Autumn news

Hello!

As my last blog explained, September was a very busy month for me,with the opening of my exhibition Down Hidden Tracks, which I had been working on for a large part of the year. The last few weeks before the show opened were a little chaotic, but once we had everything on the walls I couldn't have been happier. I'm very pleased to say the exhibition went brilliantly, for me and Charlotte Morrison, who created a completely new series of beautiful porcelain ceramics, displayed alongside my collection of folly work (see pictures below). We had loads of enthusiastic visitors and I said farewell to some of my favourite pieces, like this one of Fisher's Hall.

Through the Trees too Fisher's Hall

 

 

 

Also in September was the opening of the New Lights exhibition at The Mercer gallery in Harrogate. I was thrilled to have two pieces shortlisted for this prestigious prize, and although I didn't win, it's great to have my work on display in a public gallery. The exhibition will stay at The Mercer until November.

The Treasurer's House, York - on Display at The Mercer, Harrogate

So now on to October, and it's a quiet start for me. Long ago, in the early stages of planning for Down Hidden Tracks I decided that I'd take a little holiday once the exhibition was over, and now that time has finally arrived! I'm off to Barcelona, one of my favourite places, but I shall be back to work soon to start preparing for my next event, Crafted by Hand. This one day art fair is only in it's second year, but has already gained a fantastic reputation for it's high standard to unusual, contemporary art and craft. Last year I made a papercut installation for the event, which greeted visitors as they walked into Masham Town Hall. This time I've got my own stall, and will be amongst the likes of Vinegar and Brown Paper, Adele Taylor Jewellery, and my good friend Charlotte Morrison, who is also one of the organisers of the event. I can't wait! Crafted by Hand is on October 27th, and runs alongside the Masham Arts Festival. I will also have my work on display at St.Mary's Church in Masham, as part of the festival's week long art exhibition, so if you would like to see some of my latest work up close, you know where to go.

Polly Peachum's Tower

That's it from me, have a great October!
Rosie

Down Hidden Tracks 13th September - 26th September

Hello there!

This blog is devoted to my forthcoming exhibition at Fountains Abbey, which, to my amazement opens two weeks from today. Over a year ago myself and ceramicist Charlotte Morrison decided to contact the National Trust about organising a joint exhibition of our work in the beautiful Fountains Hall, on the grounds of the abbey. As two young artists only a couple of years into our careers, we both felt that a self-organised exhibition which would allow us to show our largest ever collections of work would be an excellent idea, and to use such a well known and much loved venue not only made sense but gave us plenty of inspiration for a theme. Both influenced by the landscape of Yorkshire and the dales, it didn't take us long to come up with ideas for new work. Charlotte has been exploring historical and hidden tracks and trails around the local area, and using classic map design as creative inspiration has made some beautiful new ceramic collections. I used the opportunity as an excuse to develop my work on follies, focusing on the wonderful places I had visited while growing up, like Hackfall and Studley Royal.



The Banqueting House, Studley Royal

A year later and I can't believe it's finally nearly time to install ourselves in the pretty Arkell Room of Fountains Hall. Over the year I have had the pleasure of visiting some lovely places and can't believe how my fascination with follies has grown (and how little I knew about them to begin with). I can't wait to get all the work on the walls, and to meet the (hopefully) many visitors during the two weeks of the exhibition. To try and tempt you along here are a few things you'll get to see there.

Map Cups, Charlotte Morrison

Through the woods to Fisher's Hall

Fountains to Brimham bowls, Charlotte Morrison

The Ionic Temple, Duncombe Park 

For more information on Charlotte Morrison's work visit her website. To see some more of my pictures, and to read more about me and my work, visit my site here.

Hopefully I will see you in September!

Hello!

This week I've spent the majority of my time preparing for my forthcoming exhibition at Fountain's Abbey called Down Hidden Tracks. It's a joint exhibition with ceramic artist Charlotte Morrison, with whom I have exhibited at North Yorkshire Open Studios for the past two years.
My side of the exhibition follows my work on follies and other unusual buildings around the north. I am now at the point where I'm working on my last few pieces for the exhibition. There are some subjects that I really wanted to include, so I am desperately trying to find time to work on them. One of them is Polly Peachum's Tower, which can  be seen on from the road between Leyburn and Aysgarth In Wensleydale. In fact, one of the best views is from the churchyard in the village of Wensley, where I took a few snaps a few weeks ago while helping my dad Ian Scott Massie hang his current exhibition in the church there. I used the view from the churchyard (complete with gravestones) to make this piece. The tower has it's own unusual little story, as do so many of the buildings I have been working on, read more about it here.

