This post is a bit different – focussing on the talents of another segment of the Trevena Cross partnership. Graham’s wife Rachel Jeffery is an artist, and is now offering Trevena Cross visitors an opportunity to extend their time at Trevena Cross to satisfy not just their plant cravings, but also their art cravings, with just a little planning in advance. Read on to learn more…
It is fair to say that the challenges presented to small Cornish businesses over the past six months has called for ingenuity, creativity and general ‘thinking outside the box’, to keep business driving forwards. One local artist, based in Breage between Helston and Penzance, has managed just that.
Covid-19 has inspired Rachel Jeffery to turn her conservatory into a light, spacious gallery exhibiting her artwork, which is available to view by appointment only.
Rachel explains:
“When your business is your passion, you don’t want anything to stop you sharing that with others, even a worldwide pandemic! So, despite the very challenging circumstances we all find ourselves in, I wanted to provide a safe, relaxed, socially distanced environment for visitors to view and talk about my artwork. To truly appreciate art, you need to see it in person, and that was when I had a lightbulb moment – why not turn my own conservatory into a gallery, and coordinate controlled visits, by appointment only?!
Also featured in the gallery is work by other well-known local talents, including ceramicist Nic Harrison and his wife Jackie, whose textiles include hand woven floor cushions.
Rachel Jeffery’s paintings have been gracing the walls of the café at Trevena Cross Garden Centre for over 20 years. Owners of Trevena Cross, Rachel and her husband Graham, along with their family, live on site, just five minutes up the lane from the garden centre, past the huge 32 acre growing nursery that grows more than 90% of the plants sold.
Her art studio is nestled in her own beautiful garden, also available for visitors to enjoy when they visit.
Rachel continues:
“Having lived in Cornwall for 40 years, the sea has been an inexhaustible source of inspiration for my artwork, along with travels and nature”.
Rachel has made a name for herself locally, as Louise from Lemon Street Gallery in Truro can attest to:
“Her landscapes capture the atmosphere of the environment and the density and openness of nature with a fragility and strength. Her paintings are inspiring, intriguing and sensitive. In other words, Rachel Jeffery is quite simply a very good painter”.
Rachel has been involved in numerous groups and solo exhibitions and has sold work in collections in America, Germany and London. Her decision to now adopt a more intimate approach to exhibit her work is a result of adapting to the current climate, but is something through which plenty of positives should also develop.
Rachel concludes:
“Art is very personal, and for this to be reflected in my interaction with visitors and potential clients, in my own home, which is a very personal space, is something that I’m very excited about.
I have a huge amount of enthusiasm to share my most recent creations in particular, LIT – ART, which is inspired by a visit to the lava tunnels in Iceland. These panels of art can be lit up and colours changed via a remote control or free app – to create many pieces of artwork in one. I’ve not seen anything else quite like it and feel it could appeal to a great many art lovers, as well as gadget lovers, as a unique piece of home décor”.
Contact Rachel on 07891 474126 to make an appointment to visit her gallery (open 9am – 5pm Monday – Saturday) or visit her website www.racheljefferyart.com to find out more about her artwork.
