miniature dolls and gombeys, jewelled visors and hats, to decorator wreaths of hand picked shells, will provide a versatile theme for a one-woman show that opens this week at the Morning Light Gallery in Dockyard.

Bermudian artist Joan Aspinall Haggstrom will use the show to launch her new range of garments and accessories, called Bermudiana, which includes fabrics that are painted with foil and a fanciful collection of fabric collage shirts, featuring African animals and matching ceramic jewellery.

Well known for her highly original designs and flamboyant colours, Ms Aspinall has also created silk resist graphics, imaging Bermuda flowers and reef fish.

Impressions of the Island's reef life are also a constant theme for the watercolours of Ms Aspinall, who has spent much of her life swimming and diving in Bermuda's waters.

Providing a dramatic contrast will be her acrylic paintings inspired by the Vision of the Madonna in Medjugorje and the current war being waged in nearby Bosnia-Herzegovinia.

Ms Aspinall, who has made the pilgrimage to the mountainous area of what used to be Yugoslavia, where a vision of the Virgin Mary was reportedly seen on a regular basis by a group of children, says that this series of paintings evolved from a deep-rooted inspiration. "I felt compelled to do them, I was driven by an inner force,'' she explains.

All of the paintings were executed before fully-fledged war erupted, and now appear to be somewhat prophetic, she says. Proceeds from the sale of these paintings in Bermuda will be donated to the Croatian relief fund, and any that are unsold will be sent to the US to be used as fund raisers.

Although the Bermudiana Collection has been excusively designed by Joan Aspinall, she pays tribute to her fellow Bermudian artists, Joanne Sutherland and Stacey Amos, who assist in the execution of the hand painted designs.

"We are eagerly looking for more Bermudians to join our team,'' she says. The show will open at the Morning Light Gallery on Sunday, August 23, and run for four weeks.

SLAUGHTER IN CROATIA -- THE ANGUISH OF MOTHERHOOD, is the title of this painting by Joan Aspinall. It forms part of her one-woman show which opens at the Morning Light Gallery at Dockyard on Sunday.