We see art in Worthing - Open Houses and along the Pier

I will admit that I had never thought of Sussex seaside

Trees by Frances Cheeseman 

town Worthing as being a particular hub of the art world so I was pleased to have this perception challenged on Friday when Dave and I visited the town to meet up with his daughter, Chrissie. We began by getting a preview of a few of the venues for the Worthing Artists Open Houses art trail event. This year promises to be the biggest and best yet seen in the town with sixty venues showing work by over 250 artists. The venues are open over three weekends - 18/19 June, 25/26 June and 2/3 July 2016 - and the work on show includes paintings, jewellery, sculpture, prints, stained glass, textiles and pots.

We took a look around Venue 39 which is Andy Manuell's Stonemason shop on South Street in Tarring. Work here includes painting, drawing, photography and collage and I was told that the shop enjoys keeping pieces on display all year, not just for the three weekends. I particularly liked a series of windswept trees by Frances Cheeseman (four pictured above) and also mixed media llama images by Jacqui Lauder.

Swordfish sculpture on Worthing seafront 

This swordfish sculpture is high on a wall outside Venue 8 - Coast Cafe Des Artistes on Beach Parade. There is a line of beach huts here too which are now artists' studios. Only a couple were open on a windy Wednesday afternoon but we did get to admire work at The Book Hut where Maudie Gunzie works to conserve and preserve vintage books by rebinding them and also sells elegant hand-bound notebooks and journals in varying designs and sizes.

After a lunch at the Indigo Restaurant - I enjoyed my Chickpea Chilli Burger, but Dave was a little underwhelmed by his Slow Cooked Pork Belly - we strolled onto the Victorian pier. Designed by Robert Rawlinson and opened in 1862 this beautiful structure is an attraction in its own right, but it also hosts the Creative Waves Art On The Pier initiative which is now in its fifth year. 2016-17 work showcases creative selfies made by local schoolchildren in a variety of media including clay, textiles and collage. There is also work by Northbrook College Art And Design students and a heritage exhibition of historic local postcards.

We needed to walk almost right to the end of the Pier to see all the art so, if you visit too, don't turn back too soon and miss it! On the way there are stained glass panels which caught our interest. They all have a Worthing theme and pictured below is one of two by Ferring artist Chris Brown. It commemorates the vast amounts of wood that washed ashore in January 2009 from the Ice Prince sinking off the Dorset coast  (remember that?). If you would like to see more of Chris's work, her Open House is Venue 60 on the Trail!

Plank Attack by Chris Brown