Seasons' Greetings everyone

An impromptu mini- Goldsworthy in the back garden.

A Christmas Eve walk by the frozen Macclesfield Canal.

Very apt!

Studio Eleven, Hull

Studio Eleven is a new gallery and studio space in Kingston upon Hull's refurbished Fruit Market. It was set up in September by artists Rob Moore (also Dean of Hull School of Art) and Adele Howitt to show work by local, national and international artists and to provide affordable work space for printmakers and ceramicists. Susan has two suitably wintery landscapes in the current exhibition which runs until Christmas (open Thursday evenings and weekends 11 - 5pm)
traces of winter I & II 

Artisan Art Gallery, Bolton

Artisan is a new contemporary art gallery specialising in work by artists from the North West of England. Opened earlier this year by painter Rob Miller there are two floors of exhibition space and Rob's large studio at 330 Chorley Old Road in Bolton. The current exhibition internationalARTscience includes conceptual, contemporary and modern works  by Ted Hamlyn, Ruth Moilliet, Norman Long, Roberto Eckhart and more.
Susan will be exhibiting in Pennine: Town & Country next February.

Blank Media Collective: Blank Weekend

Blank Media Collective is an artist-led, not-for-profit organisation based in Manchester. From Friday 12th to Thursday 18th November they are staging Blank Market: Open All Hours, an Art Trail displaying works by fifty artists around city centre Manchester. We will have sculptures on display at The Hive on Lever Street and at 1 Piccadilly Place. More information about this and other events can be found at www.blankmediacollective.org.

Itch Gallery, Oakham.

Itch Gallery is a great new contemporary art, craft and design gallery in Rutland which opened at the beginning of October. We have been today to deliver "Sprite II', a large patinated copper wall sculpture, some smaller pieces and a selection of Susan's paintings. The gallery also stocks ceramics, print, jewellery and textiles, all selected and beautifully displayed by owner Catherine Walls.

Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair

We really enjoyed our visit to the GNCCF on Friday - lots of lovely things to admire! Particularly liked Sarah Morpeth's cut paper books, Moira Walton's 'Artefacts', Michelle Keeling's glass and were intrigued by Judith Davies and Elspeth Edmonson joint display of porcelain ceramics and typography/print which had more of the feel of an art exhibition.

Tate Modern: Ai WeiWei

Over a billion hand made and painted porcelain sunflower seeds fill the Tate Modern Turbine Hall. This stunning installation by Chinese artist Ai WeiWei is surely one of the best there has been at Tate Modern?

Urban Upholstery Collective

Andrea and Patrizia at Urban Upholstery in Hackney have put together a group show to celebrate two years of collaborations with other designers and artists. Alongside their bespoke upcycled furniture they will have rugs from Woosa Woosa, wallpaper from Elli Popp and ATA Designs, textiles from Bird in the Hand, chandeliers from Madeleine Boulesteix and our wall sculptures too!
The show runs from 10th October to 31 January with a private view on 28 November at 2.30pm. They will also be taking part in the  Hidden Art Open Studio weekends:  27/28 November and 4/5 December.

It's Palace Art Fair next week...

This time next week we should be all packed up and ready to go to Fulham Palace Art Fair. Here's a mysterious close up of a new piece of sculpture at an early stage of rusting and also part of a recently completed painting. The Fair is on from Friday 8th to Sunday 10th October with a Private View on the Thursday evening.

Cheshire Life feature

This month's issue of Cheshire Life features the commission we did for the Azura cruise liner.

Andrew Holland: Views from my Window

When I was at Valley Artists in Rossendale my studio was next to Andrew Holland's. He has a solo exhibition of his work at Whitaker Park Museum in Rawtenstall from 15 September to 17 October. There is a preview this Saturday 18 September 1 - 4.30pm where he tells Dandelion & Burdock will be served for visitors!

Stef Mitchell paintings at Sewerby Hall

Whilst busy running Duckett & Jeffreys Gallery Stef Mitchell has been making her own work and now has a solo show in the West Wing of Sewerby Hall near Bridlington. Open daily throughout September (10 - 5pm) the show will remain hung until November for private viewings. Further information about Stef's work can be seen on her blog possessedbyprocess. 

Measured Space now open...

Susan's solo exhibition is now on at Duckett & Jeffreys Gallery. Wednesday was the big day for hanging - take a look at Duckett & Jeffreys blog for more images.

New work @ Cupola Gallery

On Wednesday we made the scenic trip across the Peak District to Cupola Gallery in Sheffield. We had the sculpture on the roof rack so were pleased it was a rare sunny day!

Above us the Trees wall sculpture and
Still Here, one of a new series of paintings.

Measured Space @ Duckett & Jeffreys

Well after a bit of a summer break from blogging it's now not long to my solo show "Measured Space' at Duckett and Jeffreys in North Yorkshire. There will be a preview evening on Thursday 9 September (7 - 9pm) so if you are in the area please call in.

Barbara Hepworth Sculpture Garden

No artist can go to Cornwall without a visit to St.Ives and we headed for The Barbara Hepworth Museum. Her studios containing unfinished works and lots of tools and sketches have been preserved providing an insight into the artists creative processes. The garden is an incredible combination of sculpture and planting creating a space which feels far bigger than it is.

'Finding Trewyn Studio was a sort of magic', wrote Barbara Hepworth; 'here was a studio, a yard and garden where I could work in open air and space'.

