Close to Home Exhibition and Preview

Hi there,

I’m excited to annouce that our first exhibition of the year, Close to Home, will be opening this weekend. The exhibition features a collection of contemporary artists working in the north in various disciplines, including printmaking, ceramics, collage and painting, and is supporting local charity Herriot Hospice Homecare. We’ve been getting deliveries of beautiful new work all week I just know it is all going to look great when hung together. Printmaker Helen Peyton, whose eye-catching Teapot print features on our exhibition poster, popped in this afternoon to drop off her work for Close to Home, and if you like the teapot I can assure you you’re going to love the rest. My personal favourite is this lovely reduction linocut of a vintage Ekho Radio, but you’ll have to drop into The gallery to pick yours.

We’re also really pleased to welcome back Elizabeth Price, whose delicate and touching ceramics have always been a favourite of our customers. I can’t wait to display ‘Stargazing’ (below) next to some of our new pictures…

We are holding a special preview evening for Close To Home this coming Friday evening, from 7.30pm until 9pm, so please pop in for a glass of wine and a chance to meet some of the artists.

 

We hope to see you there!

 

The Joys of Spring

Hi there,

Spring is certainly in the air here in Masham; the weather is beautiful, the flowers are out, and The Gallery is  full to bursting with new things!

As well as freshly replenished supplies from some of our already loved makers such as Simon Griffiths (owls), Lush Designs (lampshades) and Katie Almond (ceramics), we have some new pottery all the way from the Isle of Wight, and a few new notebook ranges to add to our ever-growing selection. Read on for more.

Spring Ceramics…

Fancy a tea party in the garden? If the mood takes you we have a lovely range of new ceramics in stock, including new pieces from Katie Almond and Charlotte Morrison..

And introducing Tregear pottery from the Isle of Wight. These pretty pieces first caught our eye at the British Craft Trade Fair last year, and we love the seaside-inspired colours and beachy designs.

Get creative…

Are you a literary genius? Me neither – but I’m sure with the perfect notebook in which to jot down my thoughts, I could be! And thanks to our new collections of artist-designed sketchbooks from St.Judes and hand-embroidered covered notebooks from Oscar and Toots, along with our Artbox and Kate Bowles books, I think we can safely say we have a book for everyone.

But why buy a book when you can build one? Homeward Bound books have made Book in a Box – everything you need to make your own unique notebook, complete with recycled paper pages. A great easter holiday project for children and adults, available in a range of colours.

We hope all this will keep you busy for the month of April, but don’t forget this date for your May diary too. Our first exhibition this year, Close to Home, opens on May 19th, and features work by Janis Goodman, Elizabeth Price, Josie Beszant, Rosie Scott-Massie, Colin Smithson, Vic Sayers, Wendy Tate, Helen Peyton and Angie Rogers. Don’t miss it!

So enjoy the weather, and enjoy your chocolate eggs, and don’t forget to drop in to see us!

Summer in The Gallery

Hi!

It’s been a funny few weeks here, one minute we’ve had pouring rain and forks of lightning, the next (like today), beautiful ice-cream-eating weather. This unpredictability fortunately hasn’t deterred visitors to Masham, and The Gallery is enjoying a busy Summer. We’re busy in the exhibition department as well this month, as our current exhibition Impression runs until mid-August, and our next show Trace opens at the end of the month. Our arms will be aching from all the hanging we have to do, but it’s exciting to have lots of changes and new artists on display.

Looking for something to do when it rains? Read on for a few creative ideas from us.

Impression

Our printmaking exhibition has been really well received, with lots of interested visitors asking questions about the unusual and complicated techniques involved in the work. There is less than a week of the show left, so if you haven’t had a chance to drop by yet, pencil it in for this weekend, else you may miss your chance to see some gorgeous work by Helen Peyton, and Catherine Sutcliffe-Fuller (below), amongst others…

Trace

Once we have finished our Impression exhibition, we have about 10 days to get ready for the opening of our next show, Trace, which features even more artists new to The Gallery. Trace is a mixed media show, including everything from ceramics to collage to jewellery, and explores the meanings of the word ‘Trace’, from the point of view of six different contemporary artists;

Rosie Scott-Massie

Josie Beszant

Amanda Mercer

Charlotte Morrison

Angela Davies

Phiona Richards

The preview for Trace is on Friday, August the 26th, 7.30 – 9pm. Come on down for a glass of wine!

Summer Fun

At the moment we have a great selection of activity and craft kits in our toy room from Buttonbag and Flights of Fancy, ideal for occupying any bored little ones this summer holiday.

From top left: Flights of Fancy Pond Dipping kits, Buttonbag Elephant Sewing craft kit, Buttonbag Mouse House kit, Flights of Fancy ‘All About Bugs’ kit, Flights of Fancy Animal Prints Casting, Dice Games, and Portable Sun Dial mini kits, Buttonbag ’3 Lucky Kittens’ sewing kit.

And for you…

Kate Bowles creates these amazing books by hand, and includes mixtures of recycled papers and fabrics in each one. So if you feel like doing a spot of writing or drawing this summer, do it in style!

