SHARMILA arrives at POWIS CASTLE

I am Christine Mills, a Welsh artist from Mid Wales, and I am delighted to tell you a bit about the last week I have had in the company of Sharmila Samant, an artist from India.

Sharmila has come to Wales as part of the Shakti contemporary art exhibition programme. Shakti is a collaboration between Meadow Arts, National Trust, Oriel Davies and WAVE - Wolverhampton Art Gallery,  exploring the artistic relationship between Britain and the Indian Subcontinent. Sharmila is over in Powis Castle mid Wales for a week responding to the Clive of India Collection and I am simply looking after her, driving her around this green countryside to meet the Welsh(!) and a general companion .........and what a delight all this is ......and in this weather too! Can  you imagine? I feel so lucky!

FRIDAY

I picked Sharmila up from Meadow Arts  on Friday , took her for a bite to eat in Montgomery , pointed out where some of my family live (Bunners....the ironmongers) and by early evening we arrived at the big red Castle with its amazing garden, to be welcomed by dozens of steps in which we needed to carry her case up  to her accommodation .............the real good news was that Ben who works there came to the rescue and it was good news as Sharmila does NOT travel light! .........it has to be a new outfit each day! And she does not come without a collection of shoes either!.........and so stylish I cannot tell you.....I felt a real scruff.

The good news was there was a phone signal (occasionally!) but the bad news was that there was no internet ...........and this was not good for an international artist that travels widely.

I later looked at her films and simply loved them .......just my kind of stuff!  ...........tell you more  later.

SATURDAY

.....10am I arrived the Castle and Ben took us around the Clive Collection ......W W W....amazing !!!!

fingers were pointing in all directions.......it was W W W....

and suddenly the atmosphere seemed go very special as if something happened.........the items in the case were special, Sharmilas work was special: what a beautiful marriage of ancient and modern together........layer upon layer of history in all works..... you must see for yourself ....honestly.  

 
Later we headed for Gregynog ..........the last day of the music festival and the harpist Catrin Finch was playing. So we had a picnic, heard the lecture by Osian Elis and then the concert, it was WONDERFUL, really was.

We jumped in the car and whizzed off to Can Office as the Festival was also on there too: Sharmila was introduced to some of the Welsh poets, some Farmers and the general  buzz. I was busy telling every one, well as many people as possible, that Sharmila was staying in a Castle  but within an hour things changed! ......I took her back and we seemed to be alone in the Castle and this didn't seem such a good idea now after all! They do say it is haunted .......... No this was not for us ......so with our tails between our legs we turned back and headed for Caerlloi, the farm where I live ......yes now where like home as they say ......

SUNDAY

A catch up day for Sharmila, and then later to Can Office to meet more of the locals..........including the musicians Sian James and Gwyn, Eleri Mills my cousin ....artist Aled Dolmaen ...farmer and neighbour and many more .......that was fruitful for Sharmila.

MONDAY

In the morning a good few phone calls trying to get contacts with people linking with water.......Sharmila was also intending to do research for a possible film with this subject (see her web site for the film in New Zealand)

Ben took us into the textile store at Powis...

What a morning .........I loved every minute! I could go on .. that evening we went to Pontrobert to visit Nia Rosser