 | About John Bennetts
John attended Bournemouth Municipal College of Art for five years after leaving school in 1958. He gained a National Diploma in Design in Graphic Design and completed a Postgraduate-Diploma year later specialising in Illustration. After leaving he began developing a freelance practice but decided after a couple a years that he was not suited to working commercially, and gave it up. He moved to London
in 1966. An exhibition of art work by children with a learning
disability led to his volunteering his skills at an evening club for
adult psychiatric patients and this in turn led to five years’
professional work in two psychiatric day centres, first as a craft
instructor, and then as a manager. |
These experiences created an interest in the possibilities of using art for therapeutic purposes but there were very few art therapy posts available and no training courses were in existence. Nevertheless the formation of the new Social Services departments in the early 1970’s gave him the opportunity to qualify as a professional social worker.
In 1975 he returned to Dorset. Over the following twenty five years he worked for Dorset Social Services Department as a fieldworker before retiring in 2000.
Despite having decided not to pursue a career in art John continued to develop his drawing and design skills.
The River Collection is one of the strands of work which evolved in this way. Examples of other aspects of his work from College onwards are shown on ‘website address’
View The John Bennetts' Original "River Collection" Merchandise below;
John Bennetts' River Collection - History
The cultural background against which graphic design was taught in the early 1960’s, as well as the technical limitations of the industrial printing processes of the time, meant that emphasis was placed upon the ingenious use of simple shapes expressed in a limited number of colours.
Because of this training the first designs, which John created in the 1970’s and which led to the River Collection, were very simple. They were made by painting coloured inks on to cartridge paper, and usually were limited to two or three linked objects, such as a rocket and a hot air balloon with the balloon being powered by the exhaust from the rocket. Initially the designs had no overall theme, but the idea of incorporating some of them with new work so as to represent the path of a river from source to sea arose after listening to a performance of the tone poem Vltava by Smetana . This describes in sound the same journey made by the river of that name.
Although the simpler designs are still effective, as new work has been produced it has tended to become much more elaborate. Increasingly it takes the form of landscapes which can be explored and in which small details can be found, effectively creating a world of his own which John shares with the viewer.
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Testimonials
"Took me right back to the glorious '70's." -- Vicky, Bournemouth
"A fasinating world for both children and adults alike." -- Paula, Blandord
