Out & About July 2017

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Sandham Memorial Chapel this year with nine
other artists.
“I enjoy meeting the public, you get a real
impression of how they feel about your work.
Art is very subjective and so it is a fabulous
feeling when you meet someone who is
passionate about pieces you have made.
“Back in 2010 I tried to impress my new
boyfriend with my studio; seven years later we
are married and expecting our first baby, so it
seems to have worked.”
Diccon Dadey, creator of quirky metal
sculptures in a barn near Woodland St Mary,
is quite a character too – the magnificent steel
rhino head on display is a talking point at every
show.
He picked up his skills in manipulating metal
and welding while working in engineering.
“I’ve always been quite creative but never saw
it being something I could really make a living
at. I started playing with some pieces, more as
a hobby, and it took off. All those skills came
together into creating sculptures that appeal to
people, mainly for their gardens.”
He ran DadeyMetalArt alongside the ‘day job’
for a couple of years before taking the plunge
and hasn’t looked back.
“Opening my studio is a great chance for
people to browse without feeling they have to
make an appointment or buy something and
it gives me a good opportunity to gauge the
response of potential clients. The one-to-one
feedback is really helpful – it always amazes
me how many ideas come out of Open Studio
months.”
Diccon has never needed to spend money on
advertising – his work speaks for itself.
“My sign-written truck, with a sheep or a
horse’s head or a dragon and a couple of owls
on the back, soon drums up interest.
“We were recently in a traffic jam on the M6,
listening to the radio, and heard a call from a
listener saying that they were sitting behind
a red truck with a life-size horse head on the
back!”
It would be a superhuman feat to visit every
artist and show in the three weeks, so the free
illustrated directory describing each artist’s
work and listing individual opening times and
directions is a must to plan a productive route.
Copies are available around town and online
at – you can use it
in conjunction with the taster exhibition and
satellite shows which, says the scheme’s
president, Fawley sculptor Johannes von
Stumm, “hint at wonderful treasures to be
discovered by poking your head around the
door of a sculptor’s workshop or painter’s
studio”.
All the 2017 Open Studios participants are
looking forward to meeting you.
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Clockwise Susan Kirkman, Sophie Waite,
Diccon Dadey