Wednesday Night is Girls’ Night

Display of four handmade dolls in colorful clothing holding scrolls of text, with a bucket containing more scrolls. A model house and a sign reading 'Antenatal Classes' are in the background. Artwork by Hampshire artist Marian Way.

Assemblage, exhibited in
“Your Place or Mine”,
West Dean College, 2024

Fabric, cardboard, acrylic paint, wool, chicken wire, papier mache, found objects

In 1982 I met three women - Bonnie, Rose and Linda - at antenatal classes held in our local church hall. Once the babies were born we decided to carry on meeting - first on Wednesday afternoons, and later in the evenings. We've met most Wednesdays ever since and still call it 'girls' night' even though we're now in our sixties. We made this piece of work together in 2024 to celebrate our 42-year-old friendship. The space between the church hall and the papier mache girls is marked by 42 lines and there is also a ‘bucket’ theme: a bucket full of nappies, a bucket full of problems and conversations we’ve shared over the years, and a golden bucket full of our bucket lists.

Cardboard model of a church with knitted trees and a sign advertising antenatal classes. Artwork by Hampshire artist Marian Way
Art tableau exhibit with handmade figures, colourful buckets, a knitted tree, and a church model on a black surface with yellow stripes. Sign reads 'Antenatal Classes.' Artwork by Hampshire artist Marian Way
Four handcrafted dolls with colorful hair and clothing, each adorned with a red heart, holding a yellow scroll with text in a gold bucket. The background is dark. Artwork by Hampshire artist Marian Way
Handcrafted papier mache dolls with yarn hair reading a scroll with text. Artwork by Hampshire artist Marian Way.
Four colourful, handcrafted dolls with yarn hair and various outfits standing in a gallery. A fabric-covered bucket is in front with stitched messages. Artwork by Hampshire artist Marian Way.
Four women standing in a garden holding handmade dolls, with trees and foliage in the background.