Planting and Wiring the Garden

Bob and Val plant the clematis

Val at the bottom of the garden.

Kenny laying the new outdoor cable

There was a flurry of activity in the gallery garden today. Bob and Val came to do some new planting: they brought a scented climbing rose, two clematis, some summer flowering bulbs and some more acid green heuchera.

Our electrician Kenny McBride came to replace the old outdoor cable that runs to our lamp post at the bottom of the garden. He is fitting three outdoor sockets running down the wall of the garden so we will be able to up-light the tree canopies and plug in the fountains.

They've arrived!

Roger and John unpacking the van.

Roger with the large bronze fish - looking very pleased!

John with the bronze seal.

The crate from Italy.

I was glad Roger was on hand to open the crate.

Me unpacking. As Roger said, it was like Christmas!

Richard W. Boardman's bronze sculptures arrived today, ready for our opening on the 8th of August.

They had been on an incredibly long journey and it was with great excitement that we unpacked the crate and boxes. They really are quite exceptional and we are looking forward to the exhibition so much. Richard will be on hand to set up the fountains in the garden next week.

In preparation for using the garden an an exhibiting space our friend Jem has been sorting out the hedge and clearing away some of the wood. Our gardening friends Bob and Val are coming on Saturday with some new plants including a scented rose and some clematis.

Flowers from Sue and Rosie

The day started with the arrival of some beautiful flowers from Sue Dunne and Rosie Villiers Stuart. They had a spectacularly successful show with us and the flowers were a very much appreciated thank you from them.

It was such a lovely surprise to receive the flowers, thank you so much Sue and Rosie, we loved working with you and having your work in the gallery.

I can reveal...

... that the 'hidden article' in our window was a plastic centipede camouflaged against the wooden panelling.

Quite a few children came in to ask for a clue so it wasn't easy to see. I wonder if any of our customers saw it and were unaware it was there as part of the Civic Week competition!

Potfest in the Park

We had a really great day out at Potfest in the Park near Penrith yesterday.

Here's Rodger Smith from Barnbarroch Pottery with a rather stylish shopping bag! Their stand looked great and we were too tempted by all the lovely pieces. Jill bought me a pot for my birthday so I've got to forget about it until October and she also bought a gorgeous alligator dish and spoon. Complete with a tiny alligator on the spoon!

Here's Christine Smith from Barnbarroch Pottery with Jill sitting on Christine's 'Snakes and Ladders' seat.
Jill with Roger sitting on Christine's competition piece, her Two Dogs seat - very comfy - we think it should have won.
Nick Williams from Consall Forge Pottery. I bought a sweet little pale blue Salt Pig from him. I love this photo, he looks so proud of his work and I think he chose the perfect shirt to match his pots!
Margaret Brampton from Brampton Pottery, a fellow blogger, it was great to meet her. I absolutely loved her pots and bought one of her wild boar plates. She came all the way from Surrey, but there were potters who had travelled even further, including Germany, France and Lithuania.
Our purchases. We also bought a pot by Martin Mohwald from Germany but we gave it to my brother as a present so it's already gone back to Glasgow.

Douglas Day

It was Civic Day in Castle Douglas today. Here are some photos of the Douglas Day parade, taken from the front door of the gallery, as the parade past by us.

We had a lot of customers in the gallery and lots of enthusiasm about the exhibition, ceramicist Sue Dunne is almost heading for a sell-out show with us.

Tomorrow we're off to Potfest in the Park to meet some potters and see lots of lovely pots, I'm really looking forward to it.

100s of envelopes and stamps

It's that time again, we are getting ready to invite all our customers to the next exhibition. All the invitations have arrived (after being delivered to Threave Gardens - don't ask!). It was a really sunny afternoon so Jill sat in the garden sticking labels on the envelopes.

We inherited the sun hat that Jill's wearing when we bought the gallery - it used to belong to Niall McGill Duncan.

Kathryn, thanks for the lavender plant that's sitting on the table!

Hidden Article Competition

Screenprint by Ben Javins - read his Blog and see his lovely artwork here

We had lots of children peering through the window today.

This week the gallery is taking part in the Castle Douglas Civic Week 'Hidden Article' competition. Shops who are taking part hide something in their windows and the person who finds them all wins a prize.

If you want to take part you can get a form from 'Kirks' the shoe shop in King Street.

We have hidden a very unusual object in the gallery window... I will reveal all next week!

Hercules and the Farmer's Wife

I've just read Hercules and the Farmer's Wife by gallerist Chris Wadsworth. Having been running our gallery for the past two years the stories probably resonated with Jill and me more than most! Chris has been in this business for a lot longer than us and I found it a really inspiring read.

She really conveys the fact that life running a gallery is unpredictable, hard work, exciting - and that some very funny things can happen along the way! A great read for anyone interested in the art world in general.