Relaxing On The Beach

Over the past few weeks we've been busy making some alterations to our kitchen. Moving cupboards around means we've also had to take down or move some of the artwork we have on the walls. Fortunately one of our favourite pictures, a view looking across sand dunes towards the sea, can be left where it is.

The kitchen has a coastal and boating theme and the artworks in the room follow that theme. All the items of art were bought cheaply as we were concerned about damage from the heat and humdity in the room. This picture was one of the earliest we chose together. We picked it up for a fiver in a home decoration shop while out and about on our travels.

It has no frame, but the clipped edges of its composition give the effect of a window, perhaps in a beach hut. It gives us an alternative view to the main kitchen window: an urban scene with patio, concrete path, brick walls and neighbouring houses.

The sand dunes scene has a calm, atmospheric feel to it. You can easily imagine strolling hand in hand along the wooden boardwalk towards the secluded shoreline on a warm summer's evening. With the gentle sound of waves washing over the sand it is a haven of tranquility compared with the realtively hectic activites that go on in the kitchen.

We are pleased that we have been able to keep this picture in its place within the new kitchen arrangement. So now, when we've finished baking bread and cooking soup, we can relax over lunch with a wonderful view to enjoy.

Vicky and Vince,
Love Your Art.

Arts Centre Update 2

Darlington Borough Council, having re-arranged the existing activities at Darlington Arts Centre to run on fewer days, have made the Arts Centre available to Darlington for Culture (DfC) on Monday and Tuesday evenings to run their own programme of events. These would be additional activities, expanding the use of the centre.

Ideas for what to do will largely come from supporters of DfC and at a meeting on 31st March a number of people outlined the ideas they had. They were then hit with a "single whammy" - they must plan and organise their event themselves. This may be a great way to get people more involved in supporting DfC's campaign to save the Arts Centre but it seems like a case of being dropped into the "Big Society" deep end.

It also stopped us putting forward a few vague ideas we have because:

a) we don't know enough about the facilities to work out if an idea is possible
b) we don't know how to assess the overall feasibility of each idea
c) we don't have a broad enough range of skills or experience to take on a broad range of ideas
d) we don't know how to develop the ideas into fully formed proposals
e) we don't have the time to research all the above and work out how the ideas could be implemented
f) we're not in a position to underwrite them financially
g) we can't run three or four ideas on our own

Perhaps a better alternative may be for the steering committee to take each of these ideas, decide how workable it is then organise a small team of people, including the person who suggested it, to plan and implement the idea. This would combine the innovative ideas with the experience and support of others. It could also protect DfC from running unsustainable activities and may also lead to other ideas being considered.

We are hoping to attend the next meeting on Thursday when more details of the programme up to March 2012 will be discussed. But we suspect that our ideas will stay on scraps of paper for now.

Another development coming up in May is that Darlington For Culture are to officially become a Community Benefit Society, a type of co-operative. This approach is more democratic than alternative structures such as the Community Interest Company originally mooted and means that groups and individuals with an interest in the arts can be more directly involved.

This poses an interesting challenge for us: should we become members of this organisation to show our support for the arts in the town? We have discussed this at length between ourselves, debating the pros and cons, trying to predict the future and looking out for alternative proposals that may interfere with DfC's plans. We haven't convinced ourselves either way yet. Here are some of the issues we have considered.

Pros: If DfC take over the running of the Arts Centre it would continue to be used for all its current activities and probably more; DfC's democratic structure would be good for the arts community and should help with funding applications; the cultural parliament meetings that DfC have already been holding helps to direct and validate arts activities in the town.

Cons: Running or expanding the arts centre will be a mammoth task and could be overwhelming; there is no guarantee that DfC will be allowed take control in the future; as a group they have no track record of running such a complex organisation (although the individual experience of the people involved would help); will DfC be able to attract the substantial funding necessary and co-ordinate the resources when Darlington Council finally withdraw all their financial support?

The opportunity for running activities on Monday and Tuesday evenings will allow DfC to begin to show what they are capable of doing. Perhaps we should wait until this is under way before we make our final decision.

Vicky and Vince,
Love Your Art.

Press Freedom

We always look forward to our trips to Richmond Station in North Yorkshire. And on Friday evening we were rewarded as usual with an exciting show of works by twenty of the UK's most popular printmakers.

As we strolled around the building, we were amazed at the broad variety of techniques used: etching, linocut, lithography, aquatint etching, screen printing and engraving. And with an even wider range of subjects and styles there was literally something for everyone to enjoy.

This made it very difficult for us to pick out a couple of particularly interesting pictures to write about. In the end, we agreed that everything was attractive and of high quality. So here are just a few of the things we saw in no particular order of preference.

