Winds of Change – 25th September – 24th October 2026 – Penwith Gallery, St. Ives, Cornwall

Opening night Friday 25th September  5.30 – 8pm  ALL WELCOME

Winds of Change brings together paintings, textured surfaces and suspended forms that explore transformation, memory and the subtle forces that shape our lives. Rooted in the natural world and inspired by the elemental landscape of West Cornwall, the exhibition invites moments of pause, reflection and renewal. At its heart are paintings built through layers of plaster, pigment, mica, silver and gold. Inspired by weathered rock formations, shifting landscapes and the passage of time, these works explore processes of building, revealing and erosion, holding traces of what has been while remaining open to what is yet to come.

Running throughout the exhibition is the recurring motif of the wish. Written, layered, suspended and sometimes partially concealed, these fragments of thought speak of hope, resilience and the courage to embrace change. Several suspended works draw inspiration from the tradition of the cloutie tree, where wishes and prayers are tied and left to the elements. Created from paper, mica, carefully chosen stone beads and handcrafted wooden forms – made by local woodcarver Bill Gordon, these pieces become symbolic carriers of thought and intention, creating a dialogue between what is rooted and what is released.

Winds of Change is an invitation to slow down, listen deeply and consider the quiet transformations that occur within us and around us, celebrating growth, renewal and the beauty found in new beginnings.

Images coming soon

Wishes on the Wind –
Where gold illuminates sacred offerings and prayers find form.

Penwith Gallery, St. Ives. October 2025

At the heart of Wishes on the Wind lies a sacred act of remembrance and hope – prayers whispered into the wind, tokens tied to ancient trees, and the golden thread that binds together love, loss, and healing. Inspired by the Cloutie Trees near the sacred wells at Madron and Sancreed in Cornwall, this exhibition reflects the quiet ritual of leaving behind a piece of cloth or a whispered wish – offerings for those who have passed and affirmations for those still held close.

Stephanie Sandercock’s new paintings embrace the cracks and imperfections of life, honouring them not as flaws, but as pathways to deeper understanding. Like the ancient Japanese art of Kintsugi – where broken pottery is mended with gold, the veins of 24ct gold running through each piece symbolize endurance and grace, illuminating the spaces where life has fractured. Muscovite mica is scattered like jewels in some of the work, shimmering like sunlight on the sacred well, or a glint of sunlight through weathered fabric. This interplay of light and shadow evokes a tender equilibrium – where openness meets quiet power and what has been broken is not only repaired but transformed.

Click on images below to enlarge.

‘Imaginary Pathways’ – September 2024

Fifth Solo Exhibition at The Penwith Gallery, St. Ives

“Our memories and daydreams take us down the garden path.. whispering ‘what if this’ and ‘if only that’.
Our imaginary pathways unfold over time, stretching and shrinking, appearing then fading, like ever changing ripples and undulating waves in a never-ending ocean.
The only constant is our connection to our inner self. The internal voice, our companion from when we begin to speak to when we draw our last breath. This voice is our own and stories we tell ourselves, our internal roadmaps, are the most powerful of all.
To be in touch with our inner compass, our intuition guiding us along the pathway home, is the quest. Making art takes me towards that.
What keeps my cork floating is letting go of everything that pulls me under. For me, to be out in nature’s beauty, especially by the coastal rocks at Gwithian and then to be in my studio playing with textures and paint… that’s what life’s about!

To unleash the creative spirit within and to let it be itself. It’s a journey in which I am the observer and the obsession, engaged and detached, the spark of an idea and the disciplined craftsman, sanding and polishing each piece of work.
Creating art is a balancing act and throwing out imaginary pathways like invisible ropes helps me find my middle path, where I can lean in and move forward.
I created these paintings for my love of nature’s textures, especially the coastal rocks, and to feel a deep connection to something within me where I feel alive and truly free.”

Click on images below to enlarge.

St. Ives Times & Echo – Imaginary Pathways Review
Sandercock at the Penwith Gallery

“I have watched Stephanie Sandercock’s painting grow ever stronger, both visually and in scale over many years. Of importance is her signature style that combines her ‘self-personality’ and visual techniques used to create them, which make them immediately recognisable.

Her abstraction is very different from that of the earlier St. Ives Modernist School. Her influences being more geological and organic.

There is an emphasis on high key ‘spiritual colours’, balanced with earth brown, greys, blacks and whites of nature’s palette. Her show is well hung giving her works space to breathe and demonstrates their strength and visual power.

Stephanie is yet another of the wave of younger women who together have become a dominant force in the St. Ives Art Colony in recent years. Her work manages to remain earthed while reaching for the spiritual realms.”

John Charles Clark

‘Compass’ – September 2023

Two-woman exhibition at The Crypt Gallery, St. Ives.

Paintings – Stephanie Sandercock. Sculptures – Julie Moselen.

The paintings on each wall resonate with the four main directions of North, South, West and East and the elements of Air, Fire, Water and Earth.

“Lines in the rock are pathways through a map of feelings and impulses, longings and rememberings. Circles, representing moments in time stretching and contracting are filled with possibilities. Creating art makes the unseen visible and bridges the gap between my inner and outer world bringing me into the now. It is my anchor and my compass.”

Click on images below to enlarge.

‘Alchemy’ – June/July 2022
Fourth Solo Exhibition at The Penwith Gallery, St. Ives

Highly textured abstract paintings and 3D works on rusted steel, aluminium, wood & canvas, using limestone & marble plaster with acrylic & jewel like pieces of muscovite mica.

“I’m captivated by the Cornish coastal rocks; the cracks, seams and the gaps in between. I like the lines where two things meet, where sometimes there’s a clash or impact, a spark of electricity, an ignition. Often, it’s more gentle like the ocean touching the sky or the disappearing edge where the wave just kissed the sand.

Circles have become a theme for me, and I see them as precious moments in time. I feel like we are spiralling inward or outward never really staying still and as the cycles of days, weeks and seasons go by I am finding ways to anchor myself in the present moment. Painting helps me with that, meditation too.

Creating textures with plaster is one of my favourite things and I like to layer paint and later sand it down to reveal surprising patterns. Using muscovite mica to reflect the light adds another magical element and like a mystery unravelling before my eyes the process leads me to unimagined places.

There’s an aliveness that can’t be measured and this gives me a sense of playfulness, of freedom. It’s really a conversation between my senses and the elements around me and I absolutely love it, it’s an escape and a homecoming at the same time.”

Click on images below to enlarge.

‘Hayle To Halzephron’ – September 2020
Third Solo Exhibition at The Penwith Gallery, St. Ives

Oil & wax, acrylic & limestone and marble plaster, metal leaf & mica.

The Gaps In Between

My eyes follow the lines
The cracks and the seams.
I listen I feel
For the rhythm of the rock
Ancient sunlight pressed between.

Fire in the quartz sings to the sea
The wind picks up and carries me
Across a blue line of dancing light
Dividing sand from open sky.

Just for a moment held in the gap
In between this thought and that
Something in the nothing catches my eye
To follow again the colours and lines
The cracks and seams
The gaps in between.