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

Sunny visits and new exhibitions

Hello there!

Now that I'm thoroughly settled into my studio I have started working on a number of new pieces in preparation for my forthcoming exhibition Down Hidden Tracks. Having done a fair few small pieces so far, I have got stuck in with some larger projects, one of which I got finished today. A few weeks ago we took a lovely trip to Duncombe Park in Helmsley, where I dropped off my picture 'The Terrace Temples' to Mr.Duncombe himself! It is lovely to know that the piece is going to be displayed in the very place it's based on, and a huge compliment that someone so familiar with the temples likes the work. After handing over the picture we took a walk around the grounds and visited the temples in question, and I felt immediately inspired to start another papercut. The Ionic temple looked lovely in the sun and there was cow parsley everywhere - here is a snap I took on the day and my finished picture.

 

Tomorrow I am heading over to Wensleydale to assist in the hanging of my dad's solo exhibition Tales of the Dales. The exhibition, which officially opens on Saturday, July 27th, is inspired by stories, myths and rumours from the dales and moors. The exhibition of paintings and prints will be on display at Wensley Church until August 11th. I shall be enjoying a glass of wine at the church tomorrow evening for the exhibition preview, where an accompanying book about the exhibition is also being launched.

Finally, I have now finished my piece on the Triangular Lodge at Rushton. I'm very pleased with the piece, but is has given me some ideas around using a darker colour in the background, to ensure that the detail doesn't get lost. What do you think?

Have a great weekend!

Rosie x

Finding follies

Hello!

It is shameful that I haven't written a blog for so long, but I am going to excuse myself just this once as we got the keys for our beautiful new house on July 5th, so before and after was a little hectic and my studio consisted of a pile of boxes. I'm incredibly pleased to say that I have been upgraded from working in our living/dining room to having use of the spare room now, which is just fantastic after nearly two years of having to pack my work away every evening! I now get to look out of the window at my little garden, swooping swallows and the backs of the houses on our quiet street by the river in south York.

The new studio

It's great getting back to papercutting too, after a little break. My exhibition 'Down Hidden Tracks' draws ever closer and I am miles away from covering all the subjects I want to cover, let alone getting on with publicity and working on the catalogue. I am getting a some help though -  having met some lovely people from the Folly Fellowship at North Yorkshire Open Studios in June, I was very excited to be contacted by them this week and told that they would like to do an article about me for their summer magazine. This will be my first ever magazine feature, and it's brilliant knowing that it's going to be read by folly lovers. I hope I'll get to meet more members at the exhibition in September.

Before diving head first into northern follies however, I have a few pieces left to finish for the Itch gallery in Oakham, Rutland. I got one completed earlier this week, of a striking structure in south Lincolnshire called Belmont Tower. The tower can be seen from Belton House down a 2 mile long tree-lined walkway, and I have wanted to work on it since I first started researching follies. I chose to make a flat collage of this one and loved the contrast of sharp lines and flowers/trees.

I have just today finished cutting one of my most difficult subjects to date - the Triangular Lodge at Rushton. This mind boggling building was built by Thomas Tresham, a devoted catholic, and the folly's design is excessively influenced by the number 3 (presumably in reference to the holy trinity). Three sides, each measuring 33 feet, three stories etc, right down to the tiny ornate details.  I have not found it easy to draw and cut this building and I strongly suspect I will be having another go in the future, but this is how it's looking so far.

Well, I think I will get back to work, more updates very soon.

Rosie

Further afield....

Hello there!

Well, North Yorkshire Open Studios is done for another year. It's amazing how much intense preparation leads to an event that just whizzes by. I had a great time though, we had a fantastic number of visitors through, many of whom bought my brand new cards, and who allowed me to persistently publicise my exhibition Down Hidden Tracks. I'm feeling very positive about the events ahead, the first being Art in the Pen in August.

This week I'm enjoying the nice feeling of having got a big event out of the way, and being able to focus on something else. And at the top of my list is a small collection of work for the lovely Itch Gallery in Oakham. I have had my work in the gallery for about a year, and I keep finding exciting subjects in the area to work on. I was very excited to discover that a folly tower I have long admired, Belmont Tower in south Lincolnshire, was actually fairly close by, thus giving me an excuse to start a new picture. I have decided to go back to my flat papercut collage format for this piece (though given the stunning views towards the tower from Belton House, I'm sure I'll be doing a pinned piece soon), and have reached the end of the cutting stage today, so I thought I'd give you a preview.

Belmont Tower, Lincolnshire

The tower can be seen from the hall at the end of two mile long tree-lined walkway. The brickwork is stunning, as are the windows (which do look at little like eyes). The tower apparently used to have an arch either side of the main archway originally, but these have been demolished, leaving this slightly bizarre structure, nicknamed 'Lord Brownlow's Trousers'.

I've also finished a couple of pieces destined for Fountains Hall this September in the last week. The first is based on the lovely pond-side view of the Mausoleum at Castle Howard, the second completes my Terrace Temples pair, based on the leafy walkway at Rievaulx Abbey.

The Mausoleum from the pond, Castle Howard

The Terrace Temples ii, Rievaulx Abbey

That's all from me this week, have a lovely weekend.

Rosie

Open studios this weekend!

Hello!

Just a quick blog to show you what you'll be missing if you don't come and visit us at North Yorkshire Open Studios this weekend! I had great time last weekend, exhibiting alongside Charlotte Morrison, Ian Scott Massie and Josie Beszant in  the ArtisOn studios. We had some lovely visitors, and ate lots of delicious cake (homemade by us of course). Here's how things are looking...

 

 

 

 

This weekend we'll be doing it all over again, and then that's it for another year, so if you fancy popping in, checking out a great mix of work and having a chat with some coffee and cake, come down this weekend and see us! While you're in the area you can also visit Hester Cox in her studio in Masham, and pop into the gallery to see my exhibition Paperworks, which I assure you is definitely worth a visit.

North Yorkshire Open Studios

Hello!

I have been trying to get round to doing some blogging all week, as this weekend is the start of North Yorkshire Open Studios so I wanted to tell you all about it. But for that very reason, I have been snowed under with framing, packing cards and other exciting preparation, so I'm only just getting round to it!

This will be my second year taking part in Open Studios, a county-wide event involving artists and makers working in all mediums. It gives visitors a chance to see artists at work, in their own studios and homes, or in my case, in the wonderful ArtisOn studios just outside Masham. The event is free, though you may need your car if your planning to visit a number of studios as some of us are out in the sticks, but you'll get a nice warm welcome and maybe a cup of tea wherever you choose to go.

I had a great time last year exhibiting along side Charlotte Morrison, Josie Beszant and Ian Scott Massie (who is, of course, my dad). We got loads of lovely visitors, who enjoyed learning about our work and the ArtisOn studios, as well as eating the lovely array of homemade cakes we provided (honestly, baking for open studios is one of my favourite bits of the event). We'll be doing it all again this year so please drop by if you can. The event runs over the 8th/9th and the 15th/16th of June.




Charlotte Morrison





Josie Beszant



Ian Scott Massie

I have managed to gather together the largest ever collection of work, including lots of new pieces (like these ones below), and I can't wait to get over there and hang them! I am also going to be selling cards for the first time, so there will be lots to see.

Banqueting House, Studley Royal

The Temple, Allerton Castle

For more information on the event and the artists involved visit the NYOS site here. You will find maps, a list of artists to visit and much more.

I hope to see you at the weekend!