If you would like to pay us a visit our stand is D7. The Show runs from 25th to 28^th of April. The Private View is on the evening of Thursday 25^th. If you would like a free ticket just let us know.

There is more information on The Affordable Art Fair website

http://affordableartfair.com/bristol/visit/

We are showing the work of 6 painters and 3 sculptors. You can see it all on this website.

Angela Keeble, David Hinchliffe, Clare Schmidt Norris, Victoria Benns, Sue Campion, Julia Manning, Michael Kusz, Duncan Thurlby, Gail Stokes Hayward.

Working predominantly in oil, Angela enjoys the process of creating compositions from ideas which provide a starting point but not a pre-conceived vision of the end result. To resolve conflicts and achieve a simplified unity the work can undergo several transitions, often with the history of the painting hinted at just beneath the surface. Whatever concepts may have been the underlying source of her abstract paintings, Angela takes the view that the finished image is its own entity which may be open to varied interpretations depending upon its interaction with the individual viewer.

In 1998 Angela returned to her Yorkshire roots to pursue her life-long interest in painting, having previously practised as a solicitor in Hampshire. She then spent several years developing her work before embarking on her new and successful career as a painter. She works from a small studio in her cottage situated in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

In addition to being influenced by her local North Yorkshire environment, having lived in London, Gibraltar and on the Devon and Hampshire coasts, her work is frequently informed by her long association with the maritime and docklands landscape.

Rachel has developed her wire knitting technique over the last twenty years using colourful enamelled copper wires to produce wearable sculptured jewellery for night or day.

Rachel trained at Sir John Cass College, London seen by many as one of the best jewellery and silversmithing schools in the country. As an undergraduate she discovered small reels of colourful wires in a broken television. From that day her exploration of the material has never ceased. The copper wire Rachel knits with is lacquer coated. The lacquer is available in many colours. Rachel can knit three or four strands together at a time creating endless vibrant and subtle colour combinations.

She has an international client base and works with a fashion designer in London’s Kings Road.

Recently, Julia Manning has returned to show at Bath Place. We are delighted to be stocking her lovely prints and her range of greetings cards. Julia’s reputation is well deserved, our customers are pleased to see her work and it looks great in the gallery.

She is attracted by the colours, movements and characters of birds, she observes their habits and environments and attempts to give a glimpse into their secret worlds. Still lives, which incorporate domestic items alongside birds, feathers and nests, explore the tension between interior and exterior settings.

Kathryn was born in Somerset sometime in the dark, middle 70′s. She grew up loving to draw and paint and was eventually sent off to Falmouth College of Art to Study Illustration. Since obtaining representation in London, she has been an illustrator of many colours, working in editorial, educational and children’s book publishing. She says, she lives a slightly mad life on the edge of the Somerset Levels, surrounded by children and animals and is constantly failing to resist the urge to adopt more (animals that is, the children she has plenty of).

Claire has spent her life painting and teaching art and  has been Head of Art at Queen’s College, Taunton, since 2006. She has worked through representational stages and partly through her involvement in teaching, constantly experiments with a wide range of original materials and techniques. She is always looking for new ways of interpreting her subjects. Inspiring students and encouraging them to be both imaginative and adventurous has enriched her own artistic output.

She works on the notion of art as memory, fleeting fragmentary images of a brief moment in time. She shows changes in atmosphere, weather and movement, especially that of the sea. Her work portrays different times of day, a cloud burst or sudden change in light and conditions with the consequent changes of colour and texture of the land.

Julia is passionate about making prints, she loves the technical process as much as the art. Her printmaking blends a variety of relief and intaglio techniques, predominantly printing onto Somerset Printmaking paper.

The rich assortment of flora and fauna on display in the local region shapes the inspiration for much of Julia’s work. Often found with binoculars or telescope in hand, she seeks to observe scenarios and interactions between birds and animals – whether it be an exchange of glances or the movement of a bird in flight; she instinctively interprets a fleeting moment in sketch and then later re-interprets in print. Her depth of knowledge and appreciation for her subject matter is palpable and adds to the vibrancy and animation of her prints.

She says “Inspiration is never far away; from taking my dog ‘Pearl’ for a morning walk to peering out of the window in my kitchen, from jaunts across the Somerset Levels to more exotic expeditions to wilder places! I am always surveying and examining the natural milieu around me and collecting fragments of life forms on my travels. It is a constant journey; persistently scrutinising, learning, interpreting and then re-interpreting. A truly organic process.”

