Making Merry – or the Art of enjoying Christmas Shopping
Winchester Tourism’s annual Christmas shopping event takes place this Saturday and Sunday, 22 and 23 November, allowing shoppers to experience at first hand the varying assortment of creations by local arts and craftspeople. This is an opportunity to find something a little different to solve the annual Christmas present headache.
A mixture of public galleries and private homes – twenty-four in all – will be taking part, offering jewellery, textiles, glass, ceramics, paintings and even cakes. A visit to the Pottery Café will be worthwhile if you have a creative streak as you can paint your own design on a choice of 70 ceramic items. Some of the venues will even be offering festive cheer in the form of mince pies and mulled wine.
Building on the success of previous Making Merry events, a number of new artists have joined the line-up this year: Brenda Parker uses digital imagery to create stunning works of art, while Claire Fuller creates lamps and light shades from stained glass. Lesley Nguyen also uses stained and kiln fused glass; Mike Griffiths uses his printmaking studio to create abstract prints; John Woodwark is an artist offering a wide range of painting styles, and Gill Robinson and Judy Strafford paint a variety of subjects.
A full list of participating venues, opening arrangements and access for visitors with disabilities can be found in the Making Merry leaflet available from Winchester Tourist Information Centre. Telephone 01962 840500, e-mail tourism@winchester.gov.uk or download a PDF version from www.visitwinchester.co.uk