Sharron Gurney is an artist who has found inspiration and creativity here in Faversham for the last thirty years and in her own words ‘absolutely loves’ the town. CommunityAd had the pleasure of a chat with Sharron who wasted no time in waxing lyrical about our community, and her new group Sip, Paint and Chat.
“Faversham is a unique place; people have grown up here or like me moved here and didn’t want to leave! The memories of the town are precious, everyone talks to each other, they share those memories and love a good natter! I also love that the community in general want to protect the area, the gorgeous buildings, creeks and wildlife, they work together to do this. The people of Faversham love to help each other out, and get together at all of the fabulous events! Nothing better than wandering round the market place singing carols at Christmas bumping in to everyone you know; it is an amazing place to live!”
As an artist what do you find inspiring in Faversham? It’s an aesthetically pleasing place, isn’t it?
The buildings in the town centre are amazing, every time you look you spot something different or a plaque you hadn’t seen before, the imagination runs wild to the people that have lived in them over the years, but for me my love of wildlife and animals takes me to the creeks, they are beautiful! We have huge skies, and those sunsets and sunrises, just wow! They are the inspiration of a lot of my palate knife work.
Tell our readers a little about the Sip, Paint and Chat sessions? What do they involve and why are they so beneficial?
With my friend and fellow artist Sue King we launched The Unique Mural and Art Company. We felt after lockdown, we needed something special to get like-minded people outside and to relax, we spoke to the lovely people at the Abbey Physic Garden, and Sip, Paint and Chat was launched. While the weather is warm enough, we hold them in a marquee in the gardens, although will move inside.
The beauty of what we do is that you do not have to be a skilled artist, if you can paint and draw that is great, but it is a social painting session. We limit the number of places so Sue and I are able to spend a little time with anyone that would like help. Many of the people that have attended, a lot of people come on their own, tell us how fabulous it is to have time for themselves, they feel relaxed and that they just wouldn’t do it at home. It really is a bit of fun! We provide everything except drinks, and try and add a different twist each time.
A lot of people during the darkest days of the pandemic took up a new creative hobby in aid of distracting themselves from the doom and gloom, why do you think creative endeavour no matter what form it takes is so important for the human spirit and one’s mental health?
The imagination is a wonderful thing as long as you get it working for you, starting a creative hobby is the best therapy, be it watching things grow in to amazing colourful plants (another of my passions!!) or taking photos, it focuses the mind on the positive, and isn’t it fabulous to feel the sense of achievement, however small. I also enjoy that tired feeling at the end of a busy, not always successful day and a good night’s sleep!