Sue is very committed to her work with children, she says” The sense of joy, love of bright colours and freedom of expression enjoyed by children has become incorporated into my own work”.  She is pictured here with a Tardis she built for one of her own kids. Apparently the wash basket was part of a Dalek, I can see how that worked!

Modern pewter contains no lead and is made up of 91% Tin, 1.5% Antimony and 7.5% Copper. Pewter has an enduring quality and since it does not oxidise, it requires no other care than an occasional dust.

We can work with Maria on special commissions for large mirrors with decorative pewter surrounds. No two pieces are exactly alike as no casting or pressing is involved. Each piece has been worked individually from her own original designs.

Paul’s passion for ceramics enlightens all his work. It is a passion that has been at the heart of his creative practice for over 25 years. He is inspired by many traditions, including English slipware and 18^thCentury Staffordshire. He shares with them both naivety and sophistication of execution, charm and honesty of interpretation. We are delighted to be showing an exception collection of Paul’s work at Harlequin, these beautifully crafted pieces are a joy.

Chris is always setting herself new goals with her fascinating wirework sculptures. A recently created piece has been more than just a creative challenge. The pony stands about 13.2 hands high and would enhance any lawn or paddock, or stable. I asked her how he could be transported; she looked baffled for a moment (obviously by my lack of common sense) and then said “in a horse box of course”!

Greyhounds £750, swans £325, pony £3,500, hares, cats and smaller animals £200-£300. We work with Chris on special commissions.

Sue retrained as a Medical Secretary and worked for some years in this field in Brighton and Hove before returning to her first love, ceramics, after her children were born.  She designed and facilitated a Millennium Project, funded by the National Lottery, working with every child at her local infant and pre-school to make tile panels for their four playgrounds.  She was also Membership Secretary for The Southern Ceramic Group at this time.

Since moving back to Cornwall at the end of 2003 Sue has gained an NVQ3 in Arts Development and Teaching and a Bsc (Hons) in Psychology with the Open University.  She now lives in Falmouth with her two children and four cats and has worked with children at Marlborough School and King Charles School in Falmouth making tile panels based on Cornish legends and stories.  The sense of joy, love of bright colours and freedom of expression enjoyed by children has become incorporated into her own work.  Hopefully, these quirky pieces will make you smile and brighten your day.

We were anxious that our antique French armoire that houses Tilly’s work, at Harlequin, would be emptying fast before she was potting again. However when she said “come and choose what you like before I move”, I could hardly get there fast enough. What a treat, I chose all sorts of goodies and then photographed some of them with some lovely fresh garden produce. Tilly turquoise with tomatoes, quite irresistible!

Made in stoneware clay, the detailed images are incised by hand using a simple potter’s knife. Denise uses a copper carbonate wash to create the colour outline of the design, and then decorates using a range of dry glazes. High firing to 1270°C gives the stoneware clay a warm but weathered look. Each piece is then finished with the hand application of 22ct gold leaf. Denise’s work aims to evoke memories, and capture the essence of coastal landscape.

Aller Drove Winter: This is one of my favourite local sites.  I have painted it in various ways several times over the years and it never fails to present something new to me.  I love the way the drove and the rhyne converge  towards the distant hills and how the light picks out the elements of the landscape.

Greylake Winter: This painting was made from a sketch done one sunny winter morning on a visit to the RSPB Reserve at Greylake on the A361.  On this occasion, I decided to zoom in closely to the water and overhanging trees, looking for a way to get ‘into’ the landscape.  It was quite a challenge using such a closely related set of colours and I struggled for ages with the painting until I achieved the effect and mood I was after.

Across the Levels: A painting close to my heart as it is the view from the top of Burrow Mump in Burrrowbridge where I live.  The colours of the land and sky seemed so delicate and calm, echoing the linear aspects of the composition.

Summer Meadow: This painting  reflects my joy at the profusion of colour and form to found in the most unprepossessing field on any sunny day in high summer.  The English landscape at its most glorious!

Up the Hill: I have always enjoyed the compositional possibilities of hill roads, especially ones which wind off around some unknown corner.  This one I discovered  somewhere in the Quantocks, but didn’t write down on my sketch exactly where it is, but there are so many winding lanes in that area that I really don’t feel that the exact location is important.

