'˜Ghostly' winning piece inspired by strangers

Strangers and their presence in everyday lives formed the subject for this year's winner of the Young Arts Award in Steyning.
Megan Roberts' winning entry, entitled StrangersMegan Roberts' winning entry, entitled Strangers
Megan Roberts' winning entry, entitled Strangers

Student Megan Roberts was inspired by a trip to an art gallery in London and created her own materials for the large piece of artwork.

She was awarded the Steyning Decorative and Fine Arts Society award, chosen from the annual Steyning Grammar School exhibition.

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Megan said: “My inspiration for this work was the stranger we pass every day and how I could try to portray their presence in our lives.

“I was inspired by this theme when we went on a school trip and upon further inspection of my photographs I took that day, I found myself more interested in the people I had accidentally included in my frames than the photos themselves.”

Wanting to work with textiles for the first time, Megan looked at ways to integrate fabric and drawing for her piece, called Strangers.

“After experimenting, I discovered a way of creating translucent sheets using tissue paper and glue that I could draw on,” she explained.

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“I chose to use this as my final media choice because it allowed me to create my drawings on a very large scale but also allowed light to pass through it, which added to my concept of the strangers we pass in everyday life and their almost ‘ghostly’ presence.”

The entire project took her four months, from February to May. Each figure took about ten to 12 hours to produce, including the drawing and putting together of the piece, then another three days to dry out.

Society chairman Ann Blakelock said: “It is a most unusual piece. The award is to encourage young arts in the community.

“Committee members chose her work as an outstanding example and although Megan could not be there to receive her award, her dad kindly accepted it on her behalf.

“She received a certificate and a cheque for £100.”

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Steyning Decorative and Fine Arts Society meets once a month to hear lectures on all aspects of the arts.

Meetings are held at The Steyning Centre on the second Monday of each month. Visitors are welcome to join members, for a £5 donation. Coffee is served at 10am, followed by the meeting, 10.30am to midday.

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