Dabble with Julia

Today she works in oils and watercolours, has tried her hand at collage and has recently 'dabbled' yet again - branching out into painting silk scarves.

The satisfaction that Julia, formerly of Ninfield and now of Bexhill, has obtained from art over the last 17 years has given her a missionary zeal to provide opportunities for other people to open up new horizons for themselves.

She still has strong links to Ninfield and it was to Ninfield Memorial Hall that a flow of visitors came on Sunday for the second of what Julia terms her Artphelia days.

These are an opportunity for the public not only to see artists at work and to purchase their output but to have a 'dabble' for themselves at the event, entry fee 1.

Tables were laid out with all the materials necessary for artistic expression as Julia explained her goal at the opening of Sunday's Artphelia.

"We did one here in November 2005 and it was very successful as a one-off.

"That provided enough to pay the rent so we thought we would do another.

"It's just the pleasure it gives people - being able to try something 'hands-on' at an event like this.

"We do classes and I really enjoy that I wanted an informal way to come and have a go.

"I started dabbling about 17 years ago. I have always been 'crafty' but I decided I wanted to go one stage further and move on."

Artists Sarah Dawson and Keith Collins had exhibitions of their work on display.

Juliette Dodd does portrait workshops. Her own work was on display.

Lydia McCue has her own distinctive artistic style and was displaying her work near Chris O'Brien's table inviting visitors to try their hand at calligraphy.

Julia's aim with Artphelia is to appeal to all ages. There was opportunity for everyone from pre-school to pensioner to "have a dabble."

Examples of children's work was exhibited on the stage, entries in a competition with classes from pre-school tots to secondary students.