The exhibition will be a mixure of wall hung work (mine) and 3D ceramics (Charlotte's) and will be on display in the beautiful Fountain's Hall, a short walk from the Abbey itself, between the 13th and the 26th of September. Charlotte and I will be there everyday to welcome visitors, so please do drop by.

In other news, I shall be exhibiting next weekend at Art in the Pen in Skipton. This will be my second year, and I'm really looking forward to meeting lots of people, and checking out the other artist's pens. There are over 120 artists and makers exhibiting and selling their work, and it's only £2 to get in, so how can you resist? Art in the Pen opens with a special evening preview on Friday August 16th, and runs 10am to 4pm on Saturday and Sunday.

One last exciting snippet before I go...I am very excited to tell you that my piece 'The Temple, Allerton Castle', has been shortlisted for the New Lights Art Prize. My work, along with 49 other artists from around the north, will be on display at The Mercer gallery, Harrogate from September 20th, and I am in with a chance of winning one of the amazing list of prizes. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.....

 

That's all for now, have good weekend!
Rosie x

Looking ahead

Hello!

This week I have made a start on my final piece for Cambridge Contemporary Art's exhibition 'Cambridge at it's Best', which opens on April 6th. I have spent the last few months putting together ideas and have ended up with 6 pieces, 5 of which are now complete and below.

The Fountain, Trinity College

King's College Gate

The Round Church

The Wimpole Folly

The Bridge of Sighs

I shall be delivering them to the gallery in just over a week, so this week I have started to look ahead to what's next. I have two 'big' exhibitions this year (shows that I have helped organise); The first is Paperworks at Masham Gallery in May, the other is Down Hidden Tracks, with Charlotte Morrison, at Fountain's Abbey in September. Time seems to have flown and everything is suddenly a lot closer than I imagined it to be - luckily I have tons of ideas and plenty of materials so now I just have to get on with it!

My obsession with follies is continuing, constantly giving me new possible subjects for work. I am so intrigued by these often bizarre buildings, and never realised how many are in this area. I have just finished a picture of one just outside Richmond called Culloden Tower - built on the parkland of Yorke House (now demolished) in 1746.It's a beautiful tower, and one of a number of follies in that area.I took a few shots of the pinning process, so you can see how the piece comes together.

My next few pieces will be over buildings at Fountain's Abbey - probably starting with St.Mary's Church, and another piece of somewhere in York!

Watch this space!

Coming up...

Hello

I've had quite a busy few weeks developing my pinned pictures as previewed in the last blog, while preparing for workshops, developing my first installation and planning exhibitions for 2013!

First things first, my pinned pieces are coming along very nicely - I'm really enjoying experimenting with the depths and shadows, the only draw back so far is that they're pretty impossible to store so my living room table is covered! They're also fairly difficult to handle until the pins have been clipped (a slightly unnerving process in itself) but I'm sure once they're in frames they'll look great. The complete collection so far can be viewed on my Facebook page, and you will be able to see them in person in the Treasure exhibition, which opens at Masham Gallery on November the 17th.

The Doric Temple, Duncombe Park, Helmsley

Fishers Hall, Hackfall

The Temple Folly, Wensleydale

In the last blog I mentioned that I'd been invited to create an installation, on display for one day only as part of the Crafted by Hand fair at Masham Town Hall on October 28th. The deadline is fast approaching and things are looking good, although I have hit a few unexpected obstacles along the way. I'm sure when the day comes I'll have everything under control...! In the mean time here's the latest photo evidence.

Last but by any means least, myself and fellow artist Charlotte Morrison have just confirmed the dates and title for our joint exhibition at Fountains Abbey next year. Down Hidden Tracks will be on display in Fountains Hall (pictured below) from the 12th to the 26th of September 2013. The exhibition is inspired by the hidden, secret and unusual aspects of the northern landscape. Charlotte will be producing a new range of contemporary ceramics, exploring maps, trails and pathways, while I will be exploring the easily overlooked but often bizarre and wonderful follies which crop up around the northeast and northwest. More details to follow...