David uses a white earthenware clay, painted with coloured slips to produce these attractive ceramics ideal for everyday use as well as special occasions.

Lynn`s original art school training was in illustration. She established her workshop from her home in a village overlooking the Atlantic in Cornwall in 1986.  Her work is sought after and collected. She has exhibited in  galleries throughout the UK. as well as other parts of the  world, particularly in the United States and Germany.

Jenny grew up on a farm, in a village called Swanbourne in north Buckinghamshire. As a child she had close contact with nature and a variety of animals. She became especially interested in dogs, and years later a friend introduced her to Lurchers. She has kept Lurchers and Greyhounds now for over 20 years and greatly admires their agility, speed and elegance.

At school she intended to have a career in Art and Design, studying Art to A level, but things didn’t work out as she had hoped, and it wasn’t until she reached the age of 40 that she returned to her chosen subject. By then she was living in Norfolk, working long hours for low pay in retail, keeping a variety of animals that were costing her a fortune, and bringing up her daughter. So she decided to go back into full time education, completing a National Diploma in Ceramics followed by an HND in Fine Art at the College of West Anglia. She has been exhibiting and selling her sculptures for the last 10 years.

Linnet trained at Bromley College of Art in order to become a Medical Artist and subsequently worked in the Illustration Departments of Guys and Marsden Hospitals. Later she graduated from Birmingham Polytechnic School of 3D Design as an Interior Designer and joined an Architect’s Practice in London and on moving to the Midlands, she worked for another Architect’s Practice in Birmingham. The enthusiasm for making jewellery originated several years earlier during her studies at the School for 3D Design.

Flower arranging is an important art form for Linnet, both Western Style and Japanese, as she belongs to the Sogetsu School of Ikebana. Her name is pronounced in the same way as the bird. We can work with Linnet on special customer commissions. Items can be gold plated on silver. She has produced a number of letters of the alphabet which can be hung on chains, leather or ribbon to form a necklace or pendant.

Not all of them are this large. There are different colour schemes, sizes and shapes, the range of colours she can work with successfully is astonishing.

There is a selection of images of our stock of Clare’s work on the website. That was also a bit of a challenge, just as I think I am getting the hang of loading work onto the website it shows me who’s boss, throws me into chaos and I have to shout for help! Luckily help was at hand from our trusty web designer and now all is well. Although there is nothing like seeing the real thing more and more of our collectors start off by looking at our website.

]]> http://harlequingallery.co.uk/index.php/clare-hooper-at-harlequin/feed/ 0 http://harlequingallery.co.uk/index.php/clare-hooper-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=clare-hooper-2 http://harlequingallery.co.uk/index.php/clare-hooper-2/#comments Sat, 28 Jul 2012 17:15:51 +0000 nancy http://harlequingallery.co.uk/?p=1398 Clare’s work expresses her love of life, joy and vigour, untamed, enthusiastic and full of wonderment. Like music, it is immediate, has the impact of something wild in its presentation. She achieves, with apparent ease, the transmission of vitality, speed and originality on to canvas in a fresh and uninhibited way. One of her great strengths is a uniquely playful use of a wide spectrum of colours.  Her paintings exude the sights, smells and sounds of a summer day, a lush meadow, a gentle flowery retreat, a riotous jungle and so much more. You imagine clambering through the undergrowth or opening the door to the Secret Garden and being confronted by magical blooms. These paintings work in a traditional or minimalist environment; any space in need of a boost or the warmth of Mediterranean sunlight.

Clare is a fast moving contemporary British artist who obtained a degree from Exeter University in 1978. She taught drama and physical education in London for a year before travelling to Europe and settling in Switzerland 1978 – 1979 teaching sports and choreography. After undertaking a world tour she moved to the Italian coast in 1992 where her art expression flourished and took on a different form. She has recently returned to live in the UK.

As you would expect her jewellery is elegant, quirky, understated and comfortable. She works in silver with semi-precious stones with stunning results.

Sibylle Wex was born in Hamburg and studied at the Fachhochschule in Bielefeld, Germany’s leading textile design school from where she graduated as the outstanding student of her year. She worked for a time in industry designing furnishing fabrics and carpets but for the past twenty five years she has lived and worked in Somerset.

