Tag Archives: Tower House Gallery

A New Year, A New Gallery

I made the executive decision a couple of years ago that an appropriate showcase and relevant outlet for my mosaic art work  would be in galleries – not stuffy arty ones but ones that had a good range of  mid to high price unique and lovingly made art and craft – the types of galleries I like to visit and I often buy from.  Galleries where you often get to meet the artist and can share in their inspiration and passion for their work.

ss2I am delighted that 2017 has given me a New Year and a New Gallery. Not only is TOWER HOUSE GALLERY a new venue for me, it is a brand new Gallery that opened at the end of last year.

 

p1060468 TOWER HOUSE GALLERY is based in the picturesque harbour village of Seaton Sluice in Northumberland. This delightful octagonal shaped building is Grade 2 listed. designed by Sir John Vanburgh and built around 1720, it has been the Harbour Masters House, a public reading room and more recently a private residence.

The building is now privately owned and has now been transformed into a Gallery. It is being run by Proprietor and Resident Artist: Rose Di Mascio.  Her stunning watercolour and acrylic artwork is on display and is inspired by nature with a surrealist and mythological twist.  You can see more of Rose’s work on her website and you can also read more about the history of the Gallery on the website as well as following it on Facebook.

 

The octagonal shape of the Tower provides a perfect display area and is ideal for showcasing local artwork. I am delighted to be part of this exciting new venture and hope that a lot of people will not only discover this lovely gallery with beautiful artwork, but also the joys of the Northumberland coastline as well. 

 

 

October Update

October is a great month. Although chilly early morning and evening, the days are usually lovely and bright with a hazy autumnal sunshine. I have seen some spectacular sun rises as I do my early morning walks. The trees are turning beautiful colours and its lovely to be out walking in the crisp air kicking leaves. Its also a great excuse for me to start making lovely autumn casseroles to come home to tuck into after a days activities.

This has been a busy month for me mosaic wise, having started it off with an excellent and inspiring BAMM AGM and Conference.  Following on from the workshop I did with Jane Visick, I have been experimenting a lot with glass-on-glass mosaics. This is the one I started at the course with Jane and finished at home. p1060334Although I know it is a very basic version of what Jane was trying to teach us, it has given me a good start and has enabled me to grasp the basics of cutting and shaping the glass. It seems to be a very, very messy process and no matter how neat you try to be, you get tiny shards of glass everywhere so I am forever tidying up after myself. The ‘rule’ of never going into my studio barefoot is even more relevant with glass bits hiding everywhere.  I really enjoy making these glass pieces, I love the long ‘slashes’ of glass and the dramatic effect they create.  I will now need to perfect cutting the smaller pieces and shapes to make up the pictures.

Whilst at the BAMM Conference I got some great news – the new  Tower House Gallery in Northumberland  has taken 6 pieces of my work to display.

Triptych on Slate

Triptych on Slate

I am absolutely delighted as it is a lovely gallery and the quality of work on display is very high indeed. I will be proud to have my work hanging alongside the other artists.  I aim to make them a range of  glass-on-glass pieces and I will also be making another new range of tile and glass mosaic on slate, similar to this triptych.

So its going to be a busy autumn for me with 2 new ranges waiting to be made. We also aim to do the last leg of the Capital Ring  next week, which will just about be within a year of starting it!

 

 

 

Ealing Art Trail

beatThis weekend and next sees the first Open Studios in my local area, BEAT – Borough of Ealing Art Trail. It is amazing that Ealing has never had an Open Studios art trail event before as most west London Boroughs and surrounding areas do, in fact last year I took part in the Richmond Open Studios. BEAT was bought together by a group of enthusiastic, dedicated and determined artists who felt it was about time Ealing had an event run by artists for artists in order to showcase the vast wealth of art and creativity that lives in the borough of Ealing. Have a look at the great video on their Home Page. Kitty, who I do my weekly workshop with, has been a key player and I am sure she and the rest of the team must be delighted with the outcome – 130 artists in 54 locations.

It also seems amazing that there is (at last) a local art event and I am not part of it! That is because next weekend I am doing a 10 mile night time walk in central London in order to raise money for Maggies Centres. It seemed unrealistic to have to hire a venue to show my work just for one weekend so I decided to wish my fellow artists good luck and become a visitor instead this year. So yesturday I set off with my friend Nita to see 3 local venues – 6 hours and 13 artists later we arrived home, thoroughly exhausted but exhilarated by the art we had seen and the artists we had met. If you have the chance, download  a brochure and visit Ealing to see some incredible art that is on show.

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Seascape on Slate

Talking to all the artists made me really proud to be part of the local and wider art community – although I still feel like the new girl on the block. It was really lovely to meet a group of people who had that same passion and a need to express their creativity rather than doing so purely for commercial reasons. I am very well aware that my main ‘drivers’ are certainly not monetary but a desire to continually improve my work, receive peer recognition and reach a wider audience in order for people to see the wonderful possibilities the great art form of mosaic making offers.

Nature Inspired Wall Panels

Nature Inspired Wall Panels

To that end, I was delighted to see that a new Gallery has opened in Northumberland in the village we often stay in. The Tower House Gallery, which is an octagonal shape building and originally the Harbour Masters House, has now been bought privately and turned into a stunning display area. It will be a real boon for the village and the local artists. I have been given the opportunity to take some work in for consideration on my next visit – so fingers crossed.

I have decided to make some pieces especially that I feel would work well in the space. I am looking at making more ‘glass-on-glass’ and I will also take some of my long panels shown here.

So wish me luck, wish all the Ealing artists luck for BEAT and also wish my walking boots luck for my charity walk next weekend.

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If you would like to donate to Maggies Centres please see my Just Giving Page.