm bark or hardwood. All the chairs have a high professional finish using oil and beeswax from John's bees.

| press release
| cambridge open studios

During October '10 The Phonebox Gallery was home for the to steel fairies and mushrooms, showcasing the work of local sculptor Pete Baker.

Mr Baker has previously exhibited his work in galleries and public spaces across the UK and his diverse influences include Rock & Roll, comic books and the celebrated children's book artist, Arthur Rackham.

| installation images
| workshop images

| press release
| steeldreams.co.uk

The village of Prickwillow, in Cambridgeshire has been put on the map by its innovative scheme to encourage and promote local arts and crafts in a restored K6 phone box. The Phonebox Gallery is the brainchild of gallery curator Nick Edell who received enthusiastic backing from Prickwillow Village Council. The council purchased the phone box from BT for just £1 with the only restriction on the sale being that it was not moved.

With no funds available for the restoration, a number of villagers stepped in to offer their services for free. Local builder Dave Simpson carried out the bulk of the work using red and black paint leftover from a refurbishment of the village hall. The door lock was fitted by Council Member Richard Raine and the box was cleaned by East Cambs District Councillor Jackie Petts.

The gallery has been featured in numerous print and online publications worldwide, with the news even reaching radio audiences in Canada and the US.

Speaking of the global attention the project has received so far, Mr Edell said: Villagers are planning approximately one show each month and will work alongside ADeC (Arts Development in East Cambridgeshire) on certain projects.

"Our aim is provide an open art space for local artists, craftspeople, galleries and school children as well as contemporary artists and photographers from further afield."

To get involved please contact us.

Artists

| Ouse Life
| John Lewis
| Steel Dreams

General

| The Phonebox Gallery Facebook group
| ADec
| Prickwillow Village Council website

Press Releases

| December '10
| November '10
| October '10

Press

| CBC's 'As It Happens' - radio interview
| Daily Mail Online
| The Telegraph Online
| Metro
| BBC Cambridge - article - photo gallery
| Cambridge News

Downloads

| restoration images
| pre-restoration images

We welcome submissions for future exhibitions. Please email info (at) thephoneboxgallery (dot) org for more information.