Friday 2 December 2016

Second Weekend Approaching


Didn't get to post these last week due to frantic tidying and setting up right up until half an hour before the Private View (as always). We had a great first weekend with plenty of visitors and sales so we have some new pictures on the walls to fill gaps. We're open again this weekend and next weekend 11am-5pm Saturday and Sunday so please come along and see us. Here's a taster of what awaits:




Beautifully soft and colourful hand knits from Bluebell Roebuck

Handpainted scarves from Daubs and Dashes - each one unique

A selection of wreaths by Alexis Rayner

Collages by Vicky Scott (prints and originals)

Jewellery by Helen Chong

A selection of Ruth Mullan's Christmas decorations

Cards for Christmas and other occasions by Vicky Ramsey

Del Thorpe's original drawing from books he has illustrated

Copperfoil doves by Ruth Mullan

Watercolours by Margaret McGregor Betts

Leonor Berdichevsky's pictures

Photography by Bluebell Roebuck

Thursday 24 November 2016

Almost Ready



Today the rest of the artists set up but, as I was delivering a child to a tech rehearsal for the English Youth Ballet's performance of Swan Lake, I was unable to take photos during daylight. Hopefully tomorrow I will be together enough to tidy the house, tidy myself and take photos to share on the blog before the private view starts. Meanwhile, here are some of my new photos, one of which inspired the creation of a new word by eldest child (who wouldn't believe it wasn't already in existence....)



View From a Bridge - Bluebell Roebuck



Whistical - Bluebell Roebuck



The Last Unicorn - Bluebell Roebuck

Sunday 20 November 2016

Grey Is So Not My Colour


Still raining and all the colour from the trees is quickly floating downwards but I really don't do grey so here's a splash of colour to cheer us all up.


A summer's day in Stanmer Park = "have you ever seen the grass so green - or a bluer sky?"





Actually went out to photograph the supermoon but civilisation got in the way. Uninterrupted views of a stunning sunset though.






Sadly, nothing so glamorous stripping the leaves from the tree outside our house:

Vicky Scott - Autumn

The tree will soon be looking like this although without the benefit of a turquoise pool.

Margaret McGregor Betts - Winter Reflections

Friday 18 November 2016

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.... Well, maybe just a little



Lots of snow in the Lake District today but just freezing cold and rainy here. Living by the sea has many advantages but I do miss the snow. The Open House is first approaching with just a week to go so Christmas always seems to come a bit earlier than it used to. Ruth has got some fantastic decorations again this year - in addition to her fused glass presents, the stars and the iridescent baubles, she has mistletoe and abstract trees.






Wednesday 16 November 2016

New Cards from Vicky Scott (and some you may have seen before)


Vicky's cards always go down well at the Open House and she has some new designs alongside some older favourites. There will be a fantastic selection of cards for all occasions, not just Christmas. Many of the cards are prints of her highly detailed paper collages. The work involved is incredibly intricate. Why not stock up and use throughout the year?









Thursday 10 November 2016

A Bit of Peace and Happiness


Interesting that the dove is seen as a symbol of peace whereas it's actually a quarrelsome, territorial bird. Remind you of anyone who's now trying to come across as reasonable and conciliatory despite the vitriol he's been spouting over the last few months. However, after the events of yesterday I think we'll all just settle for whatever reminds us of peace and hope.

Here's Ruth's dove in progress and completed. The bottom two pictures show how it glows with the light behind it.











Thursday 3 November 2016

Doesn't Time Fly?



I can't believe it's now only 23 days until the Open House begins. Now is when things really start getting a bit frantic. I've spent the day mounting photos and bottling up fruit liqueurs so at least I feel like I've actually done something constructive with my day. The flyers arrived yesterday so I need to start getting them out. Please come along to see our work - all the same artists as May but with lots of new art and crafts to look at.








Tuesday 25 October 2016

Poppies Are Not Just For Remembrance




They are also for eternal sleep, imagination, consolation, pleasure and fantastic extravagance - take your pick - and that's just the red ones. But I do like it that such a showy flower blooms with such abandon in the fields and the roadside. And there are few flowers (except Honesty with its stunning papery seed pod) that look so beautiful at so many stages of their life cycle. Here's a series of photos I took this summer.









Wednesday 12 October 2016

45 Days to Go



So the countdown to the next Open House has started... 45 days to go. It's at this point that most of us start thinking "must get on with some work".  Not so Ruth Mullan who has been super busy and creative with lots of new stained and fused glass on the go.  Here is an owl in various stages of construction. Can't wait to see it in real life.