My subjects are still life and architecture with occasional birds, books or landscapes. I love to paint the effect of sun on stone or the glimpse of light on a Spring leaf.  In Northumberland where I have lived since 1989 I have the perfect surroundings for painting but I also travel and take my sketch pad wherever I go, variety being the spice of life.

This exhibition is like a commonplace book. I have recorded the things which interest me whether they are everyday things such as Spring bulbs or holiday sketches of faraway places. There are framed and unframed works and some of my tableware so I hope there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

I create wheel thrown ceramics, mostly working in stoneware but occasionally in porcelain and terracotta.

My work is largely functional tableware, along with some decorative pieces. My love of cooking, and eating, food is largely responsible for this focus. I believe that what we store, serve and eat food from demonstrates the importance we place upon it and certainly enhances our enjoyment of it.

I aim for simplicity and elegance in my throwing – working with the minimum amount of clay possible, requiring minimal refinement prior to glazing. I try to think about function leading form in the design – striving for the shape and size that is ideal for a piece’s purpose. Similarly, I avoid much use of decorative additions – using glazes simply that reflect the functional use of a pot.

I am based in West Northumberland, with my aesthetic heavily influenced by the natural world.

Rebecca Brown

Inspired by nature, I like to experiment with textures and natural muted colour palettes. I’m drawn to uneven, organic, imperfect pieces and aim to emulate this design choice thoughtfully throughout my pottery. I allow my hands to flow freely but with purpose whilst mark making, creating truly unique one of a kind pieces.

I’m very proud of where I live and take pleasure in showcasing its beauty and conveying its rich history through the photography of my pottery. I like to exhibit my work alongside the local landscapes as I feel as though they enhance each others beauty perfectly.

Syl Macro

Syl Macro works with a highly original technique of coloured clay assemblage to create a range of ceramic pieces and wall panels. She experiments with texture and the inclusion of minerals to suggest the patterns and shapes observed in the surrounding landscape.
Living and working in the North Pennines provides a constant source of inspiration.

Sue Higginson-Bell is an award-winning artist who wants nothing more than to live in a hut in the wilderness surrounded by wildlife. She grew up in the Pennines on the Durham –  Northumberland border, and in spite of being pushed towards science, she eventually studied art in Lancashire gaining a first class degree from the same place as Andy Goldsworthy (not at the same time, unfortunately!), and she now lives in a little cottage in Scotland, in a village to the north of the Tweed.

Sue loves drawing and painting the amazing creatures and wild plants we share our world with and enjoys a long walk to discover new wild places and the magical moments to be found off the beaten track. Sue believes the world is full of wonders if you take the time to be quiet and patient and look around you.

The works here are some of the wonders Sue has encountered on her journeys around the peaceful places of the Northern countryside, coast and beyond, as well as some special feathered friends from the Bird Gardens Scotland CIC who rescue rare species and contribute to worldwide conservation breeding programs to help prevent extinctions. A donation will be made to the Bird Gardens for every original and print sold featuring one of their beautiful birds. (They’re the exotic looking ones!)

All of Sue’s work is of creatures and places she’s experienced herself and she works exclusively from her own sketches and reference photographs (and sometimes her partner’s because he has a longer lens!).

For a glimpse of Sue’s previous artistic adventures and wildlife encounters please see the display in the glass cabinet. If you want to find out more about Sue, her creative processes, and the stories

behind the works you can see here and more, you can find Sue on Instagram

Tina Holley

Tina Holley was told at school that art wasn’t for her. At that time abstraction and impressionism were all the rage and Tina’s interest in realism meant a firm pair of hands steered her away from art to Latin and Ancient Greek. So, no art for Tina as she deemed herself talentless until her mid-forties when home-educating two brilliant children meant access and excuse to play with paint,

which she found she really enjoyed. And so, fortunately, did other people leading her to selling the third painting she completed and having her first solo exhibition six months after first picking up a paintbrush.

Tina has shown her work in solo and group exhibitions across the UK and has produced work for organisations such as The National Trust and the RSPB. She has an international following having

worked on commissions in Europe and also having been artist in residence in the Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona and again at Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado where she also served as a jurist for the Artist in Residence Programme. Tina has also had a solo exhibition in the International Museum of Art in El Paso, Texas.

Tina now lives in the Scottish Borders whilst still having a gallery in N.Wales where she and her family lived for a number of years. Her work is known for attention to detail and also for Tina’s fascination with light in the landscape. Among her favourite subjects are water and trees, both of which are featured in this exhibition.

Sadly my Dad Rod passed away in May.

His family decided it would be a fitting tribute and remembrance to share his work so that everyone could appreciate his talent.

Rod was born in Hertfordshire and studied Fine Arts at the Bath Academy of Arts. He and his wife Iris had four children – Reuben, Lee, Nadine and Emerald.
He and his family moved from London to the West Allen in 1978 where, after purchasing the rundown property Middle, he spent many years enjoying restoring and renovating his family home and enjoying his life there with his family.

Rod was a member of the Tynedale Artists Network, and throughout his life he worked for many magazines and book publishers. He published the book The Atlantic Salmon after spending many years studying them and their habitat. He also painted all the pictures for The Fisherman’s Handbook. Rod worked in watercolour, oils, acyrlic, pastel and pencil.
His work has been sold at Christie’s and exhibited in Europe and the UK, including at the Biscuit Factory. He was asked by the Duke of Northumberland for an original painting.

Rod thoroughly enjoyed living in the West Allen, and in his later years worked on large canvases capturing the changing light of the Northumbrian landscapes in which he lived.

Nadine Sutterby

David Lawson Ceramics

David Lawson Ceramics introduces a new range of pottery for Outdoor plants and Bonsai Trees.

Hand thrown, salt glazed, wood-fired garden pottery in a variety of natural gold brown, cobalt blue & stone coloured glazes. Shallow dishes intended for Bonsai Trees have large drainage holes,
to be covered with mesh, and side holes for use withtraining wire. All pieces have been high fired,are frost proof & designed for outdoor use. Planters without drainage may be used inside. All items priced individually.

Into the Wild Jewellery

Jillian Duffy

Jean Haste

Northflock

Thelma Russell