Lesley’s passion for designing and making jewellery started in 1976 at The City Literary Institute, London, England. Since then she has continued to evolve and develop her personal style. Her inspiration comes from weathered, natural forms and sculptors of the 1950′s. The final finish of each piece is important to her as she likes the wearer to have a very tactile relationship with her work.  Each piece of Lesley Strickland’s jewellery is hand formed and very carefully finished. Over the last thirty years she has developed many new manufacturing techniques with special methods of forming, polishing and matting the acetate. Some pieces are decorated with silver piqué whilst others combine acetate forms with silver cast elements. The two guiding principles that Lesley applies to all her work are to strive for elegant simplicity and empathy with the wearer. This has enabled her to develop continuously fashionable, wearable jewellery.

Cellulose acetate is an unusual plastic as it is made from purified cellulose, with wood or cotton linters being the raw material rather than petroleum. Cotton cellulose is superior to wood cellulose and is used in high quality products such as jewellery. The vegetable oils are completely removed during cellulose purification. The solid cellulose reacts with chemicals derived from acetic acid after which it becomes a viscous and clear slurry. The final material is dissolved in acetone and cast, usually into solid colour, transparent or translucent sheets. Vegetable and mineral pigments are used to give the sheets a huge range of colours and patterns. By repeatedly cutting and laminating these sheets, many designs and patterns can be created. Lesley’s jewellery  is lightweight, durable and a delight to wear.

 I know an auctioneer, with an eloquent turn of phrase, who calls an assortment of china a “Harlequin Set”. This could certainly be said of Ken’s work for the individual pieces all work together in any combination, to create a joyfully stylish & colourful Harlequin collection. When I visited Ken’s studio I was a rather like a kid in a sweet shop, I just couldn’t resist choosing more and more shapes and colours to bring home to Taunton.

Originally Sue trained as a display artist in London during the 1960’s. She left England and lived abroad in Spain and America before returning to England and opening a gallery. She then returned to college and studied Fine Art at Nottingham Polytechnic. She has had many solo and group shows and has work at Rowleys House Museum and the Courtauld Institute.

She dislikes “pretentious blurb” about her paintings and so I had better say no more!

We have just collected some stunning new woodwork from Howard Moody. You can tell that he really loves the wood he collects, dries and uses. He works with this wonderful natural material turning it into sensuous, organic carvings redolent of seed pods, growing shoots and petals or maybe water eddying and swirling; the very forces that energise our appreciation of nature.

These pieces are unusually smooth and velvety to the touch and surprisingly light. Howard says he aims to enhance the beauty of the material with his carving and he certainly achieves this.

He prefers to obtain his wood from sustainable sources and has planted close to a thousand native species and fruit trees in the last ten years. He is often offered storm damaged or condemned trees and recycled timber to work with. In fact we have a very heavy piece of pear tree trunk awaiting his perusal. It would be lovely to think that part of it could be turned into magical wooden seed pod.

The pictures show Howard in his workshop with the work we have bought to Harlequin and piles of partly completed pots and bowls drying out and awaiting their final carving and oiling.

]]> http://harlequingallery.co.uk/index.php/wonderful-wood/feed/ 0 http://harlequingallery.co.uk/index.php/new-artist/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=new-artist http://harlequingallery.co.uk/index.php/new-artist/#comments Wed, 27 Jun 2012 10:43:59 +0000 nancy http://harlequingallery.co.uk/?p=913 Much of Fiona Hutchinson’s work takes inspiration from her surroundings in the countryside. For the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee she created her English Rose collection and her sea shell collection harks back to a childhood love of collecting stones and shells on the beaches of Cornwall.

She began her journey into jewellery making in 2004 following a course with Anton Pruden at Pruden Smith’s workshops which were situated in Ditchling. She continued her creative adventure being tutored by Sarah McCrea and then Richard Collett and found that not only was silver smithing and jewellery making creative, but also extremely satisfying. Fiona realised that the ancient skills of making jewellery have not really altered over hundreds of years. She now works from her own studio developing along her own pathway.

With an abiding love of gem stones, she has taken a Diploma in Gemmology and is a Fellow of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain.  Much of her work is made using the unusual coloured gem stones which give a unique personality to each piece of jewellery design and ensures that clients’ purchases are truly unique.