The Eden Project

The Eden Project is full of plants from around the world and offers plenty of inspiration from their forms and colours. The Rainforest Biome is particularly impressive, its sheer size and intense humidity transporting you to exotic countries - we thought a few parrots and monkeys in the trees would complete the experience! It's fascinating to see the plants that provide all the eastern spices we cook with a lot such as turmeric, ginger and cinnamon.

Perfect weather for camping in Cornwall

We have been on holiday in Cornwall and were lucky to have hot, sunny weather to appreciate this beautiful part of England. We stayed at the friendly and rather eccentric Henry's campsite right down at the end of the Lizard Peninsula.

The site has a tropical feel with palms and Gunnera plants and chickens so free range they will move into your tent if you let them. From here we could walk along the coastal path to Kynance Cove, a spectacular setting of turquoise sea, pristine sand and towering granite cliffs.

In the evenings we walked to the most southerly point of England at Lizard Point lighthouse. Here the cliff path requires a good head for heights but its worth it for the sense of unspoilt wildness and unusual plants not seen elsewhere on this island.

Macclesfield Barnaby Festival

This weekend sees the revival of Macclesfield's Barnaby Fair as a festival of arts, culture and entertainment, with visual arts, music, film, workshops and a parade on Saturday. We have paintings an sculpture on display at Ten Eight Photographic Studios and other Victoria Mill Artists, Di Harding and Bruce Lyons are also exhibiting with the Moving Clay group at Dukes Court Art Studios. 

REVEAL: Rossendale Open Studios

This weekend 12 & 13 June it's REVEAL Rossendale Open Studios. Local studios will be opening their doors including Valley Artists where I had my first space. Also open will be Prospect Studios, Globe Arts, Slipper Studios, Dave Pearson Studio, The Horse and Bamboo Theatre, The Whitaker Museum and the See Gallery. Its a great opportunity to see all the creativity in the Rossendale Valley.

Secondnature @ Urban Upholstery

Urban Upholstery, run by upholsterer Andrea Simonutti and designer Patrizia Sotile, make beautiful bespoke furniture from found or existing frames and fabrics. In their Hackney shop they also show the work of artists and designers who use reclaimed and recycled materials. From May to 30th September we are delighted that they will be showcasing our reclaimed steel wall sculptures.
Urban Upholstery are at 21 De Beauvoir Road, Hackney, London. Open Monday - Friday 9 - 6pm, Saturday 10.30 - 2.30pm.

Spindrift sculpture catches the light

Spindrift looks good reflecting light in contrast to the bothy wall at One House Gardens Sculpture Trail near Macclesfield. The trail is open until Sunday 23 May showing a variety of work by local and national artists.

We have been selected for...

We are pleased to announce we have both been selected for the Palace Art Fair. This is a new event organised by the team who run Brighton Art Fair. It will take place from 7th to 10th October at Fulham Palace in London featuring around 100 contemporary artists. Better get some work done!

Visual @ Salford Business School

Salford Business School has selected 50 artworks to show on campus from the Arts and Business Visual portfolio including our sculpture Sprite and two of Susan's Faded Glory series of paintings. The work will be on show until 4th June, although Sprite will be staying longer as it was the favourite piece of the selection panel.

The White Gallery

We met Fiona Bailey owner of the lovely White Gallery in Bollington near Macclesfield today. She will be showing some of Susan's paintings and also secondnature sculptures in the gallery and outside in the amazing hidden courtyard garden. The gallery will also be exhibiting work by fellow North West based artists Christopher Rainham and Di Metcalfe starting this weekend including Bank Holiday Monday.

Himalayan Gardens and Sculpture Park

After our trip down south last Sunday on Wednesday we travelled north to deliver four sculptures, including 'Above us the Trees', to the Himalayan Gardens and Sculpture Park near Ripon, Yorkshire. It is set in an atmospheric valley leading down to a lake with a sheltered secret garden feel. The gardens and sculpture show will be open to the public from 24th April to 13th June, 10 - 4pm, with around 150 pieces of work set in 20 acres.

Azura sculpture sets sail

On Sunday we travelled to the Port of Southampton to see our sculpture 'Momentum' on board the P&O Azura before it set sail on its inaugural voyage the next day. It is situated by Reception in the glitzy atrium area...

Open Studios@Victoria Mill

This Sunday 18th April will be our first open studios at Victoria Mill. Its on from 11 - 4pm so please pop in and see us. We'll be showing recent and just completed paintings and sculptures. There will also be an exhibition and craft fair on the floor above with jewellery, ceramics and textiles.

Victoria Mill
Foundry Bank
Congleton

Work in progress at last

I have been really busy stretching canvas, priming and sanding, refurbishing some frames, oh and also painting!

One House Garden Sculpture Trail 2010

Today we went to meet Louise Baylis at the One House Gardens in Rainow near Macclesfield. We have been invited to exhibit in this years Sculpture Trail so we met Louise to choose a location for one of our wall sculptures. Its a fascinating place with a 'secret garden' feel. The trail will cover 7 acres including woodland, meadows and orchards with rare breed Kune Kune pigs.  After a guided tour we chose a great spot in the Walled Garden.  The gardens will be open from Saturday 8th to Sunday 23rd May including the National Gardens Scheme open day on Sunday 9th.

Urban Roof Gardens visit

We had a great trip to London this week to meet the team at Urban Roof Gardens in Ealing, led by Pierre Wilter. They are a multi disciplinary practice of architects, designers, engineers and horticulturalists who have worked worldwide. They invited us down to present our work, which they loved and we are looking forward to collaborating with them in the future, watch this space...
photo: urban roof gardens