Tescopolis, by Martin Langford, showed a busy townscape where all the buildings, vehicles and signs were branded or referred to Tesco, suggesting they are taking over the world. The only exception was an advertisement for The History Channel showing a program about Sainsburys.

Vicky's eye was caught by linocuts produced by Colin Moore. He has been influenced by Edward Bawden among others and Vicky instantly recognised the general style. The print "Suffolk" was her favourite with its soft colours and English themes.

Appropriate to the location in a former railway station, Gail Brodholt had a number of pictures showing railway stations and scenes. These were quite atmospheric, and were printed in strong, unusual, almost neon colours.

Ghost by Chris Pig was a detailed engraving that showed a building with ghost-like clouds swirling overhead. Chris has been influenced by film noire amongst other things and the building looks like it has a dark and scary past.

There were several attractive etchings of animals by Sonia Rollo including hares and cows. And Maggie, the cute little dog with big eyes made you just want to say "Ahhh".

We are hoping to win the competition running during the show. The prize is a copy of Nige Barges Past by Anita Klein. It shows a domestic scene which, like our own kitchen, is cramped, limited in space and means we are always bumping into each other. It is also typical of the way we use our kitchen: Vicky likes to cook and Vince likes to clear the cupboards of crisps, biscuits, etc. Hang on, that looks like our oven in the background too!

The show runs until 6th May 2011 and all the prints are available for sale. More details on the Press Freedom exhibition web site.

Vicky and Vince,

Love Your Art

The Art of Jewellery

I love buying and wearing jewellery but try as I might I've never yet persuaded Vince to buy me any. I think he's scared of getting it wrong, because I'm very fussy (subtle hint: a pair of Tiffany diamond studs!). Vince wears a watch occasionally and that's about as far as he gets with personal adornment. He says that jewellery should enhance the natural beauty of the wearer. So he might have been surprised by the latest exhibition at mima in Middlesbrough on The Modern Jewel: In Time and the Mind of Others. Here jewellery becomes more than an object to be worn; it is a piece of art.

I was fascinated by the exhibit "Charlotte's Choice", two sets of cast carob beads, one set from gold and one from silver. Each set has equal value which works out to be 251 silver and 4 gold beads. Charlotte Wood, a 19 year old fashion student and Teesside resident, can choose which set she keeps and wears. The other set will be kept for exhibiting by the museum.

I would have loved to have been in Charlotte's shoes when she was given the opportunity to commission artists Lin Cheung and Laura Potter to produce this jewellery for her. Still, I can influence her choice as visitors are invited to help Charlotte by putting a gold or silver token into a box. I opted for the silver; 251 beads would make a wonderful necklace! I wonder whether Charlotte will follow the visitors' advice or make her own choice?

In any case, her choice is not final: she is allowed to swap one set of beads for the other. The rules for this exchange are set out in a contract that is part of the exhibit, along with a book to record the details of the exchanges over time. So Charlotte and the beads will become part of an on-going living art project.

The exhibition is part of the museumaker project and is a collaboration between the artists, local residents, mima and other Middlesbrough museums.

You can read more about the artists and the projects here:

Lin Cheung

Laura Potter

mima

Museumaker Project

Vicky,

Love Your Art

And the winner is...

On Saturday evening we sat eagerly awaiting the lottery draw. The first number came out... We matched it! The second number came out... Oh no! It didn't match. Sadly, none of the others matched either. So no luxury mansion and posh car this weekend.

With nothing much else on TV we got round to talking about what art we would buy if we had won the lottery. With a few million pounds, there wouldn't be much that was out of our price range. And with so many interesting artists and such a wide variety of art, coming up with a single choice would seem impossible. Eventually we decided to pick two items each, not necessarily our favourites but something we would enjoy having around to look at, feel and admire.

Vince's first choice was Three Elements by Ronald Bladon. This minimalist sculpture is formed from three plywood trapezoids stood on end at an angle of 65 degrees.

"I like the simplicity and strength of the slabs," said Vince. "And the way they defy gravity."

Three Elements

Vince's second item was a more classical choice, The Hunters In The Snow by Pieter Brueghel the Elder. This picture has so much detail and reflects the hardships of the time it depicts. The story it tells is full of historical insight, social issues and symbolism. A very interesting picture.

The Hunters In The Snow

"I think I would choose one of Edward Bawden's linocuts," said Vicky. "Perhaps one of the rarer ones like 'Campions and Columbine'. I like the simplicity, the style and the Britishness of his works."

Campions and Columbine

Another artist whose work Vicky admires is Marc Chagall. "I love his folksy depictions of animals and people as well as the bright bold colours. As I have a fondness for cats I would choose 'Paris through the Window' as my second picture."

Paris through the Window

Even if our luck was in and these works came up for sale, we would probably only win a tenner on the lottery. Still, it was fun discussing and choosing what we would do if we did get lucky.