Interested in art? The International Women’s Club will showcase its members’ best at an exhibit in the Chubb Building that opens at 5.30pm on Friday. Local charities Scars and WindReach will benefit from the sale of the more than 60 pieces of original art that will be on show at The Gallery at 17 Woodbourne Avenue through March 18. IWC art group coordinator Caroline Carrington explains more about the society and her own love of art.

Q: How’d you get involved with IWC?

A: I’m an unemployed lawyer. I followed my husband out here three years ago with our young daughter and fell into bad company with IWC who got me involved as parliamentarian on the board; effectively, that’s become my profession in Bermuda. It’s a wonderful organisation in the sense that it’s allowed me to get involved in Bermudian society and in volunteering. I only discovered the charity six months [after I arrived]. I think [my] transition [to Bermuda] would’ve been so much easier [had I found it earlier]. It’s a very old club. It was started, I think, in ‘81 and it’s almost like a relocation company/fellowship/sisterhood/activities club with a legacy of fundraising and volunteering. We’re about 200-strong, of all age groups and nationalities. It’s a lovely mix of people and yes, it does help your introduction into Bermudian society and keeping active and is a gateway to being involved in the local community.

Q: Were you interested in art as a student?

A: I have a few artists in the family but I’m from South Africa and was interested in law. A lot of things were happening with the constitutional law in South Africa at that time and I got sucked into politics, debate and law. I travelled around the world practising law — in Cayman, Guernsey, London — and always had a keen eye for art.

Q: What got you started drawing?

A: After about a year here I was drawn into an art group. It’s very active. We meet every Friday from 9.30am until 12pm. It’s our sacred space and we travel from home to home. We paint, draw, sketch and sculpt at our homes, at art studios, sometimes plein air. There’s between 20 and 30 of us, so a very healthy group. Some are very accomplished artists, some are educated, some have no background but we’re all very supportive, welcoming and very non-judgmental and we welcome all. We do have some professionals in our group — Diane Amos, Jill Amos Raine, Louise Calder — people who have real talent and people who have taught art.

Q: Have you had any lessons?

A: I don’t have any formal training other than the technical drawing classes I took. Bermuda is such a beautiful place. The light is wonderful and I’m interested in the architectural design, the heritage buildings — Bermuda is an absolute gem. It gave me the opportunity to draw a lot of the buildings and that’s what I’ve been doing here predominantly. [My drawings are] not quite architectural because I like to be a little looser but I’m trying to catalogue most of the buildings that are special to me in Bermuda. Some of the elements of design here are similar to what’s in my home town in Durban — there’s the Portuguese influence; the British were settling [the areas] at about same time. The Bermuda buildings tell me a lot about your culture and history. Victoria Block [on Front Street] and Bridge House in Somerset are two of those I’ve included in this exhibition.

Q: Is this your first exhibit?

A: I’m fairly new to exhibiting. My art is very private and I think that’s the case for a lot of people. I exhibited a few pieces in the IWC show last year and was thrilled that they sold quickly — and not to people who were friends, relatives and IWC members. I have a little more confidence this year but as an artist it’s quite daunting putting your work out there to be scrutinised and asking people to pay money for it. It’s not the easiest thing to do. So we’re really looking for the public to support us in our artistic endeavours and fundraising.

Q: How many pieces will you have for sale?

A: We have just over 60 works of art — photography, watercolours, oils — and six or seven pieces by friends of IWC; Nick Silk, Katherine Summerville and Mary Flatres. We also have work by one of Bermuda’s well-known photographers, Lloyd Webbe. Last year we raised in excess of $8,000 for Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation and Phenomenal Women and we’re hoping to do better this year.