Thats all from me, enjoy the summer holidays!

Rosie

How to make an Impression…

Hi!

Anyone following our facebook page will know by now that ‘Impression’, our printmaking exhibition, opened on Friday last week. Featuring work from five completely different printmakers, the exhibition really has something for everyone, and was really fun to hang. Part of the aim of this show was to explore the incredible range of processes in printmaking – from etching to solarplates, collagraphs to linocuts, each method uses different materials and produces different textures and effects. It’s great to see the results first hand, so why not pay us a visit? But if you haven’t got a chance to do that, here’s a brief explanation of some of the printmaking methods featured in Impression, and the artists that use them…

Collagraph

In the true sense of the word, a collagraph is a print made from a collage but it has become a more general term for mixed-media printmaking. The plate, which is usually made from board or stiff card, is collaged onto with textured materials (such as leaves, feathers, sand and PVA glue), or cut into which will create definitions in colour. The plate is then sealed (varnished), ink is applied and the plate is passed through a press on top of a piece of damp paper. This method is commonly used by printmaker Hester Cox.

Linocuts and woodcuts

Woodcuts are created using a plank of wood or plywood on which the artist draws a design and then carves away the wood in the parts of the picture that are not to be printed. The raised surface retains some of the pattern of the wood grain which shows up in the finished prints. Ink is applied with a roller and the image is transferred by apply pressure using a press or by hand. Linoleum cuts, or lino cuts, are almost identical to woodcuts.  Angie Roger’s beautiful birds are achieved through woodcuts, and Helen Peyton’s cooker is created using lino cuts.

Etching

Etching is a method of making prints from a metal plate, usually copper, into which the design has been incised by acid. The copperplate is first coated with an acid-resistant substance, called the etching ground, through which the design is drawn with a sharp tool.

The plate is then exposed to acid, which eats away those areas of the plate unprotected by the ground, forming a pattern of recessed lines. These lines hold the ink, and, when the plate is applied to moist paper, the design transfers to the paper, making a finished print.

Printmakers Catherine Sutcliffe-Fuller and Janis Goodman both use this process in their work.

Impression is on display until August the 15th, so don’t miss it!

Trace

Our next exhibition begins on the 26th of August, and has been organised by me (Rosie)! Titled ‘Trace’ this show will feature a plethora of skills from a handful of brilliant artists and makers, all responding to the many meanings of the title. Ceramics, jewellery, collage, painting, and  papercraft from Charlotte Morrison, Josie Beszant, Amanda Mercer, Phiona Richards, Angela Davies and Rosie Scott-Massie. Just to tempt you in, here are a few examples of what will be on offer…

Have a great month, we look forward to seeing you soon!

Making an impression

Hi everyone!

The Gallery seems to have been so busy with Tea and Sympathy and The North Yorkshire Open Studios (both of which are still running by the way!) over the last few weeks that I seem to have talked about nothing else, so this blog is all about the other exciting business going on here. For starters, we have another exhibition to prepare for, Impression, which opens on July 15th, less than a month away. Below you will find more info about the exhibition and the artists involved.

We’ve also had some lovely new work in lately, including eye-catching ceramics and unusual handmade books. See more further down the blog.

Impression

Our next exhibition features the work of 5 printmakers, some of which are familiar to The Gallery, some of which are completely new to us. Impression showcases the extraordinary techniques and processes involved in a variety of printmaking styles, including etching, collagraph and  solar plate. Hester Cox and Janis Goodman, Helen Peyton, Catherine Sutcliffe-Fuller and Angie Rogers work will be on display in The Gallery from July 15th for one month. But just to tempt you, here’s a taster of what’s to come…

A Flight of Swallows, Hester Cox

Bracken Edge, Janis Goodman

Pennine Finch Angie Rogers

Well Trodden, Catherine Sutcliffe-Fuller

 

TV Helen Peyton

Helen has been one of the artists selected for this year’s Royal Academy Summer exhibition. We are lucky to have some of the prints reserved for us here. There’s some surprises to be had in this show that we’re sure you won’t have come across before, more to be revealed later!

Pretty New Things…

David Pantling Ceramics

We discovered David’s work at the British Craft Trade Fair earlier this year, and love the combination of sharp design and playful decoration. I particularly like this beautiful Jug and innovative cup and saucer.

Kate Bowles

Kate Bowles uses found materials such as dress patterns and maps to add a unique decorataion to her handmade books. Each one is different and equally quirky.

Vin Bootle

Vin’s work is no stranger to The Gallery, in fact our customers have been buying his unique jewellery for many years. Vin recently re-vamped his collection, and we have been lucky enough to get a few of his new designs. Many of these pieces combine various metals, making them even more precious. My favourites are these Silver and 18ct Gold Bangle and Pendant.

One more thing, and this is about the Open Studios (open again this weekend , the 18th and 19th of June). As mentioned previously in this blog, NYOS commissioned Charlotte Morrison’s limited edition teacup and saucer to commemorate this year’s open studios event, and we are lucky enough to be selling them. We are also selling a specially commissioned teatowel, designed for NYOS by printmaker Helen Roddie.