Saturday 4th July to Sunday 30th September 2026
The Sill: National Landscape Discovery Centre – Free Entry
This exhibition coming to The Sill was a little bit of a surprise to me; I had wished to see it a couple of years ago in Liverpool, but missed it, so it was a delight to see it come up locally. This free exhibition contains up to 100 items of artwork and associated sketchbooks and other materials; it is taking place in the small exhibition space inside of The Sill.
The exhibition in The Sill contains a good number of the original watercolour paintings created by Mary Cicely Mary Barker, grouped on the wall according to the theme of which of her Flower Fairy series the paintings originated from. Each individual set of images also has its own little introduction text, and they all have their associated poem printed beneath them.
In display cases in the middle of the gallery space, there are a couple of notebooks and a small assortment of items which Barker utilised during her creation of these artwork series. These were interesting to look at, as they give a whole new depth and insight into the way in which she created this fantastic little world. There is also a small display case tucked to one side which contains a couple of items of fairy clothing; these were inspired by the Flower Fairy series, and are created by Vin Burnham as a way to visualise how their clothing would have looked in real life.
Having the chance to go see this exhibition was fantastic, especially as with so many other people, I was exposed to Flower Fairy imagery from when I was a young child, and grew up with them at the back of my mind, existing if not in reality, then in a small personal world created especially for them.
Images
Links
Aisling on Art 