Arwyn studied ceramics at Loughborough College of Art. After graduating he was fortunate enough to be given the technicians job on the course he had just finished and stayed for a year gaining further experience. He moved to Carmarthen in 1996 to work as a thrower at Gwili pottery and after a year moved to South West England where, after a brief trip to Zimbabwe, he started his own workshop.Arwyn now lives in the North of England.

All his pieces are microwave, oven and dishwasher safe. Arwyn makes a comprehensive range of oven and tableware including jugs, serving dishes, teapots and bread crocks and we can order any combination of pieces to suit customers’ needs.

The pots are thrown using a smooth white stoneware body and either left unaltered or allowed to stiffen before being cut in order to remove sections and then reassembled. Surfaces of freshly thrown pieces are either marked using simple tools to create areas where the glazes can pool or run, or a slip made from the clay body is applied and then combed away leaving subtle ridges to catch and direct the pooling glaze. Dry work is biscuit fired and then glazed before being fired to 1280 degrees centigrade in the oxidising atmosphere of an electric kiln. The glazes used are the result of continual testing, trying to achieve the correct balances between colour, gloss, fluidity, opacity and durability.

This is the last project of their first year and their first experience of working with a commercial gallery. We hope it is an opportunity for them to augment their creativity with something of the business world. We are enjoying sharing their work with our Harlequin customers in our purpose made exhibition space in the centre of Taunton. The exhibition reflects the fact that the project has been approached in a thoroughly professional manner. Much of the work is for sale, we have already sold two pieces and can also talk with the students about special commissions.

At the opening of the show, last Thursday evening, Rachel Davies, the College Principal talked about the importance of commercial links and helping students to acquire the knowledge to start their own businesses. Students, their families and friends mixed with Harlequin artists and customers to enjoy and discuss the work.

Current work is focused on developing ideas through the use of underglaze colours. White earthenware clay is used and underglazes are applied through hand painting in order to build up layers of colour until the right balance is achieved. This process can create subtle tones and hues once the piece has been fired with the addition of a transparent glaze.
Pauline’s platters are rich in geometric & natural forms and the cups cry out for hot chocolate! She has also extended her work to include decorative tiles for interiors.

Her inspiration is found in the work of Seguy in France and the richness of colour and design in the work of artists such as Matisse, Klee & Gauguin.

Sandie has a BA in Graphic Design from Falmouth.

Defined by the handmade nature of the way she works – each piece is constructed and heated individually. She is constantly evolving and developing her designs so no two pieces will be entirely identical.

In year 2000 Roma moved to Cumbria, after studying the traditional skills of silver Roma Vincent works with a material called My-Morph. This is the collective name jewellery making at Sutton College of Liberal Arts – Surrey, West Dean College – Chichester, and a Foundation year at Reigate College of Art and Design.

Then followed a short stint as a blacksmith’s assistant when she started to produce sculptural metal pieces and to explore other media and disciplines. She felt liberated by the magic and breadth of her new surroundings.

Working with semi-precious stones and silver beads her approach is very much influenced by her painter’s eye; colour, weight, texture and implied movement are all considered.

Gorilla by Duncan Thurlby

Pride of place in the foyer of the show was our splendid full size gorilla made and man handled by Duncan. This fabulous sculpture was shown in memory of Alfred the famous gorilla who lived at Bristol Zoo. If you would like a gorilla peeping through your shrubbery just give us a call!

Clare uses a combination of digital technology and image transfer with more traditional techniques of painting and collage to bring new and exciting dimensions to her finished art. In her most recent work she transfers elements of photos on to Perspex and then builds up layers, often using translucent and reflective materials as well as paint, to create images with great luminosity and vibrancy of colour.

Her thoughtful yet vibrant landscapes encourage the viewer to explore a place, a wish or a memory.

Clare believes that her creativity is inherited from her grandfather, who was also an artist and her great grandfather, an architect. She studied Fine Art at de Montfort University, Leicester and then taught art for 6 years before leaving the classroom to concentrate on her own work and bring up her family.

Alison enjoys working with textiles and three dimensional constructions as well as painting, creating collage pieces which tell their own story.

The band Pink Floyd was responsible for the start of her animal range. In 1976 they commissioned her to make some silver pigs to celebrate their Animals tour. Later on came a range of endangered animals for the charity Tusk Trust. This range continues to expand.

