Some exhibitions begin with a carefully crafted concept.
This one began with a conversation about falling off stilts and ending up in A&E four hours before a school trip to France.
After more than twenty-five years of shared projects, theatrical adventures, murals, puppets, paintings and beautifully chaotic ideas, Not My Usual Stilts brings together a collection of works that celebrate curiosity, character, storytelling and the strange routes creativity takes through ordinary life.
From expressive portraits and watchful animals to fragments of circus, memory and imagined worlds, the exhibition is less concerned with fitting neatly into one category and more interested in the joy of making, exploring and seeing where ideas lead.
Warm, theatrical and occasionally slightly unhinged, the exhibition invites visitors into a space where colour, humour and imagination are given room to wander.
Emily Calvert
Based in Upton upon Severn, Emily Calvert is an artist, educator and lifelong collector of creative side quests. Alongside her work as a School Improvement Advisor and parent, she has spent years building a parallel world of painting, theatre, murals, puppets and wonderfully impractical ideas.
Originally training in theatre and prop-making, Emily has worked on productions in both the UK and USA, designed large-scale murals and public artworks, and somehow developed a recurring habit of saying yes to ambitious projects before fully considering the consequences.
Her paintings are often drawn to expressive faces, unusual characters and moments of emotional intensity, balancing bold colour and theatricality with quieter, more human details. Influenced as much by stage lighting, music and storytelling as by traditional portraiture, her work explores personality, memory, humour and the strange beauty hidden inside everyday life.
Bees, circus fragments, iconic outsiders, doorway studies and half-finished thoughts all tend to find their way into the work eventually.
Emily works under Benderwicks Art — a family-led creative umbrella celebrating imagination in all its forms, from painting and woodwork to digital art and public projects. For her, creativity has never been something reserved for spare time; it is simply part of how she moves through the world.
Julia Kerrison
Julia Kerrison is a painter and illustrator whose work transforms overlooked natural details into luminous, theatrical moments of wonder. Pine cones become enchanted artefacts, birds carry quiet symbolism, and shifting landscapes glow with atmosphere and memory.
Originally training in theatre before moving into fine art and illustration, Julia’s work retains a strong sense of drama and storytelling. Rich colour, dramatic lighting and layered textures combine to create paintings that feel both intimate and cinematic.
Over the years she has worked across an extraordinary variety of creative worlds, including theatre, festivals, public art and illustration. Her career has taken her from London and New York to Glastonbury, Boomtown and international exhibitions, while her work for organisations including the National Beekeeper’s Association and Wild in Art reflects her fascination with nature, narrative and visual playfulness.
Alongside her own painting practice, Julia manages the Penwith Gallery in St Ives and continues to balance art, family life and creative adventure with equal energy.
Her work invites viewers to slow down, look closely and rediscover the quiet magic hidden inside ordinary things.