Photos from Sue Dunne's demo

Some photos from the Sue Dunne demonstration in the gallery on Saturday. We had a great time finding out how Sue makes her tiles using plants, feathers and wooden 'egg' stamps.

We have lots of new tiles and pots in the gallery by Sue. Especially popular at this time of year is her design with berries including brambles, rosehip, and hawthorn.

Thank you Sue for a really enjoyable Saturday afternoon.

Sue Dunne Ceramic Demonstration

Join us on Saturday 19th October for a fascinating insight into the work of Ceramic Artist Sue Dunne.

Sue will be demonstrating how she uses flowers, twigs, seeds, leaves and berries in her earthenware ceramics. Sue will show how she makes plant moulds and will be constructing small tiles to show her processes. She is happy to answer questions about her work.

Drinks will be served in the gallery and you can drop in any time between 2 - 4 pm.

The gallery is open as normal the rest of the day.

Wigtown Book Festival

Jill outside Reading Lasses Cafe and Women's Book Shop

Wigtown Book Festival is over for another year. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I LOVE the Wigtown Book Festival and this year was just as brilliant as ever. I would happily stay there for the whole ten days. With the gallery to look after we managed two days each and had a wonderful time.

The book festival is really a giant conversation with the most wide ranging group of people on a diverse range of subjects. The conversation spills out onto the street and into the cafes and you always bring it home with you too. I've had such interesting chats with people in the gallery who have been to the festival and I know I will continue to do so.

I'm already looking forward to Wigtown Book Festival 2014.

Liverpool - Chagall and the RC Catherdral

We had a great trip to Liverpool on Friday. Both Jill and I love Chagall's work so we'd been looking forward to this exhibition and it certainly didn't disappoint. The exhibition was in chronological order, ending up with the period when he was living in the South of France as an old man.

Highlights for me were The Poet Reclining and The Green Donkey. Both of these paintings were based on memories; the latter of his native homeland, Russia and the former of his honeymoon with his wife Bella.

We were staying near Liverpool's Metropolitan Cathedral and took the opportunity to explore it. Designed by Sir Frederick Gibberd and completed in 1967 it is certainly a building of the modernist architecture of the 1960s. That's me in the photos in a pink top, you can see the impressive scale of the building. I loved the concrete simplicity of the design. It was good to see how many artists had been involved in the project - Elizabeth Frink made a sculpture for the altar and John Piper designed exquisite stained glass windows, many more artists contributed pieces to all the different chapels.

The crypts, underneath the modern Cathedral, were designed and built in the 1930s by Lutyens for a Cathedral that was never completed. The brickwork and motifs are absolutely beautiful and typical of Arts and Crafts Architecture.

I was in my element as the building as a whole combines two of my favourite periods of architectural design.

EAFS - The Nithraid

It was the Autumn equinox and the highest tides of the year at the weekend. So, the Environmental Arts Festival marked this event in style with The Nithraid.

My preparation for The Nithraid began with a mammoth baking session. Lots of hungry sailors were due to arrive up the Nith and The Stove were making sure they were well catered for.

I didn't speed round any corners with this lot sitting in my car boot on the way to Dumfries!

Beautiful banners swirling into the Nith as the boats arrived at The Caul, in the centre of Dumfries.

Artist Stan Bonnar, maker of the salt cow, playing his 'pipe' instrument!

Stan Bonnar with his Salt Cow - which was about to be dunked in the Nith.

The Salt Cow rises above the Nith.

The cow is lowered into the Nith by Stan, Sam Booth and his winning crew.

My neighbour Morag arrives with her crew.

Morag looking very proud, and so she should after tackling such a challenging route. She was sailing for Relationship Scotland and Dumfries Historic Buildings Trust

The Nithraid - a daring raid up the Nith into the centre of Dumfries on Saturday- was quite a spectacle. The boats left from Carsethorn and made a 20 mile journey up to The Caul in the centre of Dumfries.

As the boats were setting off, the Salt Cow was leaving The Stove and journeying through Dumfries. It was followed by an enthusiastic percussion group, expertly led by Christine Hester Smith. Christine had written a song for the cow and lots of different drumming rhythms. I joined in with the band but I'm not sure how much I added to the Samba Rythmns as a complete novice!

The cow was symbolic of the trade between Dumfries and the rest of the world - at one time Dumfries had a thriving port and exported beef preserved in salt. It had been beautifully sculpted by artist Stan Bonnar.

As the cow was being transported out to the middle of the river the first boat arrived, skippered by artist blacksmith Adam Booth. The cow was ceremonially dunked by the winning crew and the salt dissolved into the Nith to join the incoming salty tide.

I met up with some neighbours and we were lucky enough to see another neighbour, Morag, arrive on her boat and we gave her a big round of applause.

Then it was time for soup and cakes and home for a well earned rest.

Many thanks to Kevin for such great photos - you're a star!

Sue Binns Pottery

Calling all fans of stripes!

Sue Binns pottery with Claire Harrigan RSW's painting 'Mangoes and Starfruit'

We have a new delivery of stripy loveliness in the form of Sue Binns pottery in the gallery. Endless combinations of blue and white stripes. They are so decorative but also so enjoyable to use. At coffee time we always reach for a Sue Binns mug.

Visit to Philip Mould's Gallery

A week to go until The Wigtown Book Festival and if you haven't got tickets yet I highly recommend it: it is absolutely brilliant.

Last year Jill and I bid in the Wigtown Book Festival Fight For Sight charity auction for a visit to Philip Mould's gallery in London.

We went down to London at the beginning of the summer and had a wonderful time in Philip's gallery. The collection of portraits was quite awe inspiring. Jill and I both loved the two van Dyke self portraits, they were the highlight of our visit. Philip was a fantastic host and even showed us some of the paintings that will be featured in the new series of Fake or Fortune in early 2014. Although he didn't tell us what the outcome of all their investigations was!

Here are a couple of photos from our visit:

An amazing self portrait by Anthony van Dyke with the most beautiful frame.