A continued interest in life drawing and dance has been an inspiration for an ever expanding range depicting human form. A wide variety of pieces are influenced by Penny’s interest in architecture and methods of construction.

Nancy’s work, whatever the subject, is vibrant and colourful; designed to engage the viewer to look at the subject in a new and different way.She works in oils, acrylics, pastels and fabrics.Her work has been shown extensively in galleries and is on walls in private collection in England,Spain, Scandinavia & Canada.

Her flower pictures often explore one blossom on a grand scale with “A Bee’s Eye View”. Food from the kitchen, market or local village show looks “Good Enough to Eat”. Her abstacts are an “Elemental Exploration” of energy flowing through time.

Her new paintings “A Breath of Fresh Air” reflect upon her return to the West Country.

Nancy produces limited edition prints and greetings cards of many of her images. They are on sale at Harlequin.

Finding inspiration in the proportions and organic qualities of the natural world. He has sought to enhance the beauty of the material by carving and texturing to produce very tactile and individual works.

He prefers to obtain his wood from sustainable sources. Often being offered storm damaged or condemned trees and recycled timber to work with. Howard has also planted close to a thousand native species and fruit trees in the last ten years.

She lives in the West Country and delights in being within a stones throw of the sea.

Born in Wiltshire Barbara completed a Foundation course in Trowbridge going on to take a Fine Art Degree at Gloucester College of Art in Cheltenham. She has exhibited widely since the 80′s and is a member of the Newlyn and St Ives Societies of Artists.

Her work explores the specific aspects of each location – those things which make it unique. She is attracted to the apparent timelessness of landforms contrasted with the interventions of society and agriculture.
Working on-site in the landscape she makes quick sketches and notations on colour, time of day, date, weather and location. In her studio, she combines this information with her emotional and visual recollection of the place.
By keeping any disruption of the painted surface to a minimum, she emphasizes the simplicity of juxtaposed forms and the interaction between areas of colour. This encourages the viewer to focus on the subject rather than the technique.

She is a member of ‘Fingerprint’ and ‘Somerset Printmakers’ and her work is included in the book ‘Fifty Wessex Artists’.

In the summer of 2000 she was selected to take part in IWCAT 2000, an international workshop in Tokoname, Japan and subsequently invited back two years later, to make work for an international group exhibition. She also spent time studying in Finland, returning later to make a body of work in a studio in Hameenlinna.
Past exhibitions include, Leeds City Craft and Design Gallery, East Riding Open Studios, Potfest in the Pens, Penrith, NPA at the Lund Gallery ,York, The British Craft Trade Fair, Harrogate and Kyouei – Gama Gallery, Japan.

She spent her childhood and teenage years in the little fishing port of Brixham in South Devon and celebrates this inspired childhood in her work.

Her father, a shipwright, built wooden boats in a local shipyard and on many occasions she would spend time there with him there. Her grandfather, a fisherman, sailed on the ‘old Gaffers’, gaff rigged trawlers that sailed up to the North Sea fishing banks to a world she could only imagine. His knowledge and stories filled her with wonder, stirring an already lively imagination; nor-westerly winds, gales and also of the tragic loss of ships and men. It was a hard life to be ‘got on with’ but rarely spoken about.

Her paintings capture her constant enchantment, absorbed by the complexities of the timeless environment, the ever merging sea and sky, weather and light, comings and goings.

With colour and composition being so important in his professional designs, James allowed this to flow naturally through the subtlety of hue and texture in his landscapes. Painting primarily in oils on cork his work straddles the contemporary and the timeless, inviting viewers to a personal interpretation of his paintings.

Her pieces are slip-cast or press moulded white earthenware with hand painted tin-glaze decoration.This technique differs from traditional majolica in the way she employs it as a medium for painting in its own right. Lisa uses wax resist and scraffitto techniques that inlay the colours with the lines of the design as in etching. Her pots are delightful 3 dimersional paintings which also happen to be functional vases.

Lisa’s influences vary widely from Post war British abstract art to modern African printed textiles, graffiti, weathering on stone, Italian design of the 50′s & 60′s and the landscape of Northern Italy.

Her greetings cards are also available at Harlequin.

