Community
& Commissions
Inspiring the next generation of artists has always been at the core of CHAFF. In 2025 Axbridge First School asked if a CHAFF artist could help their Year 3 pupils with a project focused on the Mendips, Tilly Mortimore had a fantastic time with them and they all really loved exploring ways of painting landscapes based on their own photographs and her paintings.
Showing some of the children’s pictures at CHAFF in 2025 led to Tilly working with Priddy School and again at Axbridge in 2026, exploring how to blend and mix colours to match the colours of nature.
You can see a selection of their paintings at Poplar Farm, Venue 9, where Tilly is exhibiting this year. Helping children to develop their creativity in classrooms is so vital and we hope that CHAFF can continue to help discover more of our local Artists of the Future.
This year two of our Cheddar Artists have also offered collaborative workshops with the young people of the Space Youth Club this year.
Ella Phillips and Adam Clutterbuck have given their time to the youth club and helped the young people learn about ceramics and photography.
Ella has been helping them learn and develop their skills to make simple hand-built pieces out of clay - rolling out a slab and creating interesting textures on the clay surface. Pieces were joined together using the key and slip method to create their designs before painting.
These hand-built pieces are designed to look like flowers while holding water so that when fixed to a wooden cane they can be situated in the garden and aid the rehydration of butterflies, bees and other flying insects.
Adam created a self-portraiture opportunity for individuals and groups of young people, to explore long exposure black and white portraiture. Each image was taken with a 2.5 second exposure controlled by the sitter, allowing the self-portraits to include movement and blur - allowing an expression of identity and community in Cheddar.
Ella is exhibiting at the Pottery Studio, Venue 16, and will be running workshops during the trail weekend. Adam will be at Chestnut Farm Studio, Venue 5, over the weekend 2 May - 4 May.
Permanent Art Installations in Cheddar
Cheddar Artists commissioned two local artists to create two pieces of artwork to celebrate 75 years since VE Day in Europe.
The work by Katrina Atkinson and Sara Parsons should have been one of the features of celebrations in the village in 2020 - until the pandemic. Now the pieces of art are on display in two separate places in the village. One can be found in Tweentown and the other in Bath Street.
The work was sponsored by Cheddar Parish Council and Sedgemoor District Council.
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The Willow Soay Sheep Sculptures on the island in Cheddar Gorge.
In 2018 CHAFF commissioned Sophie Courtiour (Cheddar Artist), who was a contemporary British sculpturer, to create 6 willow sheep, that are sited on the islands in Cheddar Gorge.
This was made possible with funding from Cheddar Parish Council and Sedgemoor Council. They are admired by visitors to our village all year round. The Parish Council have also paid annually for the upkeep of these sculptures.
Official Sponsors of CHAFF 2026
