FOUR West Country artists are joining forces for a journey through inner and outer landscapes, women and time, a group exhibition of paintings, textiles, pottery and glass.

Painter Josephine Hamilton and textile artist Wendy Hermelin, who are both based in Beaminster, Dorset, will be exhibiting alongside Yeovil based painter Jill Preston and Wendy’s daughter, glass artist Caroline Lewis, who lives in Somerset at the edge of the Levels.

This exhibition travels a lot further than their respective patches of the West Country as Jo Hamilton said: “The journey through art has brought us together as artists. Our work is as diverse in style as our personalities. We will be showing colour infused abstracts, beautifully and imaginatively manipulated textiles, original glasswork inspired by ocean conservation and portraits of women and girls from around the world. Art can help give them a voice, our voice”.

Jill Preston works mainly in watercolour, mixed media and acrylics. She enjoys painting places she has visited, particularly coastal areas. She is currently exploring impressionistic and semi abstract ways of responding to the landscapes of the south west.

Josephine Hamilton moved to Dorset in 2003 after a lifetime in London. She taught Art in a Hackney Comprehensive school for 27 years, and has exhibited throughout London and Dorset, including Dorset Art Weeks since 2006. Jo works mainly in oils and mixed media with the human form as her subject matter; she is also a potter.

Wendy Hermelin creates hand and machine stitched textile art. Wendy is also a dance teacher and choreographer and runs Dancing Stitches workshops using movement, dance and music for creative inspiration.

Caroline Lewis was born in Bristol and studied at the West of England College of Art. The sea and coastal regions of the South West are a key inspiration for her work, with marine conservation the main focus of her current work. Caroline works with stained and fused glass in combination with reclaimed copper wire and foils. The exhibition opens at Ilminster Arts Centre on September 17 and runs until October 6.