Growing up in South Wales gave Michael a strong sense of industrial history. He had access to all sorts of tools and materials ideal for an inquisitive mind. He tries to recapture the essence of his childhood and looking at his work, I can only think, it must have been a mysterious and magical time. He says he wants to embody a previous age when even the most everyday objects held beauty in their design.

Michael creates many different creatures both real and mythical but identifies closely with his rooks because they are gregarious, mischievous and demonstrate a clear sense of freedom and fun. He hopes that when people see his work their inner critic smiles, and they share the keen sense of enjoyment that he experiences whilst creating.

Working in acrylic or oil paint on paper and canvas he makes a number of preparatory pieces prior to the finished painting. These explore image, colour and composition and often result in further research through the extensive use of photographs and drawings, which is edited on the computer. While these inform the finished painting, the decisions about the composition, colour and treatment of the final work emerge as the painting progresses. David’s aim is the produce a painting that has its own internal integrity.

His work is concerned with the ways in which colour and light can be recorded, but he is also very interested in the way in which images break down into more abstract elements and the overall surface of the painting.

Following a long career in art education and education generally, for which he was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE), David now enjoys being able to paint on a full time basis. He trained at Manchester College of Art in the late 60s and early70s and at the Royal College of Art in the mid 80s. He has recently exhibited in a number of open exhibitions in the South West and in Scotland.

His work ranges from his ever popular hounds through pelicans, giant conker shells, toucans and alligators to large scale architectural water sculptures. His inspiration is plucked from the natural world, never too literally or seriously, a sense of character and humour being essential in all of his creations. Using a range of hand working techniques the final pieces emerge as a result of this rather ‘unnatural evolution’.

Hoopoes, deer, dolphins and many other ceatures combine to create beautiful designs depicting the timeless, universal natural themes of sea, land and sky.

Russell lives and works in the South West of England.

If you want to tell us which artists work you are collecting we will file that information and share it with your friends and relations when they come in to buy a gift. Around Christmas time, when we all have too much to think about, we can keep your “Santa’s wish list” in the gallery.

She trained at Birmingham School of Jewellery and Silversmithing, gaining a Credit in City and Guilds in advanced diamond mounting. This course was highly technical, and although she knew she would probable never work with diamonds exclusively, she now uses the techniques in a highly creative way.

After finishing college, she worked part time in the jewellery trade to help finance her career as a designer / maker. During this period she exhibited in numerous galleries throughout the British Isles.

She moved to the south/west in 1975 where she opened a jewellery craft shop in Totnes It became well know for its unusual handmade jewellery, but she found it took up to much of her time in general administration and that she was gradually moving further away from what she enjoyed doing most, which was actually making jewellery. She closed the shop in 1986.

Much of the inspiration that generates her current work, comes from a rich variety of sources.She is particularly interested in cultures which tend to use a lot of patterns and decoration, both literal or abstract, ancient or modern. As a result of this mix, she endeavours to introduce all these influences into her current work, which includes myriads of repeating patterns etched into silver.

She is a member of the “Design Gap” and exhibits widely throughout the U.K.

Throughout his career Gordon has developed his interest and expertise in a wide variety of ceramic media and production techniques which are combined in innovative and experimental ways.
He loves the range of possibilities that different ceramic media and firing techniques offers the maker. He is able to draw upon his repertoire of skills and experience to create highly individual pieces of work.

Cultural influences such as the disciplined perfection of the 12th Century Chinese Sung Dynasty porcelain (with its understated cool, crisp celadon porcelains), the free brushwork of European Majolica and the sophisticated technologies of primitive pre-historic potters and metalworkers are all sources of inspiration.

Closer to home, the geology, topography, texture, elements and the light of the North Yorkshire Dales, feature as an ever-present language that is alluded to in Gordon’s work. His forms are classical, elegant and contemporary, incorporating surface treatments with rhythmic movement and strong linear geometry.
His most recent work uses local clays and minerals in the manufacturing process and as decoration. Oxidised and reduced firing techniques make permanent the beautiful, subtle colours and textures of the materials found within the local landscape.

Colin is influenced by the countryside surrounding his home, an area lush with plant life and with sharply changing landscape.  “The river often floods covering the trees with flotsam; the sky above the Black Mountains changes from day to day sending clouds and winds scudding towards my home”, he says.

We often work with Colin on special orders and commissions.