The very first open weekend in 1978 raised funds for St Luke ’ s Hospice in Sheffield , and every successive exhibition held in the gallery has also contributed to a worthwhile cause – most of course centreing around animal welfare and conservation . For fifteen years Pollyanna ran a rehabilitation sanctuary for injured and orphaned wildlife from her home . Caring mainly for injured and orphaned raptors , she also rehabilitated foxes , hedgehogs , squirrels and other mammals , all of which feature in her work . Indeed gallery visitors during those years would often find Pollyanna in the gallery , bottle feeding tiny fox cubs or hand-feeding orphaned owlets in between chatting to her guests ! The rescue work was entirely funded through a percentage of the sales of Pollyanna ’ s work in her gallery – from building aviaries and enclosures through to expensive veterinary care and day to day feeding .
Charitable Foundation
Since the formation of Pollyanna ’ s charitable Foundation in 2000 , a minimum of 10 % from each event has supported the Foundation ’ s projects worldwide – from building a sanctuary for orphaned wild dog puppies in Namibia and rescuing a moonbear from the cruel bile farming trade in Vietnam - to providing vital equipment for animal hospitals in the UK . In recent years the lucky winner of a grand prize draw linked to each exhibition has been presented with one of Pollyanna ’ s original paintings – and ticket sales have helped to boost the fund raising . We have been pleased to welcome an array of the Foundation ’ s celebrity supporters to draw the winning tickets – including Martin Clunes , Toyah Willcox ,
Jonathan Scott , Chris Packam and Sir David Attenborough
In fact keep your eyes open on a visit to the gallery – you never know who might be looking at the painting next to you ! We have welcomed members of parliament and European royalty , as well as premiership footballers and musicians – from members of rock band Def Leppard ( looking for paintings of their animal namesake !) to West End musical stars . Many familiar faces from television including Liza Goddard , Leslie Grantham , Lorraine Chase , Blue Peter presenters Simon Groom and Peter Purves , and film and conservation legend Virginia McKenna have all visited exhibitions . TV cameras and Radio Reporters also frequently arrive to record the occasion and interview Pollyanna about the work displayed in the gallery .
Pollyanna ’ s eccentric garden has become an attraction in itself – over the years it has evolved from a traditional Victorian farmhouse garden to become home to an ever increasing array of life size African statues . A life size Rhino and baby stand in the shade of a tree while giraffes drink from the largest pond .
Pollyanna still continues to exhibit her new work in this welcoming atmosphere before it goes on to exhibition in galleries elsewhere , inviting her loyal friends and clients who have supported her work for so many years to preview the paintings in Derbyshire .
... and more
Visitors to this special celebration event will also be able to browse at leisure through the latest additions to Pollyanna ’ s extensive ranges of greetings cards , fine art and limited edition prints , and a wide variety of gift ware featuring her work . All of her books will be available , and Pollyanna will be happy to sign copies purchased during the event . Two new signed limited edition prints will be exclusively launched during the exhibition . The latest brand new card and paper crafting kits will also be available - as launched live on television in a series of regular and increasingly popular programmes featuring Pollyanna live in the studio on the Create and Craft channel !
There will be over 150 Christmas card designs to choose from , including the latest charity cards designed by Pollyanna for the RSPB , Guide dogs for the Blind , The Born Free Foundation , Blue Cross and Marie Curie among many others . New fine art calendars of her work will be available for 2018 .
CountryImagesMagazine . co . uk | 69