Rosie x

Another Dimension

Hello!

Last week I forgot to blog, having been swept up in a new way of making my collages.Having researched lots of interesting papercutting artists for my workshop at ArtisOn a few weeks ago, I felt inspired to try something new and add 'another dimension' to my small papercut collages, so I bought a pack of foam board and borrowed some dressmaking pins and got to work...

I had a great week and found it really addictive once I'd started. I've designed my papercuts in the same way as I normally do, but instead of gluing the finished piece down into board, I wanted to see how effective it would be if I pinned the pieces of paper to board, allowing space behind them to create depth and shadows. I must say I'm really pleased with the results and am looking forward to much more experimenting this week.

Here are my results so far:

The Banqueting House, Hackfall

Flamborough Head Lighthouse

Brizlee Tower, Alnwick

The Temple of Victory, Allerton Castle

I am researching follies at the moment as early preparation for my exhibition with Charlotte Morrison at Fountains Abbey next year. The dates have been confirmed - September 12th to 26th 2013. We are yet to decide on a title but the themes will focus on hidden paths, and unusual buildings. Put the dates in your diary and watch this space for more developments.

This week as well as working on my 3D pieces I'm going to be cracking on with my installation for Crafted by Hand. I will be installing an eye catching paper artwork in the entrance of Masham town hall for one day on October the 28th. Although I have my design idea confirmed, I have a lot of cutting out to do and now only 4 weeks to do it! here's a little taster of what to expect.

Have a great week,

Rosie x

Follies and paper

Hi there

This week I am preparing for my Contemporary Papercutting workshop at ArtisOn this weekend. After the success of my last papercutting workshop I will be exploring the same projects this time such as cutting out names and  making layered greetings cards, while introducing a couple of different projects such as papercut tealight holders. If you are interested in spending your Saturday learning how to design and make your own papercut artwork, visit the ArtisOn website to book a place.

Next year I will be holding a joint exhibition at Fountains Hall,  Fountains Abbey with Charlotte Morrison. The exhibition, which is yet to have a title, will take place for from the 13th to the 26th of September 2013. It will be my largest exhibition to date, and I'm so excited as It allows me to explore some subjects that I haven't had a chance to look at yet. Although the theme is not set in stone, follies will certainly feature heavily. These often bizarre buildings have become a fascination to me over the last few years, and I'm already becoming completely engrossed in researching them. Take this amazing place, The Wonderful Barn in Leixlip, Ireland. Surely life would be more exciting is more buildings looked like this?

But maybe not - maybe I love follies so much because they are so different and unique. Anyway, watch this space for more news on the exhibition over the coming months.

Have a great week!

Rosie

Vintage jewellery inspiration

Hi!

This week I'm devoting most of my time to helping my Dad (artist Ian Scott Massie)with preparation for his forthcoming exhibition at Fountains Hall, and doing my accounts (joy), but I just wanted to write a quick post to show off some of the amazing jewellery created by the attendees of my workshop at ArtisOn last weekend.

As you may know, myself and Josie Beszant ran a course on Saturday called Jewellery - Inspired by Vintage. We had a brilliant day and a really enthusiastic group, who created some beautiful domino brooches, paper beads, and safety pin brooches. Here's some of the pieces that were made...

My next workshop has a festive theme (I can't believe I'm saying that, where has the year gone??) and is all about christmas decorations, but I am currently planning more jewellery workshops for next year, so keep an eye on the ArtisOn website for more details.

As for this week, the first job of the day is listing 'Magical Landscapes - Paintings of Studley Royal and Hackfall and Fountains Abbey by Ian Scott Massie' on lots of events sites and spreading the word about this exciting forthcoming exhibition, which opens at Fountains Hall, Ripon on October the 1st. I know it's going to be fantastic, because I'm helping to hang it. So there. To tempt you along, here is 'The Banqueting House in Snow', my favourite piece from the exhibition (that I've seen so far)...

Have a great week!

Rosie